Para Mar 2011web - Victorian Military Rifle Club

Parabellum
Newsletter of the SSAA Vic. Military Rifle, Military Pistol and Military Collector Clubs
Volume 24 / N° 1
M1A1 / M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tank.
Dedicated to the Safe, Competitive use of Military Firearms
Parabellum
March /April 2011
Page 1
Military Rifle Club
S.S.A.A. Vic.
Postal Contact
SSAA MRC Secretary
PO Box 317
Avondale Heights
Vic. 3034
2010 Committee
President
Vice President
Secretary
Treasurer
Membership Secretary
Safety Officer
Competition Officer
Public Relations Officer
Publicity Officer (Editor)
Targets Officer
Armourer
Simon Troeth
Ian Garth
Gus Braidotti
Rosi Valetic
Greg Andrews
Steve Pattie
Simon Troeth
David Schultz
Ian Garth
Harvey Bacon
Frank Griffo
Appointed Committee Members
MPC Attendance Officer
Military Pistol Club Secretary
Military Collector Club Secretary
Springvale Competition Officer
Discipline Chairman
Steve Pattie
Frank Griffo
Jack Wegman
Geoff Haydon
Jeff Pannan
Electronic Contacts
Web
www.vicmrc.com
e-mail
[email protected]
Editor Ian Garth
[email protected]
Club Officials
IPSC Delegate / MRC Grader
MPC Targets Officer
MPC Grader / Amourer
MPC Attendance Officer
MPC Safety Officers
Front Cover
This tank was on display at the Avalon Airshow although it rarely gets
airborne. Soldier on the tank had
the Light Horse Feathers in his hat
as did others in the background.
A very different method of
transport to the WWI soldiers in the
cover of the November/December
issue
MCC Secretary
MPC Safety Instructors
Richard Brown
Raf Lucifora
Frank Griffo
Steve Pattie
Frank Griffo
Angelo Volo
Andrew Deans
Jack Wegman
Laurie Butterley
Kevin Arditto
Steve Pattie
Frank Griffo
Jack Wegman
Eagle Park Man. Committee Rep. Ron Bawden
Springvale Man. Committee Rep Fred Sonnet
I haven’t seen how our new President reacts to
items for the MRC Air Wing yet. Previous
Pres. used to request an offset of a Land Rover. It is not a big picture and before someone
goes to LSD saying “he’s handling a machine
gun,” it is a 20mm cannon and my hand is on
the fairing. A friendly Club member managed
to get me that close to my alternative to walking to war. It is a
Spitfire MkVIII. I didn’t check inside the cowl but the other
MkVIIIs had the Merlin 61. Some of the Darwin based Spitfires had the sharks mouth. The other aircraft behind is the
P40, also used in Darwin and New Guinea. Do you want to
see me up close to the three port Brownings of that one too?
Thanks Rod.
Parabellum
March /April 2011
Page 2
President’s Report March/April 2011
The excitement is building ahead of our annual State Titles at Dookie and various Committee members and others are getting things prepared.
Hopefully we will have slightly friendlier conditions than the sheets of rain and powerful
crosswinds of last year, but with variable conditions it will no doubt be a challenging affair.
The entertainment will also be an added incentive to attend, with Graeme Mills promising all manner of
shenanigans at the Dookie Idol contest.
It’s likely we’ll see several of our new members competing at Dookie, with the new club website
(www.vicmrc.com) attracting a steady stream of interest.
Regular monthly shoots are well underway for the year with a great turnup in March despite the traffic
congestion generated by the Avalon Air Show.
A bonus for shooters was seeing a B1 Bomber flying overhead courtesy of our great mates and allies from
the United States. You’ll see some photos from the Air Show in this issue of Parabellum courtesy of Ian
Garth.
Work continues apace at Little River to create a new range on the left hand side of the main range, which
the MRC will be able to use to great effect once it is complete.
The Combined Services Discipline Nationals will be at the Monarto SSAA Range near Adelaide this year.
