Who remembers their first match?

[GeoNLR]

I thought I might post up the thoughts I had from my first match up here in hopes that others would share and we would all get a kick out of it. Oh…also, no one that shot over 20 on their first match need respond, you don’t count!

I joined the BGC b/c of a CCW course they were having, course got canceled, thought I would get my $40 worth of dues in free match fees! Called the “Nationally Ranked” match director at the time (Witch has turned out to change my life through getting me to quit golf, take up drinking beer, and shooting things I can’t drag by myself! I love you man..) and he told me that we shoot “Chickens” at 40 meters.

I thought to my self at this point…”When I show up with my stock 10/22 and 3x9 tasco scope, I better not shoot them down to quick in an effort not to show off!” LMAO, I need to take a break and laugh a min at my dumb arse..Ha-ha.

Anyway, I show up and meet Frank, we are chatting and getting introduced to some other shooters and etc. It’s probably a full 5 mins later I look down range and realize that the targets are already down there and the “Chicken” that I thought was going to be roughly the size of a life size KFC had the hittable area roughly of a quarter!

At that instant the game (not the fear mind you) took a hold on me. I shot plenty of 6’s and 7’s, proud of every hit!

“Chicken” George

[tirador]

My first match was spring of 1978 a HP match, I had a Ruger M77 in 308 with a Redfield 3X9 with external adjustments, I managed to hit six targets.  

Went back the next month and remember breaking my first shot outside a ram and it fell down so I held in the same location and dropped a bunch of them, that gave me a score of 16.

My third match was the CA state Championship where I tied for first place on A Class won the shoot off.  The first place award that I won at that match was a nice penholder for two pens made out of some kind of green marbled rock with the CA state medallion.

That award got me hopelessly hooked on shooting metallic silhouettes, it has cost me a lot of money and without a doubt given grief to my wife who became a silhouette widow, but I do not regret having found the sport and would not trade the memories it has given me or the friendships I have made because of it for anything in the world.
Tony Tello

[eeleater]

First match was with a 280 Remington in a Ruger 77, with a 2X7 tasco air-rifle scope (had target turrets).   Local range only goes to 200 yards.  I did have a chronograph, so I sighted in at 200, established the average velocity and spent some time with the ballistics tables of my Sierra manual  to get some sight settings.  Went to the match and shot two 40 round matches.  I believe I shot a 9 or 10 and then a 13 or 14.  

 I enjoyed it- but my shoulder did not.

Later there were smallbore matches at the local club.  Started shooting with the same tasco scope and a tube fed Mossberg.  Took the entire "ready" just to get loaded.  A true "hunter" gun.  I have ocassionally thought about trying it in Hunter class again - but it would be a big switch from an Anchutz MSR and 36X leupold!

[TX Charlie]

Nov. 1980, a non-approved .22 "fun" match, at Fort Worth RPC.  Cold for a Texan, on crutches from another motorcycle get off, had just joined the club and was looking for a game to play since the bull’s-eye shooters were not very welcoming.  Brought out a couple of old family .22's and the most memorable moment was my introduction to Robert Massey, who tried to buy(steal) my mothers model 63 Winchester since it would not function in the cold.  I occasionally remind him of our 1st meeting...
I had always been a shooter, but this was the 1st time necessary to join a club since we always had family property to shoot and hunt on (my avatar is at the age of 3 on the farm).  I had to find something to compete at since motorcycle racing was TOO PAINFUL and I was not really that fast.
I do have the 2nd place ribbon from that day in a shadow box along with the other 1st years shooting ribbons.  Did have a good time, and 25 years later I still enjoy seeing the "iron chickens" falling.

