Diary of a silhouette newbie...
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Jason
- Uber Master Poster
- Posts: 3002
- Joined: Tue Feb 28, 2006 7:36 pm
- Location: Snohomish, WA
Diary of a silhouette newbie...
I've had a few people ask how long it takes to get from one class to another, so I thought I'd put my own trials and tribulations down here for all to see. Hopefully, someone might recognize something similar in their past and chuckle or someone might see something here and save themselves some trouble in the future. Here are my notes on every single NRA-sanctioned smallbore silhouette match that I've shot, from the first to the last. Enjoy! 
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2004:
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4/18/04: 30/60 standard
Top end of A class out of the gate. My first match that I just showed up to with a 10/22 that I had been playing with parts on, when I didn't know how hard silhouette was supposed to be and got over half of the turkeys. One more point and I would have gone from unclassified straight to AA class. In hindsight, I'm glad that didn't happen. The future would have been grim and frustrating for a long time after that.
5/16/04: 23/60 standard
Just barely A class. Realizing how hard silhouette was, but was just a fun day at the range so I didn't care.
7/18/04: 29/60 standard
Good solid A score but not as good as my first one. Oh well, was fun to get out and shoot.
8/15/04: 27/60 standard
Decent A score, still just shooting silhouette to be shooting.
12/19/04: 29/60 standard
Had forgotten about silhouette for a while, happened to remember the day before and showed up, still not up to my first ever score.
2005
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2/20/05: 32/60 standard
Shot standard class with CZ452 Varmint that I didn't know qualified for hunter class, just barely into AA class. (YAY!, but I didn't really care)
3/20/05: 28/60 hunter
Shot in hunter class with 452 Varmint just to get classified in hunter (A class) so I'd have something to write on the sheet for the CBC at Pe Ell. Almost a year after my first match and wasn't as good as my first ever score.
4/17/05: 34/60 hunter
Shot in hunter class since I was shooting the Varmint and only wanted to shoot one relay. First AA score in hunter.
4/23-4/24 Conard Bernhard Cup at Pe Ell:
Standard: 20/40 first day, 19/40 second day
Hunter: 20/40 first day, 22/40 second day
I was entirely overwhelmed by the caliber of the shooters at Pe Ell but fell in love with the sport. I was one point short (19/40) of making AA class, that was my whole goal for the weekend. I was crushed, but as usual with my hobbies it drove me to actually try instead of just showing up and flinging lead downrange.
5/17/05: 23/60 standard, 26/60 hunter
Trying new scope and mounts, along with new stances and holds during the match. Some worked, but some didn't. Learned a lot about what it would take to improve.
7/17/05: 40/60 hunter
WOOHOO! My first AAA score! This was the first time I ever got "in the zone" in a silhouette match. No idea where it came from and wasn't able to repeat it again for a long time. Got me to AA class in smallbore hunter.
8/21/05: 32/60 hunter
Fairly disappointed, had been trying a few new tweaks and never felt "on" during the match.
11/20/05: 33/60 standard, 32/60 hunter
Blah blah blah.. same old, same old. Decent scores and got me to AA class in smallbore rifle, but hadn't picked up a rifle in three months and it showed. Got tired of being mediocre and decided to practice some.
12/18/05: 41/60 standard, 39/60 hunter
Oh yeah! My second AAA score in smallbore hunter! The practice is paying off. Slightly disappointed that I missed my first AAA score in smallbore by one point, but the significant improvement in my scores pushed the disappointment away.
2006
-----------------
1/15/06: 39/60 standard, 38/60 hunter
Both AA scores but starting to be nicely consistent toward the 40/60 mark that was my goal.
2/19/06: 39/60 standard, 40/60 hunter
Woohoo! My third AAA score (yes, even if all three were just barely AAA) in hunter and moved me up! Getting comfortable with the game and making less mental errors like moving scope wrong way or to wrong animal, etc.
3/12/06: 39/60 standard, 39/60 hunter
First NRA match at Tacoma Sportsmen Club. I was a little disoriented as a few details were different there, but I still shot my average so was pretty happy. Got 10-in-a-row on chickens and my first leg into my smallbore hunter grand slam. Umm.. you could say I was a bit excited.
3/19/06: 37/60 standard, 38/60 hunter
Not sure what was going on that day. Felt like I had butterflies in my stomach and shot a little under my average.
4/29-4/30 CBC at Pe Ell:
Standard: 22/40 first day, 27/40 second day
Hunter: 25/40 first day, 27/40 second day
I had been working on my newly-built self-made custom stock for the 452 Varmint and Pe Ell was my first real match with it. For future reference, this was NOT a good idea. During the Friday practice before the matches, it dawned on me just who I would be competing against thanks to the CBC using the hunter classifications for shooters. There were people that were shooting at the top end of AAA for a long time and were edging into master class that I was shooting against. I was fairly well intimidated. First day I went in expecting to do well and wasn't accustomed to the new stock at all. This disappointment compounded my discouragement from shooting against very many "almost Master" shooters. I got it under control a bit better the second day and shot two decent scores, but never put a AAA score on the board out of four matches. Lesson learned and won't ever change out an entire stock a few days before the only match of the year I really care about again.
7/16/06: 43/60 standard
Still shooting the same CZ Varmint in the new stock, but shot only one relay and it happened to be standard. Very proud of my first AAA score in standard class and loving my new stock design. Little did I know it would be the last AAA score in standard for a long time.
8/20/06: 37/60 standard, 42/60 hunter
Hadn't touched the gun for a month and shot OK. Tried a couple new things like differing foot positions during the match and such.
11/19/06: 40/60 standard, 41/60 hunter
I had finally gotten my Pharr-built 1712 in the RT/S stock. I hadn't shot much in months, so I practiced a bit in the garage the week of the match. I was pretty happy that both my scores started with a 4. The stock felt weird and I didn't really know how to hold it right.
12/10/06: 34/60 standard, 44/60 hunter
I was using the first relay (standard class) to try new holds and stuff, and then using them in the second relay (hunter class). By the end of the match, I felt a little more comfortable with the rifle. Got 10-in-a-row on rams and my second leg into my smallbore hunter grand slam. I was starting the like the new rifle more and more.
12/17/06: 37/60 standard, 44/60 hunter
Same as before, I was using one relay for trying stuff and one relay to see how I would score if I had to try to make every shot count. I learned a lot more in the relay I scored lower in.
2007
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1/21/07: 43/60 standard, 43/60 hunter
Not wonderful scores, but good for me. Still trying to find ammo that the gun likes and had a few that should have been hits that weren't. Not too disappointed since I got 10-in-a-row on pigs in hunter and 10-in-a-row on turkeys in standard. Laughed that all I still needed for the grand slam in smallbore hunter was turkeys and all I had in standard was turkeys.
2/11/07: 47/60 standard, 43/60 hunter
The 47/60 wasn't quite the 52/60 that I'd shot at the non-NRA match the week before (missed 6 turkeys and then 1 chicken, 1 ram, and no pigs), shocking everyone including myself. I was still damn proud of it, though, as it was going in my book. Got my third AAA score in standard and I was finally up to AAA class in smallbore after competing against a lot of the nation's best AAA shooters at the Conard Bernhard Cup about 10 months earlier.
2/18/07: 47/60 standard, 48/60 hunter
I finished the match on turkeys and got "in the zone" on the second relay, taking 14/15 turkeys and only missing that 13th one by 1/8" or so. I couldn't believe that I had missed a master class score in hunter by one point and I had gotten 10-in-a-row on turkeys in standard class again and that's all I needed for my grand slam in hunter. As I was about to turn my score card in, I remembered that we shoot standard first and then hunter at that range. I had just gotten my first master score in my book AND I had just finished my GRAND SLAM! YEEHAW! Unfortunately, this was the last of the ammo that my rifle liked and the search had to begin again. I wasn't really thinking about that at the time, though.
3/11/07: 43/60 standard, 45/60 hunter
New lot of the Golden Eagle Target, doesn't shoot as well as the same ammo from lots a couple years old. I wasn't entirely sure of my scope settings and missed a total of 6 or 7 that I thought should have easily been hits and got 1 or 2 that the dot was off the target when the trigger broke but the targets still fell. Will try one more match with it before I relegate the whole case to "practice use only" status and wait until I get the 1712 rebarreled to try it again.
