My 1/5th gun history, Part I

So often the people I socialize with in the game of Silhouette ask me about my equipment.  It's always about equipment, equipment, equipment.  Sadly I fall into the same trap.  Good equipment just puts more of the burden on the shooter.  But, entry level equipment does not "remove" the burden from the shooter. Good shooters will still shoot high counts with average equipment.

A story first.  Winnsoboro, LA.  Friday before the match there must be 30 shooters practicing, confirming zeros.  And why not, they put up 400 1/5th animals, yes, 10 banks!  I have my NS522/Weaver KT-15 shooting Wolf MT.  I was on turkeys with a young girl from Florida.  I knew her a little as we were squadded together at the Sunshine Classic a few months earlier.  She had a beautiful factory Anschutz 1712 in a Miestergrade wood stock.  Leupold scope and shooting Eley EPS.  After a year of shooting she was already a master shooter and boy could she shoot! 

Anyway, I turned a turkey and I invited her to show me her stuff and knock it down.  She replied shyly that her Dad sent her with just one brick so she had to conserve ammo.  I acknowledged her response, but to make things fun, I offered her my gun and ammo.  Her eyes lit up and happily took me up on my offer.  One shot later the turned turkey was on the ground.  After I picked my jaw off the ground, I smiled and offered her to continue shooting.  She politely and said "thank you, one was enough."  Obviously it was not the gun, ammo or sight settings.  It was the jerk behind the trigger which limited my performance.

Lesson learned.  It ain't the equipment dummy!  Or is it?

Struggling with new Anschutz

Another story.  Pe Ell, WA.  1710/MacMillan/Leupold 6-20x/Wolf MT.  2005 as seen to right.  In short, I was having one of those crappy days.  Managed a horrible 23.  Fighting something.  One of those times when I should have stayed home but home was 2,800 miles away.  I was shooting with the TX gang, Motl, Kuney, Pharr, Clark.  Mark Pharr, in an effort to cheer me up, offered to let me shoot his gun.  Seeing as how Mark Pharr is one of the top Silhouette gunsmiths and competitors, he never shows up with the same gun twice.  Needless to say, he had a new very nice rig.  A custom Ultra Light Action (ULA), repeater, Lija barrel, Timney trigger and his prototype stock in wood.  I knew nothing about Ultra Light Arms at the time or that his stock would become the basis of a popular fiberglass mould.

I declined, knowing I had to grow up and figure out my own gun.  But, after another horrible Saturday afternoon match, I asked him Sunday morning if the offer still stood?  He said sure but there would not be enough ammo for any practice.  No worries on my part, the weekend was now just a learning trip as I was out of the running for any sort of prize.

ULA in prototype Pharr stock, click to enlarge

To make a long story short, I went from a 23 Sat morning to a 33 on Sunday morning.  Although the ULA, pictured to the right, had feeding issues, which is why Mark does not use them anymore, it shot lights out.  It was like a laser beam.  I broke on the animal, the animal fell.  Stock was awesome, it just stayed put.  After that, I knew it was time to upgrade my gun.  But, a $2,000 custom gun???  If I had the money it would have flown home with me!

In summary:

So there you have it.  Conflicting stories.  There is no right answer.  It is a journey.  But, a journey where you must proactively seek out information.  Experiment, take notes, filter emotions from fact.  The best advice is to shoot what you own and travel to as many matches as possible and talk with EVERYONE. This hobby is more about information collection, socialization and discovery than it is about winning.  You will find the silhouette gang quite helpful and will often let you try out if not use their equipment.  The 1/5th game is not easy.  After a year of practice on the 1/2 scale animals my first 1/5th score was a 12.  Today, I am a solid AAA shooter but not a master.  There are many shooters who never shoot less than a 35.  I have never been there and not sure I ever will.  But I keep trying.