After spending a few weeks here reading and learning as much as possible, I decided it was time to join the forum and hopefully learn even more. Although I have yet to try my hand at the the type of silhouette that this forum is dedicated to, I am the match director of our sportsmen club's .22lr long range silhouette matches. Our matches are basically a down-sized version of the BPCR matches, shot at distances of 50(chickens) to 186(rams) yards. With that information out of the way, I would like to get to the two main points of my post.

The first type of information that I am seeking is in regards to conventional smallbore silhouette matches. After three years of shooting our long-range matches, I find myself intrigued with trying my hand at regular smallbore matches. I am from the Pittsburgh, PA area and am looking for infomation on any clubs in southwest PA holding silhouette matches. I have searched the internet and from what I can see, Ridgeway is the closest club to me that shoots on a regular basis. For me, that is at least a three hour drive and I was hoping there might be something available a little closer. I know that not all clubs get all their events posted on the web, so I was wondering if anyone knows of any clubs in this area holding silhouette shoots. My stepson lives in Mechanicsburg, PA and we try to get out that way a few times a year. I see that the Harrisburg Hunter and Anglers hold monthly matches. Does anyone have a rough idea how long a drive it is from Mechanicsburg? I have been thinking along the lines of trying to combine a visit to the stepson and making the drive up to HHA to take in a match.

The second type of information I am seeking involves the source for the various silhouette awards. For three years I have been running our matches and we have a small, but dedicated group of shooters that attend. Efforts to build a larger following have yielded mediocre results. This year, in hopes of creating a little more "buzz" and visability, I am planning on implementing "10 in a row" pins and Grand Slam awards in addition to our regular 1st place awards. Does anyone have suggestions for the "best" source of these items. A fellow shooter gave me a link to R&S Enterprises in Arizona. They seem to be reasonable enough, but, since I am new to ordering these type of awards, I know nothing of their reputation or quality of their awards. Are there other recommended sources?

If you can help me with any of the above information I seek, thank you very much in advance and hopefully, sometime this year, I will meet some of you out on the range.

Al

Al, I have in the past done business with R&S Enterprises and they were great.
Mary

I'm not a match director, but I'm under the impression that the 5 in a row pins, 10 in a row pins, etc. come straight from the NRA. If I'm wrong in this assumption, I hope someone will correct me.

SteveM.

Steve,
the 5 and 10 in row pins can be ordered from the NRA, they are much more expensive and the only difference is the "NRA" on the pin. Most shooters are so delighted to have a pin they do not care whether the NRA initials are on the pin or not. When I was buying them the cost difference was in the order of 150%...quite a bit if you are on a budget.
R&S also has ram with a 'cup' and #1 available as well as some other 'match winner' type pins, making for some inexpensive sources of prizes.

Mary

The pins can indeed come from different places. If the match isn't NRA-approved then the pins and grand slam awards/certificates/etc won't be, of course. That doesn't mean you can issue your own pins and grand slam certificates, though.

In SB and HP silihouette, 5 in a row are given to class AA and under. 10 in a row are given to all.

Thanks to everyone for the replies so far. Our long-range silhouette match is not a sactioned NRA match, so there is quite a bit of freedom with awards, equipment classes, etc. One thing I have learned over the years in various shooting sports is that most competitors love the different awards. Many will say they are just shooting for the self-satisfaction, but I have found the awards do matter. Our matches were created by a couple of fellow high-power shooters looking for some way to get more of our club members involved in competitive shooting. Our club annually averages between 1200 and 1500 members, yet there is a only a small percentage of those who are active, competitively. It really has been an uphill battle, though. Just out of curiosity, what kind of turnouts do the normal silhouette matches have?

Thanks again,
Al

Al,
Turnouts here in FLorida truly appear to be seasonal...is there a race, football or basketball game on, how hot or cold is it and are the kids ina soccer or baseball tournament. Anywhere from 4 to 20....
And yes prizes do matter....like many that have shot for a few years, plaques and trophies are not vital but for new shooters and someone just starting in this game, even the pins are a big plus. I have found that most do not care what color or if the NRA is on the pin, just the shape of the animal and a 5 or 10 on it! THe R&S 1st place and winner pins are also very popular.

Mary

Thanks for the tips today Mary. Had a blast and the coaching was on point. You defiantly had something to do with my A class victory! Tommarow I shall get the sought after pins! And to the fellow above, the sport is great because of the pins and plaques. You'd be surprised on how addicting shooting gets when your chasing your first pin or a pin you haven't gotten yet!