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Section Officers

Logan.jpg

Director
Logan Cairns
(867) 444-5643

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Deputy Director
Scott Cairns
(867) 446-9220

The Silhouette Section

The Yellowknife Shooting Club hosts an active silhouette shooting program at the outdoor range.

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Please check the calendar for any changes to the silhouette schedule below:

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Starting May 23, 2024, we will shoot a smallbore (.22 rimfire) rifle and handgun match on Thursday evenings.
Sight-in starts at 6:00 pm
Match starts at 7:00 pm

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There are Highpower rifle matches (any non-magnum rifle 6mm or larger) scheduled Sundays: Dates TBD.
Sight-in at 9:00 am
Match begins about 10:00 am

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There are Highpower Cowboy Rifle and Handgun matches scheduled for Sundays: Dates: TBD
Sight-in at 12:00 pm
Match begins about 1:00 pm. 

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You will need eye and ear protection to participate in
silhouette shooting matches.

 

Friendly instruction and assistance are provided for anyone that would like to try silhouette shooting. Contact Silhouette Deputy Director Scott Cairns for more information.

Check out this great video below on silhouette shooting done by the Rosebud
Silhouette and Benchrest Club in Alberta.

Special welcome for Juniors
Smallbore silhouette shooting is an excellent introduction to shooting for youth. Junior members, with parental supervision, are welcome at our matches. The club has several good quality .22 rifles for use by junior and new shooters. Safety training, safety equipment, ammunition, and coaching is all provided.  Special competition classes are designed for junior shooters to participate in the matches and advance as their skills and technique develop.

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What is silhouette shooting?
Silhouette shooting uses animal-shaped steel targets (chickens, pigs, turkeys, and rams) placed on stands at different distances.  For Smallbore competitions, two banks of five animals are set up with chickens at 40 metres, pigs at 60 metres, turkeys at 77 metres, and rams at 100 metres.  High Power Rifle targets will be set at 150, 200, 300, and 340 metres.  High Power Cowboy Rifle and Handgun targets are set at 50, 100, 150, and 200 metres. A match consists of 40 shots, one per each animal target.  Scoring is simple: a shot that knocks the intended target off the stand is scored as a hit; if not, it is a miss.  To keep it challenging, all rifle shooting is done from the standing position.
 

What do you need for silhouette?
As with most sporting activities, there is a large variety of equipment available to help you get better scores.  However, to begin little equipment is needed. 

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For smallbore silhouette, any reasonably accurate .22 calibre handgun or rifle with a scope is all you need to shoot a silhouette match.  There are two different rifle classes, Hunter and Standard Rifle, depending on the weight of the rifle.  The rifle class can be assigned at the range.  Also, a lever action .22 rifle with iron sights will allow you to compete in the Cowboy Rifle class.  High velocity rimfire ammunition will damage the targets and is not allowed.

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For High Power Silhouette, we shoot two types of matches

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High Power Cowboy Rifle are fired with any lever action or pump action rifle that fires a rimmed centre fire cartridge (30-30, 45-70, etc.).  Open or peep sights are permitted, but telescopic sights are not allowed.  The cowboy targets are also at the correct range for IMSA handgun silhouette.  Different handgun classes allow the use of almost any centre fire handgun.  Ammunition that damages the targets is prohibited.  Most factory soft point ammo is fine, but FMJ ammo and high velocity hand loads are not allowed.

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For High Power Silhouette matches, the scaled targets are made for use with most centre fire rifles larger than 6mm. Just about any scoped hunting rifle will do the trick, though through a forty shot course of fire, lighter loads are generally preferred by most shooters. Handgunners are welcome too, but it is a very challenging course of fire!

 2024 © The Yellowknife Shooting Club.

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