[Arizona Jake]

Remember the first match? I'm still trying to forget my last one... :lol:

[hh4064]

My first match was with a mossberg 144, weaver mounts, weaver scope and CCI minigroup. It was in the fall of 1980. I shot 15 that day and I was hooked. 3 yrs later I started shooting highpower. I still think this is the most fun a man could ever have in the sporting world. I am so glad I am able to enjoy it in my life time. I just wish I would have started when I was young.  I am very fortunate to have a wife who lets me shoot. Today I have two 54MS' One factory and one with a Hart barrel on it. I shoot a 40x 7-08 with a kreiger SS HS stock an a leupold scope. I am very lucky my wife says she would like to try it. Wish her luck.
Mike Jensen
lapeer Michigan
OH!!!!she likes to camp and fish too. I have it real roughHEHEHE

[yankee]

June or July 1983 was my first rimfire rifle match at Caseyville R&P Club near Collinsville, IL. and I used my 39 A with a 4X scope.  The following day I traveled to Monroe County Gun Club near Paris, MO. for a High Power Silhouette match.  I used my Rem 700 30-06 with a 3x9 and managed to hit a few.  Monroe Co. starts another year this weekend, the first March match I have missed since 84.  Chad S

[anthonyg]

about 8 years ago i borrowed a ruger 77/22 bolt action 22with a 6x18 scope and fired my first 22 silhouette match at my new club in staten island new york.I got a pin for shooting 5 in a row chickens. I was hooked!!!!. a few weeks later i shot a high power silhouette match again at our club.it was like i was hooked on heroin crack, junk etc I found something better than shooting woodchucks (and i loved shooting woodchucks). I became the silhouette chairman at our club established a silhouette committee and completely revamped the matches.we cut steel silhouette from steel street plates old I beams buried railroad ties to attach flanges and treaded pipes with bases. we had a ball doing all the work .our matches went from 10 shooters to 35.WHAT A GREAT SPORT
                                          ANTHONY G

[ajj]

The recurring theme seems to be "I was hooked." That was my reaction and I didn't hit anything! I guess it's like other sports...it just really grabs some people and not others. Since nobody without competitive shooting experience does well the first time it's understandable that a lot of people try it and don't come back. It's the rare shooter who says: "By golly, I'm gonna learn to do this!"

[Gringo Grizzly]

Shot my first silhouette match at Bayou Rifles HP range south of Houston.
This was in March of 1974!  Silhouette was NEW.  
We only shot chickens and pigs at 200 & 300 yards respectively, and I think think I downed 7 using my deer rifle, a .270 Win M77 Ruger utilizing an outrageously hot load (heck it was the devil to pay on those Texas whitetails).

I can remember the winner of the match was an Al King, who used an '03 Springfield with scope - looked alot like the one used in "Saving Private Ryan".
Most of us were awed when he won with - I think - 14 or so out of 20.

He was probably the only one who had worked with the standing position.
Gringo

[drover]

The first match I attended was in '78 or '79, memory fails me as to the year.  It was a state smallbore championship so of course I had to shoot in AAA (highest class at that time) but that didn't bother me because I had read up on the sport and knew the distances of the various animals.  I had even seen true to scale drawings of the different animals so I knew what to expect as far as difficulty in hitting them.  However, I was well prepared, I had my trusty gopher shooting 22 that never missed ( a Remington 581) and it had a Bushnell 3 x 9 that I figured out the "come-ups" and had marked them with red fingernail polish.  

The weekend turned out to be a rainstorm and as it was a new range with no improvements whatever we were shooting standing in the mud and rain. We had a 20 x 20 plastic tarp for about 30 people to get under, finally someone went to town and bought a bunch of the $2.99 clear plastic rainsuits which helped a little.

I shot a 10 the first day and a 13 the second day and while I was not pleased with myself I was hooked.  The most memorable thing though was Lones Wigger shooting, it seemed as though every time he pulled the trigger an animal fell, he ran away from everyone - no one was even close to his score.  A few years a go I was looking back over records and happened to notice his scores for the match, they were a 26 and 28.  We have come a long ways since then.  

What a great sport with great people.  I have been at it ever since the first match and intend to keep at  it as long as I can stand.  I have been through a lot of rifles and a lot of scopes but I still have the 581 and the Bushnell and they both still shoot good - gophers beware!

