NRA Rifle Silhouette

About

Our NRA rifle silhouette matches tests the ability to shoot accurately with a full power rifle or .22 rim-fire rifle. Steel silhouette targets are set on rails at various distances.  The game is simple – knock down the targets – one shot each.  A spotter can be used to assist the shooter with his point of aim as wind and other factors can have a significant effect throughout the match.  A typical shooter and spotter are shown below.

Governing Body

National Rifle Association of America (NRA)

How A Match Is Run

The high-power (center-fire) rifle match is run in the morning, and the .22 rim-fire match starts at 1:00 p.m. Rifles may use scopes or open-sights, but most shooters use scopes. A sight-in period precedes the High-Power and .22 Rim-Fire matches.

  • High-Power:
    • Two strings of five targets are shot at 200 (chickens), 300 (pigs), 385 (turkeys) and 500 meters (rams)
    • One shoot per target
    • While 6mm is the smallest caliber allowed in High-Power competition, it is well known that a 6mm bullet will not knock the sheep target off its stand reliably. For that reason, most silhouette shooters use larger calibers. The most popular one seems to be the .308 Winchester. Magnum loads are not allowed due to the degree of damage they cause to our targets.
  • .22 Rim-Fire:
    • Two strings of five targets are shot at 40 (chickens), 60 (pigs), 77 (turkeys) and 100 meters (rams)
    • One shoot per target
    • Since .22 rim-fire rifle silhouette is simply a miniature of the High Power Rifle game, the rifle allowed is defined as being identical to the High Power Rifle. Rifles may be chambered only for the unmodified .22 caliber rim-fire short, long, or long rifle. No special hot loads, such as “stingers” may be used.

Prizes:

  • Cash pots for the High Power and .22 Rim-Fire matches are based on the number of shooters – highest scores take the pots.

A simple lunch is served for a nominal fee.

Spectators are welcome!

Divisions

High-Power (Center-Fire) Rifle

.22 Rim-Fire

Equipment

Clothing – Commercial type trap and skeet vests and shotgun shooting shirts are permitted as well as clothing normally suitable for existing climatic temperatures. Shooting coats, unnecessarily heavy clothing, or anything on the person that would provide artificial support, such as clothing having excess padding or stiffening material, or clothing which restricts or supports the body in the shooting position may not be worn.

Match Fees

$15 High-Power

$10 .22 Rim-Fire

$12 NRA score-book (not required unless you wish to advance to the state shoot)

Registration

The NRA Rifle Silhouette Program can be found on the 500 meter range. Parking is just North of the firing line.

Sign in at the 500 meter range begins at

  • 8:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. for High-Power
  • 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. sight-in
  • 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. High-Power match
  • 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. .22 Rim-Fire sight-in
  • 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. .22 Rim-Fire match

Dates

Matches are held on the 2nd Saturday of each month, May through October

Safety

Eye and Ear protection is required for everyone

Eligibility/Prerequisite

For More Information

For questions about our NRA shoots, please contact Dean Danforth at: 616-813-6430.

You can get information about rules and other great stuff at:  http://www.nrahq.org/compete/silhouette.asp .