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Well, there it is. If you made it this far, you really need to get out and shoot instead of sitting in front of the computer all the time!
- Jason
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2004:
-----------
4/18/04: 30/60 standard
Top end of A class out of the gate. My first match that I just showed up to with a 10/22 that I had been playing with parts on, when I didn't know how hard silhouette was supposed to be and got over half of the turkeys. One more point and I would have gone from unclassified straight to AA class. In hindsight, I'm glad that didn't happen. The future would have been grim and frustrating for a long time after that.
5/16/04: 23/60 standard
Just barely A class. Realizing how hard silhouette was, but was just a fun day at the range so I didn't care.
7/18/04: 29/60 standard
Good solid A score but not as good as my first one. Oh well, was fun to get out and shoot.
8/15/04: 27/60 standard
Decent A score, still just shooting silhouette to be shooting.
12/19/04: 29/60 standard
Had forgotten about silhouette for a while, happened to remember the day before and showed up, still not up to my first ever score.
2005
----------------
2/20/05: 32/60 standard
Shot standard class with CZ452 Varmint that I didn't know qualified for hunter class, just barely into AA class. (YAY!, but I didn't really care)
3/20/05: 28/60 hunter
Shot in hunter class with 452 Varmint just to get classified in hunter (A class) so I'd have something to write on the sheet for the CBC at Pe Ell. Almost a year after my first match and wasn't as good as my first ever score.
4/17/05: 34/60 hunter
Shot in hunter class since I was shooting the Varmint and only wanted to shoot one relay. First AA score in hunter.
4/23-4/24 Conard Bernhard Cup at Pe Ell:
Standard: 20/40 first day, 19/40 second day
Hunter: 20/40 first day, 22/40 second day
I was entirely overwhelmed by the caliber of the shooters at Pe Ell but fell in love with the sport. I was one point short (19/40) of making AA class, that was my whole goal for the weekend. I was crushed, but as usual with my hobbies it drove me to actually try instead of just showing up and flinging lead downrange.
5/17/05: 23/60 standard, 26/60 hunter
Trying new scope and mounts, along with new stances and holds during the match. Some worked, but some didn't. Learned a lot about what it would take to improve.
7/17/05: 40/60 hunter
WOOHOO! My first AAA score! This was the first time I ever got "in the zone" in a silhouette match. No idea where it came from and wasn't able to repeat it again for a long time. Got me to AA class in smallbore hunter.
8/21/05: 32/60 hunter
Fairly disappointed, had been trying a few new tweaks and never felt "on" during the match.
11/20/05: 33/60 standard, 32/60 hunter
Blah blah blah.. same old, same old. Decent scores and got me to AA class in smallbore rifle, but hadn't picked up a rifle in three months and it showed. Got tired of being mediocre and decided to practice some.
12/18/05: 41/60 standard, 39/60 hunter
Oh yeah! My second AAA score in smallbore hunter! The practice is paying off. Slightly disappointed that I missed my first AAA score in smallbore by one point, but the significant improvement in my scores pushed the disappointment away.
2006
-----------------
1/15/06: 39/60 standard, 38/60 hunter
Both AA scores but starting to be nicely consistent toward the 40/60 mark that was my goal.
2/19/06: 39/60 standard, 40/60 hunter
Woohoo! My third AAA score (yes, even if all three were just barely AAA) in hunter and moved me up! Getting comfortable with the game and making less mental errors like moving scope wrong way or to wrong animal, etc.
3/12/06: 39/60 standard, 39/60 hunter
First NRA match at Tacoma Sportsmen Club. I was a little disoriented as a few details were different there, but I still shot my average so was pretty happy. Got 10-in-a-row on chickens and my first leg into my smallbore hunter grand slam. Umm.. you could say I was a bit excited.
3/19/06: 37/60 standard, 38/60 hunter
Not sure what was going on that day. Felt like I had butterflies in my stomach and shot a little under my average.
