.22 Silhouette Competitions


Is 22 Silhouette Competition Fancy Words for Organized Plinking?

For those who enjoy .22 plinking here is an opportunity to improve, or show off, your shooting skills by joining in a .22 Silhouette Competition held on the fourth Sunday of each month at the NMBHGC Range! Additional practice matches are held on the second Thursday of each month.

These events are free to club members and their guests. The environment is an organized friendly competition, and the WINNER gets to take home “bragging rights” along with a scorecard to prove it.

We shoot at 1/5 scale steel silhouette targets using a scoped .22 rifle firing long rifle rimfire ammo (1,310 fps max velocity, no stingers or hyper velocity) from a seated bench position and are allowed to use any type of gun rest available (sandbag, bipod, fancy benchrest rig). Targets consist of 10 silhouettes of each; 2”x2” chickens at 50 yards, 3”x4” pigs at 100 yards, 3”x5” turkeys at 150 yards, and 6”x4” rams at 200 yards, sizes are approximate.

Shooters are grouped into relays of one shooter per target bay and will shoot in each of the four target bays to complete a match, each relay is time limited to 15 minutes. At the start of each relay you are allowed unlimited “sighters”, sighters being shots fired at a 8’”x11” steel plate and/or a swinging silhouette placed at the same distance as the targets. When you feel your rifle is sighted in for that distance the “sighters” stop and you shoot 10 shots for SCORE, one shot at each of the 10 targets in left to right order in the remainder of the 15 minute time allotment. A total of 40 rounds plus “sighters” are needed for a match.

Setup starts at 7:30 AM, a pre match sight in after setup if time allows, the match starts promptly at 8:00 AM. For additional information contact John Robison listed in the website Contacts page or just show up ready to have fun with some serious plinking.

You Are Invited

NMBHGC Adds NRA Style Small bore Rifle Competition

The .22 Rimfire bench rest Silhouette matches have led to requests for standing offhand matches. Backstop berms and target stands have been built on the 100/200 yard range to accommodate NRA style standing offhand matches. The offhand match runs concurrently with the bench rest match on the 4th Sunday of each month and a practice match is held on the 2nd Thursday of each month.

Rifles chambered in .22 Rimfire using ammo with a maximum velocity of 1310 fps (no stingers or hyper velocity) and any type of optics or sights are allowed. The shooting position is standing, no slings or supports are allowed. The targets are larger to make them easier to hit for those who want to have fun while improving shooting skills and participating in some friendly competition. Targets consist of 10 steel silhouettes of each: Chickens 6.5″ x 5.5″ at 40 yards, Pigs 5.25″ x 8.25″ at 60 yards, Turkeys 8.5″ x 7″ at 75 yards, and Rams 9.875″ x12″ at 100 yards.

Shooters are placed into relays of one shooter per target group and will shoot at each of the four target groups to complete a match. Shooters are called to the firing line, have 15 seconds to load their firearm and get ready, and then allowed 5 minutes to fire one shot at each of their 10 targets in left to right order. A total of 40 rounds are needed for a match.

The match starts by setting up targets for 4 bench rest and 4 offhand shooting positions, a short sight in period is allowed if time permits. The first relay of bench rest shooters will be called to the firing line to shoot their targets. The first relay of offhand shooters is then called to the firing line to shoot their targets. After each relay the match director calls for shooters to make the line safe, remove magazines, open actions, and store firearms in the gun rack. When both bench rest and offhand relays are complete the match director ensures all firearms are safe and declares the range safe to reset targets.

Note: Shooters can elect to participate in either bench rest or Offhand or both.

Bench Rest Rules Change

Bench rest Silhouette shooting time for unlimited “sighters” and shooting ten targets for score will change from 15 minutes to 10 minutes.