A Biathlon Rifle is a Billboard
A rifle is what makes a cross-country skier a biathlete. Biathlon is, by definition, the combination of cross-country skate skiing with rifle marksmanship shooting. A biathlete cannot be one without the other.
Over the past few years, I have really tuned into customizing my rifle to be the best fit for my body and shooting style. Many people make changes and adjustments each season, so I have learned a lot from asking questions and looking at other rifles. I find it particularly interesting that we all do the same sport yet all have completely different rifle set ups.
Let’s break down the components and how I have customized!
The Barrel: I shoot an Anschutz 1827F Sprint. This is the industry standard with 97% of all biathletes using it (according to Anschutz.) I got my barrel from Altius Handcrafted Firearms in West Yellowstone, Montana, though it was manufactured in Ulm, Germany.
On the front sight, I added a larger aperture extension, also made by Altius, which allows me to see one circle that is the same size rather than a mix of a circle and a square. This is awkward to explain so I apologize. It is also a little bit heavier which I find very useful for better control in windy conditions.
Next, I added a sight riser on the front sight and a subsequent spare magazine holder on the rear sight. Together, these raise my sight picture an equal amount in the front and rear. The front sight riser allows me to hold my head and neck higher which feels more natural when I am looking at the target and I suspect I breathe a bit better. The rear sight riser/spare magazine holder allows me closer access to loading a spare round so that I don’t have a break my full position while shooting and I can load faster.
Further, I added a bolt shortener, bolt thumb extension piece, and a left-handed bolt handle, that allows me to have even more control and minimal movement when loading a bullet into the chamber. I specifically use a left handed piece because I have pretty tiny hands and short fingers, so the reverse piece moves the bolt even farther back. I feel like I did a bad job explaining that. These parts all came from Lost Nation R&D in Albany, Vermont.
Additionally, I changed my magazine caps to these taller shaped handles with a more textured surface that makes it significantly easier to grab when loading and unloading. When my fingers are really cold in the winter or really sweaty in the summer, I was dropping magazines because the original standard caps are a very short and glossy plastic I couldn’t keep a hold on. These were made by BiathlonStocks.com in Ottawa, Canada. I currently have all black caps, but they make fun colors, so should I get a color?? They also helped me get a new cuff while I was racing in Canmore, Canada!
The Stock: My first stock was a wood Anschutz that came with the barrel. This is a pretty basic set up that worked perfectly fine for me as I learned how to shoot, but it was ultimately a bit too bulky and heavy. Now that I have a different stock (read below) I gifted this stock to a youngin from my home town that I hope enjoys it and learns to love biathlon as I have!
My new stock is a Bachmann which is a full carbon fiber stock with wood components, the pistol grip and standing block, which I took a dremel tool to to fit my hand and fingers exactly. By nature, the carbon fiber material is black, but I didn’t want a black stock so I got it painted a tan color. It has become known as “the Bachmann that looks like wood.” This stock is made in Antholz, Italy (home of the upcoming 2026 Olympics!) and it was a total sh*t show getting it into the United States. This was even two years ago before the craziness with tariffs.
The gist of the story is the United States customs kept sending it back to Italy because they thought it was a firearm, which is very illegal to ship via regular post, and I could not get them to understand it is not a firearm it is only the stock you attach a firearm to. The work around we eventually came to was the US Biathlon head coach is from the same town in Italy where my stock was made so he generously flew it in his checked bag to Bend, Oregon for the spring camp, then my teammate flew it from Bend to Jericho, Vermont where I finally got it three months later, phew! I love this stock and am very happy with my choice, particularly in the small size and light weight of it.
The Accessories: My current harness and cuff are both made by Biatar (brand), and the sling is made by Larsen (brand). Originally, I had all Larsen accessories, but I found that the leather harness did not sit snugly on my shoulders, plus, it caused my skin to rip/chafe. Then, the cuff had a spring in it that became tired and stopped holding tight to my arm after two years of frequent use. It would start at the top of my arm and end up by my elbow after a few shots! Not good. As a result, I switched to Biatar because the harness is cloth and softer so it sits flush on my shoulders and the cuff is velcro rather than a spring, both of which have worked very well for me so far! I have been warned the velcro eventually wears out too, so I guess some things just have a shelf life. We will figure out what to do about that if/when it becomes a problem later down the road.
Now the fun part. If you haven’t caught on yet, I LOVE snow leopard or white cheetah print. Absolutely obsessed. I have a sports bra from Kuvetta Athletic that I absolutely love, so on a whim, I asked if they had an extra fabric that I could have to wrap my harness and they agreed to send me the fabric for FREE! Enough to also wrap my cuff so now I am matching. Should I try to wrap the sling too?? I am obsessed with the final product and get lots of compliments. All that being said, it was very hard and very time consuming. I sewed every single stitch by hand. I took many exasperated breaks, so, in total, it took me four days to do the harness and two days to do the cuff. It was worth it, but do not ask me to commission one for yourself, it is too much work!
The Stickers: A biathlon rifle is a billboard. Biathletes and their rifles can get a lot of TV and photo time so the space on the rifle is used for advertising via brand logo stickers. There are also a lot of official rules for said advertising outlined by the International Biathlon Union. A few examples are the size of the sticker, you can only advertise one brand with one sticker ie not two stickers for the same company, and the center of the rifle is reserved for the IBU itself (as pictured on mine).
I currently have three stickers on my rifle. Starting from back to front, I have the logo for the military. This is what a unit patch on our uniforms would look like. It is a biathlon tab over a rifle crossed with pair of ski poles. Though the military is not an actual “sponsor” of mine, they are my employer and I could not do what I do without them! The second sticker is last year’s IBU sticker which is required for all biathletes competing in the IBU Cup. And my third sticker is Nordjork! They are a huge supporter and a fun company based out of Crested Butte, Colorado selling nordic themed products. Check them out at the link above and you can use code ZOEMAY for 10% off your goodies. FYI - they have an upcoming product drop of the new 2025/2026 collection!
As always, thanks for reading and here are some pics from our little rifle photoshoot here in Utah for altitude camp, more to come on that ;)
