"Virtual" Smallbore Silhouette practice match

[TOP PREDATOR]

Well I got lazy this winter and didn't practice my silhouette shooting as I hould have. As my silhouette season opens next month, I figured I better start. So yesterday at the range I put up some silhouette-traced-on-paper targets up.

I used the timer (2.5 minutes), repeated the range commands aloud, all offhand and slingless per the silhouette rules.

IMO not too shabby for the 1st time practicing this year, would have scored an 18 if all hits felled the target. Hunter class rifle, Savage MKII F, HV vel. ammo.

Cell phone in the picture to show size of the target.

Chicken = 6 hits (40 Meters, 43.6 Yards, 131 Feet) head shots were not intentional

Pig = 4 hits (60 Meters, 65.6 Yards, 197 Feet) elevation adjustment would have produced more hits, but it could have been the "cobwebs" producing the high misses.

Turkey = 2 hits (77 Meters 84.3 Yards, 253 Feet) a little 3/4" windage adjustment could have paid off on the turkey.

Ram 6 = hits (100 Meters, 109.3 Yards, 328 Feet)

I wanted to shoot the Hunter Class rifle with Match vel. ammo to make a comparison, and my Standard Class rifle with HV and Match ammo, but ran out of time before sundown.

Of course I'll choke when the real match happens....

For the PA. guys, if you are interested, here is our schedule in Factoryville:

Factoryville Sportsman's Club - Factoryville, PA. - MARCH 13, APRIL 10, MAY 8, JUNE 12, JULY 10, AUGUST 7, SEPTEMBER 11, OCTOBER 9. Practice at 9:00 am, matches start at 10:00 am. <span style="font-weight: bold">First timers shoot free</span>, regulars $6.00 for 2 matches. A link to the website http://fscweb.org/ , click on smallbore silhoouette rifle information for directions, range commands, rules, etc.

Wilkes Barre Rifle and Pistol Club - Wilkes-Barre Pa. - Metallic Silhouette matches on the 4th Sunday of the month from April to October. Match starts at 8:00am.

McKEAN COUNTY RIFLE CLUB -Rte. 770 MARSHBURG, PA. - APRIL 6, 20, 24 MAY 4, 18, 22 JUNE 1, 15, 26,29 JULY 13, 24, 27 AUGUST 10, 24, 28 SEPTEMBER 7, 21, 25.

CONSOLIDATED SPORTSMEN OF LYCOMING COUNTY - April 17; May 15; June 19; July 17; Aug.21 Sept 18; Oct.16

link to the actual NRA rules: http://www.nrahq.org/compete/RuleBooks/Sil-r/sil-r-book.pdf

in a nutshell: if you have a .22lr with non hyper velocity ammo, you probably fit into either hunter class (basic "squirrel rifle" without a heavy barrel) or standard class (more tweeked out rigs)

target distances:
Chicken = 40 Meters (43.6 Yards, 131 Feet)
Pig = 60 Meters (65.6 Yards, 197 Feet)
Turkey = 77 Meters (84.3 Yards, 253 Feet)
Ram = 100 Meters, (109.3 Yards, 328 Feet)

absolutely a fun time, most of the shooters are good down to earth people, and a really humbling sport, shot offhand at all distances.

 

[Elian_BHZ]

Re: "Virtual" Smallbore Silhouette practice match

I read the NRA Rules but i don't understand if in the smallbore competition all stages are shot from offhand

Do you shoot offhand only? Or do you shoot prone, kneeling etc ??

Sorry for my bad english, and maybe an obvious question.

Greetings, Elian from Argentina

 

[TresMon]

Re: "Virtual" Smallbore Silhouette practice match


Your groups would probably tighten up if you didn't have to worry about hitting your expensive phone.

Next time keep the phone on your belt and see if your not so jittery. But then it could remove your motivation to shoot your best so in the end the phone might be helping.

In all seriousness thats fine shooting! Thanks for sharing.

