| Welcome to Smallbore Rifle Silhouette by Jerry Webster | |||||
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If you click on the above pictures, you can see an enlarged view of each set for the 4 animals. Not all of the Turkeys and Rams are there because this was taken while they were being shot. On the Turkeys, one is in the act of falling in the middle top left row and the Rams had a miss in the dirt.
When firing you will take one shot at each target in order from left to right in three sets of five. You will start on the lower left first. The second set of five will be the upper left. The third set is the upper right. Again you shoot one shot at each target from left to right. If you should shoot at an incorrect target it will be counted as a "miss" even if you hit it. The shooting period for each set of 5 targets has a time limit. There is a 15 second period to pick up your rifle and get ready (started by the command "Listo" or "Ready") followed by 2-1/2 minutes of firing time (started with the command "Fuego" or "Fire"). The 2-1/2 minutes ends with the command "Alto Fuego" or "Cease Fire" (any shot taken after that will not be counted). You will then set your rifle down for a short rest (approximately 30 seconds) and wait for the next "Listo" command to start on the next set of 5 targets. You will do it a third time to account for all 15 shots at the 15 targets. After you have shot at all 15 of your targets and the range is declared safe, you will go out and reset the 15 targets on the stands for the next competitor.
In order to account for everyone shooting in a match there are typically 4 sets of 15 for each animal (there is enough room for as many as 6). Each set of 15 animals is call a "Bank" which are numbered from left to right. In other words there are 4 banks of Chickens, Pigs, Turkeys and Rams set for the shooters in an average match. This means that as many as 16 people can be shooting at the same time. Each group of 16 shooters is called a "Relay". We always have 4 Relays in a match. This means we can accommodate as many as 64 shooting positions in a match, 4 relays of 16 shooters. Before a match begins you will select any one of the 64 shooting positions still available. Assuming you have the starting position of Relay 2, Bank 3 of the Pigs, you would shoot in the second group of shooters or "Relay" called to the firing line after the first group had finished shooting and are in the process of resetting the targets. You would get ready at the third rack or "Bank" of Pigs from the left.
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| Click on this picture to see a full view of the layout of the range. It shows the general location of each Bank for each of the 4 targets and their shooting positions on the firing line . | Click on this picture to see a view from the Chicken firing line. It is not as skewed as it appears in the picture. It shows where shooting Banks 4 and 5 are and the targets which would be shot from those positions. |
The next time Relay 2 is called to the firing line, you will then move to the next animal in sequence (Chickens - Pigs - Turkeys - Rams) and the same Bank number. If you started on Pigs Bank 3, you would then move to the Turkeys Bank 3 the second time you are called to the firing line. The third time Relay 2 is called to the firing line you would move to the Rams Bank 3. The 4th and last time relay 2 is called up you would move to the Chickens Bank 3. After Relay 2 has been called to the firing line 4 times, you will have finished your 60 shots for the match, 15 shots at each of the 4 different targets.
Each person while shooting will have a scorekeeper / spotter. If a person does not have one, the next person to shoot in that relay will do it. Many people work in pairs and spot for each other while the other is shooting. A spotter can help to note changes in the wind conditions by explaining where the bullet hit or missed the target.
Many places are set for matches having 40 total shots. Some events here are 40 shot matches. At those matches the format of the match is held the same way except there will be 10 total targets set for each animal instead of the 15 as previously described. They can be set in two ways.
(1) A lower and upper banks of 5 as they would be in the 1st and 2nd banks shot in the 15 round match. (Click here for picture of an upper/lower setup)
(2) Side by side banks of 5 as they would be in the 2nd and 3rd banks shot in the 15 round match (Click here for picture of a Side by Side setup).
| Missing Targets | Alibis | Scoring Ties & Shoot-offs |
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As mentioned before, if you shoot an incorrect target it will not count. This and wind conditions can cause a target to be missing as you are firing in a match. It is possible to work around it by verifying with your scorekeeper which target you are going to shoot. Typically you would keep progressing from left to right as you can. If you are missing the third animal in that bank of 5, notify your scorekeeper that you are moving to the fourth animal and shoot at that target. Then when you get to your fifth shot, you can move back to a previously missed target or the first one on the next bank of 5 on your stand again making certain your scorekeeper is aware of what you intend to do. If are running out of targets and time, see "Alibis". |
Alibi shots are shots taken immediately at the end of a bank of 5 targets to help a shooter overcome problems in his relay. If there were equipment problems ammunition problems or missing targets, alibis can be taken to make up for them. Only one alibi can be claimed by a shooter in a match. One alibi can be up to 5 alibi shots. If your rifle malfunctioned as you started and you can quickly repair or replace your rifle, all 5 of the shots missed can be taken by alibi. If you had a misfired cartridge in a match, as in a dead primer, you can take an alibi. You must claim your alibi immediately at the call of cease fire and explain to the range officer why you need an alibi. |
Ties in a match typically involve a shoot-off. It will be a sudden-death format. "B" Class shoot-offs are done firing at the Pigs, "A" Class at the Chickens, "AA" Class at the Rams, all remaining Classes and Match Winners are shot at the Turkeys. You will be allowed the 15 seconds after the command of "Ready" or "Listo" to prepare your rifle and 30 seconds to fire after the "Fire" or "Fuego" command. This will repeat until one person hits and the other misses. One exception is for Match Winner at a State Championship. This will be a 5 shot shoot-off. Standard banks of 5 animals are shot in the standard 2-1/2 minutes until the tie is broken. Another exception is in larger matches in order to save time, ties will be decided by what is called a reverse animal count. The person who shot the most Turkeys, starting with the most difficult animal, would be ahead. If the Turkey count is a tie, the Rams are counted. If the Rams are tied, the Chickens are counted. If the Chickens are tied, the Pigs are counted. If that doesn't decide the winner, lets go have a sudden death shoot-off. The Match Winner ties will always have a shoot-off.
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© Copyright 2009
