Poper
Member
I am considering getting started in metallic silhouette competition. Any guidance and advice from THR members would be greatly appreciated.
Poper
Poper
Rifle Metallic Silhouette competition
- Thread starter Poper
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Saleen322
Member
Small bore or center fire?
Get an air rifle and practice in your basement/garage.
You might want to go see a local match, to get a sense of how the game is played, and what the basic equipment is.
A few tips:
- There are range commands specific to the game that must be obeyed and you should be familiar with. Look up the rules online.
- Targets must be shot left to right, starting with the bottom rack.
- Only one shot per target - leave misses standing and move on to next target.
- You score your own targets, unless you have a spotter. If an experienced competitor offers to spot your fall of shot, take him/her up on the offer.
- Your rifle & trigger must each make weight limits.
- A target turret scope is the only way to go.
- Arrive early so there is time to register, get oriented.
- Leave yourself enough time prior to match start, to confirm your zeroes for the four distances the targets are laid out at.
- Bring a chamber flag or purchase one on site.
A few tips:
- There are range commands specific to the game that must be obeyed and you should be familiar with. Look up the rules online.
- Targets must be shot left to right, starting with the bottom rack.
- Only one shot per target - leave misses standing and move on to next target.
- You score your own targets, unless you have a spotter. If an experienced competitor offers to spot your fall of shot, take him/her up on the offer.
- Your rifle & trigger must each make weight limits.
- A target turret scope is the only way to go.
- Arrive early so there is time to register, get oriented.
- Leave yourself enough time prior to match start, to confirm your zeroes for the four distances the targets are laid out at.
- Bring a chamber flag or purchase one on site.
redclay
Member
good scope
The fact that you will need a good scope can not be overstated, pay more for your optics than you do your rifle. A scope must stand up to constant resetting based on the bullets path. I have been shooting a couple of years and have gone thru three scopes( I have learned and have bought a fine scope) Fined the ammo your rifle shoots the best and buy a case or two of the same lot.
Good Luck and have fun
The fact that you will need a good scope can not be overstated, pay more for your optics than you do your rifle. A scope must stand up to constant resetting based on the bullets path. I have been shooting a couple of years and have gone thru three scopes( I have learned and have bought a fine scope) Fined the ammo your rifle shoots the best and buy a case or two of the same lot.
Good Luck and have fun
OP
OP
Poper
Member
Centerfire.
I am not new to shooting, I've been shooting some kind of firearm since I was 7 and I'm 58 now. Shot NRA Smallbore Competition as a young'un, but that was many. many moons ago.
No can do. No basement. Garage is 22' long and there are two cars in it. I live in a urban setting where parking on the street will get you a ticket and the driveway is shorter than my Toyota Tachoma.
I load my own. I was considering using my .270 that has a .130 gn Barnes load at 3080 FPS that consistently groups less than an inch in good weather when I pay attention to my fundamentals.
Thank you. I am hoping it will be. I have shot a lot of critters over the years from field positions without rests, but offhand has never been my strongest suit.
I have a couple of scopes I would consider using. One is a Nikon Monarch 4.5-14x40AO and a Fixed 40x Weaver. To test the waters with, anyway.
Thank you everyone for your time and assistance.
Poper
Saleen322
Member
I played around with it MANY years ago. I shot a .308 and, back then, the .308s were probably the most popular caliber going. I friend of mine had a Savage 110S in .308 and it shot very well and they could be had cheap. I still kick myself for not getting one when they were common. The one thing I did do right was buy a fuggly 6400 Redfield target scope for $125 at a gun show and kept it. They are real target scopes that have a locking parallax adjustment and were designed to be constantly adjusted. Too many folks show up with single rotation friction type parallax adjustment scopes that are really more for hunting. Not saying they won't work but you are asking it to do something that it was not primarily designed to do.
If you have faith in your .270, why not shoot it? One of the best shooters I saw used a plain 30-06 and he was good with it. Good luck with whatever you decide.
