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Anyone do silhouette?

simon1

Self Ignored by Vista
I've never shot competitively, but I drug out my old plinkin' smallbore rifle silhouette swinging target today just for grins. I forgot how SMALL they are at distance. I didn't do any shooting today...may do that tomorrow.

Placed it at 40 meters for the chicken and tried to hold the crosshairs on the chicken at 3x, 4x, 6x (like I've heard people use for that one), and 9x. This was on my 10/22 with a Bushnell 3x9. At 9x I was all over the whole target offhand, and at 6x I could barely keep it just around the outline of the chicken while sitting and resting an elbow on my knee. This stuff is tuff.

As everyone knows, things shot with a camera look a lot further away than they look with the nekid eye, but here's some camera shots:

The swinging target in all of its glory:



No magnification on the camera at 40 meters in my back yard. It's the little black dot between the evergreen tree and the bigger oak tree...it's the black dot a little closer to the evergreen. Remember, it's a camera:



At 12x on the camera...and the ram is hiding behind a blade of grass :biggrin1::



I won't put up a video of trying to hit the chicken tomorrow...that would be too embarrassing!
 

Toothpick

Needs milk and a bidet!
Staff member
I bought a similar target but it was just orange circles. I really enjoyed trying to hit it. It was the first time I ever shot my .22 and first at a target.

Let's see the video!
 
I was in a small tournament at a gun club in Las Cruces, NM many years ago with a friend and we fired at those targets.

Quite challenging, especially the chicken.
 

simon1

Self Ignored by Vista
I just printed out a few 50 yard smallbore rifle targets to sight-in on. I think the last time I had it set at 25 yards. I drug out a ladder to put a towel on one of the rungs for a rest, and am going to sight-in seated and use that as a rest.

The only competition we have around here is IDPA, but I believe the NRA rules for rifles is standing, offhand only. So I'm gonna cheat. :biggrin1:

Get a sandbag no movement from a x army scout airborn sniper

Anything you could point me to on doping the wind at longer distance would be greatly appreciated.
 
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I only shoot out to 100 yards, but mostly air guns. I like istreok, it's a smartphone app. There is an app just for airguns called chairgun that does the same thing.

Put all the required measurements into istreok zero the gun and the app will get you pretty darn close.
 

simon1

Self Ignored by Vista
I only shoot out to 100 yards, but mostly air guns. I like istreok, it's a smartphone app. There is an app just for airguns called chairgun that does the same thing.

Put all the required measurements into istreok zero the gun and the app will get you pretty darn close.

Thanks for the tip, but I don't have a smartphone. I'm more the index card on the stock kinda guy. :laugh:

I'll have to look in to that.

Well, it looks like it's been so long since I shot that thing that I forgot where it was zeroed at. Apparently it's at 50 yards instead of 25.

The target on the left...all shot at 40 meters, has the first group circled with a black Sharpie. It's an awful 2 1/4 inches. The second group on that target is 1 inch. The target on the right is the third three shot group at 3/4 inch. All measured center to center.

I'm not happy; they all should be touching at that distance...and from a rest on the ladder rung even.

I know what was wrong! I had to shoot the cobwebs out of the barrel! :lol:

It's getting a bit late to do just a short, fun video and processing. I may do that tomorrow after I get some cases worked on.

It's nice to get back to shootin' again. And the trigger on the 10/22 was kinda stiff too. Give me a bit of time...I'll think of another excuse.

 
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I shoot rimfire pistol and rifle silhouette matches monthly. I shoot both classes using open sights and optics. I use CZ rifles and 10" MKII Ruger pistols.
 

simon1

Self Ignored by Vista
I shoot rimfire pistol and rifle silhouette matches monthly. I shoot both classes using open sights and optics. I use CZ rifles and 10" MKII Ruger pistols.

What kind of scopes are they using on the smallbore rifle? I've read somewhere in the 6x24 range.

My box stock 10/22, with the inexpensive Bushnell 3x9, will shoot minute of squirrel at 50 yards, but after shooting it yesterday I've been seriously thinking about getting a Kidd trigger kit, and maybe looking at a better scope.

Of course nothing like the smallbore silhouette competitors that have the $1,500 rifles and the $1,800 to $2,000 scopes on them though.

A $500 basic CZ rifle would be nice, and a decent scope, but just for backyard playin' that ain't gonna happen.
 
I have a 2-7 Leupold rimfire on one CZ and a 10x Weaver on another. I never needed more magnification...I shoot them with open sights, too. I have one CZ with an 1/8" rear ghost ring and another with a set of BRNO match sights.
 
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Kentos

B&B's Dr. Doolittle.
Staff member
I'm jealous you can just walk outside and do some plinking! Lucky duck! :thumbup1:
 

Toothpick

Needs milk and a bidet!
Staff member
I'm jealous you can just walk outside and do some plinking! Lucky duck! :thumbup1:

+100
I'm making my way there, my latest move has me on the outskirts of the city but still in a subdivision. I will slowly make my way to the country!
 
