newbie questions

[avidhunter1]

Hello everyone! I am new here as you all can see I have a lot of fun shooting small bore silhouette at our burrel rod n gun club in blairsville pa. I have a new cz 452 american with a leupold veri x III 4.5-14x40 scope in talley rings. I was thinking about going to a few matches once of these days. Here are a few questions I would like to have answered. Set me straight

1. What different classes of small bore silhouette are there and what are they called?

2. Will I be able to use my gun set up for all small bore classes?

3. Is there a weight limit on the gun?

4. Is there a limit on magnification of scopes?

5. How do you shoot in the match, times, stance, points?

6. Is there a weight limit on the trigger pull?

[pistolero45]

I think the best answer to your questions is to recommend that you purchase a rifle silhouette rule book from the NRA. This is good advice for any shooting discipline you might decide to try.

I'll let someone else chime in here on your specific questions. Thanks for trying our game, and good luck!

[Boyd L.]

Hello everyone! I am new here as you all can see I have a lot of fun shooting small bore silhouette at our burrel rod n gun club in blairsville pa. I have a new cz 452 american with a leupold veri x III 4.5-14x40 scope in talley rings. I was thinking about going to a few matches once of these days. Here are a few questions I would like to have answered. Set me straight I'll do my best, but I'm sure I'll leave something out. One of our colleagues can correct me if I do.

1. What different classes of small bore silhouette are there and what are they called?
Smallbore and Hunting rifle are the two NRA types of competition. The term classification is usually applied to the skill level (and thus competition level) of the shooter. The classes are: B, A, AA, AAA, and Master. Both Smallbore and Hunting rifle use these classifications, though the scores required for classification are somewhat lower in Hunting Rifle.

2. Will I be able to use my gun set up for all small bore classes?yes, as long as it has a 2 lb. trigger, it should meet all requirements for both categories.

3. Is there a weight limit on the gun? 10lb, 2 oz in Smallbore, 8.5 lbs in Hunting rifle.

4. Is there a limit on magnification of scopes?nope

5. How do you shoot in the match, times, stance, points?Time: the range officer typically gives each relay a 15 second ready, on the "fire" command, that relay has 2.5 minutes to shoot five rounds at targets in sequential order. Stance: stand on your hind legs with no external support or bracing and shoot. Points: Knock one target down, you get credit for one. Knock two down.....you get the picture.

6. Is there a weight limit on the trigger pull?"any safe trigger" in Smallbore. 2 lb minimum pull weight in Hunting rifle.

I second the above advice to obtain a rule book. Most importantly, get to match with whatever rifle/scope/ammo you've got and shoot. Your American is more than adequate. Good luck and welcome.

[ppkny]

Here's where you can read and print the rule books on-line

http://www.nrahq.org/compete/nra-rule-books.asp

ppkny

[avidhunter1]

Hello everyone! I am new here as you all can see I have a lot of fun shooting small bore silhouette at our burrel rod n gun club in blairsville pa. I have a new cz 452 american with a leupold veri x III 4.5-14x40 scope in talley rings. I was thinking about going to a few matches once of these days. Here are a few questions I would like to have answered. Set me straight I'll do my best, but I'm sure I'll leave something out. One of our colleagues can correct me if I do.

1. What different classes of small bore silhouette are there and what are they called?
Smallbore and Hunting rifle are the two NRA types of competition. The term classification is usually applied to the skill level (and thus competition level) of the shooter. The classes are: B, A, AA, AAA, and Master. Both Smallbore and Hunting rifle use these classifications, though the scores required for classification are somewhat lower in Hunting Rifle.

2. Will I be able to use my gun set up for all small bore classes?yes, as long as it has a 2 lb. trigger, it should meet all requirements for both categories.

3. Is there a weight limit on the gun? 10lb, 2 oz in Smallbore, 8.5 lbs in Hunting rifle.

4. Is there a limit on magnification of scopes?nope

5. How do you shoot in the match, times, stance, points?Time: the range officer typically gives each relay a 15 second ready, on the "fire" command, that relay has 2.5 minutes to shoot five rounds at targets in sequential order. Stance: stand on your hind legs with no external support or bracing and shoot. Points: Knock one target down, you get credit for one. Knock two down.....you get the picture.

6. Is there a weight limit on the trigger pull?"any safe trigger" in Smallbore. 2 lb minimum pull weight in Hunting rifle.

I second the above advice to obtain a rule book. Most importantly, get to match with whatever rifle/scope/ammo you've got and shoot. Your American is more than adequate. Good luck and welcome.

Huge help! Thank you all very much for the warm welcome and the help. Also, are target turrets a must have on a silhouette rifle? Just wondering because my leupold veri x III 4.5-14x40AO does not have them. I can pay leupold $100 to have them put on but didnt really want to spend the money right now since I am on a tight budget.

[Innocent]

Target turrets are VERY helpful. Midway had a sale recently on Stony Point add on's that will work for what you want. But you can work without the turrets until you can break loose with the money.

Welcome to this addictive sport. I would like to add tw minor additions to Boyd's answer. a hunter rifle has to have working safety also, if it is a magazine fed rifle the ammo has to be loaded from the magazine.

Mary

[avidhunter1]

Target turrets are VERY helpful. Midway had a sale recently on Stony Point add on's that will work for what you want. But you can work without the turrets until you can break loose with the money.

Welcome to this addictive sport. I would like to add tw minor additions to Boyd's answer. a hunter rifle has to have working safety also, if it is a magazine fed rifle the ammo has to be loaded from the magazine.

Mary

Thank you mary! I have been thinking about using my 4.5-14 for my 223 and puting on a 3-9x32 clearridge scope with target turrets. Would this scope work good for silhouette shooting?

[Mt_Medic31]

Avid,
The 3-9x32 should work fine for smallbore, but does it have an AO, or side focus? If it doesn't have either, it may cause problems, because if parallax is 2-3" or more at shorter ranges, which is certainly possible, it could put you off target. Also bear in mind, some matches put limits on magnification, others dont. I use a 4-16X, and its plenty, but the range I shoot at most has a 6x limit, so I just set it on 6 during matches, no problems. Target turrets are a sound investment for the other scope, I would do that.
Welcome to the sport, I love it. I've been shooting a long time, but I'm new to silhouette this summer, and I'm hooked. Good luck man. -Johnny

[avidhunter1]

Hello johnny! thanks for your reply. The 3-9x32 I was thinking about using for silhoutte has AO and adjusts from 7 yards to infinity and has semi target turrets.

[Innocent]

Mt Medi...I've never shot a match with a power limit on the scope, in silhouette. I have shot it for years with iron sights, and for quite a while there was a different class for those using the irons sights. There are limits on sights in CLA and Pistol cartridge, but I've not seen it in smallbore rifle and high power. Any scope that can be adjusted with at least elevation, is always the best, but it is important to have repeatability with the adjustments, as for which is the best, Weaver T series has the best mechanical reputation, I do not care fro their glass, Leupold has great glass and a strong second on mechanical dependabilty, and Sightron seems to be falling between the two.

Mary

[Mt_Medic31]

Miss Mary,
I was a bit confused as well, but the matches at Billings Rod and Gun club impose a 6x maximum, dunno why.

Avid,
I just started Silhouette this past May as a new hobby, one of the websites that gave me alot of info, and presented in a good way, is here.

http://members.cox.net/riflesilhouette/

Pretty much all I needed to know to get started, from equipment to rules. And I found it easier than the NRA rulebooks and such. Good luck, and more important, have fun.