 

[TOP PREDATOR]

Re: "Virtual" Smallbore Silhouette practice match

all stages are offhand, standing, no sling use. just a guy (or gal) and their gun.

i'll set the phone to vibrate next time so i'll have a moving target

not only does this humble you really quick, but is great practice for hunting small or large game. this is only my 3rd year in silhouette matches, and i think shooting the 4P short range comps here on the hide kept me at least familiar with the offhand holds to hit 18 times. that'll step me into A class if i could continue it.

either way if anyone gets the chance in their area to shoot a silhouette match, it's well worth the experience.

some of the AAA shooters are amazing, both in hunter and standard class, they usually score in the mid 20's to low 30's and walk away with a fistfull of pins. (pins are usually given out for 5, 10, or 15 in a rows). mostly the AA and AAA class shooters don't want the 5 pins, as they usually have to hit 5 in a row by "default" to score that highly.

 

[SmallBoreSnipers]

Re: "Virtual" Smallbore Silhouette practice match

Nice! You know, I just bought myself a brand new Savage MKII-FV, and this would make an interesting 50 yard match..

 

[Dylan in AZ]

Re: "Virtual" Smallbore Silhouette practice match

I really would love to get into the Silhouette scene at my shooting range, It looks like an absolute blast but I'm unsure about the rules. I've read over them a few times but it's still unclear about gun restrictions and scoring methods. Maybe I am just being dumb as it's probably as simple as could be.

 

[armorpl8chikn]

Re: "Virtual" Smallbore Silhouette practice match

Nice shooting TP! I have shot silhouette in one form or another for about 10 years on and off, just shoot IHMSA now. Looking across your targets what I know about difficulty on each animal your results bear out well except on the pig. The shot high in the hump may have taken him and low rear foot most likely and I think that is one you counted. Drop that pig setting 1 minute and I think you would be good

This really illustrates how tough those infernal turkeys are!! Hate turkeys.
NRA SB silhouette is mighty tough, I don't think I ever shot better than low 20's. I liked cowboy lever action better.
We allowed 22 rifles to shoot our IHMSA SB setup last year and even with the 3/8ths scale its pretty tough.

 

[TOP PREDATOR]

Re: "Virtual" Smallbore Silhouette practice match

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: TerrorInTheShadows</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I really would love to get into the Silhouette scene at my shooting range, It looks like an absolute blast but I'm unsure about the rules. I've read over them a few times but it's still unclear about gun restrictions and scoring methods. Maybe I am just being dumb as it's probably as simple as could be.</div></div>

another one of my long winded posts:

it is actually pretty simple (which is another reason it attracted me), you may be reading too much into it.

BIGGEST RULE: safety, and all shooting is done standing, shot offhand, no slings or other aids.

10 animals of each type (total of 40) are lined up at the distances in the original post. there are the first 5 (called a "bank"), a space, then your second bank. one shot per animal.

range commands are easy, you get called to the line, when the "ready" is sounded, you load, chamber, and aim, then "fire" is commanded - shoot. that's when your 2.5 minute time starts for 5 shots, left to right. there's a cease fire, 30 seconds to collect yourself, then it starts again for the next 5 animals. cease fire, then when the line is safe, move to the next animal. it always goes chicken, pig, turkey, ram. so if you are put on a starting animal at sign up say on turkey, your next will be ram, then chicken, then pig. if you start on pig, next will be turkey, ram, then finish on chicken.

scoring is you either knock it over (hit) or you don't (miss). add your hits up for a score. always shoot from left to right.

alibis are for misfires, at the end of your 5 shots it will be asked "any alibis?" you then get to load one round and refire theat misfire. usually only one alibi per match per shooter.

typical layout (chickens got cut off in the photo, they are to the left):

ammo regs, .22lr, short, or long. no hyper velocity loads as they break the targets.

