Metallic silhouette shooting is well into its third decade in the United States. It had its origins in Mexico but has caught on quickly since leaving our southern neighbors and moving north in the early 1970's. IHMSA's first Internationals were held in Tucson, AZ in 1975.

Metallic silhouette shooting is similar to the shooting galleries found at many carnivals. Metal targets in animal shapes must be knocked over by the bullet impact rather than just making holes in paper targets. The larger the target, the greater the distance shot.

Scoring is simple. The shooter has two minutes for five shots at a "bank" of five animals. Each metal animal must be struck in sequence from left to right and must fall over to count as a hit. The total number of hits by the shooter determines his or her score for that Match round.

IHMSA events are shot at distance of 50, 100, 150, 200 meters for centerfire handguns and 25, 50, 75, 100 yards for .22 rimfire handguns. The typical match consists of ten rounds shot at each of the four distances (40 round match).

Many silhouette shooters hunt with their handguns. They use their match experience as a valuable exercise in marksmanship, and familiarization with their handgun and ballistics, a practice that makes any shooter better prepared to go afield in pursuit of wild game.

Who Can Shoot ** All events are open to any shooter who demonstrates safe gun handling practices and who can obey very basic range commands. It is not uncommon to see husband/wife, wife/daughter, or father/son teams shooting and coaching (spotting) for each other.