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Shooting at Taupo NZDA range.

Where to shoot in NZ – Taupo NZDA

Land in New Zealand is at a premium, especially in Auckland. Because of this and the high density of our cities, finding a place where you can comfortably shoot a centrefire rifle has become quite a challenge. Living in the suburbs, I get to shoot rimfire at the local range, and even pistol if the mood strikes me, but there aren’t any convenient locations to shoot high-powered rifles within less than a 45-minute drive.

PPU brass and Federal Large Rifle Match primers.

Accuracy in reloading

Just how important is accuracy in reloading? Well, it depends how accurate you want your rounds to be. The key to achieving consistently good rounds is removing every source of variance possible – you are going for repeatability. In other words, to get your bullets in the same hole every time, you need to make sure that all  the variables that go into making them are as controlled as possible.

JW-15 with adjusted trigger in Boyds varmint stock.

JW-15 trigger improvement

There are many that will say that the Norinco JW-15 is an excellent tool. An implement meant to be thrown on the quad bike or back seat, and touted around the farm for practical purposes. I agree with those people 100 per cent, but I also think that with a little bit of elbow grease, this humble Brno-clone can be a decent shooter. One of the first things you can improve is the trigger.

No.1 Mk iii extracting Mk 7 round.

303 SMLE bolt stiff on extraction

Getting my own .303 was a dream come true. It’s a cartridge and rifle with a storied history and a pretty good performance, even by modern standards. What I was particularly looking forward to was the “buttery smooth” action I’ve heard so much about. But mine wasn’t. After removing a good deal of rust and gunk from this historic weapon, I headed down to the local service rifle club to have a shoot. The results were less than spectacular.