A biathlon rifle is a specialized rifle designed for use in a biathlon event. Specialist biathlon rifles are usually equipped with straight-pull actions, integrated magazine carriers, and ergonomic stock designs suitable for both prone and standing positions.Anatomy of an Olympic Biathlon Rifle
Sanctioning bodies Biathlon rifles are usually built to comply with technical regulations of a competition sanctioning body. The most well known is the International Biathlon Union (IBU), which holds competitions in winter biathlon, which is part of the Winter Olympics, as well as summer biathlon events.
Other biathlon sanctioning bodies and their competitions include: Finnish Hunters' Association: Moose Biathlon and Moose Shooting with Cross-Country Running. International Shooting Sport Federation: Target Sprint. International Military Sports Council (CISM): Military patrol, as well as biathlon based on IBU rules. International Biathlon Orienteering Federation: Orienteering shooting. Nordic Field Biathlon and Nordic shooting with cross-country running, arranged by the National Rifle Association of Norway and the Swedish Shooting Sport Federation.
Technical
Stock Biathlon stocks tend to be built for performance, and often have some unique ergonomic design features compared to traditional rifle stocks. One of these features is the shape of the pistol grip, which often has a distinct thumb rest, allowing the thumb of the firing hand to rest pointing upwards. This helps isolate the movement of the trigger finger from the movement of the thumb, which are known to have a tendency to move together as a form of sympathetic reflex.Gamle Bærum Pistolklubb - 1 Minimum Arc of MovementMultiBrief: 7 trigger control errors and how to fix themFive Drills for Trigger Finger Isolation: Anticipating Recoil, Milking and Sympathetic Squeeze - The Loadout Room Biathlon stocks are often ergonomically shaped for both the prone and standing position, and often have a distinct raiser block for the standing position. To aid in prone shooting, a hand-stop is often attached to the stock, as well as pouches for carrying extra magazines and modules for carrying extra single rounds.
Carrying harness and sling The shooting sling is usually only attached to the hand stop of the rifle, and has a hook which quickly can be attached to the athlete's arm before shooting and detached before skiing.
The carrying harness is usually attached both to the harness rail located on the front of the rifle and butt of the stock allowing the athlete to comfortably carry the rifle on the back. The carrying harness usually does not double as a shooting support.Maverick Biathlon - Harness How To GuideYouTube - Biathlon Carrying Harness The carrying harness is designed to let the biathlete carry the rifle with minimal hindrance, and in such a way, increase performance in the ski track.
Equipment weight limit For IBU competitions, the total weight of the unloaded rifle has to be between . The current weight limit was established around the 1986 season after Glen Eberle showed the world a new and lighter stock design. At that time olympic biathlon rifles usually weighed well over 5 kg, and it was a common belief that a rifle needed to be somewhat heavy in order to be stable enough to shoot accurately, particularly with the fast heart rate and shortness of breath experienced during a biathlon race. Another contribution to the relatively high weight was to make the stocks stronger, since biathlon stocks commonly were known to be at risk of breaking around the pistol grip area when the athlete fell. Eberle set out to make a stronger and lighter design, and received a research grant from the United States Olympic Committee. He consulted engineers, biomechanical experts and NASA scientists, and the work resulted in a design which combined wood of Sitka spruce and carbon fiber composite materials. This resulted in a biathlon stock that was 1.6 kg lighter than any on the market, a substantial weight saving on a 20 km biathlon race. In addition to being easier to carry while skiing, Eberle also felt he had demonstrated that an athlete with a lightweight, but well balanced and ergonomically correct rifle, would shoot better than with the conventional heavy rifles. The Eberle stock quickly became popular, with most athletes competing with either the Eberle stock or similar designs. After some initial resistance, the world biathlon governing body accepted the new low weight design, and used it as a standard for the current 3.5 kg limit.
It is not uncommon for athletes to add extra weights to the front of the barrel (i.e. 100 grams), thereby making for steadier aiming by moving the balance point of the rifle forward.Fast alle Biathleten in Sotschi schießen mit Ulmer Waffen von Anschütz Südwest Presse Online
Action and trigger Straight pull and toggle actions are popular. In IBU competitions, conventional bolt actions are still used to some extent, but usually only as an affordable alternative for beginners. IBU rules require that the trigger pull weight must be at least . A manual safety is not required.
Fullbore bolt-action rifles are typically used in moose biathlon and Nordic field biathlon competitions. Nordic field biathlon rules stipulate a minimum trigger pull of in the diopter classes, and in the scope classes.
During skiing, the bolt is normally kept closed to prevent snow from entering the action either due to precipitation or in case the athlete falls. Snow entering the action could cause issues with precision or with cycling the action, or in the worst case cause a safety issue.
