LEVELLING UP? SGC AND JSB JOIN FORCES

Fans of second-hand and antique guns will no doubt be delighted by the news that a new auction powerhouse is emerging in the north. Lonsdales Auctioneers is holding its inaugural firearms sale on 9 November 2023. The auction house, run by John Tamlin (pictured), holds a Section 5 authority allowing them to handle prohibited weapons and ammunition.

John explains: “Since opening, our geographical convenience has been highlighted by a number of elderly gunowners who have contacted us wishing to dispose of their guns without leaving the inconvenience of disposal to relatives and, at the same time, being able to realise their value. This has become even more apparent when clients wish to dispose of Section 5 items.”

For more, see Auction View on page 23.

The Sportsman Gun Centre Group has announced that they will be the UK and Ireland’s official importer for JSB ammunition. Through this new venture SGC and JSB hope to grow market share and increase availability to airgun shooters in the UK and Ireland.

JSB munitions have been the competitor’s choice for years, winning countless competitions and championships. Unrivalled in shot-to-shot consistency, accuracy and quality, JSB is the choice of leading manufacturers, hunters and sportsmen.

JSB recognise that manufacturing processes and tolerance vary between gunmakers. To this end many of the products are offered in minute varia- tions (0.01mm/0.025g). It is these variations that ensure the perfect pellet to gun fit and an unrivalled level of accuracy and performance.

As part of the SGC’s commitment to JSB and the British and Irish markets, the group will be including a UK identification mark so dealers and the public know they are buying the genuine/official product imported through the correct channels. This process will ensure that JSB’s good name is upheld and consistent pricing is maintained.

SGC Managing Director and founder Gary Lamburn said: “SGC are proud to represent the world’s leading brand in airgun ammunition. JSB offer the best all-round performance of any pellets we have

The British Shooting Sports Council gave a cautious welcome to the proposals, with Secretary Graham Downing telling us: will also allow the users to continue shooting with the ammunition for originally designed.

“We are encouraged by the fact that the Health & Safety Executive is not proposing to restrict the use of lead in airguns or for hunting with bulleted ammunition. Likewise, target rifle shooters will benefit from a derogation that will enable them to use lead ammunition provided that the range they are shooting on complies with NRA codes of practice on lead recovery. We believe that most established ranges will already be in compliance. This will also allow the users of vintage, historic and muzzle loading rifles to continue shooting with the ammunition for which their guns were originally designed.

“HSE is proposing a five-year transition for lead shot. The live quarry shooting associations have already signed up to a voluntary phase-out for shotgun shooting, but there will undoubtedly be a challenge for clay shooting, which consumes around 70% of all the shotgun ammunition sold in the UK, and it remains to be seen how the derogation for elite international clay shooting competitors will work.

“The 60-day public consultation is now open and we will see whether this will affect the Health & Safety Executive’s final proposals, and how Ministers will react to them.” seen. Our plan is to stock enough ammunition to accelerate the brand to new heights and fulfil every shooter’s needs.”

Shooting On A Solid

Machined from a solid piece of composite, without any voids or air pockets, a Foundation stock requires no bedding or pillars and is a natural vibration and recoil absorber. This gives them their infamous ‘vibrationally-dead’ feeling, boosting inherent accuracy to the next level!

This method vs traditional composite stock manufacturing gives several advantages:

The solid block gives a dense homogenous material that is absent of any voids or air pockets commonly found in composite stocks.

The structure, density and stability of the material allows them to machine structural geometry into the composite to create a balanced stock while maintaining high levels of strength and rigidity.

The high compression strength allows Foundation to build an action/DBM specific stock that requires no bedding or pillars. The consistency of material gives the ability to model and test stock changes reliably.