2025 Year in Review
Introduction
Metallic silhouette competition at Cascade Shooting Facility is a discipline where competitors use rifles chambered for 22 Long Rifle to engage animal-shaped steel targets at distances from 40 meters to 100 meters from the standing position.
Where We Started
Metallic silhouette matches have a long history at Cascade Shooting Facility, dating back to the 1980s with direction by Glenda Graves. Then in the late 1990s or early 2000s silhouette matches ceased.
Matches were re-started at CSF C-Range in 2021 with a solid foundation of basic smallbore silhouette targets and portable (although heavy) target stands, event forms, and donated rimfire ammunition to be used as awards and generating revenue through sales.
From 2021 through 2024 match attendance remained relatively stagnant between 5-8 competitors, most of whom had little marksmanship training or experience with metallic silhouette competitions, preferring to shoot seated at a bench.
2025 Accomplishments
Our goal for the 2025 season was to increase awareness of the CSF silhouette matches and attract new competitors. Valerie has been instrumental in raising awareness to CSF membership by including our contributions to membership email distributions (65% of the recipients opened, THAT’S HUGE!!!) And Amanda Hendricks also featured our last two events on the CSF Facebook page.
To reach a larger audience, announcements for our last two events were made on internet websites accurateshooter.com (viewed 407 times) and rimfirecentral.com (viewed 368 times). The announcements featured a direct link to the CSF Facebook event. This is important because the online announcements directly caused a 382% increase in traffic to the CSF Facebook page over the following week. Social media traffic quickly tapered within one week after the initial announcement.
The message is clear: the public goes to social media to get information about events and actively managing social media is vital to increasing participation and generating revenue.
2025 Feedback
Participants were asked at the end of the November match to contribute two things they enjoyed about the CSF metallic silhouette matches, and two areas of improvement.
The consensus was that competitors enjoyed a welcoming atmosphere and matches were well organized.
Regarding improvements, competitors noted that during the spring and summer months taller grass frequently obstructed the view of lower targets. They also noted that target- setter service and larger targets designed for use with open-sighted rifles would be desirable.
Where We're Going in 2026
Our goal for 2026 is to average 24 total competitors at each event, with an emphasis on attracting new competitors across multiple silhouette disciplines and creating a Cascade Shooting Facility Silhouette Team.
We have already been approved as 2026 NRA Approved Tournaments for Smallbore Standard and Hunter (Lite) Rifle disciplines.
Additionally, our matches have grown and will now include NRA Approved Air Rifle Metallic Silhouette as well as unsanctioned Benchrest Metallic Silhouette.
The off-season winter months are going to be busy with event planning, operation improvements, and expanding participation offerings with more awards for competitors.
Thank you for your support in 2025. We look forward to working with CSF leadership in 2026.
Sincerely,
Ben Haines
Director-Metallic Silhouette
Cascade Shooting Facility