The NRA Annual Meetings & Exhibits kicks off in Dallas, Texas today. Today, we’ll look at a fun type of rifle competition – varmint silhouette match. Steel at long distance is both challenging and fun. This 48-minute video, from Shooting USA TV features a long-range varmint competition in Texas. These matches are a lot of fun. We’ve participated in them on the West Coast. The sport combines benchrest competitions with the thrill of hitting critter targets. The silhouettes are smaller, so it is a challenge to hit these targets at 300 yards or beyond. In this episode, John Scoutten competes using his 6.5 Creedmoor PRS. He found that steel Coyotes with a 1-MOA size offered a lot of challenge at 385 m! Most shooters use rifles with front rests that are of a higher quality. Shooting USA 48-Minute Full Episode featuring Texas Varmint:Mini Prairie Dogs: 200 meters Steel Targets
3”x3” Armadillos — 300 Meters
3”x5″ Coyotes – 385 Meters 5 ”x4 ” Hogs – 500 Meters
Chickens (on swingers) — 600 yards
Pigs (on swingers) — 750 yards EDITOR: This Shooting USA feature is well worth your time. It shows some top-flight Benchrest rifles and also discusses the origins of the benchrest varmint silhouettes in Pennsylvania. AccurateShooter forum members are also shown on screen. John Scoutten does a nice job of explaining the challenges that come with shooting this discipline on a PRS setup. This video is a must-see for any tactical or benchrest shooter. Travis Frazier, a steel target designer with Field & Cave Outfitters says that shooters love the reactive targets. “The most thrilling thing is seeing your shots — these [targets] actually go airborne”. Varmint Silhouette Matches deliver instant gratification. Travis designs and manufactures these steel targets. This Texas match has multiple target shapes at each distance. There are 10 different targets at each distance. The competitors have 10 rounds and 10 mins to hit each target set.