More details on the website and in future issues of Parabellum in the near future.
You will see a reminder in this issue of how to score and complete detail sheets. There is little point competing if you fail to observe these basic requirements.
I was pleased to see shooters observing our safety rules at the range in March – eye protection and hearing
protection are mandatory at all MRC shoots without exception.
There is also a reprinted article from Australian Shooter in this issue about the need to stick together and
resist the fragmentation that can threaten the future of shooting clubs.
I look forward to seeing you at Dookie if not before. Until then, shoot safe and shoot straight!
Cheers
Simon Troeth – Victorian MRC President (email me at [email protected])
Our condolence go to Val Gardner on the loss of his wife Shirley who passed away on
Friday 16th March.
The funeral will be on Wednesday 23rd
Parabellum
March /April 2011
Page 3
Around the Campfire with Warren McKay
Hunting clubs popping up like mushrooms
T
wenty years ago, there were only a few well-known hunting and shooting clubs or associations.
Here in Queensland, I knew of the SSAA, Australian Deer Association (ADA) and Field & Game Association and as a keen deer hunter, also of the NSW Deerstalkers Association and Safari Club International
(SCI). My apologies to others I was not aware of.
Looking through some recent issues of Australia’s hunting and shooting magazines, I have been
amazed at the number of ads for hunting clubs. They seem to be popping up like mushrooms - and that’s
just the ones that have advertised. How many more smaller, local clubs are there? I know that in Tasmania, there are a number of regional and even property- based hunting clubs.
Belonging to a club is great, but I have a major concern. If a whole lot of new people are joining a
club that suits their needs that is a good thing. If, on the other hand, members of the larger clubs are
not renewing their memberships, but are opting to go and sign up with a new, smaller club, that has the
potential for problems. I said potential of course.
Most clubs start out with the right ideals and goals for their members. Some are breakaway groups
who are unhappy with the original club, the direction it is taking or, on a personal note, don’t like people
on the committee.
A number of different clubs can be a good thing, but only if all the clubs can have unity of purpose, can overlook perceived differences and are willing to work together for the good of all aspects of
recreational hunting and the shooting sports. We don’t have a very good track record on that account.
Without a unified front, we become a whole lot of little, rather insignificant groups. If we are so
insular that we only
Without a unified front, we become a whole lot of little, rather insignificant groups.
worry about our own little patch of dirt, we are in serious trouble. Those out there who are intent on either
removing all firearms from private ownership or wanting the abolition of hunting are not silly enough to
try to do it all in one great push. No, they pick one small part and work on achieving that objective, then,
they will pick another area to attack. Brick by brick, they are intent on removing the wall.
I am not a pistol shooter or a fullbore rifle competitor, so it is of no concern to me if a government
wants to, say, ban the use of all self-loading pistols for competition or ban the use of military calibres
for fullbore shooting. That sort of thinking will be the slow death of us all. Remember, one brick at a
time. We must be concerned and actively provide our support when any area of our shooting sports is
threatened, even if that area is not of current interest to us personally.
Smaller clubs may be more personal and cater for your specific needs, but on the flipside, they
don’t have the membership numbers and therefore bargaining strength when it comes to dealing with government departments and ministers. For that, you need a large membership and experienced people.
The proliferation of new clubs is not necessarily a bad thing, but be mindful that the more we fragment, the greater is the potential for insular thinking and the more we become a whole lot of little, rather
insignificant groups.
Unity is strength and the ideal scenario would have all the clubs put individual differences aside
and contribute to and support an umbrella organisation that presents a unified front for all aspects of hunting and shooting.
Warren McKay, ‘Around the campfire’ - originally published in Australian Shooter March 2011. Reproduced with kind permission from SSAA National.
Parabellum
March /April 2011
Page 4
Relieving Competition Officer’s Report
Reminders for 2011
Make sure you understand that V’s and 5’s are scored separately
There is an example on the notice board and in the score folders 1 -10
2. Have your scores checked by another competitor who is to sign off on the sheet.
Check scorers please check carefully.