[longgun]

My first match was about 1975.  The club was Texins Rod and Gun club. A couple of fellows set up a range and started shooting silhouette.  I bought a Remington 541s and had a 10x weaver t scope.  We shot remington green box standard velocity ammo ( only standard velocity ammo we could find) and had no spotters in those days.  If you could shoot a score of 14 or 15  you could win the match.   Not many decent silhouette shooters in those days and there weren't any classifications nor rifle rules.  That was a real hoot!  Been hooked ever since.   And as Tony said I've spent alot of money playing this game.  
Don Weathersbee

[Arizona Jake]

On a more serious note:

My first silhouette match was in 1982 in El Paso at the old Fort Bliss Rod & Gun Club. I was a fairly decent shotgunner and good PISTOL silhouette shooter, so I decided to give smallbore a try. I shot a borrowed rifle and, having never shot at anything offhand while looking at it at 16X, was amazed at how much the rifle wobbled and how difficult it was to hit the targets. I ended knocking down 2 gallinas, 3 javelinas and 1 guajolote (zero borregos) for a grand aggregate of 6.

With my ego in tatters, I decided it would be impossible to shoot decent scores and decide it was my first and last match. Then I saw a skinny young kid knocking down targets like crazy. I decided right there and then that if the kid could do it, so could I.

Being short on cash, I emptied my savings account and went to Starkey's Gun Shop and bought an Anchutz 64 MS. I then took the ol' Weaver K-10 off my varmint rifle and put it on the Anschutz.

23 years later, I no longer compete in shotgun or handgun silhouette, consumed with trying to master the rifle, hoplessly addicted. I am passing on the addiction to my 14 year-old daughter. She scored a 14/40 the very first time she ever fired my 40X, or any standard-weight rifle with a 24-power scope. It won't be too long before she starts kicking everyone's butt around here. I'll start on my 11 year-old next year.

As for skinny young kid who inspired me to stick with it, he grew up to become a 2-time National Champion. His name is Tony Lopez, from El Paso, Texas.

[Fortynarow]

It was 1974 at the Fort Worth Rifle and Pistol club it was a mini rifle silhouette match all targets were at 50yds.  The match was held on a Sunday after the clubs annual cleanup / maintenance work day on Saturday.  If you helped clean up the range on Saturday you could compete in the Sunday play day shooting events.  The club had pistol events rifle events and shotgun events, even ballons for BB Gunners to plink at.  The play day was social event for the club.  The mini silhouette event was started to get people interested in 22LR shooting at reasonably sized targets.  The Chicken and Pig were the NRA Hunter pistol size animals and the Turkey and Ram were the std SBR NRA rifle size targets.  Once again all targets were at 50 yards. Men all shot standing.  Women and juniors could shoot sitting or prone.  I shot prone iron sighted.  You could shoot any 22LR you owned.  Don't remember how many I hit just remember thinking that was allot more fun than NRA 22LR 50ft or 50yd, 100yd target paper events.  I was hooked on silhouette.  I just didn't know it yet.  Little did I know 31yrs later I would meet hundreds of the nicest people in the world in this sport of Silhouette.  So many have made an impact on my life.  Travelled to and competed in 30 plus states shooting silhouette matches.  Now getting to shoot the sport with my son is a real treat.  When its all said and done its just plain fun or I wouldn't have done it in the first place.
       
TL

OK all of them were nice except for Robert Massey he's just an ass.

[Jason]

Wow, I feel like a newbie here in the middle of a bunch of old pros. I've only been shooting silhouette for less than a year. At my first match, I had gotten weary of my brief try at rimfire benchrest shooting and was looking for something more fun. I had heard of silhouette and thought it would be a good way to improve my offhand shooting for hunting, so I showed up at a match at a range a couple miles from my house to try my luck. My little 10/22 and I shot a 30/60 that day and, like others here, I was hooked. I didn't see that the game was all that hard and saw no real need for even bracing my forward arm on anything, as plain old hunter hold had worked fine for me. Even the turkeys didn't seem that bad, and I think I got about 10/15 on those (chickens were dodging my bullets that day, though).

