Im intrested in what you did competively. I shot cowboy action before for about two years and before that I had tryed position shooting way back in jr high. the inbetween years I always shot but not in any competitions. How about you? #57

I shot 4 position back in the early 60s but only hunted deer and antelope after that. I shot my first HP match in about 82 and then a couple years later for SB.

I shot break barrel springer airguns as a kid, open sights, hunting anything that moved.

Nothing taught, no knowledge of trajectories or ballistics. Just aimed and pulled !

The Army taught me a little more, and graduated me to competitive targets out to 900 mtrs, with peep sights,

then a long spell of inactivity, 'gone fishin' !

I rediscovered shooting on a range at the tender age of 45 and was introduced to silhouette shooting and 'scoped rifles' at the same time.
It seemed like great fun.
We also shot 4 positional paper targets, but I have shot less and less of this as age progresses, but not the silhouette.

My scores with a chinese sporter, and 3-9, started at single figures,
and haven't looked back since, and maxed at 36 targets from 40 .
Over the years, I've also competed in air rifle and pistol silhouette, and a bit of bigbore with my Sako .308,
and won National championships and competed in Australia and the US of A .
Love every aspect of this silhouette shooting.

Gets a bit harder as you get older and infirm, and the ability to stand and hold still diminishes,.... but not the fun.

cheers,
Sean in 'Godzone'

I shot benchrest guns, but could not find sites to compete here in/near NH. Discovered HRA High Power 15 years ago, but always wanted to shoot silhouette. found this site, a local club, bought a gun and a set of targets, and will give it a whirl next season.

chuck

Grew up shooting in rural nowhere Alabama. Didn't shoot on an honest-to-goodness shooting range until I was in college or later. Always having to understand how things worked, I got into ballistics and stuff in high school and it carried over to my engineering classes (thermodynamics, aerospace, etc) in college. I tried benchrest for a couple years, mostly informal or postal/email matches, but did shoot IR 50/50 a bit. I got disheartened by the fact that I could take a custom rifle that I had never shot before and be in the top 3 of a match with lots of experienced, champion shooters. It felt like too much of an equipment race and the shooter was only a small part of the match. I had learned a lot about ballistics but it wasn't really helping me much in situations that I'd encounter hunting, so I decided to find something else. Then I shot my first silhouette match. It was all downhill from there.

I started in smallbore.. then had to get a smallbore hunter gun... and heard about the cowboy matches, so I picked up a Marlin 39a... and it couldn't knock down the targets in the PC match after the smallbore match, so I had to get something for that match... and then the pistol guys that shot with us cowboy rifle guys looked to be having lots of fun so I had to get a 22lr Contender... but it wouldn't knock down the PC targets either, so I had to get a 22 Hornet barrel and scope for the Contender.. and then I heard about the centerfire cowboy matches and that sounded like fun...

So yeah, it was all downhill from there. Silhouette shooting takes up too much time and money...

Squirrels, rabbits and frogs with a bow and arrow as a kid
IPSC, PPC and Bullseye 70's, 80's
Primitive archery 90's
Any kind of Metallic Silhouette now
Air pistol silhouette in near future

I found silhouette while looking for a game I could still play. wife and I were hit by a drunk head on in 07 and have been recovering since. Im not able to control my hands enough to shoot a big bore pistol but am doing well with small bore. If I can get to a match! I am also intrested in trying cowboy lever matches. I have enough guns to start out , with just a sight upgrade. Next match is in Jan so keep your fingers crossed for me! #57

3 and 4P as a youngster and some International airrifle...got into smallbore silhouette in 77, played a little with pistol silhouette and some air pistol silhouette. Only air rifle silhouette shot has been at Winny for the last three /four years.
Looking forward to playing some in highpower when I get where I can shoot something further than 100 meters. Yanks seem to think land/swamp is too valuable in Florida to stretch out.

Jan will be a great match for you.

Innocent Mary

Started shooting on the farm before I can remember, first .22 @ 6 years old...the best Christmas ever, .22 Winchester, train and flying model airplane. Varmint and bird hunting, one trip to a range before the USAF, shot the M-16 twice (in basic and before shipping out to U-Tapao, Thailand)... I needed to quit motorcycle racing so shooting looked like a good option in 1980. The bullseye guys were not helpful but the silhouette folks did not mind a novice playing their game. I enjoy burning powder, rifle, pistol or shotguns

I shot 4 pos from 75-79 (jr.-sr. high) went off to college and then marriage (had no money to shoot). Started shooting trap & skeet in 84. I got back into 4 pos in 1986 then found out that my knees couldn't take kneeling so I shot prone until 89. Then got into IPSC until I found silhouette in 04. Along the way I've shot high power, ipsc 3-gun, and bullseye pistol and other one time only matches. Suffices to say, if it has a trigger, I've tried it.

shot 3p, air rifle, field target, ihmsa like mary need a place to shot my high power also but have shot it in the past in other states....we need high power silhouette here in florida. malibar did it for a bit but some how thats gone to hell.

like mary need a place to shot my high power also

Go West young man.

Mary

I plan to.....but still have a few years....would like to shoot it before then with out driving to the other side of the country.

Never shot anything competitively before starting Smallbore Rifle Silhouette about 2000. My son was age eight and wanted to shoot in some kind of competition. Silhouette fit the bill. From 1982 to 1995 I raced go-karts on both dirt and asphalt(ovals and road courses) winning multiple State Championships in 4-Cycle Stock Heavy and a World Karting Association National Championship in 4-Cycle Open Class in 1994. A lot of good people got killed racing karts. Its a wonder that I was not killed as frequently as I raced in many different parts of America. I got tired of staying on a diet all the time to keep total weight down to a minimum like a horse jockey. I had no success in karting until I started building my own engines from scratch. If the safety rules are followed the shooting sports are the safest sports out there but still are very exciting and enjoyable. I have never regretted our participation in the shooting sports but I wish I had those hours wasted racing back.

Bobby R. Huddleston

I grew up hunting, primarily rabbits and pheasants. While in the Air Force I was stationed in Spain where hunting is expensive and rare. So I joined a skeet team and then took up Combat Pistol (forerunner to IPSC) as well.

When I got out of the service I wound up in Arizona and tried my first silhouette matches. They were a great deal of fun, but it took me 10 years to play the game again.

So then it was Bowling Pins and PPC. In 1995 I joined a local gun club and the first two fellows I met were Silhouette shooters. I've played the game ever since.

Sometimes, however, I stray and do IDPA, Action Pistol, and Tactical Shotgun. But I always come back to Silhouette!