Metallic Silhouette Shooting at WEGC
HOW THE GAME IS PLAYED
This is a fun and challenging sport, with shooters taking aim at a variety of steel Chicken, Pig, Turkey and Ram silhouettes, set in rows, at distances ranging from 40 meters to 200 meters, under timed fire. Targets are generally set in rows – ‘banks’ - of five targets. Chickens form the closest bank, with banks of Pigs, Turkeys and finally Rams at other distances behind.
The shooting position for our events is standing and shooting offhand. We shoot from the 200yd pad for Lever Action matches, and at the Smallbore Range for the Smallbore Matches.
Target distances range from the nearest being 40 meters for the front-most rack of Smallbore Chicken targets, the farthest 200 meters for the bank of Ram targets at which centerfire cartridge competitors shoot.
Once a match is under way, you’ll hear the “plinks” of smallbore rounds or the heavy, thudding “gong” of centerfire cartridge bullets echoing back the hits of successfully struck targets. Targets must be shot in order from left to right, and targets must be knocked off their stands to count for score. Perhaps the best thing about metallic silhouette is the satisfaction you get every time you hear that “gong” in the distance and watch a steel pig or turkey tumble off its stand !!
10 steel Silhouette targets of each of the four steel animals is 40 total targets per Match. Best total hits score wins !!
Silhouette Shooting is a perfect sport for mastering technique basics like trigger control, stance and breathing, while also refining accuracy.
SCHEDULE AND EQUIPMENT
WEGC hosts two Silhouette Matches per month. 1st Sunday is Smallbore Silhouette. Location: WEGC Smallbore Range 4th Sunday is Lever Action Silhouette (centerfire - cowboy cartridge and pistol cartridge). Location: WEGC 200yd Pad at the back of the range.
We focus on Lever-Action type rifles but usually accommodate what you got. Sights allowed are category-specific but for Lever Action we focus on Open Iron sights (peep sights, buckhorn, any non-optic); same for Smallbore but we can accommodate optics as well; all are welcome.
Of course, EYE and EAR protection are required, and it’s helpful to have an empty chamber indicator flag as well.
COSTS
Lever Action Matches at WEGC are $20, and Smallbore Matches are $15.
A Little History of the Sport
The sport of metallic silhouette shooting evolved from siluetas metalicas, an informal shooting contest with a colorful history that dates back to the early twentieth century in Mexico. Professional shooters Jeff Cooper, Ray Chapman and others brought the sport of metallic silhouette shooting to the Southwestern U.S. in the 1960s. By the 1970s, the sport was quite popular in the region, enough so that the NRA sponsored its first rifle silhouette match in 1973. Today the NRA continues to support and sanction metallic silhouette competitions.
The international organization for the sport is the International Metallic Silhouette Shooting Union (IMSSU), and the International Handgun Metallic Silhouette Association (IHMSA) governs the sport for handguns only here in the U.S., with its matches being similar to the NRA competitions for handguns. While our WEGC Events focus on LEVER ACTION RIFLES, shooting under NRA guidelines, competitors at WEGC can compete in the following categories:
- Cowboy Lever Action (.25-caliber or larger)
- Pistol Cartridge Cowboy Lever Action
- Smallbore Cowboy Rifle (any pump, lever-action, or semi-auto .22-caliber rifle with a tubular magazine)
- Smallbore Rifle (.22-caliber rimfire)
- Smallbore Hunting Rifle (.22-caliber rimfire)
- Smallbore Hunter’s Pistol (.22-caliber rimfire)
It’s not typically expensive to shoot. With just about every type of rifle and handgun accommodated, about the only equipment you’ll need are ammunition and eye and ear protection. Just one other piece of equipment is required, and that’s an EIC—empty chamber indicator—a stick-and-flag tool that competitors insert into their guns’ open chambers, which easily communicates to others that those guns are unloaded and have their actions in the open position. Many rifle shooters have a partner using a spotting scope next to them to help them “walk in” shots on longer targets; more experienced shooters will often offer to share their scopes or serve as spotters when new competitors join the line. Some shooting divisions permit optics on the firearms, but there are plenty that also use just iron sights.
For more information on where you can find metallic silhouette matches and the rules for shooting in competition, click any of the following links: