PCGC SILHOUETTES
Thank you for your interest in PCGC Small-bore Silhouette shooting
Small-bore silhouettes is a fun, and exciting rifle marksmanship game, using
your faithful old .22 rifle, or purpose built silhouette standard
rifle in .22 RF. Like chess it is easy to learn, but can take a
lifetime to perfect. This page will be dedicated to information,
technique, rules, equipment, and ammo use in small-bore silhouette
competition, as they relate to members of the Polk County Gun Club.
My name is Greg Ficklin, and I have agreed to become the new silhouette
chairman. My goal is to revive a once fine program started
by my friend Harris Putnam. Without Harris, I would have known nothing
about this sport, and would not be in the position to bring it back
to PCGC. We all have him to thank for starting such a great program,
but it's continued success is now in my hands. I sincerely hope
that the members of PCGC, and our guests take advantage of these
matches, as a form of club participation, and fellowship, with safe
and friendly competition. These matches will begin in June
2008, and be held on the first Saturday of every month after that.
Eventually these matches will be NRA approved, eligible for classification
and records. Until we get our matches approved we will hold
less formal get acquainted with silhouettes fun matches. The delay
on this is completely my fault, as I have been trying to whip up
the gear needed, and for warmer weather. Once we get it off the
ground, I will continually strive to improve the matches.
More on Silhouettes
Small-bore silhouette is a scaled down version of the original game
that originated in Mexico as Siluetas Metalicas or
metallic silhouettes, that used high power sporting rifles at much
larger steel targets in the shape of chickens, pigs, turkeys,
and rams, at ranges out to 500 yards or more. Small-bore
silhouettes uses iron targets 1/5 the size of the high power at
1/5 the distance for each set. The course of fire is
40 shots at 40 animals. Ten chickens at 40m, ten pigs at 60m, ten
turkeys at 77m, and ten rams at 100m.
The matches are fired in the offhand position, meaning that no benches,
bags or sticks are used to steady the aim. It is just you, and your
rifle in the standing position. Shooting one shot per target left
to right, in order is the requirement. Any shot made out of sequence
is scored a miss for the intended target and for the one hit out
of sequence.
Each set of ten targets is separated into two groups of 5 targets. At
the command to fire, the shooters will be allowed 2 1/2 minutes
to fire five shots, then a short break of 2 minutes to reload and
or make adjustments before the second 2 1/2 minutes of firing to
complete the relay. Non-shooting competitors of the same relay have
the responsibility of scoring. Coaching and spotting with
a scope is allowed.
After the command "Cease Fire", all rifles will
be made safe by unloading any saved rounds, and inserting an open
bolt indicator, and placed in the rifle racks behind the firing
line.
When the line is determined to be safe by the match director, all shooters
will then proceed to walk to their targets to reset and paint, for
the next relay. This process is repeated until all shooters have
completed the 40 shot course of fire.
In the event of a tie within a particular class, or for the overall
winner, a sudden death shoot-off will determine the winner. The
target will be chosen by the match director, and the competitors
shoot until one misses. Shoot-offs are very exciting to watch
and even more exciting to participate in.
Equipment
Some of you may think that 100 meters is an awfully long way to
shoot a .22RF. let me tell you, that is not true! Any
.22 rifle in good working order is capable of a perfect score of
40/40 if the shooter can do it. The beauty of silhouettes is that
almost everyone has everything they need to get started. Iron sites
are fine but most use scopes with repeatable adjustments to establish
"zeros" for each animal's distance. There will always be two matches
on match day, one for the Hunting rifle, and another for what the
rules call "Standard rifle". The Hunting rifle class is restricted
to what most of us call "sporters". They range from the
very inexpensive, and common Marlin bolt-action repeater,
to high-end collectables like the Winchester 52 repeating sporters.
