NRA Lever Gun Rifle Rules

Centerfires, rimfires, pistol cartridges and everything in between.
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dustinflint
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Re: NRA Lever Gun Rifle Rules

Post by dustinflint »

psteiger wrote: Mon Feb 21, 2022 4:39 pm Combine that with his natural ability and he is unbeatable.....unless you hit him with a car. That slows him down a tad..... :))
Apparently I’m unbeatable in lever action as long as there are no other shooters there. I haven’t won a Lever Action Match in years. Of course, I only shoot one match per year with a bunch of great shooters that won’t protest my equipment and beat me anyway…

I agree with Emmett. I have been VERY impressed with my 24” Henry .22 Magnum. It shoots so well, I didn’t have to put a custom barrel on it!

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Re: NRA Lever Gun Rifle Rules

Post by DAVIDMAGNUM »

[/quote]



What is correct, period correct? If you do a little investigation into Winchester history, “back in the day” they would build pretty much anything you wanted, barrel chambering, length, contour, wood, finish…. There are some odd ducks out there.
[/quote]

When Gander Mountain had a brick and mortar store near me they had an "odd duck" for sale. It had no price on the tag and was in its own glass display. I didn't ask to handle it. It was an original 1873 Winchester, 30" heavy octagon barrel chambered in 22 short.......and you thought your 1866 Uberti in 22lr was barrel heavy!!
If you could hold it all day and if 22 shorts were cheap and easy to obtain you could knock over chickens with the muzzle blast alone. :D
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Re: NRA Lever Gun Rifle Rules

Post by shakyhold »

This sounds quite similar to Light Rifle rules to original Hunter Rifle rules. Long before the Frankin' rifle rules now, the original Hunter Rifle rules required factory stock equipment. Hunter rifle rules were written to stop the "Spacegun" light rifles of the mid 80's.
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Re: NRA Lever Gun Rifle Rules

Post by JohnHenry »

It's been interesting to read the comments and opinions about barrel replacement on this forum.

If the rule were rewritten properly that the replacement barrel must be the same configuration as the original and the same length with a maximum length not to exceed 26" ?, then I think the. change could be beneficial for our sport.

The main reason I posted the topic to begin with is that I would like to see lever gun shooting grow, and I feel this would be one way to do it.

As far as having an advantage with a replacement barrel, I take issue with those who think it would be an unfair advantage. With a reasonably accurate rifle, the top shooters are still going to win. As one shooter stated, there is already an equipment race in that most of us go through rifles until we find an accurate one.

The whole problem with implementing a rule change right now with the NRA is that they have abolished the silhouette committee, so there is no one to hear our concerns.
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Re: NRA Lever Gun Rifle Rules

Post by cedestech »

JohnHenry wrote: Fri Feb 25, 2022 9:59 am It's been interesting to read the comments and opinions about barrel replacement on this forum.

If the rule were rewritten properly that the replacement barrel must be the same configuration as the original and the same length with a maximum length not to exceed 26" ?, then I think the. change could be beneficial for our sport.

The main reason I posted the topic to begin with is that I would like to see lever gun shooting grow, and I feel this would be one way to do it.

As far as having an advantage with a replacement barrel, I take issue with those who think it would be an unfair advantage. With a reasonably accurate rifle, the top shooters are still going to win. As one shooter stated, there is already an equipment race in that most of us go through rifles until we find an accurate one.

The whole problem with implementing a rule change right now with the NRA is that they have abolished the silhouette committee, so there is no one to hear our concerns.

^^^ That, all of that…
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Re: NRA Lever Gun Rifle Rules

Post by lone ringer »

In the late 1990's I was a member of the Silhouette Committee and was instrumental in convincing our chairman Bill Miller to get the NRA to sanction Cowboy Lever Action Rifle Silhouette. We adopted the rules shooters from New Mexico were using at the time because they were simple and did not allow for alterations to the rifles. I am not saying that some rules have not changed over time but nothing as drastic as allowing custom barrels.
We are well into the third decade of competition with lever action rifles and the sport is as popular as in the beginning.
Please do not ruin the sport by pushing for rules, like allowing replacement of barrels with custom barrels that in the long run would only harm its popularity. Just look at what happened with the Hunting rifle silhouette sport that has trouble attracting more than 50 shooters at Nationals after they changed the rules from production to full custom right about the time Cowboy lever action started.
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Re: NRA Lever Gun Rifle Rules

Post by PAndy »

I've only been shooting silhouette for a few years so I don't have any historical perspective to offer. My immediate reaction to the idea of allowing re-barreling rifles is negative. Swapping barrels from another Winchester or Marlin or Henry, etc. would not bother me at all and I'm sure people do it, but aftermarket barrels seem to be a departure from the spirit of the event. There are plenty of arguments for and against this of course, but I don't understand how this rule change would help grow the game. ?