3. Staple the 300m score sheet onto the back of the score sheet showing your 100 and
200m scores and then transfer the 300m scores onto this sheet
4. Transfer your scores across into the Detail book. If not in the detail book your scores
can’t be recorded. You have just wasted 30 rounds.
5. Place you score sheets in the red plastic milk carton marked Score Sheet Here .
6. The white folders are for the 3P competition and the blue folders are for the Special
Competition. It is not that difficult.
Results of the Feb competition
Good news
All 300m score sheets were stapled to the main score sheet
All but 2 competitors had their scores checked and signed off.
Only 3 competitors failed to record scores in the detail book
Bad News
Three competitors miss out on a score.
One competitor who did not have a check scorer had his score reduced by 10pts due to an
error. Not as punishment.
Seven scores checked by check scorers did not have errors picked up.
Check scorers please check carefully.
Read and weep – Below are the errors made by the competitors and not picked up by the
check scorers.
I felt there may be a need to provide answers to assist people working out the solutions.
4+ 6 + 4 = 20
correct answer is 14
4x4 =20
correct answer is 16
3x3 =6
correct answer is 9
4+12+14 =31
correct answer is 30
2x3 =9
correct answer is 6
3x1 =1
correct answer is 3
45+24 =71
correct answer is 69
28% of score sheets had errors .
As can be seen there is room for improvement.
Parabellum
March /April 2011
Page 5
Military Firearm of the Month: The Owen Gun
Known by the fond sobriquet “The Digger’s Darling,” the Owen Machine Carbine was the only Australian
-designed service firearm of WWII and one of two Australian-designed submachine guns along with the
F1.
Its reputation stands today as a cheap, simple and incredibly tough firearm.
Its origins are a tale of Aussie ingenuity, with Wollongong inventor Evelyn “Evo” Owen aged a mere 24 in
July 1939 when he first showed his prototype .22 calibre firearm Australian Army ordnance officers in
Sydney – only to be rejected because the Army did not heed the value of submachine guns.
18 months on, the manager of Lysaght’s Works at Port Kembla Vincent Wardell discovered a machine gun
in a sugar bag next to his garage when he returned home from work. His neighbour, Evelyn’s father, was
reported to be a little upset at his son’s carelessness but would have calmed down a little when Wardell arranged to have Owen transferred to the Army Inventions Board where work on the Owen Gun got underway.
The distinctive vertical magazine aided the feed of 9mm cartridges into the action, which is also notable
for a separate compartment inside the receiver, whereby a small bulkhead isolates the small-diameter bolt
from its retracting handle. This increases reliability by stopping dirt and mud from jamming the bolt.
The Owen Gun came out well ahead when subject to immersion tests in mud, sand and water against the
Sten, Thompson and German Burgmann submachine guns. As well as being beloved by Australian troops
in WWII. Korea and Vietnam, it was also a
favourite of British soldiers.
Further reading
http://www.diggerhistory.info/pages-weapons/
omc.htm
http://www.uow.edu.au/~morgan/owen2.htm
http://world.guns.ru/smg/austr/owen-e.html
Parabellum
March /April 2011
Page 6
A terrific shot of
the Sopwith Pup take
by Maxwell Galvin
taken from his back
yard. People at the
Airshow did not see
good angles like
this.
It looks lightweight
now but in the latter half of 1916 it
inflicted a considerable amount of
damage on German
fighters. Fitted
with a single Vickers firing through
the prop.
This monster was also on display at the No1 Airfield Defence Squadron display. It is the Bushmaster
Parabellum
March /April 2011
Page 7
I think that this is the only Boomerang CA-12 flying today. Designed as a “stopgap” fighter the design
was commenced Jan 21, 1942 and flown 14 weeks later. (Today they would be doing feasibility studies a
year later.) Below: The B1b as few would see it thanks to an unnamed photographer. No names, no pack
drill.
Parabellum
March /April 2011
Page 8