Match tools and spares kit

Your chances of getting to the end of a long match can be greatly improved by carrying some basic items in your rangebag.

Exactly how far this list goes probably depends on how far you intend to go! In other words if you are going to a match that involves a lot of travel or is part of a championship that you are trying to win then being forced out by a breakdown will be something you need to avoid at all costs.

• Gun spares are very important unless you plan to bring a complete spare gun, as many people do, however some airlines charge per gun and this quickly adds up if there are connecting flights where each leg has a charge for each gun. Different guns are likely to have different needs but as a rule of thumb competitors in Standard or Modified will be pretty safe if they have all the parts of their shell latch assembly (including the bolt release button and the screw that holds it on), a magazine spring plus a follower, a complete trigger group (with extended lifter if you use one) and a bolt head or a complete bolt. The bolt head covers extractor issues without the need for a vice to hammer out pins by making it a simple swap.
• Loading rig spares, if your loading kit breaks your day will go rapidly downhill but many people neglect to bring parts to repair their second most vital piece of kit.
• Spare sights, whatever you use can break or fall off! In our example we have a spare magnetic front sight, a complete spare mid-rib clamp on sight and a lighter plus some fibres in case these need replaced.
• Liquids including light spray oil for cleaning (something like Brunox Turbo is a popular choice here), a quality lubricant for reassembly (FP10 oil is widely used but there are many choices) and some thread lock compound in case you need to secure a fastener (like the screw that holds your bolt release button in place).
• Some basic tools plus a few that are gun specific, so please take time to find out what is needed to accomplish every job that you can reasonably accomplish in the field on your own gun. If you shoot on a team the armourer will need to ensure he has access to everything for each make of gun used by team members, the best bet is to have each shooter carry any specialist items for their own gun, otherwise your armourer can get charged for excess baggage!
• Finally please don’t forget to pack a spare safety flag, if you drop your flag in the hotel room you have a big problem when you get to the range unless you can produce a spare…

To finish we have shown the contents of a pretty standard match toolkit along with some gun specific tools for a Benelli M2 (as an example) if you need to add any of these to your own kit then the pictures are clickable links to Amazon and anything you buy after following one of these links will help to support this website.

Punches and hammer

1.5mm punch	2.5mm punch	3mm punch	brass/nylon hammer

Hand tools

hex keys	screwdriver	needle files	pliers with cutter

Stock removal wrench

13mm deep socket	t-bar	extension

Gun specific tools – for Benelli M2 recoil system

17mm spanner	hook spanner

Miscellaneous

Loctite 243	Boresnake	spare front sight