Smallbore Range layout

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SteveD
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Smallbore Range layout

Post by SteveD »

I live in Las Vegas. There is a sorta, kinda a Silhouette range here at the Boulder Rifle and Pistol Club. It is not used as a regular Silhouette range. There are Silhouette animal shaped High Power swingers. There are also rails for regular animals at the correct distances. I haven't looked at the rails closely to see if they are level and sturdy but if they are not the facilities manager is pretty good about getting things like that done. It is used for different things but everyone other than me shoots at the animals from the bench. When I show up and start shooting standing they look at me funny and slowly moving away. LOL

My question is about Smallbore range setup. There are rails for Smallbore but they are seriously lower than the level of the firing line. Is there a standard for the height animals/rails relative to the height of the firing line? How much lower can they be?
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atomicbrh
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Re: Smallbore Range layout

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There is no height regulation for the targets. I have shot NRA approved Silhouette ranges where you had to climb up flights of stairs to get to the firing line which seemed like 3 stories above the targets. When shooting down at that extreme angle you can place all four animals behind each other because you do not need much right to left firing line space. Also, you do not have to move up and down the line to shoot. You can stay at the same firing point throughout the whole match. It did seem funny to go down a flight of stairs or a steep slope to reset targets. We have also shot at ranges where even the chickens seemed to high in the air too comfortably shoot. My suggestion is to go to Harbor Freight and buy their cheap 100 meter tape measure and check the distances for yourself. Take a friend and pull the tape really tight. I never pulled tapes tight enough until I helped a civil engineer design a new shooting range. I was amazed at how tight professionals pull the tape and how once you start pulling tight your measurements become very repeatable. My advice is to run a few matches as a test to see if you can generate interest. The green form is easy to fill out to start NRA approved monthly matches. Just call the Silhouette department and they will send you information. It is easier to run monthly matches that you think. When people at your club look at you funny when you shoot in the standing position you know you are demonstrating a level of marksmanship that most people cannot attain. You are intimidating them is why they stay away from you. The average shooter does not have the mindset to practice in the standing position enough to shoot silhouette. What is really funny is when a ten or eleven year old kid walks up and shoots a tighter group than you can because they do not know it is supposed to be hard. Sorry for the long reply but you asked about several topics.
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Re: Smallbore Range layout

Post by SteveD »

Thank for the informative reply.

The guy that runs the High Power matches is prodding me to start a Silhouette match.

I have been shooting at the High Power swingers, Chicken and Pigs, with an AR-15. (That is permitted at this range) I am having a Smallbore rifle built and should have it in two weeks or so. I have been looking at the Smallbore setup. I am told that there are animals there and that I can get access to them. I need to check out the rails next time I am out there. The firing line is at least 20 feet above the Chickens, maybe more. Not sure how it will be to shot there. The High Power animals were far enough away that it wasn't an issue also there were higher. I shot High Power and Smallbore at Ben Avery so I am very spoiled.
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Re: Smallbore Range layout

Post by acorneau »

A 20' rise/slope over only 40m of distance sounds like an awfully steep angle.

Sorry I don't have any words of wisdom for you Steve, but good luck getting it figured out.
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Re: Smallbore Range layout

Post by atomicbrh »

20 feet is nothing. Start shooting. Usually people will like that angle on the rifle. It is easier for most folks to get the elbow on the hip or ribs. The only thing better is when the concrete angles from front to back putting the front foot higher than the back foot. Acorneau is from Houston. They are used to absolutely flat ranges in Houston. Try to develop a core group of 3 or 4 local dedicated shooters. That group will spread the word and participation will grow.
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Re: Smallbore Range layout

Post by acorneau »

atomicbrh wrote: Acorneau is from Houston. They are used to absolutely flat ranges in Houston.

You say that like it's a bad thing.

:))
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Re: Smallbore Range layout

Post by richard »

Don't sweat the small stuff. The rules give some details on range standards but the reality is that all ranges have some limitations. We were fortunate enough to have two local ranges that were specifically built for silhouette but that is history now. Almost all of the ranges we shoot at have been adapted so that we can use them for silhouette. The most important thing is to get the distances correct. Animals are supposed to be on stands or pads per the rules but rails work fine. Also animal spacing and space on the firing line are defined in the rules but most ranges use what they have. That's the reality.
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Re: Smallbore Range layout

Post by SteveD »

Thanks for all the replies.

I will be attending the Directors meeting this Saturday afternoon to talk to them about Silhouette shooting.

The Charter of the Boulder Rifle and Pistol Club has promoting organized shooting as an objective. It is sad to see a Silhouette Range being used as it is.

Is an Olympic/ISSF style shooting stand NRA legal? For reloading and to hold cartridges and a timer, not during shooting of course. Something like this:
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Re: Smallbore Range layout

Post by OldRanger »

No reason the stand would be illegal, most clubs have something at the line to hold stuff. Our smallbore range has a tabletop going the whole way across it, and our high power range has smaller (12 inches by 18 inches or so) stands concreted in at each station. In Pe'ell theirs are movable which is sometimes nice depending on if you are lefty or not. On the movable ones the base is a cinder block base with a 4x4 post (not sure how its attached).
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Re: Smallbore Range layout

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No, Allen. Flat land is great. I wish I could own some of it one day and put a range on it. We use six foot plastic folding tables as firing points with two shooters per table. I like a clear firing line on non-match days. We have a line drawn with a thick sharpie down the firing line concrete as a datum line to measure the distance to the targets. When the front of the concrete is used as the datum line, shooters and equipment get wet when it rains. The width of that tabletop keeps that from happening. Shooters know that if they put their front foot on that line at our range, the distances will be almost perfect.
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Re: Smallbore Range layout

Post by SteveD »

I went to the Directors meeting and asked about the Silhouette range. It seems that the 'Silhouette Director' has decided that standing shooting is not where it's at any more. The Silhouette range is now being use for off the bench shooting and any attempt by me to use the Smallbore section of the range would interfere with the 'off the bench' crowd.

I was not told that I can't shoot Smallbore Sillhouette as I am a member and it is a proper use of the range. But I was given that impression that the 'Silhouette Director' would not give me any support, especially if I wanted to try to organize anything and that interrupting the 'off the bench' shooters to set up animals would not be well received. Oh well.

As luck would have it I am going to be working the Phoenix area for a while and there is plenty of Silhouette shooting there. :)

Thanks for the input.
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