Ammunition Smallbore biathlon rifles used today are usually chambered for the .22 LR (5.6×15 mmR) cartridge. Temperatures below can have a significant effect on the reliability and accuracy of most rimfire firearms and ammunition, and some manufacturers therefore certify their production rifles by recording group sizes at for example . Special purpose cold weather biathlon ammunition is also available, and the ammunition lot used should ideally also be cold-tested in the particular rifle to ensure that the combination of rifle and ammunition gives a good precision.
IBU competitions, such as in biathlon at the Winter Olympics, uses the .22 LR cartridge only. The cartridge was standardized for IBU biathlon competitions in 1978. Current rules require that the muzzle velocity must not exceed 360 m/s, and the bullet must weigh between 2.55 and 2.75 grams. .22 LR is also the only approved cartridge in the Nordic field biathlon smallbore class. The .17 HMR cartridge is permitted in the moose biathlon smallbore class, and is predominant due to better ballistics at 100 meters.
In fullbore moose biathlon and Nordic field biathlon, 6.5×55 mm and .308 Winchester are the most common cartridges. Any cartridge up to 8×57mm is permitted in the scope class of Nordic field biathlon, however, the cartridge should be suitable for the targets and firing distances, which can be 1 mrad (3.4 moa) sized targets anywhere from 100 to 600 meters.
Sights The sights need to be rugged in order to keep the zero in case the competitor falls, and often have added protection to keep snow from entering the sight.
In IBU competitions, only non-magnified diopter rear and globe front sights are permitted. Most classes in Nordic field biathlon are also restricted to diopter sights. A blinder or eyecup is often used instead of eye protection, but this is an optional feature. Globe front sight inserts used in IBU competitions usually have aperture openings between 2.8 and 3.4 mm.Shooting Technique - Presentation by Lars Håkonsen, Bø Skiskyttarlag 2006/2008 Most Russian rear sights are adjusted following the counterclockwise (CCW) convention, while German diopter sights often are adjusted clockwise (CW).Vital Biathlon School - Revised in 2007 by Roar Nilsen. Revised again in 2012.
Scope sights are permitted in moose biathlon competitions, as well as in the scope class in Nordic field biathlon. In moose biathlon, the shooting is performed standing at a distance of 100 meters. Magnification of the scope sight can be chosen at the preference of the competitor. For example, scopes with variable magnification between 4-12 or 8-20 are common. Experienced competitors have a tendency to shoot with the scope set to a higher magnification than beginners. In Nordic ski field shooting, the firing distances can be the same as in Nordic field shooting, i.e. between 100 and 600 meters.
The amount of sight adjustment performed with one click varies with type of firearm. Competition air and smallbore rifles typically have finer sight adjustments. In fullbore biathlon, both optical and iron sights usually have 0.1 mrad (0.3 MOA) adjustments.
Barrel length
In IBU, the competition rules does not specify the barrel length and total length of the firearm, and firearms designers have therefore optimized these parameters to achieve optimal and stable performance from the ammunition across different weather conditions. Barrel lengths are usually around , and the overall length is usually around . Many .22 LR barrels used in biathlon feature a choked (constricted) muzzle, presumably to achieve better performance in cold weather. Choked muzzles are also commonly seen in other high precision competition rifles, like in free rifle (ISSF 50 meter prone and three positions).
In moose biathlon, barrel length must be within the legal requirements for hunting moose. In the Nordic field biathlon diopter class, only three standard barrel lengths are approved (). No barrel length restrictions apply to the scope class in Nordic field biathlon.
Maintenance Maintenance of biathlon rifles in general follows the common principles of firearm maintenance. This includes checking that all screws are properly tightened (stock, action, sights, sling, carrying harness and accessories), inspecting the stock for cracks and lubricating all gliding parts.DFS Grasrot - Puss og behandling av .22 LR våpen (11 Sep 2018)
After long use of .22 LR rifles, lead deposits can have a tendency to build up in the receiver, which can require more thorough cleaning once in a while to ensure continued precision and smooth operation without jams. A dirty action is seldom an issue on fullbore biathlon rifles, except for some self loading designs.
Some special considerations include if the biathlon rifle has been used in cold temperatures, in which case condensation may form on the cold surfaces of the firearm when it is taken inside. Wet weather may also cause moisture on the firearm. In such cases, it is common to dry and "acclimatize" the firearm in room temperature for a short while (i.e. an hour) before applying lubricant. The bolt and any snow covers should then be left open to help remove moisture.Puss og stell av våpen Tromsø skiskytterlag (English: Firearm maintenance | Tromsø Biathlon Club)
During a competition, the exchange of a broken firearm to a spare one is only possible after inspection and with the permission of the Range Master.Biathlon - The rifle t-online.de
Models Smallbore Anschütz
The current sport standard is the Anschütz 1827 Fortner, which is reported to be used by an estimated 97% of biathlon competitors worldwide.