Phil Anderson
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Re: NRA Lever Gun Rifle Rules

Post by hermit5 »

Loneringer,thank you for the wise words and advice,on Leveraction rules.
If the Genie could be put back in the bottle and a return to the out of the box production rifles rules for SB&HP Hunter,as a new classification.
This rule change I’d be up for.
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Re: NRA Lever Gun Rifle Rules

Post by thauglor »

hermit5 wrote: Thu Mar 03, 2022 7:52 am Loneringer,thank you for the wise words and advice,on Leveraction rules.
If the Genie could be put back in the bottle and a return to the out of the box production rifles rules for SB&HP Hunter,as a new classification.
This rule change I’d be up for.
Is a spring change to the trigger allowed? Maybe I just got a "defective" factory trigger that is in the 8 oz range, how could you prove otherwise? Oh you have to have limits on the trigger. But it is factory rifle. What about all these new rifles with different barrel options? What about the Vudoo rifles? They are factory but you get a custom action, with a barrel, trigger and stock of your choice? Is that any different than when Anschutz, Savage and Kimber produced products specifically for silhouette? Also, a hunter rifle class that doesn't allow thumbhole stocks? No one ever has hunted with a thumbhole stock, really?

You would end up exactly to where we are now in hunter rules. A formula for a rifle to follow.

It is still the Indian and not the arrow, but if the arrow can't hit a turkey off a rest, you bet I will not be going to a match, let alone traveling to the regional or nationals.
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Re: NRA Lever Gun Rifle Rules

Post by Grantmac »

I've said it many times before but the ORPS production rules are just about perfect for the "lower" class. Allows very limited adaptions for rifle fit but sets a price cap.
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Re: NRA Lever Gun Rifle Rules

Post by cedestech »

What about hand loaded ammo....

I mean not EVERYONE hand loads...

Or knows how to do it successfully to get the best accuracy out of a rifle adjusting powder used, powder charge, primer used, primer seating depth, neck tension, crimp tension, bullet selection, COL optimization...

I mean that is a "unfair" advantage for someone "just starting out" in "this sport"....

"Well, they can just shoot 22mag"... Have you bought 22 MAG ammo lately? What about ram ringing.... then they should shoot a center fire
pistol cartridge... But they don't reload so they have to hope to find a "factory" ammo that just happens to shoot well out of their rifle...

I propose there should be a factory ammo only rule. That way it's "fair" to everyone... the experienced reloader and reloading handicapped...

Sounds ridiculous doesn't it... I'm only about half serious... "ish"... :roll:
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Re: NRA Lever Gun Rifle Rules

Post by SqHunter »

PAndy wrote: Thu Mar 03, 2022 7:01 am I've only been shooting silhouette for a few years so I don't have any historical perspective to offer. My immediate reaction to the idea of allowing re-barreling rifles is negative. Swapping barrels from another Winchester or Marlin or Henry, etc. would not bother me at all and I'm sure people do it, but aftermarket barrels seem to be a departure from the spirit of the event. There are plenty of arguments for and against this of course, but I don't understand how this rule change would help grow the game. ?

Phil Anderson
Phil, Rebarreling allows you to purchase an inexpensive, worn out, non-collector rifle and fix it well enough to shoot silhouette. This saves many thousands of dollars when comparing to collector grade Winchesters. Rebarreling simply means more rifles would be available to be used, at a cheaper price, than what is currently available.
Last edited by SqHunter on Thu Mar 03, 2022 11:54 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: NRA Lever Gun Rifle Rules

Post by cedestech »

SqHunter wrote: Thu Mar 03, 2022 11:10 am
Phil, Rebarreling allows you to purchase an inexpensive, worn out, non-collector rifle and fix it well enough to shoot silhouette. This saves many thousands of dollars when comparing to collector grade Winchesters. Rebarreling simply means more rifles would be available to be used, at a cheaper price than what is currently available.
[/quote]

Shhh.... that makes sense. We don't do that anymore... critical thinking is out of fashion... :o)
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Re: NRA Lever Gun Rifle Rules

Post by SqHunter »

cedestech wrote: Thu Mar 03, 2022 11:17 am
SqHunter wrote: Thu Mar 03, 2022 11:10 am
Phil, Rebarreling allows you to purchase an inexpensive, worn out, non-collector rifle and fix it well enough to shoot silhouette. This saves many thousands of dollars when comparing to collector grade Winchesters. Rebarreling simply means more rifles would be available to be used, at a cheaper price than what is currently available.
Shhh.... that makes sense. We don't do that anymore... critical thinking is out of fashion... :o)
[/quote]

You are right about that. Emotions and "feelers" rule the world!
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Re: NRA Lever Gun Rifle Rules

Post by thauglor »

Good point about the reloading thing cedestech. The argument for new shooters is a lot like the argument of "think about the children" in politics
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