I bought the basic Savage Mark III. It has a heavier barrel than most 22LR's. I put a Boyd's Tacticool stock on it and a nice 3 x 9 scope. Then I went to work on the Accu-trigger. I pulled the spring and snipped a small piece at a time. I'm not advocating this, just telling you what I did. The trigger pull is now around 6 ounces. With Wolf Target Match ammo it will shoot >.20 groups at 50 yards. I didn't spend $1,500.00 but it shoots like it.

The weight of the stock and barrel give it more stability for off hand shooting. Relatively cheap fun for great accuracy.
 
A bit of info on the game. I've tried the high power rifle version. It's tough.

In the old days in Mexico, it was pretty much informal and "run what you brung" shooting.

Then the US got involved and it evolved (or devolved?) into a high dollar, scientific extravaganza of super rifles, optics, and sponsors with deep pockets.

Personally, I think the Mexicans had it right. Gather up, shoot, and have a good time.

The Hunter's Game

The Mexicans first called it, Siluetas Metalicas, in English, Metallic Silhouettes. There are many variations of Metallic Silhouette shooting in extant today, but they all have one thing in common: metallic targets consisting of game animal silhouettes placed at varying distances from the shooter.
Siluetas Metalicas began South of the border in the 1940's and was derived from an old hunter's game (story has it that before the use of metallic animal figures, live animals were staked out and shot). The first informal siluetas metalicas competition arranged by Don Gonzalo Aguilar, took place in Mexico City in 1948. The shooting sport of Siluetas Metalicas spread quickly with the first national championships held in Mexico City in 1952. At that time, the sport was mainly for high power rifles and consisted of thirty shots; ten each at gallina (chicken) at 200m, guajalote (turkey) at 385m, and borrego (sheep) at 500m.
Roy Dunlap, the father of High Power Rifle Silhouette shooting in the United States, led the effort to build the first formal silhouette range at the Tucson Rifle Club.

The shooting sport has evolved from a relatively simple hunter's game in Mexico using high power rifles to encompass matches which use pistols, air guns, smallbore and black powder (cartridge only) rifles. Today, Metallic Silhouette is used in a generic sense to describe all shooting using targets of metal shaped like game animals.
The Mexicans worked on a set of regulations for conducting Metallic Silhouette competition to achieve uniformity of conditions in their various range locations—the size and type of the silhouettes, height of stands, range distances, shooting equipment allowed and match operation procedures, were all first developed by our neighbors to the South. By 1960, the Mexicans had Siluetas Metalicas organized in Northern Mexico and formed La Liga del Norte (The Northern League).
In 1967, informal competition began in Nogales and other small Southern Arizona towns and the javelina (pig) at 300m was added. In that same year, Roy Dunlap, the father of High Power Rifle Silhouette shooting in the United States, led the effort to build the first formal silhouette range at the Tucson Rifle Club. The first formal silhouette competition North of the border was held at Tucson Rifle Club on April 18, 1968.
All shooting is done offhand without slings or shooting jackets. Usually the shooter has a spotter to advise on where the shot hit. The shooter is given 2-1/2 minutes to engage a bank of five silhouettes (five chickens, pigs, turkeys, or sheep, one shot each, left to right). Scoring is equally simple; if your shot knocks the target completely off its stand, it's a hit. Anything else is a miss. Move on to the next silhouette in the bank.
When the shooter has finished the first string of five targets, they are reset and a second string of five targets (of the same animal) is engaged. A match consists of ten gallina (chicken) targets at 200 meters, ten javelina (pig) targets at 300 meters, ten guajalote (turkey) targets at 385 meters, ten borrego (sheep) targets at 500 meters and has a maximum score of 40 points. The object of the competition is to knock over as many targets as you can, using only one shot per target, shooting in the prescribed sequence, within the prescribed time.
Smallbore Rifle Silhouette was brought to Tucson Rifle Club in 1977, by long time club member, Wayne Leek.