Now, after about 8 months of spending, practicing, and reading, I'm finally just now getting back up to that 30 score after languishing in the low-20s. That one day of easy shooting has put me down the path of frustration, experimentation, and wondering if I have some disease that makes me allergic to crosshairs and dots staying on little white animal shapes. I can't say that I haven't loved every minute of it, though, and I expect that I'll be shooting silhouette for a long time to come.

[nomad]

Fortynarow,

I really wish that you would show more restraint on this board.

If Massey hears about your comment, he'll think that he should respond, then he'll start posting regularly...and there'll go what HAS been a pretty nice neighborhood! :-D

[durant7]

Well, there used to be this board called shooters.com.  I moved to Texas 4 years ago and decided to bring two old rifles my Dad left for me.  Not knowing the difference between Federal or Eley I googled Winchester 52B.  Between GeorgiaBoy and Nomad they each offered to give me $100 for it.

To make a long story short I learned this old 52B was a cool rifle.  Nomad invited me to Haltom City after a few emails back and forth.  Showed up not knowing a ram from a chicken.  Not sure I learned the difference between a chicken or a ram but while walking back from the last reset Nomad announced I need to go buy an NS522 whatever that was.

So...my first match? I shot Nomad's Finfire and some funny ammo called Lupua Club in a funny round can 2/3rd the size of a Pringles can....never seen ammo like that!  Can't recall if I hit anything.  But I do recall I was hooked and went out and found a used NS522 and started a unbelievably addictive hobby and a wonderful 4 year odyssey....no thanks to Nomad!

d7

[LouisV]

I shot my first highpower match just a few years ago 2001, I think. I was silly enough to bring an open sighted M96 Mauser. The best rifle I had at the time. I had just used it in a across the course NRA match and had confidence in it. No problem I was thinking. Big problem in not being able to see the targets. Our range faces south so when the sun is out the white targets just fade to nothing. I started on the rams and could just see parts of the first one. I didn't really have zeros so I just set the rear sight at 500m. I was very suprised to hear it hit. My spotter tried his best all day to get me on to targets that I just couldn't see. That was one of the things that impressed me about silhouette shooters right off. I finished the day with that one ram and acouple of pigs if I remember right. I soon found a rifle I could put glass on and I enjoy it more with each match. LouisV

[TX Charlie]

Duckgumbo, your still mad because Massey's dog "showed her love" the first time you picked up Jackie.

[Rick H.]

Well I'm a little bit hesitant to post this since all the posts thus far have been so positive, but it was the first "official" match that I decided to shoot, so here's my story.

I had been a bullseye pistol shooter for a few years, and had classification cards for both indoor and outdoor.  Giving Highpower Rifle (across the course) shooting a go with my DCM Garand got me a card for that too.  So I decided to see if I could get a card for Silhouette as well.  I was so ignorant of the specifics that I didn't even know that there was no "card" issued for Silhouette.  I had shot in a few informal rimfire silhouette matches at a club in southern NY called the Monroe Chester Sportsmen's Club, where the rule was "no heavy barrel or target rifles allowed".  The guy running those matches wanted a reason for everyone to pull out those old forgotten .22s and shoot them.  I saw a lot of interesting rifles at those matches, and we shot the animals at 25, 50, 75, and 100 yards.  Just about everyone held over for the longer targets, and 4x was the most common scope.  It was a lot of fun.
So now I decide to go to an "official" match up at my home range, The Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Club's Cherry Ridge Range.  They even have a seperate range dedicated for Smallbore Silhouette competition.  I have seen the matches listed each month on the club's calendar, and most often they were on the same day as the Highpower matches (XTC) so I couldn't go, but finally a match was scheduled that did not conflict.  I arrived early and met another guy on the range that was also going to shoot in his very first Silhouette match.  Interesting guy too.....he was British, had a thick accent with that dry sense of humor (pretty cool actually) and in conversation mentioned that his dad was a pilot for the RAF in WWII, but had crashed and was killed after flying into some wires with his Spitfire.
Now the match was supposed to start at a certian time, and eventually a few other guys arrived and joined us waiting for the Match Director to show up.  Finally, he gets there right at the time the match is supposed to start.  Me, the British guy, and a couple others carry all the targets out and set up the range for the match.  We tell the Match Director that we're new, and aren't quite sure of all the rules, but we're looking forward to shoot.  The MD asks to see our rifles, and the British guy shows us his, which is a Biathalon rifle.  I had never seen one in person, and it was really neat how that toggle action bolt worked.  The Match Director said that it had no scope so it was not suitable for him to shoot, and that it probably wouldn't make weight anyway.  I took out my Savage/Anschutz 64 with a Tasco TS 8-32 scope.  He said that my rifle was also not very good, but it was at least something to start with.  (are you getting a good read on this Match Director guy yet???)  At about 30 minutes past the time we're supposed to be shooting, only about 5 or 6 guys are there, so the Match Director tells us it's not worth his trouble to hold the match, but since we set up the targets, he'd let us shoot at them for a little while.  A couple of the other guys start getting on the Match Director telling him that he can't just cancel the match like that.  From listening to them, it seemed that he's done this before, and what was a fairly well attended location for matches was now pretty much ignored by other competitive shooters in the area.  They argued about it for a while, but we never did shoot the match, and after we knocked down the targets we set up, we just put them back in the box and put them away.  The condescending attitude that this MD put out was something that I have never forgotten.  I've never tried to shoot another match there again, and since that time, they do not even have Silhouette matches scheduled at the Cherry Ridge Range anymore.  I wonder why.

