Shiloh Rifle Forums

I'm curious which competitions are open for a couple of fatties? My rifle weighs 13.2lbs, my weight won't be discussed. I know that NRA silhouette competitions have a specific weight limit that my rifle exceeds. Are there competitions other than the Quigley that are open to us?

Your rifle might probably make weight for BPCR Silhouette, scoped. Weight limit there is 15lbs.

And will make weight for BPTR, which is 15 pounds as is.

While I do not know why, NRA established 12 pounds 2 ounces max for silhouette.
Since NRA is out of the area of silhouette competition by choice it seems arbitrary to keep a rule of an organization no longer interested in supporting silhouette. But, individual match directors should have a say. Such is conjecture on my part.

Same for Black Powder Target Rifle (BPTR) in that 15 pounds iron sighted and 25 pounds scoped Tollofson in the US NRA. International is 13 pounds.

Past equipment checks for BPTR indicate most rifles in the 13 pound area, perhaps because shooters wished to qualify for the U.S. International Team when that was a possibility and 13 pounds the top limit. NRA no longer supports International BP competition either.

Bring your rifle and load to Phoenix March 2022 and plenty of ammo. You are well within weight limits and more than welcome.

Thank you very much for the replies. With the 34" Oct. barrel, offhand is going to take a lot of work. I shot my scoped 300 Win Mag at 1,688 yards last weekend, it just can't compare to hitting the target with the Sharps, it isn't even close. I have always loaded my own ammunition, but with the Sharps the increased involvement with bullet casting and making lube just increases the fulfillment. I hope t see some of you next year at a competition or two, and I fully intend another trip to the Whittington Center o see I can can get a better ratio of hits to misses on the buffalo.

Dave

Another dumb rule is the spike length of 3" on the cross sticks. I have seen several rifle take a dive in the dirt with them falling over. I see it as a safety hazard if it should go off and the bullet hits a rock and throws fragments all over the place.
What good is the rule if the sticks get driven a couple inches deeper in the ground with a 2# hammer????? makes no sense to have the 3" rule.

Arbitrary rules are just that, arbitrary. AND, correct.....the arbitrary x-stick rule is a safety issue. A rule that is not enforced because it is unreasonable should be rescinded.

Who is going to shoot chickens off hand with a 16 pound rifle anyway?

From what part of the firmament was 12 pounds 2 ounces plucked? And by whom?

Kurt wrote: ↑Sun Jul 18, 2021 12:04 pm Another dumb rule is the spike length of 3" on the cross sticks. I have seen several rifle take a dive in the dirt with them falling over. I see it as a safety hazard if it should go off and the bullet hits a rock and throws fragments all over the place.
What good is the rule if the sticks get driven a couple inches deeper in the ground with a 2# hammer????? makes no sense to have the 3" rule.

"Hammer ?" Kurt.....I personally like to "push" my cross sticks in the ground at Ben Avery. After trying for 5 to 10 minutes and the sticks just fall over when I let go without so much as a dimple in the dirt. A "jack Hammer" should be allowed
Dennis

Dennis Armistead wrote: ↑Sun Jul 18, 2021 1:55 pm

Kurt wrote: ↑Sun Jul 18, 2021 12:04 pm Another dumb rule is the spike length of 3" on the cross sticks. I have seen several rifle take a dive in the dirt with them falling over. I see it as a safety hazard if it should go off and the bullet hits a rock and throws fragments all over the place.
What good is the rule if the sticks get driven a couple inches deeper in the ground with a 2# hammer????? makes no sense to have the 3" rule.

"Hammer ?" Kurt.....I personally like to "push" my cross sticks in the ground at Ben Avery. After trying for 5 to 10 minutes and the sticks just fall over when I let go without so much as a dimple in the dirt. A "jack Hammer" should be allowed
Dennis

Yup, jack hammer would do the job I used one quite often over the 40 years working the trades.

But I don't think the 80 pounders would be the right tool for my back anymore LOL.

Having a rifle weight limits came from the Original Creedmoor matches 1874. Rifles had to be 10 pounds or less and also they had to use single triggers. NRA gave you two pds and two ozs more plus let you have set triggers.


For the Cross Sticks, though the NRA rule is that the spikes can not be longer than 3", however there is no rule how far cross sticks can be actually put into the ground. You just need to look how you design the end of your sticks, so the wood can also go below the top of the ground. Also, the match director has discretion by the rules to make allowances if the "conditions" warrants for an except to a rule. (Not just because he doesn't like the rule.) Thus, like at the Whittington Center where the ground is super hard to drive shooting sticks in the ground, the shooter can use other means than his own weight to set his sticks in the ground like with hammer of some sort. I was just there last week and not once did we use a hammer to set the sticks, though I saw others use hammers to do that. The shooters that seem to have problems with their cross sticks, always seem to have squared bottoms on the wood, that does not allow them to be pushed further into the ground past the spikes.

If your rifle with iron sights is heavier than the 12 pds and 2 Ozs limit or your scope rifle is over 15 pds, you can usually go to any of the Gong Matches like the Quigley. These are individual matches with each of them having their own set of rules. At least when I go to a BPCR match that is using the NRA rules, I know what is ok and not ok to use.

High Desert Hunter wrote: ↑Sat Jul 17, 2021 10:58 pm I'm curious which competitions are open for a couple of fatties? My rifle weighs 13.2lbs, my weight won't be discussed. I know that NRA silhouette competitions have a specific weight limit that my rifle exceeds. Are there competitions other than the Quigley that are open to us?

They have or at least have had a gong match near Pecos Texas in late October. Watch for the West of the Pecos match advertisements.

I will keep an eye out for the Pecos match. I have accepted that I will not ever shoot an NRA event, and that is OK, I love my rifle the way it is, and we will shoot where we can.

Dave

There’s nothing keeping you from shooting target rifle matches
The high plains challenge in Byersiscing up in a couple of weeks. The BPTRA nationals is at the end of September, but I think the entries are full or nearly so
The Desert International match is 9 days of shooting at Phoenix the last week of March
I seriously doubt any silhouette match director would turn you away if there were slots available ,albeit you wouldn’t likely be qualified for awards or have your score recorded

I was wondering about that, I am not interested in awards or prizes, I don't shoot enough to really be competitive. Really just want to shoot and hang out so I can see if an old dog can learn some new tricks. I have picked up a lot this year. Thanks Don.

Dave

careful you get to attending some of these matches you may decide a second rifle would be handy to have
These rifles are sort of like potato chips you can’t have just one

Hahahaha, a valid fear, in reality, the cost of a divorce has been a driving factor for why I don't have at least a second!