MSRC SSAA National Lever Action Silhouette Championships

[Gamerancher]

No worries,
Just noticed your "list" in your post. You've already got two of the three rifles you need to have a crack at this sport. Your BL22 will be just fine for the small-bore and your Marlin 30-30 will handle the rifle class.
Really, any rifle in a pistol cartridge chambering will suffice, if you were already thinking you needed a .357 it will be more than adequate for the class.
As Groundhog stated, people use anything from .22mag up to .45 Long Colt. The .357 is popular as are .25-20, .32-20 and .44 mag.
The pistol calibre event shoots on half-size targets out to 100m. .22 mag is a bit marginal, they have a bad habit of "ringing" targets and targets must fall to count. Everything above that has enough energy to knock down all hit targets. I have been using a .32-20 lately, shooting very mild 120 grain cast bullet loads and haven't lost any targets to "ringers".

You might find some videos on youtube to see how a match runs. ( More likely to find U.S ones )

[Shootermick]

No worries,
Just noticed your "list" in your post. You've already got two of the three rifles you need to have a crack at this sport. Your BL22 will be just fine for the small-bore and your Marlin 30-30 will handle the rifle class.
Really, any rifle in a pistol cartridge chambering will suffice, if you were already thinking you needed a .357 it will be more than adequate for the class.
As Groundhog stated, people use anything from .22mag up to .45 Long Colt. The .357 is popular as are .25-20, .32-20 and .44 mag.
The pistol calibre event shoots on half-size targets out to 100m. .22 mag is a bit marginal, they have a bad habit of "ringing" targets and targets must fall to count. Everything above that has enough energy to knock down all hit targets. I have been using a .32-20 lately, shooting very mild 120 grain cast bullet loads and haven't lost any targets to "ringers".

You might find some videos on youtube to see how a match runs. ( More likely to find U.S ones )

Yeah, the BL22 is a really nice rifle, and pretty accurate just with the factory open sights too. The Marlins original sights were pretty ordinary, and I put some ghost rings on it, then a rail and a red dot as well. If I did take the game up, I’d probably trade the Marlin on something different. In 357 I was thinking about a Chiappa 1892, a Winchester clone as you said. Or would a 44 mag cover both rifle and pistol categories?

[bladeracer]

Thanks groundhog.
Are there any points in particular that competitors look for in a rifle? Such as barrel length, type of sights, even brand and model etc?
Cheers.

One thing I really do like about the Uberti 66 is the tighter twist rate allowing heavier bullets. I have a Rossi 92 in .357 as well now but haven't tried my 200gn loads in it yet.

[Shootermick]

What about Henry rifles? They don’t seem to be too popular in this field. I know they’re not a replica of the models of days gone by, so is that the reason? Or is there another?

[Gamerancher]

A mate has a Henry in .357, I shot it a couple of times, seemed to be a nice gun. Had a 20' heavy octagonal barrel. There's a few people with Henry .22's in the sport.

[Shootermick]

A mate has a Henry in .357, I shot it a couple of times, seemed to be a nice gun. Had a 20' heavy octagonal barrel. There's a few people with Henry .22's in the sport.

So there’s no disadvantage to not having a loading gate either then. Do you remember what sort of sights he had fitted on it?

[Gamerancher]

The rifle I speak of had a Marbles tang sight fitted. The Henry's load through a slot in the mag tube and have a tubular follower that houses the spring, similar to most lever action .22's. ( The original 1860 Henry loaded through the top end of the magazine, the loading gate on the side of the action was the "King's improvement" (Pat.) that came out in the 1866 Winchesters )

[Shootermick]

The rifle I speak of had a Marbles tang sight fitted. The Henry's load through a slot in the mag tube and have a tubular follower that houses the spring, similar to most lever action .22's. ( The original 1860 Henry loaded through the top end of the magazine, the loading gate on the side of the action was the "King's improvement" (Pat.) that came out in the 1866 Winchesters )

I considered a Henry when I bought my Marlin. They fit a few skinner sights to the Henry’s, on top of the reciever. Are those types of sights any good, or do they lack the adjustments needed for competition shooting?

[No1_49er]

WRT Henry's, there's a lot of folk in the US who are now using, and liking, the 24" octagon barrel Frontier 22LR for the smallbore match.
And now that Henry has introduced a loading gate variant of their centrefire rifles (and not deleted the forward mag tube loading port), Marlin/Winchester are getting a bit of a nudge from that maker as well.

[Gamerancher]

Ultimately you need sights that suit your eye, everyone looks through "iron" sights differently.
Adjust-ability is handy as you shoot at four different sized targets at four different distances. ( Add two more if you are thinking about using the same rifle for both P.C and rifle classes )
While some shooters choose to use a "hot" load that shoots pretty flat and thus almost eliminating the need to adjust sights, ( using slight hold over/under ), a setting for each distance is usually a better thing, especially if you plan on using it for two classes. You 'aint gunna get a load that works from 50 to 200m in a pistol cartridge without adjusting. Sights with repeat-ability or clearly defined settings are preferred.

