Hi Jeremiahm
The alleged target splater issue is silly, in cowboy action and others they shoot steel as close as 7 yards. What the real issue was lead coming back from the rails when railroad rail was used in an inverted position it makes a perfect way to turn the bullets back to the firing line. Fix the rails and you fix the so called "problem".
10 inch barrels and straight walled cartridges is what the game should be limited to. The .22 hornet is a rifle cartridge not a pistol cartridge and as barrel lengths continue to grow we are getting closer to hands rifle instead of handgun. I have grown weary of the gamesmanship and constant equipment racing as have many others. Some of us are banding together to go back in time to what silhouette used to be before the racers took over.
If you are interested in a non equipment race game, post what you would like to see in the new game in the thread entitled New Sil. Assn. just below this one. We are interested in your ideas and what you want out of a competition.
The most popular handgun cartridge in America is still the .38/.357 and yet you wouldn't know that if you shoot silhouette. The hornet is superior in flat trajectory with greatly lower recoil. The problem is that it runs the .38/.357's off and very few people own handguns chambered for a .22 hornet. Also rifle scopes of up to 36 power are now in the game that was originally intended for hunters thus the name "Hunter Pistol" and in the IHMSA "Field pistol". I know of no real hunters that would use a scope of such magnification as finding a real animal in that scope would be next to impossible.
The rank and file members are asking for a simpler more realistic game and those in power continue to up the equipment race, and are wondering why the membership keeps falling. They claim to want youth participation but do nothing to encourage it. I have grown tired of waiting and trying to work from within carving out a basic gun category. I found that I can get where I want to go faster with a new clean slate rather than wait for a group of old guys to see the light, and understand that very few people want to spend $10,000 plus on an equipment battery to play a game. If you are looking for a fun friendly game where real world equipment with names like Ruger, S&W, and an active youth program is in place come join us shooters that see things the same.
If you wish to spend your time building fancier equipment and forever chasing the newest and latest on the techno front then the current associations are a good place to get involved with. I wonder if Thompson Center drops the 12 inch barrels if the NRA will then go to 14" barrels for HP? To me if it won't fit in a holster, I would rather carry a rifle in the field.
The NRA and the IHMSA are good associations for niche they are supporting but they have lost the average joe. They did this so that more "X's" would appear on the scorecards of those who are willing to spend lots of $ on highly specialized equipment.
I have shot one handgun sillouette match, many years ago. I remember the chickens to be at 25 yards. I just read the new NRA handgun sillywet rulebook and it says the the chickens should be at 40 yards for hunter pistol.
Am I reading this right? I though the targets were at 25, 50, 75, and 100 yards. The book says 40, 50, 75, and 100.
I also heard the the barrel limit was 10" and now the book says 12. Also, 22 hornet didn't used to be allowed, did it?
Thanks up front.
