SSAA NSW

Sporting Shooters Association of Australia (NSW) Inc. 17 Rifl e Metallic Silhouette Rifl e Metallic Silhouette is considered by many to be the ultimate rifl e challenge. It evolved from siluetas metalicas, an informal shooting contest with a colourful history that dates back to early 20th century Mexico during the days of Pancho Villa. As word spread about this burgeoning sport, so did its popularity. As a result, professional shooters brought it back over the border to the US in the early 1960s. By the late 1970s, the sport reached Australia with SSAA continuing to support and sanction rifl e metallic silhouette competitions today. The aim is promote all Rifl e Silhouette shooting, under rifl e range conditions using rifl es capable of long range accuracy and that can topple the distant targets. And every year you'll discover a wide range of competitive opportunities available too, including branch/club level, state titles and national championships as well as postal comps. International matches are now a common event too, with SSAA teams regularly competing in NRA Metallic Silhouette Championships. Rifl e Metallic Silhouette caters for a wide range of rifl es including Centrefi re, Centrefi re Hunting Rifl es (6mm/.243- calibre or larger), Rimfi re and Rimfi re Hunting with.22 long rifl e cartridge only, Air Rifl e, Service Rifl e (same as Centrefi re and includes any centrefi re service rifl e if it is 'as-issued' for general use), and Black Powder Cartridge (any original or replica hunting or military-style single-shot rifl e originally made for black powder). Please refer to SSAA Rifl e Metallic Silhouette rulebook available online from SSAA National visit www.ssaa.org.au. With Rifl e Metallic Silhouette's continued growth in popularity, 10 years ago saw the discipline approved to run NRA Cowboy Lever Action Silhouette as a national event. This match is conducted on existing Handgun Metallic Silhouette ranges and opens up Rifl e Metallic Silhouette shooting to a large number of shooters who wouldn't normally have access to a 500m range. It also includes three classes of rifl es used: Cowboy Lever Action Silhouette, Pistol Cartridge Cowboy Lever Action Silhouette, and Smallbore Cowboy Rifl e Silhouette. So, what does Rifl e Metallic Silhouette involve? Matches are graded with 5 grades from B up to Master grade with Open Juniors (15 and over) and Under 15 Juniors. Shooters take aim at a variety of armour-plated animals of varying thickness and placed at an assortment of distances (depending on the calibre of the rifl e being used). There are 10 targets at each distance, set out in two banks of fi ve targets. Each match consists of 40 shots (10 at each of the four types of targets which include chickens, pigs, turkeys and rams) with shooters given limited time to shoot a bank of targets…and all from the standing offhand position, with no support. Not even a sling! Then it's onto the second bank. Each shooter moves to a different target until all 40 targets have been fi red at and which must be knocked off their stands in order from left to right to count for score. When it comes to distances, in Centrefi re matches, silhouettes are placed between 200-500m. Targets and distances for Rimfi re are scaled down to one-fi fth of their centrefi re counterparts while for Air Rifl e, the scale is one- tenth the centrefi re size (and measured in yards). In Cowboy Lever Action Silhouette, the Big Bore Pistol targets range between 50-200m, while Field and Smallbone Pistol targets are both shot between 40-100m. Most SSAA Branches can accommodate the 100m range required for the Rimfi re matches. However, 500m Centrefi re ranges are not as common because of the large amount of land required to contain both the range and the safety zone. Metallic silhouette shooting is an ideal sport for SSAA NSW members looking to expand their horizons. It's great fun, there are all levels of matches from local shoots to national and international competitions, and it's a perfect sport for mastering technique basics like trigger control, stance and breathing, while also refi ning accuracy. For further information, please contact: SSAA NSW RMS Discipline Chairman or visit www.ssaansw.org.au for more information on Rifl e Metallic Silhouette under 'Disciplines' on the homepage.

• Cover