Indoor Matches

I hope this is the right category to post this question but here goes.

What distance is the most common for indoor matches?  I have the NRA 20yd and the NRA 50' targets but feel that 20yds would be more like shooting the SL outdoors.  It's not at least for me as my points really drop with that extra 5 yards.  I shoot at the indoor range 4 times a week and once a week at the outdoor BE range.  I would reverse that if the outdoor was twice as far.  You don't meet any BE shooters at the indoor range they are all shooting 3 to 7yds at a silhouette two handed and still missing.  So getting a indoor league is going to happen.  Don

Most common is 25 yards but if the range can't handle that distance, then 50'.

I've only seen 50' indoor.

Most indoor ranges were built around the 50 foot rifle events, so 50 feet is their usual max distance.  Commercial ranges seem to be bucking that trend as most seem to be 25 yards.

If they only had decent lighting...

many newer ranges are 25 yards now check around your area for one, shooting at 50 ft is great for keeping your 22 sharp and helps with the 45 but not as much as 25 yds will

We shoot at 4 different ranges in the winter, 2 are 25yds and 2 are 50ft.  The 50ft slow fire target is a real challenge, I remember Zins told me he has never cleaned one, but then he probably doesn't shoot them very often either.

- Dave

Those 50 ft B-2 targets are surprisingly demoralizing.  We shot with them for a bit at my range, but folks agreed to go back to 25-yd targets almost immedately.  

Both the indoor ranges I shoot at are 50 yards for pistol. They also have a 100yard rifle range indoor

The indoor winter league I shoot in does rimfire at 50 feet one week and centerfire at 25 yards the next.  They alternate for the 20 week league.  Both are 90 round courses.  The 50 foot rimfire slowfire target is not well liked but is great training.

Most of the indoor ranges I have shot approved or certified matches use fifty feet. I have only shot in one 25yd range. I am a MKS and use a S&W 41 for 22 a ruger GP100 for CFand a 625 S&W 45 for the 45. I find the revolvers challenging. 3 gun 2700 matches where me out(outdoor).

Our indoor range in Amarillo is 25 yards, but the benches are movable, so we can shoot the Sectional at 50 feet every year.  I remember the indoor range in Sacramento was a 25 yard range and before they closed it, the range at the Presidio Gun Club in San Francisco was 25 yards.

There is a indoor 25yd range with automated targets that turn but can be programed to charge or retreat and other stuff for the tactical shooters but the one I belong to in Orange Park is 3, 5, 7, 15 and 20yds with target that you can rub out and back but it is hard to judge the 50 foot distance.  I use a laser tape measure.  No one shoots BE at either place but me.  I belong to a outdoor range in Jacksonville that has a BE range. They have a club shoot that is shot like a nornal match but at 25yds LL and 15yds SL then later in the month either a 1800 or a 2700.  I have not shot yet as my scores are to embarrassing.  When I can shoot expert I will start if I live that long.  Don

cdrt wrote:Our indoor range in Amarillo is 25 yards, but the benches are movable, so we can shoot the Sectional at 50 feet every year.  I remember the indoor range in Sacramento was a 25 yard range and before they closed it, the range at the Presidio Gun Club in San Francisco was 25 yards.

I think the Mangan range in Sacramento (now closed also, sadly), was actually 20 yards, but I only ever shot 50' there (this is going back only 10 years).

They had 20-yard targets in their storage room - only time I've ever seen those.

Magload wrote:There is a indoor 25yd range with automated targets that turn but can be programed to charge or retreat and other stuff for the tactical shooters but the one I belong to in Orange Park is 3, 5, 7, 15 and 20yds with target that you can rub out and back but it is hard to judge the 50 foot distance.  I use a laser tape measure.  No one shoots BE at either place but me.  I belong to a outdoor range in Jacksonville that has a BE range. They have a club shoot that is shot like a nornal match but at 25yds LL and 15yds SL then later in the month either a 1800 or a 2700.  I have not shot yet as my scores are to embarrassing.  When I can shoot expert I will start if I live that long.  Don

Get out there and shoot anyway.  First you need the experience even if the distances are wrong.  And they need a new face to be friendly with. So don't wait.

Magload wrote:I have not shot yet as my scores are to embarrassing.  When I can shoot expert I will start if I live that long.  Don

How you think you will feel when you show up:
Oh my lord, look all their equipment.  Look at them all talking and relaxed while I am nervous.  Why did I show up?  I am about to get creamed.  Argh, I have no idea where to set up, this all new.  Man, this lighting is way different than I am used.  I have never had to set up a target this way, it's not like my home range.  Did I just hear a guy talking about how well he did at Camp Perry?  Oh man, time for slow fire.  I am shaking like a leaf, these guys are gonna have a good laugh at the new guy.  Why did I think this was a good thing idea?  Oh man, the best shooter here is scoring my target, now everyone will know how bad I am.  OK, lets get on with Timed Fire.  Jeez, an alibi, now I holding up the entire match.  Thank goodness it's almost over and I can go crawl back to my home range.  Dangit, I shot my rapid fire like a machine gun.  Dangit, I did not shoot that round fast enough.  Everyone knows how bad I am now and I shot the lowest score here to prove it.

