Bloop Tubes & "Tuners" used at So. Nats.

[Jason]

I'm a master class smallbore shooter and I've been beaten by Dave Imas when he was using a Marlin model 60 with an old Weaver 12x scope. This game is about the shooter, not the gun. Unlike other shooting competitions, those who call silhouette an "equipment race" are making excuses for their lack of practice.

[Dee]

Equipment can help a better shooter to shoot better but it is not going to make a crappie shooter instantly better by virtue of cost. The CZ I started out with that I sold to a young lady for $325 regularly beats me and the $2000+ rifle I "upgraded" too. You see she is so young she doesn't have it in her mind that she "needs" XYZ to make the shot. She has all she knows and makes the most of it with her abilities. I have improved since I got the $2000 rifle no doubt but I am far from a contender at big matches yet. But you see I have shot a lot of guns in my time and I know what I "want" and unfortunetly it is pricy but there is nothing else to buy and I am happy and can move forward now with the skills part. Had the CZ come with a nice 2 stage trigger and actually fit me I may still have it now as the accuracy of that rifle is just fine but I like 2 stages and shoot airguns as well all with 2 stage triggers. My airguns cost a small fortune but I get a lot more shots for the money on ammo.

Anyone shooting .50 BMGs regularly shouldn't have sticker shock when it comes to silhouette costs. For what I see the .50 sells for you could pay for my entire 4 rifles I use in silhouette and still have ammo money left over and nothing I have is what anyone would consider cheapies.

I will have to take 125,000 shots with my Annie 8002 to reach the cost of the rifle in pellets. With my 1712 in 4 cases 20,000 rounds I am spending more than the rifle cost me. Whats the cost of .50BMG Match Grade per round?

In some cases spending money and getting everything you can will put you in the upper end of the rankings but those are more your events where you are testing the equipment more so than the person. Standing up and shooting takes skills. Shooting Field Target sitting on your ass with a harness and knee rest and thigh rest and butt hook wearing a coat with a glove not so much IMO so you can buy your way into the upper scores I have seen it before but to win you still need that extra Ability within yourself. Just to stand there is much more about you then the equipment.

Which all this reminds me Bob259 I want my money back this $2000 rifle you sold me has yet to get me into Master Class! It did come with that guarantee right?

Dee

[BCloninger]

Well Mike,

I'm not sure what to tell you. I have $7000 in my rifle and about to drop another $1000 into it. It's 100% legal in standard class. I'm a terrible shooter.

Sounds almost familiar - $2,000 rifle (plus the scope), and this trigger nut is stuck in AA purgatory. Of course, staying healthy helps...

[lone ringer]

Rifle Silhouette is totally a shooters and not an equipment game. I know several national champions that have won with factory equipment one in particular had a Rem 700 varmint in 308 with a Canjar trigger and a Weaver T16 that dominated HP for several years in the 80's. Lately my friend Agustin Sanchez Jr. has won at least 20 National Championships in the last 8 years using borrowed equipment (he shot my rifles in 2008 and set three National 120 shot aggregate records with them). I am not going to lie and say that my rifles were bought at Wal-Mart but I sure did not pay $3000 for any of them, maybe close to half that without scopes.

[jneihouse]

Steve,

Youvr got great equipment...you just need an upgrade in your coach....or a better spotter

Kitty

[Innocent]

Mike, I have seen Troy Lawton win with a Ruger.
Steve, you certainly could use a better spotter!!!LOL Actually I think it was your feet, you coundn't decide between shoes or barefeet, and then didn't really give them a chance to go fully stripped down. Now as for the spotter, get Mallory! or Coates.

Innocent

[steve b.]

Mary,

Are you suggesting I shoot in the "buff..?"

[Jeaux]

Mary,

Are you suggesting I shoot in the "buff..?"

It sure is getting hot enough Steve.

[Innocent]

Now Steve, I was referring to your feet, that you would not let feel the grass, concrete or stones, sonething about too tender to deal with the concrete. As for you shooting in the buff, wouldn't bother me, but would probably bother several of the guys, the adantage would be that there isn't much place for brass to get caught and burn.

Innocent

[Daddio!]

Hey Guys & Gals maybe you can clarify something for me. All the talk in this thread about bloop tubes and tuners has me confused. I have an old Time Precision tuner (like the long one shown on the first page of this thread) on my Remington 541. I have the 541 set up for benchrest shooting and I currently use other rifles for silhouette shooting. After our silhouette match last month I was shooting benchrest targets for score with the 541and our match director was impressed with how accurate the rifle shoots and said I should consider using it for silhouette. However, he said there would be no problem using the rifle as is in our non-sanctioned matches but if I ever wanted to shoot it in a sanctioned match I would have to remove the tuner.

From what I've read here you're all saying that bloop tubes and tuners are legal to use in sanctioned matches. I can see how you could get around the rules using bloop tubes since technically they are sighting devices (even though they're not used that way for silhouette shooting) but actual tuners are not. They're designed for one purpose and that's to improve how the gun shoots. So, can someone please clarify are actual tuners legal for standard class or not?

Thanks!

Patrick

[rogersptl]

When in doubt--check the rule book. As I remember tuners are allowed in standard class rifles but not in the hunter class rifles. So if your 541 is a "THB" you can keep the tuner as long as it makes the weight, barrle length etc. Roger

[Daddio!]

When in doubt--check the rule book. As I remember tuners are allowed in standard class rifles but not in the hunter class rifles. So if your 541 is a "THB" you can keep the tuner as long as it makes the weight, barrle length etc. Roger

Hi Roger,

Thanks for the reply. I have read the rules and from my interpretation I wouldn't think that actual tuners would be allowed since they're sole purpose is to improve how the rifle shoots and they are not sighting devices. Are they legal for standard class simply because it's too difficult to differentiate between a device that's stricly a tuner and an actual bloop tube that has tuning capabilities?

I'm still confused!

[steve b.]

Yes, they are legal for standard rifle.

s.

[Jerry G]

Tuners are allowed on the standard (heavy) rifle. They are not allowed on the hunter (light) rifle. I had a tuner in my 1712 for a couple of years and then the NRA ruled against using them in hunter class. Now I buy ammo that shoots well in my hunter gun and then tune my standard rifle to shoot it.