If you have faith in your .270, why not shoot it? One of the best shooters I saw used a plain 30-06 and he was good with it. Good luck with whatever you decide.
clutch
Contributing Member
I've only been doing this for a couple months and I'm only shooting small bore as I build skills.
Air rifle or rimfire will allow you to practice a lot for less expense. If you shoot high power there is usually a small bore match after the high power match so you can double your fun. I'd like to do both once I make it to AA since I travel 2.5 hours each way to compete.
I practice small bore on TQ-14 targets. It gives me a record of every shot so I can figure out what I'm doing wrong or right.
It sure is fun!
Clutch
Air rifle or rimfire will allow you to practice a lot for less expense. If you shoot high power there is usually a small bore match after the high power match so you can double your fun. I'd like to do both once I make it to AA since I travel 2.5 hours each way to compete.
I practice small bore on TQ-14 targets. It gives me a record of every shot so I can figure out what I'm doing wrong or right.
It sure is fun!
Clutch
Jon_Snow
Member
+1 on the good scope, I would not try the fixed 40X until you are VERY stable. I've yet to see a Master or AAA shooter using higher than 35X, and those guys are rock-solid. That Nikon will serve you well for a good long while. When I was shooting a variable-power scope I would turn it all the way up (15X) in practice and then back it down a little (12X) for the match. It made me feel steadier without making the targets look too much smaller.
Check out steelchickens.com for a dedicated silhouette forum.
Wear high topped hiking boots if you have them; ankle support helps.
Get a vest, maybe start with a cheap shotgun vest and later graduate to a good leather one.
Since you load your own, work up two loads, a full-power Ram load and a lighter recoil CPT (Chicken, Pig, Turkey) load. Some people use different bullets for the two so it's easy to tell them apart.
Practice: shooting the animals is good, shooting paper is also good, shooting paper animals is best. My club has paper targets for smallbore (1/5th sized targets at 1/5th the distance) available here: http://www.sunnyvalegunclub.com/activities/silhouette. You can use those at the specified distances or you can find a set all scaled for 100-yards online. Paper will show where you're hitting, but learning the shapes of the animals is important (especially those damned turkeys). Dry-fire also helps a lot.
Check out steelchickens.com for a dedicated silhouette forum.
Wear high topped hiking boots if you have them; ankle support helps.
Get a vest, maybe start with a cheap shotgun vest and later graduate to a good leather one.
Since you load your own, work up two loads, a full-power Ram load and a lighter recoil CPT (Chicken, Pig, Turkey) load. Some people use different bullets for the two so it's easy to tell them apart.
Practice: shooting the animals is good, shooting paper is also good, shooting paper animals is best. My club has paper targets for smallbore (1/5th sized targets at 1/5th the distance) available here: http://www.sunnyvalegunclub.com/activities/silhouette. You can use those at the specified distances or you can find a set all scaled for 100-yards online. Paper will show where you're hitting, but learning the shapes of the animals is important (especially those damned turkeys). Dry-fire also helps a lot.
I have done small bore, and it is a lot of fun. Shame you can't do the air rifle it really helps a great deal, and it is very cheap to do.
I would also suggest doing small bore as well, you can get a pretty inexpensive scope that will get the job done....lots of people start with one of the BSA sweet 22 scopes and then work up from there....That is what is on my sons rifle and it actually works pretty darn well.
Don't have to get crazy with a 22....my first matches I shot with an old Marlin that had like a 900lb trigger pull....but it told me lots and the guys at my club are very helpful.
I would also suggest doing small bore as well, you can get a pretty inexpensive scope that will get the job done....lots of people start with one of the BSA sweet 22 scopes and then work up from there....That is what is on my sons rifle and it actually works pretty darn well.
Don't have to get crazy with a 22....my first matches I shot with an old Marlin that had like a 900lb trigger pull....but it told me lots and the guys at my club are very helpful.
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