Metallic silhouette shooting SBH?

I just got another crazy idea. I was thinking of going back to metallic silhouette shooting. Now the problem a new Contender barrel 10 inch runs about $450 and the SBH just a little more. Should I get the SBH 7-1/2 or 10? Has anyone every shot the SBH in a match and how was it.

Thanks for the help.

lfpiii

I shot a 10" SBH for years. I shot 35-37's with it all the time until I gave up freestyle for standing.

You can pick up 10" T/C bbls used for $150

Depends on what you want. I myself chased after a 357 max, just because of the history involved with the game,cartridge and gun. Honestly it is a real learning curve and is a good lesson for anyone that is serious about shooting.
I won't say a Ruger can't compete but you will have a hard time staying with the FA's on a regular basis. IMHO there are several guns that are in production class that are a semi custom. When you can spec out a chamber it is some sort of custom.
If you are going to go with the Ruger get on the search for a Bowen target rear sight. Make sure it is the click adjustable and not the opposing screw rough country. This game will give a set of sights a work out and the stock sights won't cut it.
You don't mention caliber but use what you want. Recoil is not your friend in this game. Heck I used my buckeye a couple of years ago in 32-20 and scratched out a decent score. Knowing what I know now, if it had a Bowen on it may have gotten me a half dozen more targets.
I don't like too but am using two different loads and two different bullets, both cast by me. One load is for C and P. The other is for T and R. The first is a soft shooter and is excellent out to 100m and good to 150. The later is excellent at 150 and still good at 200.
One last thing that has been cussed and discussed is windage at 200m. I don't know if it is the shooter or rotational issues or both. But I have to put in some windage at 200m. A fair bit as it runs darn near the full width of a ram. Hold on back ham and a hit in the front shoulder with no windage. Seen this with several shooters and several guns. One buddies FA is good all the way out. Several of us shot a clamped ram with his load and settings and a nice group resulted. Another gents FA required windage, same caliber and grip. Seen the same results with Rugers, Dan Wessons and S&W.
Jeff

I don't know where you are being scalped by the offering of T/C bbls at $450 unless it's a custom. But,, while the $150 barrels do exist,,, most have creeped up to the $200 mark & are findable.
You didn't mention caliber, but by the SBH,, I'm assuming you are looking at a 44 mag. Common caliber & barrel length. Heck, even sleezbay has them cheaper than $450.

If you're going to get a Contender barrel for production class you'll be hard pressed to beat one in 7 TCU: low recoil, long case life, and a lengthy history of winning matches. I see them used for under 200 bucks regularly, often with brass and dies.

In revolvers, for Rugers, either a 10.5" SBH 44 Magnum or a 10.5" .357 Maximum are the way to go. For NRA Field Pistol a 7.5" .357 Magnum Bisley would be a fine choice as well but it'd be marginal on the 200m rams in IHMSA.

My how times have changed. I still shake my head at all of the things allowed now that were not Production back when I started.

contender said:

I don't know where you are being scalped by the offering of T/C bbls at $450 unless it's a custom. But,, while the $150 barrels do exist,,, most have creeped up to the $200 mark & are findable.
You didn't mention caliber, but by the SBH,, I'm assuming you are looking at a 44 mag. Common caliber & barrel length. Heck, even sleezbay has them cheaper than $450.

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T/C no longer makes 10inch barrels so you are stuck with custom. I have seen several used that had been worn pretty well. I plan to keep looking for good T/C barrels.

In part I had been thinking about the SBH because a local dealer has had a NIB 10 inch and 7-1/2 on the shelf for more than 3 years and I figured I could probably talk him down quite a bit on price.

Now the problem a new Contender barrel 10 inch runs about $450

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You need to shop around. MGM barrels cost $250 if under 13" long.

You guys in Oregon must have more magnetic pull than here in Kansas.
We have hand set rams and the 159-170 in the 357 is a 99% X on the card.
My 32-20 and 140 cast running 1400 and change takes them over here. As we all know there are variables at each and every range we visit.

jsh said:

You guys in Oregon must have more magnetic pull than here in Kansas.
We have hand set rams and the 159-170 in the 357 is a 99% X on the card.
My 32-20 and 140 cast running 1400 and change takes them over here. As we all know there are variables at each and every range we visit.

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I've seen the rams go down with 180's out of Freedom Arms .357's, but anything under that and they just ring

I am presently paying off a 10.5" SBH with the intent of doing some big bore silhouette shooting if my eyeballs are up to the task... :wink:

I shot a KS411N for years. Never got more than a 37. Wasn't the gun's fault. I did switch the sights to the 1/10" sights available for the Maximum. It greatly helped with turkeys and was allowable in production at the time. I don't know about current rules. Everyone was switching to .357 after rule changes allowed removal of the rear portion of the ram's foot. Made them easy to knock over. I never thought the gun's recoil was enough to interfere with accurate shot placement. I haven't competed in years so take this with a grain of salt.

choirboy said:

I Everyone was switching to .357 after rule changes allowed removal of the rear portion of the ram's foot. Made them easy to knock over.

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That was the trick in MI too. Rams with .357 were always iffy, so the guys that shot .357 aimed for the hip to swing off the rear foot.

Until you are a solid INT-R shooter a SBH will be just fine.

lfpiii said:

In part I had been thinking about the SBH because a local dealer has had a NIB 10 inch and 7-1/2 on the shelf for more than 3 years and I figured I could probably talk him down quite a bit on price.

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Either would be really fun and give you a great start until you really gone in on what you want. Especially if you load your own loads.

In my experience, I really needed new sights on the 7.5" SBH, the 10" having more appropriate sights out of the box. But ya, that would probably be a first concern.

The 10" can get really heavy standing. If you have mild temperatures, good shade and can get comfortable where you shoot, that helps. But it gives you a great sight radius and tames some recoil and blast.

I used my SBH 7 1/2" shooting 21 Grains of H110 and a 240 gr hard cast SWC bullet that got me a few trophies. Even if I just nicked the rams, they went down.