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Nottinghamshire Rifle Association

Providing support for smallbore, fullbore, and black powder shooting clubs in the county

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Gallery & Lightweight Sport Rifle
Bench Rest, Pistol & Air Competitions

We started a league-based Lightweight Sport Rifle (LWSR) competition early in 2016. Those of you who already shoot LWSR will be aware of the satisfaction that can come from this discipline. For those that have not tried it, here is a brief overview.

LWSR prone shooting at 25 yards

LWSR is a fairly new discipline that has become more popular since the UK ban on centre fire and rim fire pistols in 1997. In recent years it has taken off with great enthusiasm and has become a very popular form of shooting.

LWSR uses a lightweight rifle of no more than 4.5kg in weight, with either semi-automatic or single shot bolt action magazine feed. Sights can be either iron or telescopic dependant on the competition to be shot. Specialist clothing or equipment such as jackets or slings are not permitted, however a glove can be used for the supporting hand if desired. The proscription of shooting jackets and other equipment makes the discipline attractive as it reduces the cost of participation.

LWSR prone and benchrest

LWSR is usually shot at distances of between 20 yards and 50 meters including precision and timed competitions in standing, kneeling or prone position. This discipline can be extremely challenging, as it is difficult to hold the rifle steady and centred on the target.

The current National Smallbore Rifle Association (NSRA) Gallery Rifle & Pistol Committee definition for LWSR can be summarised as follows.

Allowed:

Benchrest shooting at 25 yards

Not allowed:

Competitions are held under NSRA postal rules with some local adaptation depending on the competition type.

Since starting these league competitions, we have expanded to new disciplines in response to demand from our members and we now offer the following:—

Comp: DisciplineTarget & Distance
201: LWSR Semi-Auto Prone UnsupportedBM2510 25 yds
202: LWSR Standing Unsupported PL14 20yds or PL15 25yds
301: Underlever CF Open SightsPL19 20yds or PL12 25yds
302: Underlever CF Optical SightsPL19 20yds or PL12 25yds
402: Benchrest LWSR2510BR15/18 25 yds
403: Benchrest LWSR Single Shot Rifle2510BR15/18 25yds
501: Long Barrelled Pistol CF Iron SightsPL12 20yds or PL7 or ISFF 25/50m 25yds
502: Long Barrelled Pistol CF Optical SightsPL12 20yds or PL7 or ISFF 25/50m 25yds
503: Long Barrelled Pistol RF Iron SightsPL12 20 yds or PL7 or ISFF 25/50m 25yds
504: Long Barrelled Pistol RF Optical SightsPL12 20yds or PL7 or ISFF 25/50m 25yds
505: Muzzle Loading PistolPL12 20yds or PL7 or ISFF 25/50m 25m
506: 10m Air PistolAir14/89 10m
601: Sporting Air RiflePL15 20yds

We do hope that all of the club members who shoot Gallery & LWSR in the County will participate and encourage their club mates to have a go. Towards this end we welcome new entrants of all abilities and the assistance of club captains to act as officials within the clubs.

If you would like to take part in future Gallery & LWSR league competitions, or would like more information about them, please email us via this email link. We welcome entries from any Notts. RA affiliated club. The more competitors there are the more challenging the shooting. You can also keep up to date with current information here on the Nottinghamshire Rifle Association website. If you subscribe to the website update news email you will be alerted to developments - see the page footer below for the free subscription link.


Results of our Gallery & LWSR League competitions can be reached via the links below.

The Summer 2020, Winter 2020-21 and Summer 2021 seasons were not held because of the Covid-19 pandemic.