bowji john

I'm expecting great things when my Vudoo arrives

Will be majorly disappointed if it proves no better than the humble 452

Couple of efforts today

Gecco semi-auto out of a CZ 452 @ 150m

Wind 4 mph left to right

Temp 8 degrees

Bench rested 5 shot groups

 

 

 

Does precision centre & rim fire target shooting have a future if the proposed EU lead ban gains traction here and includes target shooting?

I know there are some knowledgeable folk on here

Just wondered what peoples' thoughts are

I can't offer any useful comment at the moment

However I've ordered RWS R50, rifle match and club

I'm going to do cold bore and temperature related MV's, (their average and SD,s) together with vertical stringing @ 100m in order to build up dope for the kesler 570

Rifles they will be tested out of are as follow

Cz 452 20" barrel

R8 also 20" I believe

Vudoo 20" Kukri barrel

Will post on here if people are interested

That's a blast from the past

Yes I remember it

This a while ago but these images are typical of my CZ 452 @ 100m using Gecco semi-auto

 

In field conditions it is always humbling when you are on unfamiliar ground

I can hit a 2" target with my 452 'with my eyes closed' @ 100m on my own grounds

As soon as I'm anywhere I'm not familiar with, that 'dead eyed dick' seems to have gone somewhere else

The delights of .22 rim and why it is such excellent training

Top group looks really good - what range was that at ?

You re ahead of me

I intend to get that HUD but the list of equipment is long and bank balance weak 🙂

Ta

I get through about 1000 rds per week at the mo

Mostly to develop unsupported shooting skills at 100m

I hesitate to work out what cost that might translate as when moving to match qual for the Vudoo

11 minutes ago, One on top of two said:

What ammo ? 

For the CZ 452 I use 40 grain win and Geco 40 grain semi-auto

It seem to like both

Having now invested in a kestral and 'applied ballistics' I will now check MV(and ES)  for both and concern myself with trans 'speed of sound' issues

All good fun - learning all the time

I get approx 1.5 MOA from my old cz 452 - off bench 

That is consistent out to 150m

Am about to order a Vudoo v22  - 22" barrel with a MDT Chassis 

This is to be a trainer on a PRL type course I have set up on my farm using 2" and 3" targets out to 200m (which is all I can stretch to)

I hope to play in the PRL next (or this year) using a 6.5 creed that I'm hoping the MDT chassis will fit

I've put my name down for one

I've played around the edges of the PRL

I shall now become a fully paid up member of the 'all the gear and no idea' gang

I've been (and will continue) shooting an approximation of the PRL on my own land from 100 to 200 meters using .22LR

With luck it will help next year if and when it starts up again

Now sold

Chargemaster 1500 combo - Unneeded Christmas present

Unopened, unused

£425 delivered

Isn't it just typical of the plod bullshit.

Oooh no,you can't have a .338LM (which can shoot a 225 grain bullet) 'cos it's too much gun......but we are okay with a 30-338LM firing a 240gr bullet!!

 

I remember years ago being allowed a 22lr for rabbit shooting, and later on I asked to change it for a 17hmr to be told that "I could not have of those because they can penetrate body armour" Really? So the .308 that I also have can't do that then?

 

Cancelled my comment

Sorry if the above was a bit long winded

I didn't talk about polishing ....

 

Polishing can be done using a leather ‘belt’ style strop tied to a fixed object and pulled taught. Alternatively use a piece of leather ‘cloth’ on a hard flat surface and apply a polishing agent to the leather (e.g. ‘Starkie Blue’ – also known as Smurf poo!).

 

Take care to maintain a flat surface when stropping or polishing to avoid introducing a secondary bevel - a common mistake when beginners sharpen their knives

 

Oiling

 

Once polished apply a coating of oil to blade and tang.

 

Types of oil include gun oil, vegetable oil, goose / bacon fat or food grade walnut oil

 

For a good/suitable knife you can pay anything from £12.00 (e.g mora) to a £650.00 custom jobbie

 

I have both

 

If I were to go for another I will choose one made from RWL 34 from either Frenchie ( http://www.customknivesandsticks.co.uk/)or Steve ( http://www.swc-handmade-knives.co.uk )

The bushcraft Knife

The knife is probably the most important piece of equipment in our armoury. With a knife, and accompanied by knowledge of bushcraft skills and the environment, there is little that can’t be accomplished. Building shelters, creating fire, sterilising water are all tasks that are made a simpler with aid of a knife.

There are so many knives out there, some of which ‘look cool’; designed to grab our attention, others sit quietly in the shadows, look very plain, and yet tick all the boxes.

The Anatomy of a Knife

 

 

Despite its looks, a knife is a complex piece of kit with many variations in design. These variations require careful consideration.