[Shootermick]

Ultimately you need sights that suit your eye, everyone looks through "iron" sights differently.
Adjust-ability is handy as you shoot at four different sized targets at four different distances. ( Add two more if you are thinking about using the same rifle for both P.C and rifle classes )
While some shooters choose to use a "hot" load that shoots pretty flat and thus almost eliminating the need to adjust sights, ( using slight hold over/under ), a setting for each distance is usually a better thing, especially if you plan on using it for two classes. You 'aint gunna get a load that works from 50 to 200m in a pistol cartridge without adjusting. Sights with repeat-ability or clearly defined settings are preferred.

That’s makes sense. It will narrow down my rifle choice to one that’s been factory tapped with holes to mount a peep, reciever mounted would by my choice over tang.

[Shootermick]

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I’ve seen and handled a few Chiappa firearms, and am thinking I might go for something like this one.

[Gamerancher]

I haven't seen any of the current Chiappas, the ones I have seen have been pretty ordinary when it comes to shooting and reliability. I actually had to grab one out of a blokes hands at a comp once, he was about to wrap it around a steel post after it failed for the umpteenth time. They didn't get the nick-name "Crappers" for nothing.
While the colour case does look nice, at those prices I'd probably look at a current Miroku built Winchester instead if you're after a '92 in .357.

[Shootermick]

I haven't seen any of the current Chiappas, the ones I have seen have been pretty ordinary when it comes to shooting and reliability. I actually had to grab one out of a blokes hands at a comp once, he was about to wrap it around a steel post after it failed for the umpteenth time. They didn't get the nick-name "Crappers" for nothing.
While the colour case does look nice, at those prices I'd probably look at a current Miroku built Winchester instead if you're after a '92 in .357.

I’ll rule a line through them then. The current Winchester’s are pricey, but I won’t rule them out. I’m still keen on a Henry too, thinking a 20” big boy steel, I really like my single shot Henry. I guess if my rifle of choice didn’t come with the factory drilled holes required for a peep it’s not a big deal to send it to a gunsmith to have the new sights properly fitted.

[bladeracer]

[quote="Gamerancher"I haven't seen any of the current Chiappas, the ones I have seen have been pretty ordinary when it comes to shooting and reliability. I actually had to grab one out of a blokes hands at a comp once, he was about to wrap it around a steel post after it failed for the umpteenth time. They didn't get the nick-name "Crappers" for nothing.
While the colour case does look nice, at those prices I'd probably look at a current Miroku built Winchester instead if you're after a '92 in .357.[/quote

I’ll rule a line through them then. The current Winchester’s are pricey, but I won’t rule them out. I’m still keen on a Henry too, thinking a 20” big boy steel, I really like my single shot Henry. I guess if my rifle of choice didn’t come with the factory drilled holes required for a peep it’s not a big deal to send it to a gunsmith to have the new sights properly fitted.

I have Williams peeps on my rifles, with target knobs on two of them. Williams also offer peeps that slide onto dovetails or pic rails.

[Gamerancher]

The prices on those Chiappas you posted was in the vicinity of the "Japchesters", hence my comment. I believe Williams makes a sight that fits the steel framed Henry big-boy, get the target model with the finger adjustable knobs. The only other thing to get is a thumb-screw to replace the locking one on the side, not compulsory but makes adjustments quick and easy.

[Shootermick]

So what are the main disadvantages with a shorter length barrel. There are a couple of new Henry Big Boy carbines for sale, they only have a 16.5” barrel. Is it the shorter sight radius, or a lack of velocity, or something else?? Is there much to be lost/gained on barrel length for this type of shooting?

[No1_49er]

If you're shooting with open (aperture) sights, it's all about having as long a sight radius as you can get. Greater radius (length between front & rear) gives you smaller angular error.

[Gamerancher]

Longer barrels give you longer sight radius, better balance, more weight "out front" which tends to make it easier to hold steady for off-hand shooting.
Better velocities can be obtained but that isn't an issue in this sport.
Short barrel carbines were designed for use by the cavalry, so unless you plan on riding up on a horse and pulling it from your scabbard, pretty much wasted intent.
Modern versions are really marketed for being "handy". Great I suppose if your shooting from a bike or quad, or hiking in dense scrub, BUT, you'll be handicapping yourself in this sport. Plus, if you turn up at a shoot with a 16.6" barrelled .357 stoked up for the rifle rams, please don't shoot next to me, the muzzle blast will be woeful. I had a bloke shooting next to me with a 20"' barrel firing Federal factory .357 rounds at the last competition I went to. Man did that thing bark, everyone on the line was commenting on his loads, wondering how much he had them "loaded up". He did offer me his empty cases as he didn't reload, they were gratefully accepted. I wound up with 196 nice, once fired, nickel cases, I use them in my S&W 686.

[Shootermick]

Bought a rifle today to hopefully use in the silhouette shooting. Ended up with a Henry Big Boy Steel in 357, 20” barrel. Could have got the Brass receiver a bit cheaper, but it’s not quite to my tastes aesthetically.

[Gamerancher]

That'll work fine mate. It's mostly about the shooter anyway.
Hopefully they get over this lock-down mentality before it sends the country completely broke and you get a chance to use it.