The hunting rifle cannot weigh more than 8 1/2 lbs, (including sights),
and have a standard contour tapered barrel. It must have a hunting
style stock without adjustments, or added features, with a trigger
pull of not less than 2lb. Thumbhole stocks are not allowed in this
category. Other rifles in this category include: Ruger 77/22,
Ruger 10/22, Clip fed Marlin, and Savage bolt actions, and tube
fed lever actions, or tube, or magazine fed semi autos that
are very common. Basically the .22 you have had for ages that
is gathering dust, while the squirrels eat your pecans, bird feed,
or the wires bringing electricity to your home
The Standard rifle category allows the use of more specialized target
competition rigs with fewer limitations. They may weigh up to 10
lb. 2 ounces including sights, with "bull" barrels up to 30". Any
trigger not subject to accidental discharge may be used; But "release"
triggers or automatic triggers are prohibited. ( I have never seen
any of those anyway ) The stocks are usually specifically designed
to conform with current rules, and can be wood, fiberglass,
carbon fiber, Kevlar, or laminates. Attachments that do not
place the rifle overweight, or extend past the length of the barrel
are allowed. Many shooters that compete in this
category are AAA, or Masters in classification, but don't let that
discourage you. Any rifle used in the Hunting rifle match can also
be use in the Standard rifle match.
Sights
As stated before, any site may be used as long as your rifle still
conforms to the rules. But most sporters that have not been scoped
will probably have the old tried and true leaf rear sight, that
limits your elevation and windage adjustment. Most will try to establish
a zero for the closest target and "hold over" for the rest. This
may be fine for a skirmish against a rising hoard of belligerent
soda cans, where time is not a factor, and ammo is plentiful,
but for silhouettes, it is a major disadvantage.
The obvious upgrade to your sporter is a decent scope. By decent I mean
a scope that can reliably focus, adjust, and repeat for each of
the known distances required. It should be rugged, and capable of
doing this for every match. Most optics chosen for 22 rifle duty
are usually not suitable for silhouettes because they lack the features
of Adj objective lens (Focus), target knobs, and have low
magnification. When choosing a scope for your favorite 22,
think of it as buying a nice scope. Don't let the fact that is going
on your 22 limit you to only the cheapest optics. With that being
said, I wouldn't suggest that you plop down $600 bucks on a Leupold
silhouette scope if you are new to all of this. There are reasonably
priced optics with the afore mentioned features that can be had
for much less. Give some a try, you may find one that works
beautifully, and if it doesn't... well, you haven't lost too much.
I have chosen a Weaver T-24 for my Win 52b. I know from its reputation
that it will be a great scope . Other scopes with great reputations
among SB silhouette shooters include: Bushnell 4200,
and 3200, Burris, Leupold, and Weaver target scopes . Tasco
target scopes are very low priced, but may be a good choice. I
have never had one so I can't really attest to their suitability.
Ammo
Small-bore shooters today have the widest array of choices available for ammo
than anyone in history . Today we have subsonic, standard,
and hyper velocity ammo, by more manufacturers than you can shake
a stick at. But for our silhouette matches we will only use .22
cal long rifle standard velocity ammunition. ****You may not use
17M2, 17HRM, or any other 17 rim-fire ammo****. I wish we
could , but the velocity of these bullets are so high that damage
to the targets, and risk of ricochet, prohibit their use.
Match Information
Match dates: June 14, July 12, Aug 9, Sep 13, Oct
11, Nov 8, Dec 13
Time: Registration on match day will begin at 9 a.m. The
Hunting rifle match beginning at 10 a.m.
Fee: Two matches held at $6.00 per match. $10.00 for both.
NRA scorebooks when available will be $20.00 and are good for one
year. NRA scorebooks will be needed for approved matches.
Rules: All NRA small bore silhouette rules apply, as with
all safety rules of PCGC, and commands from match director. NRA
rulebooks are available from
http://www.nrahq.org/compete/dept-silh.asp
Awards: Awards for each class will be "in a row pins", and
practice ammo.
Contact Match Director: Greg Ficklin (864) 415-9561 or dgfick@msn.com
That's about it for now. For more info, and forum discussions
pertaining to silhouette competition go to
http://www.steelchickens.com
This is a great resource for online discussion, with very knowledgeable,
and friendly members.
So dust off that squirrel slayer, and put it to good use in fun,
exciting, and very challenging Small-Bore silhouette matches. Come
out and give it try, once you hear that "clang" of a well aimed
round, and see that target disappear, you just might get bit.
I sincerely hope you do
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