 

 

Key Elements of a Good Bushcraft Knife

 

Type of metal

 

There are many different metal technologies applied to knife construction. However two most common steels used in blade making are:

 

· high carbon steel

· stainless steel

 

Both have advantages and disadvantages.

 

Stainless steel

 

Stainless steel blades contain chromium which aid the blade in resistance to corrosion (hence ‘stainless’).

 

If you were fishing by the sea or worked in damp conditions a stainless blade may be a good choice as your tools would be more resistant to rust.

 

Stainless steel blades can be slightly harder to sharpen and depending on the metal type the edge retention may not last as long as high carbon steels (this applies more to older stainless technologies as chromium softens the blade).

 

The latest stainless blades e.g. RWL 34 can be exceptional and in some cases outperform high carbon blades.

 

High carbon steel

 

The steel considered ideal for a bushcraft blade is 1095 carbon steel meaning that it contains 0.95% carbon.

 

The higher the carbon content of a blade, the harder and tougher the blade will be, making the edge retention much greater.

 

The disadvantage of high carbon steel is that it can be brittle and susceptible to corrosion. Such blades are often coated to stop corrosion and require a regular coating of oil or lubrication to stop rust.

 

This shouldn’t put you off as maintenance of gear is a routine discipline in the field.

 

Fixed or Folding

 

There are some good folding knives on the market today. Perhaps the most useful for our purposes is the multi tool - a pair of pliers plus multiple blades can be very useful.

 

However our knife is going to be used for some fairly heavy duty tasks and folding knives are generally not tough enough to cope.

 

Fixed blade knives are generally preferred. However not all fixed blades are equal .....!

 

Tang

 

The tang is the part of the knife that extends behind the blade and inserts or connects with the handle via a spike or tongue

 

There are a number of different knife tangs, their purpose being to form the part of the knife to which the handle is attached.

 

There are a range of different tang designs however for the purposes of our understanding we can concentrate on two groups:

 

· Full tang

· Hidden tang(s)

 

Full Tang blades are by far the toughest, simply because the knife and handle form a solid piece. The handle is constructed from two pads, known as scales, which are bolted (sometimes glued) to the blade much like the grips

on a pistol.

 

The full tang has stood the test of time and is the preferred design for bushcraft knives.

 

In contrast, the hidden tang is buried within the handle. For reasons we will explore later this is less suitable to our needs.

 

Length of Blade

 

Blade length and style are important aspects of a bushcraft knife. Our knife is a multi functional tool that will be expected to undertake a variety of tasks:

 

· Splitting logs and processing wood

· Intricate carving

· Skinning game

· Cutting cordage

· Striking a spark from a ferrocerium rod

 

With such a diverse range of tasks there is no perfect blade. A 7 inch blade may be an excellent wood splitter but overkill when trying to carve a spoon. Conversely a 3 inch blade makes all those intricate jobs (e.g. skinning and carving) easier but struggles to split logs.

 

One option is to carry two knives – for example a 3 inch ‘neck knife’ for the intricate work and a 6 inch blade for the heavy duty stuff.

 

Alternatively choose a good quality knife with a 4 inch blade as a ‘jack of all trades’ that will cope with all tasks adequately.

 

(If you are just starting out choose a 3 - 4 inch blade as it will do almost all jobs satisfactorily and you will find controlling the blade far easier. Blade control is important for safety).

 

Bevel, Edge and Grind

 

Serrated edge

 

Serrations on a knife blade provide a sawing function which can be useful. However with most designs the serrated edge takes up too much of the primary part of the knife.

 

A serrated edge on the spine of the blade is unsuitable as we use this part of the blade as the striking point when ‘battening’ (see cutting techniques).

 

Additionally serrated edges are harder to sharpen in the field. The perceived advantage of the serrated edge of easier cutting is matched by a well maintained ‘straight ‘edge which should be kept sharp and therefore just as capable at cutting.

 

Straight edge

 

A straight edge is preferred for a bush craft knife as it can be kept razor sharp (see sharpening) and is the most functional edge for most jobs in the field.

 

Bevel

 

The bevel is the name given to the tapering of the blade (usually from the centre of the blade) to the edge. The shape of the bevel can vary and these variations are as a consequence of different types of ‘grind’.

 

 

Grinds

 

Concave (or hollow) grind

 

A concave grind is commonly found on filleting knives.

 

Convex grind

 

A convex grind is ideal for chopping. It is typical of an axe blade.

 

V. (or flat) grind

 

Preferred for kitchen knives.

 

Scandinavian grind

 

This grind is ideal for the bushcraft knife. It is robust, easy to maintain and sharpen in the field.

 

Point

 

Clip point

 

Found on the Bowie knife this kind of point provides good control. Occasionally the top curved section is sharp providing a second cutting surface. The disadvantage of the

clip point blade is that it's relatively sharp and narrow tip has a tendency to be weak and break easily.