2 classes of rifles hunting and standard, these are the basic regs:

hunting class is your basic squirrel "plain jane" rifles - sporter barrel (no bull or heavy barrel) trigger 2lbs or higher, a "regular" stock. there's some extra details, but it's to keep it as a basic .22 rifle for competition. max weight 8.5 lbs.

this'll be were you see alot of the MKII sporter models, marlin 25 and 925's, cz 452's, some anschutz hunting models, kimber and cooper sporters, ruger 77/22 and 10/22 sporters, grandpappy's j.c. higgins or mossberg, etc. this is usually where you'll find the low budget rifles, but of course there are exceptions depending on your rig. now if you have a sporter barreled rifle with trigger less than 2 lbs, it automatically goes to standard class. rarely does anyone have a trigger gauge, but it does happen.

standard class is your more tweeked out rifles "fancy nancy" - bull barrel, light trigger, more exotic accessorized stocks allowed. max weight of 10lb 2oz. you'll see the barrel tuners and such here too.

this'll be where you'll see the savage TRs, the new marlin XT22 heavy barreled, the fancier anshutz models, even 40x's, ruger and other manufacturer varmint models, customized just for standard rifles, etc. alot of these are just short of the benchrest .22's. this is where you'll find your more expensive stuff, of course there are exceptions to that also. after all a savage MKII BV fits into the this class, and usually does well enough for a $300-$350 rifle.

but price don't mean a thing if you can't make that metal "ping"!

monte carlo stocks on a hunting class rifle is a bit of a grey area, but no one flips out on a sporter rifle that has a normal monte carlo stock from the manufacturer. this rule sucks - no thumbhole stocks! IMO this needs to be re-written to be allowed, especially with the popularity of them, and will be lobbying for that change. would i bounce someone from my match that has one? absolutely not, and no one that i know of would, but you always get that one guy that is a puriest, so be aware of that and ask the match director their take on it if you go with one. i see nothing wrong with those thumbholes on either hunter or standard rifles as they are mass produced on today's most popular hunting and target .22's.

there's a few more rifle regs out there, but that's for those that start "gaming" and pushing the rules to the grey areas.

back to the rifle regs, this is what i use for HUNTER class (MKII F model straight from walmart):

it obviously doesn't look like a "regular squirrel rifle", but meets the regs - regular sporter barrel (even though 18"), scope is less than 1.5" from receiver, stock is not shorter than 8" from end of receiver and is still somewhat of a "stock" configuration as far as the rules go. it is less than 8.5 lbs, trigger is more than 2 lbs. there is an allowance for cheekpieces, and mine is not above the center of the boreline. no attachments extent past the end of the barrel. i do take off the bipod and sling. so even though it is not truly "bone stock" it still meets criteria.

my standard rifle (MKII BV):

has the bull (heavy) barrel which puts it in standard class right off. 12 oz trigger (safety still works, it is a requirement). no attachments past the barrel. weighs less than 10 lbs 2oz. scope is less than 2" above the receiver.

sights can be just about anything, open, aperature, red dot, telescopic. for scopes - hunting rifle not higher than 1.5" above receiver, standard rifle not higher than 2" above receiver.

there are different classifications of shooters, so you know that you are competing with alike skill levels for each of the 2 rifle classes:

you usually would like to get a classification book (13.00 this year) so it will be on NRA records for national standings, regional and state championships, but not necessary for just shooting for the heck of it. 3 matches back to back sets the shooter classification, with advancement to the next class if you shot higher scores in 3 matches consecutively.

if you are fortunate enough to get 5 in a row on one animal in a bank, you win a pin that has the outline of the animal and a 5 on it. same goes for 10 and 15. it's a neat thing to display on a shooting hat, kind of a mini-trophy. they have a thing called a grand slam which is 10 in a row on each animal, done on all 4 animals in one season.

chances are if you have a .22 in the safe, it will either meet the hunter or standard class. usual matches are 40 targets (sometimes 60 or 80).


of course some practice and correct dope for the 4 different distances will help, but the very essense of smallbore silhouette is as simple as grabbing your stick, a box of shells (probably an extra magazine or 2), and you are ready to start knocking over some steel.

reminds me alot of being 10 years old shooting at beer cans and bottles on a sunday afternoon in the woodlot up the street - we can all use a time machine like that!

