Nessmuck56 said:
Just looking for some different shooting games for next years shoot. We have the "split the ball on the ax head and break two clays, cut the playing card in half, the X made from strings,where you hit the intersection of the strings and they all fall, shooting at 1/2 a target.... can you add anything to my list ,Thanks
We shoot a turkey match from a plank rest 60 yards, 40 yards for offhand.
Use this target.
This is a traditional match and is scored by string measure. The distance from the center of the aiming spot to the center of the bullet hole.
There is documentation from the 18th century in America that most matches were REST matches. They, for the most part, thought that off-hand shooting was a poor test of a rifle. Just like horse racing where they were not testing the jockey but the horse, they were finding who had the best rifle.
Rest shooting never really died out with MLs in America. In its "chunk" match form it lasted right to present day.
We have adopted the plank rest since we have some arthritic old farts who have trouble getting off the ground.
Also we require the shooter shoot at the target he uses for score, not off center aiming point as is common in "chunk".
I leave my sighter up and staple my score targets over it so I have a target with the group on it.
Sometimes it looks like this (this is a previous version of the target) with quite a few sighters.
Reading the wind is critical. 10 mph can put the ball completely off the turkey at 60 yards. And we routinely shoot in 15-20 or much worse. Having to stop to put the target boards back in place.
But this is better. 12 shots total. Only one score shot missed the turkey completely.
It also works in winter months since its not necessary to lay in the snow as the artwork from the 1870s shows. Its titled "Turkey Match at Saratoga Springs" where the artist had lived years before.
We shoot 10 shots on 10 targets each shot is a match closest center wins. Pays for winner of each match and 1st, 2nd, 3rd for aggregate of the strings.
Its possible to shoot 2-5 shots per target but if someone is shooting very well they can get hard to score.
There is a rumor that Wyoming Armory in Cody may be printing the targets
Due to some interest in the match SPG wrote up the rules this week so they are more "fixed". This is what WE use. But figure something that will work for your group. The peep sight thing is not that great an advantage. I have a very accurate rifle with barrel sights and I used sheet brass shaders to keep the sun off them and routinely out shoot peep sights. I would shoot against iron sighted inlines with this rifle so long as they shot BP and a patched ball.
It is a lot of fun. Its low stress, well the scorer has to work, and its a traditional American rifle match. We just cannot legally use live turkeys anymore.
But we have this for a sudden death secondary match.
Gobble, the turkey will come up then drop in 5 seconds.
Then is goes to 3 seconds for the next round.
This is the brainchild of one of our shooters who had shot live turkey matches years ago.
Dan
Anyway the rules ala Cody.
Gentlemen,
Turkey Match Rules-
Any muzzleloading rifle, flint or percussion, any caliber, any weight, loaded with straight black powder and a cloth-patched lead round ball. No false muzzled rifles.
Any pre-1860 iron sight or faithful reproductions of pre-1860 styles or patents, shaders allowed.
Target is the black "turkey-head" with "X" centered in the turkey's head. No special sighting or windage targets allowed, all shooters use the same style of target. Shots are scored, string-measure, from the center of the bullet hole to the X center on the turkey's head. Misses are given a measurement from the X-center to the farthest edge or corner of the target. Ten one-shot matches to be fired with the aggregate string comprised of the aggregate total of the ten matches. A shooter may enter any number of matches, up to ten, with only one shot per match.
Loading to be done from the pouch. Bench boards to support the rifle during loading and cleaning are allowed. Charges to be thrown from a horn or flask. No pre-weighed charges, mechanical powder measures, tackle boxes, etc. This is a traditional match; if your loading equipment can't be carried in a typical shooting pouch, leave it home.
Distance is 60 yards for rest shooting, 40 yards for offhand shooting. Shots fired either offhand or rest will be scored equally in both individual matches and aggregate strings. A shooter may fire any combination of offhand and rest shots to make up his ten-shot string.
Rest to consist of sawhorse-style front support with inclined plank. Plank may be "V"notched for rifle muzzle with one layer of cloth or leather allowed for padding. Shooter must fire from the kneeling position with both legs free of the plank. No shooting coats, supportive devices or clothing allowed for offhand shooting.
One streamer/flag-style wind flag allowed. All shooters must be able use the same wind flag. No electronic or mechanical wind reading devices allowed.
A Shooters Jury comprised of three knowledgeable competitors, selected by the match sponsors/directors will rule on any equipment or procedure not clearly described in these rules. Documentation of pre-1860 equipment or procedures will be the responsibility of the shooter. The decisions rendered by the Shooters Jury will be final and binding for the match in question.
These competitions are meant to be a traditional-style, muzzle loading, round ball rifle match typical of the pre-1860 period. Extreme or radical interpretations of these simple, common-sense rules will not be tolerated by the Shooter's Jury.
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This is the way we have been shooting the matches at Cody and they have worked very well for us. I would welcome some positive discussion on them, but be advised that we have kept the rules simple for a reason. I don't want to have to craft a 100-page document covering every imaginable scenario, hence the "pre-1860 rule" and the inclusion of a Shooter's Jury. The pre-1860 rule makes folks who want to "push the envelope" provide documentation for their equipment. The good thing about that is we all learn from their efforts as to what was actually available to serious shooters prior to 1860.
I hope that I have remembered everything in this post but I'm in a caffeine-deprived state at the moment and anything is possible. I'm hoping Dan Phariss will double-check me on the rules.
Steve