How everyone else feels when you show up:
Is that a new guy?  Thank goodness!  There are not enough of us left.  I dont care if he scores 10 points as long as he does it safely and comes back to shoot again.  Maybe he needs a hand getting oriented.  I should go say hello.  Hmm, he is a beginner, maybe one of our better shooters can spend some time with him.  Whew, he had a rough slow fire.  I remember being new too.   Oops, he had an alibi, no problem we have them all the time.  Did his last rapid shot fall after the buzzer?  No big deal. He is probably a bit nervous.  It looks like he scored on the lower end, but with some encouragement and a few tips he will improve quickly.  I am going to go over there and congratulate him for showing up and outshooting all the folks that stayed home and invite him back for another match.  Wow, what a nice guy, our league is lucky to be growing!

The world your mind lives in and reality are often two very different things.

I have never improved as quickly as I have while practicing and competing with people that are better than me.

I used to fly RC gliders competitively and was lucky enough to have a couple of National and one World Class pilot on my home field.  By listening and learning from my betters, I went from complete noob with no experience at all as an RC pilot to a seventh place ranking on the East Coast within two years.

My opinion is that I will never get my Expert card UNLESS I seek out Experts and Masters to shoot against.

I have shot both 50 feet and 25 yards indoors  For center fire, 25 yards is best. 

A 45 acp  at 50 feet is hard to score on target.

willnewton wrote:

Magload wrote:I have not shot yet as my scores are to embarrassing.  When I can shoot expert I will start if I live that long.  Don

How you think you will feel when you show up:
Oh my lord, look all their equipment.  Look at them all talking and relaxed while I am nervous.  Why did I show up?  I am about to get creamed.  Argh, I have no idea where to set up, this all new.  Man, this lighting is way different than I am used.  I have never had to set up a target this way, it's not like my home range.  Did I just hear a guy talking about how well he did at Camp Perry?  Oh man, time for slow fire.  I am shaking like a leaf, these guys are gonna have a good laugh at the new guy.  Why did I think this was a good thing idea?  Oh man, the best shooter here is scoring my target, now everyone will know how bad I am.  OK, lets get on with Timed Fire.  Jeez, an alibi, now I holding up the entire match.  Thank goodness it's almost over and I can go crawl back to my home range.  Dangit, I shot my rapid fire like a machine gun.  Dangit, I did not shoot that round fast enough.  Everyone knows how bad I am now and I shot the lowest score here to prove it.

How everyone else feels when you show up:
Is that a new guy?  Thank goodness!  There are not enough of us left.  I dont care if he scores 10 points as long as he does it safely and comes back to shoot again.  Maybe he needs a hand getting oriented.  I should go say hello.  Hmm, he is a beginner, maybe one of our better shooters can spend some time with him.  Whew, he had a rough slow fire.  I remember being new too.   Oops, he had an alibi, no problem we have them all the time.  Did his last rapid shot fall after the buzzer?  No big deal. He is probably a bit nervous.  It looks like he scored on the lower end, but with some encouragement and a few tips he will improve quickly.  I am going to go over there and congratulate him for showing up and outshooting all the folks that stayed home and invite him back for another match.  Wow, what a nice guy, our league is lucky to be growing!

The world your mind lives in and reality are often two very different things.

Willie, good post!   I want to add one more, newby fear that I am getting over, "I hope the High Master I am scoring doesn't get mad that I can't A) tell if the hole touches the next scoring ring B) add in my head or C) determine how many of the ragged hole fell into each scoring ring.   

Even after 8 months of competing I had all three happen this month and George was gracious in correcting my mistakes without making me feel inferior - however my scores took care of that.

To the original poster, don't wait - jump right in!  It will speed your improvement and give you a whole new community who will be rooting for you.

Thanks everyone I have all the equipment just not the skills to match the equipment.  Probably should show up at the first match with out my LB Wad gun and pistol box.  Oh well when they see this o;d guy struggling to get it up on the bench they will understand.  It bothers me to shoot this bad because in 1984 I earned my Expert 45 pistol medal in the navy with a piece of junk that rattled even when locked up in battery.  I haven't shot since then.  Well I restarted shooting in 2015 but up till this year it has all been two handed SD stuff.  Just shot my new 45 ACP Shield today and was keeping 5 for 5 in a 5" target at 15yds.  Inside of 10 yards they are all in a 1" bull.  Now the big BUT, one hand and the wobble could make me seasick.   Using my new SCATT I can see it is wobble/trigger/follow through and doing dryfire at a blank wall with a Ultradot I was thinking all three of those thing was good.  I had posted before that I thought it was hard to get input from a dot on a blank wall.  I am not totally trusting the SCATT is putting the shots where they should be in dryfire and am going to test it with a ransom rest.  I can see why I am missing shots.

I plan on shooting the club shoot the first Sunday of March that is the 25, 15yd outdoors shot like a 1800 with 22s.  Don

Magload, I will be up for the Dixie match in April. I'm a lowly marksman, and an old guy also. You won't be alone. I shot the Dixie last year, and the State match at Gateway also, there were a handful of MKs. No one cares how good or bad you are, anymore than you care how good or bad anyone else is.

Hope you give it a try.

KenO wrote:Magload, I will be up for the Dixie match in April. I'm a lowly marksman, and an old guy also. You won't be alone. I shot the Dixie last year, and the State match at Gateway also, there were a handful of MKs. No one cares how good or bad you are, anymore than you care how good or bad anyone else is.

Hope you give it a try.

Hope to see you there.  Gateway is a nice range I have been a member there for a couple of years.  Been there to watch part of a Club Match and a 1800 bunch of nice guys shooting BE.  Could stay around to watch a whole match as it was NFL season and I wouldn't want to miss the Jaguars win a game if that would happen.  Don