Home silhouette range

[bobcat93]

Hi folks!,
Ive been pluging away this entire summer clearing trees and 40 years of tangled neglectd forest debris to make room for a small bore silhouette NRA range.
I dont really know what im doing. I mean im not stupid i know all the gun and shooting safety parameters involved with a home range right from the NRA range book.
But what should the finish range look like? Can any one help me?..
Do i need two ranges side by side to compete with my neighbors..how does all this work..or do i need 2rows of animals at the given rule book distance
Every small bore silhouette range i see on google images is different and i cant find information on building a

IHMSA Competitive Shooting Sports: Metallic Silhouette for rimfire range.​

does the NRA specifically have a set up for this or just mark out a distance and toss out some steel? What gives?

im completely new to this shooting discipline , but its something for me to do and i want to learn it..
Yeah yeah i know..get out and attend some matches..thats a no brainer but i dont necessarily have that luxury to drive around and hang out.
Thank you for any insight in advance.

if you were building this at your house what would you want it to look like..the more pics the better i need ideas..
my range size is only limited by my back, and chain saw..
i have 130yrd open up right now so distance isnt an issue
its pretty much a blank canvas to start
hard ass crappy work but the end result is what i keep my eye on

 

[SteveOak]

Awesome!!!!!

I started shooting Handgun Silhouette (NRA) in the 90's and would be happy to answer any questions and, if you wish, give some pointers and advice. I have shot IHMSA too, the rules are a bit different but it is the same game.

There are 3 sets of distances for IHMSA. 100 yards/meter, 200 yards/meters, and 500 yards/meters. I would encourage you to set up to one of the official sets of distances. That way if you go to another range to shoot is will look right and you will have settings and have experience at what they will shoot.

Consider pneumatic or rope pull resets.

Rimfire/smallbore at up to 100 yards is a lot of fun.

You can have just 5 animals at each distance one 'turn' for a shooter is 10 animals so 10 would be good but not critical. Maybe start with 5 and make provision to add another bank of 5 later.

Shooters take turns.

 

[Will Henry]

For my home range, I just set up a rack at 100m for now, and have firing points at 40, 60, and 77m for shooting at the chickens, pigs, and turkeys (I say, "shooting at", because that's mostly what I do). I may build racks for each target so I can shoot from one point, but for now, the walk to switch animals does me good!
Do get out to a match. Seeing the set-up at the host range will help you for your own design as well. By the way, metallic silhouette might be the most challenging and, for me, the most difficult discipline I have shot in. WH

 

[dhagerty40]

I do records work for IHMSA (I am the admin for the ihmsa website) so know most of this stuff. First, do you want to follow IHMSA or NRA guidelines as their are differences?

for IHMSA, you have for smallbore pistol silhouette:
3/8 scale chicken at 25 Meters or yards
3/8 scale pig at 50 meters/yards
3/8 scale Turkey at 75 Meters/yards
3/8 scale ram at 100 meters/yards
IHMSA fifth scale shoots same distance but uses 1/5th scale targets.
IHMSA Field pistol shoots same distance but uses 1/2 scale targets.

For NRA:
short Range (smallbore) pistol silhouette:
1/2 scale chicken at 40 meters/yards
3/8 scale pig at 50 meters/yards
3/8 scale Turkey at 75 meters/yards
3/8 scale ram at 100 meters/yards

NRA hunter pistol silhouette and NRA lever action rifle Silhouette:
1/2 scale chicken at 40 meters/yards
1/2 scale pig at 50 meters/yards
1/2 scale Turkey at 75 meters/yards
1/2 scale Ram at 100 meters/yards

NRA smallbore rifle silhouette:
1/5 scale chicken at 40 meters
1/5 scale pig at 60 meters
1/5 scale Turkey at 77 meters
1/5 scale Ram at 100 meters

but since this is a personal range and if you do not mind if they do not fall over, Why don't you just use a swinger target at each distance with a berm behind it both for seeing your misses and for safety ?

I will go through some other things in another post and I can provide some photos of ranges I have been at across the USA.

now link to IHMSA rulebook:

Rules

Web Hosting by BlueDomino

www.ihmsa.org

NRA pistol silhouette rulebook:

https://competitions.nra.org/media/8908/2023-silhouette-pistol-rules.pdf

NRA Rifle silhouette rulebook:

https://competitions.nra.org/media/8911/2023-silhouette-rifle-rules.pdf

 

[bobcat93]

NRA small bore silhouette, i believe thats the one.
I do believe there are rules..like the shoot must be standing on the ground and im aware of shooting distance but what about target placement. Can i set them on a railroad tie or flat surface in front of burm. Is that aloud or do the animals need to set on the ground also.. that creates different grade and machine work.
Fortunate for me the area i have chosen is fairy level for the entire distance as it was abandoned agro land now its full of crap trees i need to cut down and burn into ash pile so they blow away..the good ones i will lay down and use to form shooting back stop and cover with dirt and sand.
Back to the targets.
is there a distance they are set apart? Say 1 chicken every 24" at 40 meters..
Something that may dictate the width of rifle range needed.

