Grocery Shoots
Grocery shoots are held by the Lewistown Pistol Club every winter starting with the first Saturday in January and ends on the last Saturday in March. The doors open at 6:00 pm for practice and the match starts at 7:00 pm.
Rules governing the Grocery Shoots are taken from the NRA’s small bore silhouette rules. Some of the rules include: .22 rim-fire rifles weighing 10 pounds 2 ounces or less including sights. Telescopic sights are allowed and there is no limitation to magnification. Ammunition is limited to .22 short, .22 long, and .22 long rifle. No “stinger” type ammunition is allowed.
Shooters attending the Grocery matches compete over a course of 20 rounds. All shots are from 50 feet. Shooters shoot one shot at each target they purchased and the targets are scored from the best shot to the worst shot in each round. The 12 best shots in each round are awarded a food product, depending on where the shot places.
Cost is $10.00 per target and this allows the shooter to shoot one shot for a total of twenty rounds. Junior shooters, 16 and younger, pay half price. Junior shooters, depending on their age and size are allowed to rest one arm on the bench as they make the shot. Juniors are not allowed to have an adult assist them in holding the rifle to make the shot. Adults may assist the junior shooter with loading and such. Adults are responsible for junior shooters and must accompany a junior shooter.
On a typical evening a 1st place shot might garner the shooter a 10 pound bag of potatoes or a dozen eggs or a pack of chicken legs. The first 3 or 4 food prizes normally change week to week. The prizes offered for the rest of the 12 places are normally canned goods consisting of canned corn, green beans, potatoes, baked beans and the like.
In addition to the regular 20 rounds, there are two special rounds held each match. These are the Cake Round and the Meat Round. The Cake Round consists of prizes of homemade baked goods donated by club members. The number of donations determines the number of prizes for the Cake Round. Cost to enter the cake round is by donation. The Meat Round consists of meat prizes awarded to the 3 best shots of this round. The prizes range from beef and pork roasts, to whole chickens and value packs of hamburger. Cost to enter the Meat Round is $0.50 per target.