2007 Cowboy Lever Action Silhouette Rifle NSW State Championships
2 December 2007
ACT Majura Range Complex

On December 2, 2007, the Inaugural Cowboy Lever Action Silhouette Rifle NSW State Championships were held at the ACT Majura Range Complex. Cowboy Lever Action Silhouette Rifle is the latest in the SSAA’s stable of disciplines and is intended to bring together the Rifle Metallic Silhouette (RMS), Single Action and Lever Action disciplines. The matches are derived from the American NRA disciplines of the same name, but have been adapted in Australia to suit the International Handgun Metallic Silhouette Association (IHMSA) distances and targets.

For a first effort, the state titles were well planned and conducted, thanks mainly to the efforts of local shooting identities Robert and Kathy Tobler. There were 30 starters at the event; almost half were newcomers to the sport and all were surprised with their first time successes, achieving A, AA and even AAA grading after their very first go.

Three 40-shot matches were conducted on the one day including the Rifle Calibre match out to 200m on full-size RMS silhouettes, Pistol Calibre Cartridge and Small Bore Cartridge out to 100m on half and three-eighths scale targets respectively.

One of the newest SSAA branches, Southern Highlands, hosted the state championships after staging a regional competition in Pistol Calibre and Small Bore categories in July 2007. The Southern Highlands Branch shoots these matches regularly at the Bowral Pistol Club range. However, being limited to 100m at Bowral means that the only opportunity for most NSW shooters to shoot the Rifle Calibre match has to be at the ACT range.

While most shooters were shy about adopting the ‘cowboy’ persona, the firearms certainly covered most types of the legendary American West longarms, ranging from .32-20 to .45-70 and many in between. The .44 Magnum was a favourite calibre for both the Rifle and Pistol Calibre Cartridge events. Some rifles were brand-new and others looked as though they hadn’t seen daylight for years.

Overall, the day was a great success and, if nothing else, everyone had fun. This will hopefully be the beginning of regular competition in this new and competitive sport.