Now just to end this on a positive note, I did decide to try shooting Highpower Silhouette at the Central Jersey Rifle and Pistol Club in Jackson a short time later, and had a blast.  I got squadded with guys from Staten Island (at least one is a poster here) and they spotted for me, loaned me the use of some of their equipment, and even offered to share the lunch they brought with them.  Everyone there was helpful and positive, truly nice guys to shoot with.  Those matches are very well run, and I hope to be able to get back to shoot a few more this year.

[nomad]

Welllllllllllllll,

My 'first match' wasn't actually a match that I participated in.

My wife had just gotten interested in shooting and I was looking for something to shoot that she would consider fun. (I already knew that what I'd done in the past -- BR, LR, ATC, etc. wasn't going to be what she would likely regard as 'light' recreation.)

So we hied ourselves off to the old Ft Worth R&P club to watch.

Neal Stepp was there displaying his wares and I immediately got on his bad side. Sandy asked: "What are those heavy looking rifles?" I replied: "Those are high-dollar pellet guns for target shooting." And got VERY quickly told that they were "AIR RIFLES, NOT 'pellet guns'!" As we walked away I said: "That guy's WAY too serious for me to get along with him!" (You have to get to know Stepp before you learn that he's one of the good guys!)  :eek:

Next thing I know, I'd opened the cooler we'd brought along and a character strolling past -- whom I'd never seen before in my life -- went on point like a bird dog and asked: "Are those DR PEPPERS?" So I got 'introduced' to Robert Massey while he had a soda...! ;-)

I looked at the smallbores on the line and told Sandy: "WOW, these guys are really into this stuff. They've even skeletonized the stocks in order to limit the sail area in the wind!" (It was later that I learned about weight problems with standard guns...)

That was my introduction to the game.

So I stopped by Mike Massey's shop a day or so after to get more information and told him that: "It looks like a challenging game. I doubt that I could hit much more than 60% until I got zeroes and had a couple of matches behind me." And I found that he's really a gentleman (you'd hardly know he's related to his brother) since he didn't laugh at all -- until AFTER I'd actually shot my first match and I mentioned my score when I stopped back to buy a much bigger scope!

So, as the years have gone by, I've got to know lots of the best people you could hope to meet...and Robert! ;-)

Ain't silhouette fun?   :sniper:

[GeoNLR]

Great stuff.

Thanks to all the replies...

Reading through them brings a number of thoughts into my brain...

1> Our first impresions of how many we can/should/will hit is funny when we look back...

2> I am extremly lucky to have fallen into place at a club that has a very strict program and ran like a swiss watch....


Thanks to all the match directors that take time away from their families and their hobby to facilitate it for the rest of us. You guys deserve a tip of the hat for sure!

Chicken