 

Spear point

 

Found on daggers and fighting knives, this point is not dissimilar to the drop point but often lacks the depth and thickness that the bushcraft blade requires.

 

Drop point

 

Provides good control and with a big belly is tough - it is the ideal all rounder. This is recommended for a bushcraft knife

 

Tanto point

 

Commonly found on Japanese swords

 

 

Knife Handling

 

Carrying

 

UK Knife Law

 

Under UK law it is illegal to:

 

· sell a knife of any kind (including cutlery and kitchen knives) to anyone under 18

· carry a knife in public without good reason - unless it’s a knife with a folding blade 3 inches long (7.62 cm) or less, e.g. a Swiss Army knife

· carry, buy or sell any type of banned knife

· use any knife in a threatening way (even a legal knife, such as a Swiss Army knife)

 

The maximum penalty for an adult carrying a knife is 4 years in prison and a fine of £5,000.

Acceptable reasons for carrying a knife (Use caution - the police might have a different point of view)

Examples of ‘acceptable’ reasons to carry a knife in public can include:

 

· taking knives you use at work to and from work

· you’re taking knives to a gallery or museum to be exhibited

· the knife is going to be used for theatre, film, television, historical re-enactment or religious purposes (e.g. the kirpan some Sikhs carry)

· fishing

· bushcraft in the woods

However a court will decide if you’ve got a good reason to carry a knife if you’re charged with carrying it illegally.

Knives that are illegal

There is a complete ban on some knives – they are too detailed to list here but those typically used for bushcraft are not banned.

 

Sheaths

 

A good sheath protects both the knife and the carrier. Get into the habit of always returning the knife to its sheath (even mid-task) rather than laying it on the ground or placing it in a pocket

 

 

Passing a knife to someone safely

 

The safest way to pass a knife to someone is:

 

· Handle first

· Edge of blade up

· With spine of blade lying along the arm of the giver

Cutting Techniques

 

· Forehand grip – strongest grip

· Backhand grip – whittling or making cordage

· Chest lever – strong , good control

· Battening – using a mallet or stick to drive the blade into a log to split it – this puts a great deal of stress on a knife hence the preference for a full tang blade.

 

Slicing action works best. Following grain of the wood is easiest

 

 

Safety

 

· Think about the follow through – take care not to get yourself or others in the way

· When sitting down keep elbows on knees – this keeps a stable working platform

· Stop when tired

· Keep1st aid kit nearby

 

Care and Maintenance

 

· Blade needs to kept sharp – a dull blade is ineffective and dangerous

· High carbon steel is prone to rust - keep clean dry and lightly oiled

· Many wood saps stain and rust the blade – clean carefully after every use

 

Sharpening & Polishing

 

Sharpening is a skilled process that requires care and practice

 

· Use a ceramic or Japanese Wet Stone system - 800 to 6000 grades

· Lay blade on stone and tilt until bevel lies flat against the stone

· Working the blade away from you stroke the blade with the bevel flat against the stone

· Once a slight curl to the edge of the blade can be felt with finger or finger nail, reverse the side and repeat. There is no point continuing with the same grade of stone thereafter as you are only grinding away at the blade, rather honing the edge. Either stop at that point or choose a higher grade stone for a finer edge

· Flatten stone off using ‘dressing stone’ or equiv to prevent hollowing out thestone face

 

Alternatives include:

 

· Oil stones

· DC3 and DC4 or Spyderco ceramic stones

· Diamond stones

· Wet and Dry stuck onto a piece of wood

· Pebble from beach or river bank

· Gransfor puck

· Birch polypore fungi Piptoporus betulinus (or razor strop) - used when dried out

Just a heads up there is a fallkniven Phk in the for sales.

 

The knife in my rucksack is a Esse 5, amongst other things comes with an excellent kydex sheath.

 

I've got the Esse 6 and the little neck knife they do - the Azula

 

The Esse 5 looks like a great tool - bit chunky - but very similar in dimensions to the standard survival knife the MOD issues

 

The other advantage to Esse knives is that they apparently carry an unconditional life time warrenty

That was the summer of 1903 though

On courses I attended in the forces, we had to work out distance using mills on objects that we were previously expected to have measured the approx sizes of

 

We all wandered around taking measurements of door sills, fence heights, landrover and car heights etc etc etc

 

All went into a little 'snipers field book'.

 

Laser rangers were considered to be unreliable in the field for a host of different reasons - plus we had to 'do it the hard way' first

Excellent articles TG

 

Thanks

 

J

My preference would be for the mora also - cheap, functional with a high carbon steel blade - it keeps a keen edge and is easy to sharpen in the field

 

Folding knives as a rule are avoided as bushcraft / survival tools as they don't stand up to the riggers of processing wood for fires (battening and splitting and the like).

 

Orange handle is often found in survival packs for the obvious reason that they are easier to spot than the 'you can't see me' colours when you drop them or put them down somewhere