Had a great time at the Spindletop Regional this past weekend in Beaumont, TX. I had one of those "one in a million" shots that show up every once in a while.

On my last shot of the morning match, I hit this chicken which jumped up in the air and landed back on the stand... half on the rail and half on the cross-support. You can see the outline of its original place on the rail and the solid near-center hit!

I hope it was scored as a X (hit).

Was a theme in Beaumont last weekend…. (Edge hit, rocked, did not fall…)

The feet on that ram look monstrous.

The feet on that ram look monstrous.

Did your shot get counted as a hit?

JohnHenry wrote: ↑Tue Apr 04, 2023 7:21 pm The feet on that ram look monstrous.

Standard cast iron SB ram. Some ranges have a barrier in front of the rail to cover the feet, some don’t…

Merlin wrote: ↑Wed Apr 05, 2023 4:50 am Did your shot get counted as a hit?

Allens chicken did, my ram did not….

Yep, it's a tough old game, but rules is rules.

14.4 Misses - Any shot which does not knock the proper silhouette over or from its stand will be scored a miss. “Turning” a silhouette on its stand will be counted as a miss. Any target that is hit, causing one or both feet to be moved off the stand or pad, and make contact with another supporting surface, but still remain upright, shall be scored as a hit.

Sometimes it is good to “get things out in the open”; to discuss matters that don’t seem to be right, or being misrepresented.

I will preface this opinion by stating that as well as indulging in the Rifle Metallic Silhouette game, I also shoot ISSF rifle and pistol, and muzzle-loading rifle (MLAIC), amongst other disciplines.
With ISSF, I have never found any wriggle-room in their rules. MLAIC, yes, I have had cause to challenge them.

Which brings us to NRA Rifle Metallic Silhouette.
There have been discussions here (and other places) arguing the minutiae of several rules: what constitutes a taper, what is an “olympic" sight, shots out of order, etc., etc.

The case in point within this forum thread is about targets that have not been dislodged from their stand. Some of the comment, of course, is light-hearted, but there is also a serious side, and inference, from the comment/s.
Emmetts’ picture shows a Ram target that has been edge-hit, but which didn’t fall. It might have rocked back and forth, but didn’t topple. That, in contrast to Allens’ Chicken that flew away and ended up balanced on a support beam.

But, here’s the rub. The pesky “rules”.

14.4 Misses - Any shot which does not knock the proper silhouette over or from its stand will be scored a miss. “Turning” a silhouette on its stand will be counted as a miss. Any target that is hit, causing one or both feet to be moved off the stand or pad, and make contact with another supporting surface, but still remain upright, shall be scored as a hit. Allens’ Chicken.

Note that in 14.4 there is no comma between over or from its stand, i.e., over, or from its stand.

The operative part of this rule is “off the stand or pad”.

Let’s refer to those pesky rules again: -
4 Targets
4.1 (part of) The “feet” and the top of the stands must be the same size with a maximum variation of 10%. Where solid rails are used, pads for each animal should be used and the pad will be considered the stand. Yes, I know it says “should”, but there’s the wriggle-room.
Both of the pictures in this thread show targets on a solid rail which does not have the prescribed pads upon which the feet are placed.

The way I see it is this: if the match in which those targets were displaced from their stand, or edge hit but didn’t fall, had been placed on a stand (pad) of the prescribed size, the outcome would likely have been quite different.
I would go so far as to say that if this was supposed to have been a “sanctioned match”, it should not have been, because the equipment did not comply.

Harsh?
Rules are rules. If we don’t want to comply, then let’s throw them out and have a free-for-all.
Or take a step back and read:

1.0 NRA Competition
NRA Competition is a Competition which is authorized in advance of firing by the National Rifle Association. The program, range facilities and officials must comply with standards established by the NRA. The types of tournaments which are Sanctioned are listed in Rule 1.6.

The range facilities and standards are laid out in the NRA Rifle Silhouette Rules.

My next topic could be: Why is it that Lever Action Rifle Silhouette disallows a spotter from using a ‘scope or binoculars mounted on a stand, but allows image-stabilizing binoculars?
3.1.3(e) Binoculars may be used for spotting. Spotting scopes or stands may not be used.
Where is the logic here?

I’ve got a big bucket of pop-corn

Doubt you’ll get much debate. There are several things that should change with CLA but people are ensconced on both sides.

Rebarrel, yes please… so like a sb/hp gun you can shoot it forever.

Spotting scopes, yes please… you can buy a reasonable spotting scope for use with all disciplines for the money of stabilized binoculars… Even BPCR uses spotting scopes while requiring 3/4” tube optics on the rifle itself.