Mario Marin
EVERYTHING that’s old will be new again at the Blackpowder Metal Silhouette NSW titles at Rankins Springs this weekend, as more than 30 shooters from around the country take aim at the prestigious title.
Featuring weapons and ammunition based on designs from the 19th century, only the most skilled marksman will be able to triumph, according to Mario Marin.
“It is starting to pick up in popularity in the last few years even though it’s been around for a little while, and we have about 30 shooters coming to this weekend’s event from all over Australia,” Marin said.
“We shoot at metal cutouts of animals at different distances from 200m to 500m and it’s quite challenging because we have open sights and the guns are generally quite old or they are reproductions.
“I really think it caters to the die-hard shooters who love a challenge.”
Unlike modern weapons, every shot sees a large plume of smoke billow from the muzzle of the weapons, something Marin said adds to the charm of the event.
“It is plenty of smoke but no mirrors,” he joked.
“They’re quite large calibres, about 45cal, so they’re shooting about 70 grains of blackpowder, which is quite a bit, so there’s not just smoke but sometimes some fireworks come out of the end of the barrel.”
With the best score out of 40 winning the title, every shot will count in the two days of competition, which could become a more regular event according to Marin.
“Rankins Springs is quite unique because it’s one of the few venues in NSW where this type of event can be shot,” he said.
“So it will start to see a bit of action in the near future because the discipline chairman would like to have other silhouette matches out there, more state titles and even maybe a national championships soon.”