Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Competitive Shooting Rifle Matches in PA or surrounding?

I've shot smallbore. I know how hard it is. Win, place, or lose, that is a good score!

I was shooting HP at the time, in the upper 180s Standing and the best I think I did at silo was about 9, 8, 5, 5.

On the silhouette game a lot of clubs here have an easier game and not just NRA certified distance and targets. They use like pistol Target size at closer ranges 25 50 75 and 100. That keeps people hitting enough of them they stay interested.
I personally like that stuff that keeps people that aren't steady anymore for kids or anybody in the learning process easier targets to hit and learn from. Before they graduate on to actual NRA stuff the NRA silhouette matches are very tough.

Sorry I didn’t see this sooner but there are a decent amount of rifle shoots in PA- I’ve been a shotgunner my whole life so didn’t pay attention to them until recently. Fairchance Rod and Gun Club (just outside of Uniontown, PA) has the state benchrest competition. There are benchrest style ground hog shoots at Lawrence County Sportsmen (near New Castle), and there are a lot of clubs that have fun shoots/leagues.


I belong to Centerville Sportsmen near Brownsville and we have 5 leagues every month, always something different. This month we are shooting open sighted .22’s at NRA knockdown targets from sitting and prone, 75-yard revolver silhouette shooting, 25-yard silhouette shooting with snub nose (pretty much any pistol with less than a 3” barrel), and a 100-yard offhand lever gun silhouette league. We have multiple leagues where your .223 would be fine, plus you can drag some other guns out to try if you’d like. The only problem is we shoot the leagues on Thursday nights and if you work, it might be hard to make it there after getting off (our curfew is at 8:00).

I'm heading up to Ridgway this weekend with Roof. Smallbore on Saturday and Centerfire on Sunday. Excellent facility, great bunch of guys, and the town of Ridgway is one of the friendliest and clean little towns I've ever seen. Heck, it wouldn't take much for me to pull up stakes and spend my Golden Years living there just for those reasons!

If any of y'all are headed there this weekend also, look me up.

To the OP or anyone thinking about shooting this game: Ixnay on the .223. Rules require 6mm or larger. 6.5's currently are favored by a lot of top shooters.

Even with a heavy superior BC .22 bullet driven as hard as you can, knocking over the rams at 500 meters is very chancy. Like as in low probability because they weigh 65 pounds. But on the other hand, you may really clean up on the closer/smaller targets with a light recoil accurate rig like that which could still make for a decent final score. But that's a moot point because of the 6mm rule. Some guys are experimenting with small 6.5's like 6.5TCU with that strategy in mind. "Heck, if I can knock down 15-20 chickens, pigs, and turkeys, and only knock down a couple rams, then I'm definitely in the running for an award."

There is Union County Sportsman Club in Millmont, PA. They hold a couple benchrest matches each year, Great place,

McDonald gun club. 10 miles west of Pittsburgh. Benchrest and Ground Hog shoots.

Lawrence Co gun club. Benchrest and Ground hog shoots 45 minutes north of Pittsburgh

Hey Model70Fan,

I've been down the road you're on right now. I just Googled gun clubs near me and would change the area.
I grew up in Cambria County outside of Ebensburg, and I live in the Pittsburgh area now.

I've got lots of clubs near me that hold NRA/CMP across the course highpower matches. Many of those clubs also have other rifle matches like F-class, Benchrest, grounhog, Standing only, hunting rifle only, etc.

I love to shoot CMP XTC matches and I've shot at Reade which is basically due north of you, or slightly north east.

As far as highpower silhouette - the rifle needs to be at least .243/6mm caliber. So, no, your .223 won't qualify. But when I was getting started I just showed up anyway. There were guys at the match that had spare rifles and they just pushed the gun and ammo in my hand, and told me how many clicks up the scope should be at each yard line. It was really welcoming and a great way to learn.

All this kind of makes me regret leaving Pa. over 50 years ago. Kind of.

http://stthomassportsmen.com/groundhog.php

Might be a little too far from you? But these groundhog matches are alot of fun, and competitive in any class.

PA state silhouette championship this weekend at Ridgway. Small bore on Saturday, centerfire on Sunday.

Good luck, if you're competing, bud.