I have so much work ahead of me..im sick of talking about it and want to be out there doing it..and now winter is coming and im done until spring..so i have to work on inside project for my wife ..blaa!..i go from chain saws and fire, to flooring and painting..a man needs to play, and not go broke doing it..
I suppose im blessed.
I have strong old bones, (for now) beautiful land i can work how ever i want. And i want to stand at a beautiful, well thought out range.
Im not filling it with concrete, stone, old tires..im building from logs, sand, and what is already there..so when im to old for shooting, the land will be just as i found it, or in better shape then i received it..that is the universal rules when you barrow something..right...i may have paid for my land..but i dont own it..it belongs to the earth..i simply paid to be a trusted care taker..
Life is so odd.

 

[bobcat93]

Oh!..isnt that an awesome picture i found and posted from google images..some out there is already living the dream..what a nice bright sandy clean range..thats completely beautiful to me..so simple and it doesn't hurt anyone..how could some one complain about that is beyond my mental capacity...
Although thats probably about 8000$ in sand and delivery charges..
300$-500$ in steel targets..yep..even the very basics add up quickly
I need to dig around and find a sand vein on my land , and get a plama cutter and welder from harbor freight to make targets..hahaha...
im kidding..ill buy the targets..but paying for sand hummm.

 

[Will Henry]

Oh!..isnt that an awesome picture i found and posted from google images..some out there is already living the dream..what a nice bright sandy clean range..thats completely beautiful to me..so simple and it doesn't hurt anyone..how could some one complain about that is beyond my mental capacity...
Although thats probably about 8000$ in sand and delivery charges..
300$-500$ in steel targets..yep..even the very basics add up quickly
I need to dig around and find a sand vein on my land , and get a plama cutter and welder from harbor freight to make targets..hahaha...
im kidding..ill buy the targets..but paying for sand hummm.

I think the targets at the club are about a foot apart. The rams a little more. They are set on racks made of railroad tracks. The lower bank of targets are about ten inches above the ground and the top bank 2 feet above that. My own targets are set just six inches apart. I can hit that gap repeatedly! I bought 5 sets of cast targets for the club and 1 set for myself. Don't recall what I paid but it wasn't bad. use your logs for backstops. They should be able to soak up plenty of lead! WH

 

[dhagerty40]

ok, here is the rule for distance between targets (IHMSA and NRA are the same):
. Targets shall be set in banks of five animals each (five chickens, five pigs, etc.) The recommended distance between each animal is the width of that animal.

Now some ranges: First here is Grant Pass, OR. as you see in the pic, the stands have been made out of Railroad ties, upside down railroad track or Made from steel bar. Also, This range was cut out of the side of a hill to create the berms.

 

[dhagerty40]

Now, LASC range outside Los Angeles. this range was cutout out of a hill that is made from decomposing granite. so, they had the material make it look like that. Right side has the smallbore targets and left side has the Big bore (centerfire) targets. this range goes out to 200 meters.

 

[Fast14riot]

At the silhouette range at my club, for small bore and large bore (500m) all targets are set on rail thats flipped upside down so there is a flat surface to stand them on.

I have also shot at ranges that aren't official but have all targets on swingers. Swinging targets makes a match move so much quicker.

Typical layouts I have seen are parallel lanes of fire, one firing point for 1 or 2 distances and another for the others (can run multiple lines at once) and the other is fan shaped with single firing point for all distances, get crowded, but is fun with lots of action all close together.

 

[dhagerty40]

Now, this is OKC gun club in Edmond, OK. This range goes out to 500 meters and is unique as all targets are auto-reset targets, hence the unusual stands (has equipment behind them).

 

[dhagerty40]

And last, My local range in Yuma, AZ. it is the third oldest silhouette range in the USA and sits in the middle the Sonoran desert. This Pic was taken during our 22 Long Range match( unsanctioned). The rams are actually 3/8 scale and are set at 200 meters.

 

[dhagerty40]

and I just noticed,, the Picture you posted was of OKC gun club!

 

[Allen Corneau]

... Do i need two ranges side by side to compete with my neighbors..how does all this work..or do i need 2rows of animals at the given rule book distance...

If you're going for resettables, then one bank of five for each animal is plenty. If you're using free-standing targets then 10 of each animal is the baseline. If you want to walk out and reset less often then build/add more rails/animals.

Targets (animals) need to be at least one animal-width apart from the next one. A little more is good (~6") but two feet between chickens would be ridiculous.

Technically, each animal should sit on a pad that is specified in the rulebook. Many ranges just use a flat rail with no additional pad and that works fine too.

Don't worry about sand, berms made out of whatever dirt you've got are good enough for your purposes. Our club has metal backstops which makes it easier to spot your misses, but that would be a major investment on your part.

Here's a picture of the target rails down in Saltillo, Mexico. The top rails are for knock-down targets and the bottom are resettables for practice.

 

[jimologist]

you said you dont have the luxury to drive and hang out but you are awfully close to Tusco Rifle Range and it has the following IHMSA disciplines available:

Field Pistol in meters ( comparable to NRA Hunter Pistol) targets are at 25, 50, 75, and 100 meters.

Small Bore and 1/5 scale in yards. these are .22 LR targets at 25, 50, 75, 100 yards.

Big Bore and 1/2 scale in meters with targets at 50, 100, 150, and 200 meters.

Before you spends hours and days building your range, it would be worth your time to spend 3 or 4 hours driving down to Tusco and watching an hour of a match. Tusco is in Midvale Ohio. About an Hour south of you.

in 2025 Tusco silhouettes shoots on the first Saturday of the month. First match is May 3.