4/29-4/30 CBC at Pe Ell:
Standard: 22/40 first day, 27/40 second day
Hunter: 25/40 first day, 27/40 second day
I had been working on my newly-built self-made custom stock for the 452 Varmint and Pe Ell was my first real match with it. For future reference, this was NOT a good idea. During the Friday practice before the matches, it dawned on me just who I would be competing against thanks to the CBC using the hunter classifications for shooters. There were people that were shooting at the top end of AAA for a long time and were edging into master class that I was shooting against. I was fairly well intimidated. First day I went in expecting to do well and wasn't accustomed to the new stock at all. This disappointment compounded my discouragement from shooting against very many "almost Master" shooters. I got it under control a bit better the second day and shot two decent scores, but never put a AAA score on the board out of four matches. Lesson learned and won't ever change out an entire stock a few days before the only match of the year I really care about again.
7/16/06: 43/60 standard
Still shooting the same CZ Varmint in the new stock, but shot only one relay and it happened to be standard. Very proud of my first AAA score in standard class and loving my new stock design. Little did I know it would be the last AAA score in standard for a long time.
8/20/06: 37/60 standard, 42/60 hunter
Hadn't touched the gun for a month and shot OK. Tried a couple new things like differing foot positions during the match and such.
11/19/06: 40/60 standard, 41/60 hunter
I had finally gotten my Pharr-built 1712 in the RT/S stock. I hadn't shot much in months, so I practiced a bit in the garage the week of the match. I was pretty happy that both my scores started with a 4. The stock felt weird and I didn't really know how to hold it right.
12/10/06: 34/60 standard, 44/60 hunter
I was using the first relay (standard class) to try new holds and stuff, and then using them in the second relay (hunter class). By the end of the match, I felt a little more comfortable with the rifle. Got 10-in-a-row on rams and my second leg into my smallbore hunter grand slam. I was starting the like the new rifle more and more.
12/17/06: 37/60 standard, 44/60 hunter
Same as before, I was using one relay for trying stuff and one relay to see how I would score if I had to try to make every shot count. I learned a lot more in the relay I scored lower in.
2007
--------------------
1/21/07: 43/60 standard, 43/60 hunter
Not wonderful scores, but good for me. Still trying to find ammo that the gun likes and had a few that should have been hits that weren't. Not too disappointed since I got 10-in-a-row on pigs in hunter and 10-in-a-row on turkeys in standard. Laughed that all I still needed for the grand slam in smallbore hunter was turkeys and all I had in standard was turkeys.
2/11/07: 47/60 standard, 43/60 hunter
The 47/60 wasn't quite the 52/60 that I'd shot at the non-NRA match the week before (missed 6 turkeys and then 1 chicken, 1 ram, and no pigs), shocking everyone including myself. I was still damn proud of it, though, as it was going in my book. Got my third AAA score in standard and I was finally up to AAA class in smallbore after competing against a lot of the nation's best AAA shooters at the Conard Bernhard Cup about 10 months earlier.
2/18/07: 47/60 standard, 48/60 hunter
I finished the match on turkeys and got "in the zone" on the second relay, taking 14/15 turkeys and only missing that 13th one by 1/8" or so. I couldn't believe that I had missed a master class score in hunter by one point and I had gotten 10-in-a-row on turkeys in standard class again and that's all I needed for my grand slam in hunter. As I was about to turn my score card in, I remembered that we shoot standard first and then hunter at that range. I had just gotten my first master score in my book AND I had just finished my GRAND SLAM! YEEHAW! Unfortunately, this was the last of the ammo that my rifle liked and the search had to begin again. I wasn't really thinking about that at the time, though.
3/11/07: 43/60 standard, 45/60 hunter
New lot of the Golden Eagle Target, doesn't shoot as well as the same ammo from lots a couple years old. I wasn't entirely sure of my scope settings and missed a total of 6 or 7 that I thought should have easily been hits and got 1 or 2 that the dot was off the target when the trigger broke but the targets still fell. Will try one more match with it before I relegate the whole case to "practice use only" status and wait until I get the 1712 rebarreled to try it again.
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Well, there it is. If you made it this far, you really need to get out and shoot instead of sitting in front of the computer all the time!
- Jason
