Biathlon rifle

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Biathlon rifle Anschütz 1827F

A biathlon rifle is a small bore rifle used in the sport of biathlon . Biathlon rifles are multi-loading rifles with individually adapted sports stocks, a carrying system and rear sight .

history

Karl-Heinz Wolf at the GDR championships in 1976 , still with the large-bore rifle
Prone shooting, youth, 1970

The origins of the biathlon lie in the military patrol, a competition between ski soldiers. Accordingly, the respective orderly rifles were used as weapons. After the end of World War II , the sport was demilitarized, and in 1954 the IOC recognized biathlon as a sport in its own right. Military weapons were still used for shooting, but these were increasingly converted into competition weapons. The distances in a competition were 100, 150, 200 and 250 meters. In 1959, Soviet athletes started with the Mosin-Nagant- based Bi-59 , the first rifle specifically designed for biathlon. The Swedes used the CG 63S . In 1963, the measure of 6.5 millimeters was established as the uniform caliber . In 1966, instead of the different target distances, a distance of 150 meters was introduced for all four target exercises.

Klaus Siebert 1978, small bore rifle with lever-operated breech and simple carrying system

In 1978 the caliber 5.6 × 15 mm R was introduced , accompanied by a shortening of the shooting distance to 50 meters. Since then, all biathlon weapons have been multi-loaders in this caliber.

ammunition

The ammunition has the caliber .22 lfB , which corresponds to a diameter of 5.6 mm. The projectile must not exceed a muzzle velocity of 360 m / s and must weigh between 2.55 and 2.75 grams.

technology

Tina Bachmann with an Anschütz rifle

Today's biathlon rifles are multi -loading rifles in caliber 5.6 × 15 mm R. Self-loading rifles are not permitted. The weight of the weapons can be between 3.5 and 7.5 kilograms. A manual backup does not exist. Biathlon rifles are available in right-handers and - mirror-inverted - in left-handers.

Run

The barrel length is not limited, nor is the total length of the weapons. Therefore, the barrels are optimized for the performance of the ammunition, which in practice has established a more or less uniform barrel length.

Anschütz turns and drills its barrels from a piece of metal, while the barrels from the Russian manufacturer Ischmasch are cold-hammered .

Clasp

While the first small-caliber biathlon rifles, like their large-caliber predecessors, were still equipped with chamber locks, the athletes were early looking for ways to reduce the reload time to the absolutely necessary minimum while adhering to the regulations. For this purpose, straight pull locks were designed, initially by Finland and the Soviet Union, which worked with a lever transmission. In Suhl , a lower loader or pistol grip repeater was developed in which the slide was moved with one movement of the pistol grip. The advantage of this construction was that the shooter did not have to take his index finger off the trigger. At the beginning of the 1980s, Peter Fortner designed a straight pull bolt with no leverage, which is opened with the index finger and closed again with the thumb of the shooting hand. This system gradually gained acceptance worldwide; Currently (2018) over 95 percent of all biathletes use this system in international competitions. The Fortner lock locks with 6 balls, which are arranged radially.

Deduction

The trigger must be surrounded by a trigger guard, its minimum trigger pull is 0.5 kilograms. Within this value, the deductions are individually adapted to the athlete in terms of travel and pressure point.

magazine

The magazine capacity is limited to 5 cartridges. Only single-row bar magazines are used, although the design is not regulated. For the relay competitions, 3 spare cartridges may be carried per shooting, either in an extra magazine or elsewhere on the weapon. In practice, the reserve cartridges are carried individually in corresponding holes in the shaft, the position of the holes varies from athlete to athlete.

Sights

Magnifying optics are not permitted; open sights must be used. As with most sporting weapons, the diopter sight has also established itself in biathlon , as it enables the best hit images to be achieved. Flaps on the front of the rear sight front sight protect against snowflakes or raindrops that could block the line of sight during cross-country skiing. The use of the flaps is optional, if it rains or does not snow, most athletes never close them during the race. Some athletes always close their valves out of habit, although this is e.g. B. after the last shooting no longer brings any advantage even in bad weather.

shaft

The stocks of the weapons are individually adapted to the athlete in terms of shape and appearance, personal preferences also play a role here. Further provisions of the regulations are: the distance between the barrel axis and the underside of the fore-end including magazine and trigger guard must not exceed 140 millimeters, the cheek rest must not be thicker than 40 millimeters, folding stocks are prohibited. The shooting sling, which is used for prone shooting, is attached to the underside of the fore-end.

Carrying system

Frank Ullrich at the GDR championships in 1982 , the attachment of the shooting sling on the left upper arm.

The rifles are carried by the athletes on their backs during the running lap, the muzzle must point upwards. The rifle is positioned vertically by means of a backpack-like shoulder strap; the risers must not exceed 40 millimeters in width. The carrying systems are becoming more and more sophisticated; For about ten years now, a partially upholstered system with rigid spacers between the attachment points on the shaft and the straps has established itself. The carrying system sits on the side of the rifle, on the side facing away from the slide mechanism - i.e. on the left for right-handers.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d The history of russian biathlon rifles. gunsa.ru, accessed on February 3, 2019 .
  2. ^ Crown Jewels: The Mauser in Sweden. www.collectorbookstore.com, accessed February 3, 2019 .
  3. ↑ a b c J.G. ANSCHÜTZ GmbH & Co. KG - Biathlon - the sport. jga.anschuetz-sport.com, accessed on February 3, 2019 .
  4. ↑ a b c d e f g h Annexes to the IBU event and competition rules. In: res.cloudinary.com. 2018, pp. 8–10 , accessed on February 3, 2019 (English).
  5. ^ Biathlon Basic - Russian Rimfire within AccurateShooter.com. www.accurateshooter.com, accessed February 3, 2019 .
  6. ↑ This German invention is used in 95% of rifles in biathlon. In: Quartz . qz.com, accessed February 3, 2019 .
  7. ↑ a b IBU event and competition rules. Pp. 3–52 , accessed on February 3, 2019 (English).

Web links

Commons : Biathlon Rifles  - Collection of images, videos and audio files