Metallic silhouette

Metallic silhouette shooting is a group of target shooting disciplines that involves shooting at steel targets representing game animals at varying distances, seeking to knock the metal target over. Metallic silhouette shooting can be done with airguns, black-powder firearms, modern handguns, or modern rifles. A related genre is shot with bow and arrow, the metal targets being replaced with cardboard or foam. The targets used are rams, turkeys, pigs, and chickens, which are cut to different scales and set at certain distances from the shooter depending on the specific discipline.

Metallic silhouette is descended from an old Mexican sport, dating back to the early 1900s, where live game animals were staked out at varying distances as targets. By 1948, metal cutouts of the animals were used instead of live animals, and the first metallic silhouette match was held in Mexico City. Because of the sport's Mexican roots, in America the silhouettes are often referred to by terms from several varieties of American Spanish, namely Gallina (chicken), Jabali (pig), Guajalote (turkey), and Borrego (ram).

The first silhouette range constructed in the United states was in 1967 at Nogales, Arizona. Growth was steady until 1973 when the NRA become involved in the sport. By the mid 1980's it was the fastest growing gun sport to ever hit the United states.

The International Metallic Silhouette Shooting Union (IMSSU) is the international federation controlling Metallic Silhouette for both rifle and pistol competitions. There are also two major USA-based bodies; the National Rifle Association covers all types of silhouette shooting in the United States, and the USA-based International Handgun Metallic Silhouette Association (IHMSA), founded in 1976. There are some minor differences between the international federations IMSSU rules and those of the NRA and IHMSA, but it is generally possible to compete in all with the same equipment.

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