biathlon rifles

J

jglsprings

New member
So, I flipped by the Olympics on the tube today and they are showing the biathlon. Other that being stunned that NBC would even broadcast a positive sentence about guns, I couldn't identify what the rifles they were using were...

Any links or info would be appreciated.
 
Thanks for the links....

My wife figured out why the biathlon was being broadcast.

All of the down hill skiing was canceled.

Oh well, at least I got to watch it both days...
 
Actually, the Biathlon has been at least partially shown in the last several Winter Olympics. Even the Liberal media has to marvel at what these guys accomplish to go from flat out speed skiing to basically shooting a half dollar piece at 50 meters with open sights. After just trying to shoot some of the 10 meter air rifle competions in the summer time, what those guys do boggles the mind.

As said, the Anschultz and Hammerli rifles are the tools of choice for most of that kind of shooting.
 
shooting a half dollar piece at 50 meters with open sights.
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It looks to me like they have aperture sights, not open sights. Open sights have a rear notch and a front blade that cannot be shaded.
I think the rules also mandate a 4 kg minimum weight.
 
I saw a Russian made biathlon rifle last year. While not up to the aesthetics of the Anschutz it was an interesting piece of kit with a straight pull bolt action that was incredibly fast to use.
 
rifles

the Anschultz and Hammerli rifles are the tools of choice for most of that kind of shooting.
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Anschutz 1827, yes....frequently with a lighter custom stock. Hammerli, as far as I know, has not produced a Biathlon rifle.
The other popular rifle is the Russian Ishmash, also frequently custom stocked.
Both of these rifles use a straight pull bolt. The 1827 is a Fortner SPB. The Ishmash, which I have not handled, is similar and appears to be a clone.
The operation of the Fortner bolt is, indeed, very fast. One places one's thumb on the rear of the bolt, lifts the trigger finger to contact the bolt handle, rotates the hand backward at the wrist about 45 or so degrees, the bolt opens, cartridge ejects, thumb pushes the bolt close, finger drops to trigger. As fast as you can move your hand back and forth. The trigger is about two ounces. If so desired the rifles could be shot about as fast as a semi-auto.
Aperture sights - snow sights - both the rear and the front have integral flip up covers to protect the sight from falling snow. The front sight also protects the muzzle.
Pete
 
stunned that NBC would even broadcast a positive sentence about guns
Click to expand...

As anti-gun as they are it could be much worse. The British biathlon team trains in Scotland and their national championships are held in Germany. (Yes, I know Scotland is technically in the UK, but their legal system is different.) Even though they compete to represent their country, they're not welcome there. http://www.britishbiathlon.com/pages/about_us.htm

Ok, putting my soap box away now. Sorry to the moderator if it's too off topic, I wasn't sure. Just thought I'd share.
 
MT Guns carries the Izhmash biathlon rifle - http://www.mtguns.com/biathalon.htm

biathlon.jpg
 
The only ski fields in the British Isles are in Scotland, so I would imagine that the Biathlon team would need to train in Scotland as the rest of the UK is really not suitable.
 
Rifle

Here's the Larsen stocked version of the rifle pictured above:
NEWLarsen7-3.jpg
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It can be yours, race ready, for only $3200. The Anschutz will cost you $3600.
Pete

PS - One of the neat and important and unseen aspects of these rifles is guaranteed cold weather performance. The Anschutz, for instance is guaranteed to group (I forget what - but it's quite small) at -20C (4 Below zero F.)
P
 
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Watching the competitors in the falling snow and rain, it appeared that none were using the covers to keep the muzzle or front sight covered. I had to wonder if that was responsible for so many first shot misses.
 
Sight covers

About using the sight covers. I'll have to look harder at the video but in the past, looking at these men and women shoot, I noted how good they are at "the drill" of taking the rifle off their back and, when done, getting it back on. Many times, the front sight/bore cover is removed in the first swing of the rifle from the back. The rear sight cover flips up with just a finger.
If you have seen them skiing with the front cover extended, that's something I have to look for.
Pete
 
Breathing hard is usually the reason for missing the first shot, at least in my case. I appreciate the five shots simply b/c I can rest for 30 seconds before I have to go ski again. Competitive skiers sometimes will leave their last shooting stop front cover off b/c it doesn't matter as much as getting back up to speed on the skis for the sprint to the finish.

Anschutz is the main rifle for the top tier biathletes. For normal people izmash is a moderately priced alternative. Back in the day, there were some lever-action biathlon rifles in which the hand grip was the lever. Never saw one in person. In any case, the rifle must have iron sites (aperature is the norm) and a human-powered bolt. There is a minimum weight limit of like 3.5 kg.

I bought a used Marlin 2000 and Altius helped me get get parts to fix it up to hold extra mags, etc. It's turn bolt, but my skiing is so lame that the extra 2 seconds doesn't matter.

We have about 6 races a year in Colorado. Good times whether you're a talented skier or a talented shot, or lucky enough to be both.

sorry for the bump in the middle of summer, but I can actually talk about this topic.
 
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