 

[TOP PREDATOR]

Re: "Virtual" Smallbore Silhouette practice match

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: SmallBoreSniper</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Nice! You know, I just bought myself a brand new Savage MKII-FV, and this would make an interesting 50 yard match..</div></div>

i was hoping you'ld suggest that....

for those that don't have a place to shoot 40m, 60m, 77m, and 100m, perhaps chickens and pigs at 50 yards, turkeys and rams at 100 yards with sizes scaled appropriately.

at least i think these would be the ratios from actual sized targets at regular distances scaled to the 50 and 100 yard distances:

chickens from 43.6 yards to 50 yards = 8.7% bigger
pigs from 65.6 yards to 50 yards = 7.6% smaller
turkeys from 84.3 yards to 100 yards = 8.4% bigger
rams from 109.3 yards to 100 yards = 9.1% smaller

i can whip up some targets at those ratios (just the outline to save ink), post them up, add another comp to what i can assume would fit into the short range comps we got going here.

same rules as the NRA ones for time and such, for ease of printing ink, 1 target for each animal with 10 shots or 2 targets of each animal with 5 shots on each target.

i'd color them in with crayon or something (at least turkey and ram) for better visibility and saving ink. it'll give the kids something to do

anything that breaks the outline is a hit, anything out a miss.

use a classification system as in the NRA rules.

so a score could look something like this:

Name: joe blow
Rifle Class: hunter
Shooter Class: B
Ammo: .22lr wolf extra
C: 6
P: 3
T: 1
R: 3
Total: 11

5 In-a-rows: 1 on C
10 In-a-rows:

Grand Slam History:

Pin award history:


maybe the individual shooter keep a running history of 5 and 10 in a row pin history and grand slam achievements for an "intimidation" factor. the NRA uses tan color for hunter and brown for standard. silver outline for 5's, gold for 10's. that can get tough for the less than computer savy of us, so maybe something like

Pin award history:
Hunter: 5C, 5R, 10P
Standard: 5P

Grand Slam History:
Hunter: 10P
Standard:


that'll mean Joe Blow historically scored a 5 in a row chicken and turkey, also having a 10 in a row pig to his credit, qualifying for starting his Grand Slam in the Hunter class, and 1 five in a row in standard class on pigs. next month Joe Blow adds his 5C "pin" earned this time around, nest month he will post in Hunter: 5C, 5R, 10P, 5C

i don't know if that would get too confusing.


i'll post up some resized trial targets to see if you guys want to go ahead with it, if there is any interest in starting a little virtual silhouette match from more shooters, it may be beautiful thing.

 

[Dylan in AZ]

Re: "Virtual" Smallbore Silhouette practice match

That's awesome, thanks for the help. You definitely clarified all my misconceptions and thank you for that!

Do you mind explaining Regular Smallbore Competition to me as well (PM if necessary) if you don't mind?

This is really starting to spark my interest and I'm falling in love with shooting 22's. I do miss the boom and recoil of a centerfire though, but I think I'm going to save for a CZ and put target peeps on it and use that for Hunter Class Smallbore while I use my Savage for the Standard Smallbore Class.

And then the gun after that will definatly be the centerfire I dream about, well, I mean the one within reason

And if you don't mind me asking, why do you have your bi-pods mounted so close to the trigger on your rifles? I thought it gets more stable the farther away you mount it. Do you mind explaining your reasoning/purpose on this?

Thank you so much,
-Dylan

 

[TOP PREDATOR]

Re: "Virtual" Smallbore Silhouette practice match

the regular NRA smallbore comps i have no idea about, as i don't believe there are any in my area.

bipods are to the center of the rifle for pivoting / better balance for me.

plus you ever notice when you go to sight in a rifle if you rest it under the receiver compared to at the end of the stock groups tend to be smaller? same theory, less torque on the whole thing.

also easier to manipulate the height and any other adjustments when they are closer, and has a tighter package when folded up. on my hunting rifles it's less stuff to get caught on brush.

