| Welcome to Smallbore Rifle Silhouette by Jerry Webster | |||||
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Rifle Silhouette is believed to have begun around 1914 by the followers of Pancho Villa. There was a dispute between two men regarding their abilities to shoot and the squad leader Juan Martinez had the idea of them shooting a long range at a steer that had been taken for food. They each would shoot alternately and the first to kill his steer would be the winner. That contest was enjoyed and began to be repeated with other animals at other distances. After the Mexican Revolution the contests were held throughout different regions of Mexico and the meat was used in the festival.
After the conclusion of World War II, the thought that it was too inhumane to use live animals in such a sport grew. This gave birth to the name "Silhuetas Metallicas". In 1948 the first match using the metal silhouettes of the animals, not live animals, was held in Mexico City. Don Gongalo Qguilar organized that first match and in 1952 was the person behind the organization of the "Silhuetas Metallicas Nacionales" in Mexico City, or the Mexico National Championship of Metallic Silhouette. The targets there were "Gallinas" (Chickens) at 200 meters, "Gualotes" (Turkeys) at 385 meters and "Borregos" (Sheep) at 500 meters. Later, in the mid 1960's, the "Javelina" (Pig) at 300 meters was added.
Eventually around 1960 the Northern League or "La Liga Del Norte" of Mexico started to draw some attention of the people living in the Southwestern United States. They started crossing the border to compete. There were some competitions being held in Southern Arizona, but in April 1968, the first formal Metallic Silhouette competition in the United States was held at the Tucson Rifle Club.
In November 1972, the NRA sponsored its first Rifle Silhouette Championships and officially recognized it as a shooting discipline.
Today Metallic Silhouette is an international sport with several categories of competition. It is governed by the International Metallic Silhouette Shooting Union (IMSSU). Eighteen countries are members of the IMSSU. They are Australia, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, USA and Zimbabwe.
The roots of the sport being in Mexico is the reason the target distances are all in meters and many ranges today still use the "Listo" "Fuego" and "Alto Fuego" commands at the match.
© Copyright 2009