Shooters may compete in either (or both) of two rifle classes: Standard Class or Hunter Class. A Standard Class rifle must weigh 10.2 lbs. or less, and can be a custom rifle. A Hunter Class rifle must weigh 9 lbs. or less and must be an off-the-rack rifle or near to one (e.g., original stock, or a very close reproduction thereof, and the original trigger—set at a minimum of 2 lbs). And yes, most shooters use scopes—usually in the range of 16x-36x. The scopes usually have parallax adjustments and target knobs.
A classification system exists so shooters compete against shooters of the same ability. Beginning shooters need not shoot against master class shooters. Everyone has a chance win his or her class. Classes are Master, AAA, AA, A, and B.
The use of smallbore (.22RF) rifles in silhouette shooting is achieved by using a scaled down version of the High Power Rifle Silhouette match. It is fired at one-fifth scale targets at one-fifth scale distances of those used in High Power Rifle Silhouette. In the smallbore version, the reduced size chickens are placed at 40 meters, pigs at 60 meters, turkeys at 77 meters, and sheep at 100 meters.
Smallbore Rifle Silhouette was brought to Tucson Rifle Club in 1977, by long time club member, Wayne Leek. Leek first developed the idea of Smallbore Silhouette while living in New York State because real estate prices there were too high to permit him to build a full size High Power Rifle Silhouette range.
State, National, and International Silhouette Championships in High Power Rifle and Smallbore Rifle are still held at Tucson Rifle Club.

As High Power Rifle Metallic Silhouette shooting increased in popularity, handgun shooters became interested too. Pistol shooters began to hold silhouette matches and develop their own rules. The International Handgun Metallic Silhouette Association (IHMSA) was organized in 1976 to promote handgun silhouette competition.
Handgun Silhouette shooters, Big Bore (IHMSA) & Long Range (NRA) classes, use the same animal silhouettes as in High Power Rifle, only set at distances from 50 to 200 meters. Field Pistol (IHMSA) & Hunter Pistol (NRA) classes use 3/5 sized silhouettes at shorter distances. There is even an Air Gun pistol class with smaller targets at shorter distances.
Tucson Rifle Club sponsored the country's first Metallic Silhouette Pistol match September 20-21, 1975. Pistol Silhouette shooting has now become almost as popular and widespread as High Power Rifle Silhouette in the United States. State, National, and International Silhouette Championships in High Power Rifle and Smallbore Rifle are still held at Tucson Rifle Club.
Both High Power Rifle and Handgun Silhouette match rules have provisions and classifications for physically challenged competitors. It is not unusual to see shooters on crutches or in wheelchairs competing at these matches.
For shooters who abhor delayed gratification, this is the sport for you. One does not wait to see and score his target as in disciplines involving paper. A hit results in a resounding clang and a metal target toppling from its stand. A miss, and only a puff of dirt kicks up behind the target. Competitors and spectators alike can view the action and share in the results!
 
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I bought the basic Savage Mark III. It has a heavier barrel than most 22LR's. I put a Boyd's Tacticool stock on it and a nice 3 x 9 scope. Then I went to work on the Accu-trigger. I pulled the spring and snipped a small piece at a time. I'm not advocating this, just telling you what I did. The trigger pull is now around 6 ounces. With Wolf Target Match ammo it will shoot >.20 groups at 50 yards. I didn't spend $1,500.00 but it shoots like it.

The weight of the stock and barrel give it more stability for off hand shooting. Relatively cheap fun for great accuracy.

I would say .20 groups with a Savage and budget ammo are the exception to the rule. Your Savage may do it, but I will bet most won't.

I shoot local rimfire BR matches weekly. I mostly use Remington 40x or Remington Model 37 rifles. I feed them either Eley or Lapua.
 
I'm jealous you get to shoot matches weekly. I've never hand my hands on any Eley or Lapua rimfire ammo. I know with rimfire you have to find the ammo that works since you cannot load for accuracy. I was lucky that I tried 4 different types and the Wolf Match Target shot good. The Match Extra did terrible. I tried for months to find a 40x rimfire action but settled for the Savage.

I believe a good shooter can make the most of a "good" rifle but a bad shooter can't do anything with a "great" rifle. What barrel do you use on your BR rifle?
 
My guns have factory barrels.

My 40x is an unmolested late 60 ' s civilian gun, not an old CMP gun. Neither the stock or the barrel has been cut. I have the original trigger and sight/scope bases. I currently have Shilean competition trigger in it. It is set at about 2 ounces. I have a 36x Weaver on top....If I want to go old school, I have a Redfield 3200 and a Unertl scope. I like barrel mounted scopes. They are currently on my 37's, which require a barrel mounted scope.
 
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I would say .20 groups with a Savage and budget ammo are the exception to the rule. Your Savage may do it, but I will bet most won't.

I shoot local rimfire BR matches weekly. I mostly use Remington 40x or Remington Model 37 rifles. I feed them either Eley or Lapua.

I have a savage as well and mine will do groups of that nature with Wolf or SK. Savages are underrated IMO, and a great way to get a great rifle at a very reasonable cost.



 
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That is a fine group, but is a far cry from .2" group....A dime ' s diameter is .7".

It generally takes a dedicated bench gun and much better ammo to semi-consistently shoot .2 groups.....I have seen a lot of .2 groups but have never, ever met a man and a gun that could do it all the time. If the wind doesn't get you, that one flyer in a box of even the best ammo will.
 
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