 

[Dylan in AZ]

Re: "Virtual" Smallbore Silhouette practice match

Hmm thank you, I'll have to give that a try!

 

[CSS]

Re: "Virtual" Smallbore Silhouette practice match

I had to have a free weekend so I dropped NRA smallbore Rifle, to damn hard. After 3 years I'm still an A class in both rifles.

I shoot Hunter Pistol and CBLA the other 3 weekends. I made AAA and Master class in 4 years with the contenders.

It is a humbling sport.

 

[TOP PREDATOR]

Re: "Virtual" Smallbore Silhouette practice match

THESE ARE ACTUAL SIZE: (can someone help me out and resize them? i can't seem to figure out how to do it)

chickens from 43.6 yards to 50 yards = 8.7% bigger
pigs from 65.6 yards to 50 yards = 7.6% smaller
turkeys from 84.3 yards to 100 yards = 8.4% bigger
rams from 109.3 yards to 100 yards = 9.1% smaller

thanks

 

[Dylan in AZ]

Re: "Virtual" Smallbore Silhouette practice match

Bump

I have to bump this, I'm very interested in these target resized for 50/100 yard shooting. It would be an awsome practice aid for those of us who are interested in smallbore silhouette shooting but don't have access to a range with the specific distances available to practice it on properly.

I WILL be participating in a monthly shoot for this on the hide and at my local range if everything gets set up. I will do whatever I can to get things rolling too.

-Dylan

 

[WRM]

Re: "Virtual" Smallbore Silhouette practice match

Midwayusa used to have cardboard cut-out rimfire animals, but I can't seem to find them.

Here are some printable scale and actual size smallbore practice targets:

http://www.riflesilhouette.com/instructions/practice.html

It's been a while, but I generally shoot smallbore Hunter class with an Anshutz 1700 FTW. Have a few "5" pins, and actually shot a 10/10 in highpower on the Boars one time. Fun stuff.

Cheers,

Bill

 

[TOP PREDATOR]

Re: "Virtual" Smallbore Silhouette practice match

so is anyone else interested in putting this as a monthly match here at the hide?

we have some links for targets and the ones posted above for folks that could shoot at the regular distances.

we sure could use a set scaled for just 50 and 100.

 

[Dylan in AZ]

Re: "Virtual" Smallbore Silhouette practice match

Bump,

I tried the chicken target at 50 yards today offhand to warmup for the 4 Position 25 yard and 50 yard comps in the short range comps thread and I only succeeded in hitting 1 out of five shots fired

I was expecting better results but I guess I can't complain. It's definatly an interesting sport and I will do all I can to become better at it.

Al shots were within a half of an inch of the border of the target though; it's close, but not close enough to make the difference.

-Dylan

 

[haptoshoot]

Re: "Virtual" Smallbore Silhouette practice match

I'd be interested in this as an online match

Off hand and kneeling are a real weakness and this seems like a good motivator to get some trigger time

ill fidle arround with resizing, not sure if i can but ill try

 

[TOP PREDATOR]

Re: "Virtual" Smallbore Silhouette practice match

thanks for the trying to resize for 50 and 100, i couldn't get it to work right.

shot our opening real match today, 15 and a 21 in hunting rifle class using the low budget trainer project. coming out of the gate, i didn't think i did too badly.

so 3 votes for a "virtual" online match, at least 4 or 5 more "yeas" should justify adding it in.

 

[Dylan in AZ]

Re: "Virtual" Smallbore Silhouette practice match

Hey, I finally found the cord for pluging my phone into the computer. I got the two pics I had in my phone downloaded to photobucket and here is the chicken I shot earlier today... or I guess early yesterday

Sorry for the terrible phone quality