Silhouette Shooting

Silhouette Shooting is a shooting gallery on a grand scale. 

The sport is one of the newest and most challenging of all rifle shooting and originated in Mexico.

 It was introduced to the U.S.A. in the 1960’s. It offers the ultimate test of the shooter’s skill

 and the ideal practice and training for hunting and other shooting sports.

The first time you level your sights on the silhouette sheep 100 metres away,

squeeze off a shot and see that sheep topple off his stand – you will be hooked.

You will also be in good company as  many rifle shooters have caught silhouette fever over the last few years. 

  It caught on here in Ireland in 1979 with a bang – and a clang.

 In Mexican Silhouette, the shooter shoots at shaped metal targets in the “Standing Position”. 

Twenty targets make up a course of fire and are spread over four distances. 

 Each distance has a different size target and are shot at one size per distance.

The targets are made up of the following metal cut-outs;

Chickens shot at 40 metres.

Pigs shot at 60 metres.

Turkeys shot at 77 metres.

Sheep shot at 100 metres.

The shooter has only five rounds of ammunition to fire at each distance and

two and a half minutes to knock down all five targets. 

The targets must be knocked off the metal stand to score.

Being able to see immediately how each person is scoring can make it interesting

 or embarrassing depending on whether you are a competitor or a spectator, but it is always fun. 

The sport is designed to facilitate as many shooters as possible. 

There has to be a reason for the phenomenal enthusiasm and interest shown in

 this new shooting game over the last number of years.  And there is.

  The reason, like the game itself is simple. Metallic Silhouette shooting is fun and challenging. 

 Action is a big part of metallic silhouette shooting, and that is where the fun comes in. 

 Instead of trying to find a hole in a paper target with a spotting scope,

most every shot fired at metallic silhouette targets produces a clearly visible – and if you score a hit,

audible – sensation.  Chicken silhouettes, depending on where they are hit,

 may spin wildly or turn end over end. 

 Sheep when hit often seem to hang for a moment before majestically toppling over. 

 Even misses are easily seen, usually raising a cloud of dust behind the silhouette. 

 This kind of action has helped make silhouette shooting both a popular family and spectator sport.

Silhouette Shooting is disabled friendly as there are also rules for those

who wish to shoot from the seated position or from a wheelchair.