Newbie Here

[kseatm]

Hello all,

Great site! I've been reading everything I can since I found this site.

I'm new to all this and wanted say hi. I recently purchased a Anschutz 1712 Silhouette rifle and after shooting it a few times, I think I may be interested in trying Silhouette shooting. I have never shot in any type of formal competition before but this looks like it could be fun. I've been playing around at a public range with the Silhouette paper targets and I would like to try the real thing.

My biggest problem is finding an actual Silhouette match to attend just to see what it's like and what I need to do to become competitive. I live in the Northern part of the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Are there any posters here that would know of any actual matches within a couple hours driving time from where I live? Anywhere in the VA, WVA, MD area would be close enough to just visit a match and watch to see how it's done. I don't want to jump into this and not have any place to actually compete.

I've searched the internet but can't find much. I'm sure there are matches held at different shooting clubs, but I'm having trouble finding them.

If anyone has any ideas, matches or dates of local matches, please feel free to let me know.

Thanks for any help and again, great website!

Kenny

[Innocent]

Kenny, welcome to the addiction, and yes there are shooters in the VA area on this. Guess they are just being quiet right now but they will show up before long.

Do not worry about being competitive with anyone other than yourself. You can be your best or worst enemy in competition depending on how you approach the mental part of the game. The best part of attending matches is that you get to share your experiences with others that are trying to be or are successful at winning the mental part of the game. The matches allow you to learn, teach (which helps you learn even more) and just plain have fun.

Look forward to seeing you at a match soon. (Yes, Sgt. O'Ducky I checked my spelling on that one)

Innocent Mary

[AZRifle]

I show 3 ranges/clubs in Virginia. There are links to the clubs there and links to maps to the range.

You have a greeat rifle for it, welcome to the sport!

Jerry

[Trent]

I show 3 ranges/clubs in Virginia. There are links to the clubs there and links to maps to the range.

You have a greeat rifle for it, welcome to the sport!

Jerry

Kenny, go to "AZRifle's" website and you can find the info you are looking for.

Ah heck... here is the link. http://members.cox.net/riflesilhouette/ ... anges.html

You picked one heck of a rifle to start this game with! Nice.

[shakes]

Hi Kseatm. Welcome to SA! yup thats right Silhouettes Anonymous I think for your own good you should sell me your rifle before you start spending all your money on ammo, shooting vests, entry fees, gas, plane tickets and the rest of the stuff that comes with silhouette. Just kiddin ya. Your gonna love this sport, love the people, and not want to ever do any other kind of shooting again. I was hooked from the first round fired at a chicken and havent looked back since. 4 years 2 custom smallbore rifles and 2 custom Highpower rifles(we'll get into highpower at the next meeting ) and a buttload of new friends. Get out to a local range and shoot and let the addiction begin but the most important thing is have FUN!!!

[thskeer]

WELCOME. I shoot at 2 of the 3 listed sites in VA. Montpelier is close to Richmond and Fairfax is closer to Manassas. Both have Highpower, Smallbore, and Cowboy Lever events. I haven't shot in Suffolk, yet.

That being said you might want to google NRA Shooting Sports, flip to the back and check events in WV, MD or PA to see what is closest to you. Call or email the Match Director and go have fun.

You dont have to shoot the course of fire a lot to get good practice either. I use an air rifle several days per week in my basement, dry fire when I cant shoot air, and get about 3 days a month of live fire 'practice' if I'm lucky. Given that, my scores have improved since using the Air Rifle, and I'm much more confident as well. As a big benefit, I'll bet I'll save enough in Eley Tenex to pay for the Air Rifle in less than a year!

PM me if you have questions about Fairfax or Montpelier, or others too.

[kseatm]

Thanks all.

I'm still in the "sorting out phase" of everything and will know more of what to do after practicing more. Thanks for the links.

AZrifle, you've got a great website. I spent most of last evening just reading everything you have on it.

thskeer- I may pm you in a few days. The Montpelier and Fairfax sites are close enough for me to go check out. I live in Harrisonburg, which is 2 hours from either Richmond or Manassas. I'm going to keep looking for other places too, but I do want to see a live match first before jumping in with both feet.

It's going to be a few weeks before I can even shoot the Annie anyway- It's on it's way back to Merkel, again! Ejection problems! They say they can fix it, but so far no luck. Maybe this time will be the charm. I don't like having the problems that I'm having as it's a new rifle, but it really is accurate. I've been practicing with my CZ's and while they are plenty accurate for Silhouette, the Annie really does outshine them.

Again, thanks for all the help. This may turn out to be quite an adventure.

Kenny