Silhouette shooting

jellis1_2_3

I am interested in beginning some handgun silhoutte shooting just for my own enjoyment, not competition. What combination of handgun, caliber and scope would any of you recommend?

jellis1_2_3

Can someone tell me about this a little, is it off a bench, rifle weight limits? Range. Also if any happen around Des Moines IA, I'd like to check them out.

Thanks

I was looking at rifle shooting.

Pearyw

Are you interested in rimfire or centerfire? I have used a Ruger 22/45 with a red dot on rimfire and a Thompson Center Super 14 Contender in 35 Remington for long range pistol.

brier-49

T/C contender in 7TC/U. flat shooting out to 200 yds.i don't use a scope.Another good one is a Ruger super blackhawk 44 mag.10" barrel,also no scope.both of these i'm shooting offhand at the moment.Shooting freestyle you can get a little more creative,shooting at longer distances.

bgjohn

If you don't reload, 22lr for short range NRA rules. If you do reload A TC/Contender in 22 Hornet caliber.

For long range IHMSA rules I shoot two XP-100's reberreled to 6mm TCU & 6.5mm TCU. Both are very accurate to 200M.
JM

jellis1_2_3

quote:Originally posted by Pearyw
Are you interested in rimfire or centerfire? I have used a Ruger 22/45 with a red dot on rimfire and a Thompson Center Super 14 Contender in 35 Remington for long range pistol.
I would be more interested in centerfire rather than rimfire. And, it seems that a Thompson Center Contender in 35 Remington could be the type of handgun that I am looking for. Thanks for your reply.

bgjohn

The 35 Remington will recoil much more than the TCU calibers. It is more powerful than you need for silhouette shooting.
JM

jellis1_2_3

quote:Originally posted by bgjohn
The 35 Remington will recoil much more than the TCU calibers. It is more powerful than you need for silhouette shooting.
JM
Yes, I think you are correct, the 35 Remmington would provide more recoil than necessary for the type of shooting that I would be doing. I don't do any reloading right now, but maybe I will get into that in the future, so I am looking for some reasonably priced factory ammo to shoot. What are your thoughts about the .223 Remmington vs. the .22 Hornet? I appreciate your advice and input to my questions.

bgjohn

223 doesn't shoot a heavy enough bullet to knock down the long range targets. It is not allowed for the short range game as it will ding the target badly. The same applies to the 22 Hornet. Hornet factory loads are not allowed. We must download our Hornet loads so we don't ding the targets. If you want to shoot the short range game and don't reload you are left with the choice of a straight walled pistol case or rimfire 22lr or 22 mag. You have more choices to knock down the long range targets.
JM

jellis1_2_3

quote:Originally posted by bgjohn
223 doesn't shoot a heavy enough bullet to knock down the long range targets. It is not allowed for the short range game as it will ding the target badly. The same applies to the 22 Hornet. Hornet factory loads are not allowed. We must download our Hornet loads so we don't ding the targets. If you want to shoot the short range game and don't reload you are left with the choice of a straight walled pistol case or rimfire 22lr or 22 mag. You have more choices to knock down the long range targets.
JM
Thank you for your reply bgjohn, this is all becoming quite interesting to me. As I have stated earlier, I am just beginning to learn about silhouette shooting, I think that it would be more fun to shoot at steel targets from a distance, rather than just shooting paper targets at an indoor range. I am not new to handgun shooting, but I do want to learn more about long distance target shooting with handguns. I really do appreciate your response. Thanks again.

bgjohn

Go to a match and see what everyone else is shooting. In an NRA match (short range) they are probably shooting the 22 Hornet or a 22lr in a T/C Contender. On the long range course the calibers are more varied.
JM

gunnut505

I started with a Ruger GP100 6" in .357Mag (reloads are a MUST as are gloves), tried a .30 carbine Blackhawk 7"(not enough OOmph at 200yds unless you hit the ram in the spine), and settled on a 10" T/C in .32-20 (mild recoil, very accurate) for big bore in the AA Factory class.
If you want to get practice inexpensively, yet still want to hear the clang; railroad tie plates are mild steel and have holes for hanging already drilled-do follow safety rules and only shoot lead bullets and then only from at least 75yds. If angled plates are used, lean the tops toward the firing line to deflect any shrapmetal into the ground.
The hardest part of being successful at handgun silhouette shooting is to hit the same part of the target consistently enough to topple it.
With the chickens, a hit almost anywhere will fling it off the stand.
The pigs are next, with consistent shot placement just above the center being best.
Then turkeys, where the nearly vertical shape almost invites a waver from side-to-side.
And the rams; some fall so easily, you'd swear it floated off the stand, and the others that just turn 90 degrees and stay up.
Good Luck in your endeavor, and be on the lookout for reloading gear; you're gonna want some soon!