TRADITIONAL CLASS RULES-
1. Any single shot rifle, foreign or domestic, manufactured prior to 1917.
Reproductions of pre-1917 patents are allowed. Examples of traditional actions include, but are not limited to, the Ballard, Remington, Sharps, Stevens, Bullard, Maynard, Sharps-Borchardt, Remington-Hepburn, Winchester, Farrow, and Wesson. Action types that do not meet the pre-1917 requirement include, but are not limited to, the Ruger, Peregrine, Miller, Falling Block Works, Hall, and Thompson/Center. Rifles must be pre-approved by the Schuetzenmeister or Shooter's Jury to qualify for Traditional class. Rifles that do not meet the Traditional Class requirements will be eligible for competition in open Class.
2. Technology cutoff of circa-1917 as regards patents, sights, cartridges, loading techniques, and general configuration of the Schuetzen rifle. No modern blockstyle or flared-bottom forearms. Old-style muzzle rest "feet" are allowed, but must be attached to the barrel. No modern Olympic-style sights, diopters, adjustable buttplates, plastic sight inserts, or "Bloop tubes". Machine rests of traditional design such as the Pope, as well as double rests (barrel supported in two places) are legal for benchrest matches unless specifically mentioned in match format.
3. Bullets must be plain base; cast or swaged lead bullets of grease groove or paper patch type. No metal gas checks, plastic, or metal wads allowed. Ammunition may be checked randomly by the Shooter's Jury.
4. Any pre-1917 externally adjusted telescopic sight or faithful reproductions thereof. Lyman, Unertl, Fecker, and Litchert scopes are specifically allowed by name. Click adjustment allowed only on those iron sights having this feature prior to 1917, or faithful reproductions of those sights. (An example of a click-adjustable iron sight available prior to 1917 is the Lyman 103, marketed in 1915)
5. Slings, straps, or clothing that is specifically designed and/or worn to support or aid the shooter will not be allowed. This includes tight jackets, vests, or multiple layers of clothing not worn for weather conditions. Competitors may not place the buttstock under any vest, coat, or item of clothing.
6. The Traditional Class competitor is not restricted to the use of one rifle for off-hand and benchrest portions of sanctioned or registered Wyoming Schuetzen Union competitions, nor is he restricted as to weight of rifles used in competition.
7. A three-man Shooter's Jury will be randomly drawn from the competitor ranks to decide upon questionable equipment or practices; they will also certify rifles for the Traditional Class when required by the Schuetzenmeister or when requested by the competitor. It is the responsibility of the Shooter's Jury to enforce and interpret the Traditional Class rules and to make commonsense
evaluations of equipment that is not obviously of a traditional nature. The decision of the Shooter's Jury is final and cannot be reversed by the Schuetzenmeister. Competitors will be expected to provide documentation on controversial equipment or methods.
The success of the Traditional Class depends upon the shooters themselves. Radical, fringe interpretations of the rules will not be productive towards preserving our Schuetzen heritage. Traditionally- minded shooters have a common sense grasp of what was typical and/or appropriate for the pre-1917 competitor. Competition in this class is to encourage modern day riflemen to match or exceed the records set by first-generation Schuetzen competitors using equipment available during the era and shooting under similar restrictions. To this end, the Shooter's Jury will be expected to provide discretion and guidance during the match concerning questionable equipment or practices.
OPEN CLASS RULES
1. Any single-shot rifle, any sight-telescopic or iron- as required by specific matches, any plain-base lead bullet, and any cartridge.
2. No restriction on rests for benchrest classes unless specifically mentioned in a match format.
3. Any article of clothing may be worn for offhand matches including shooting coats and shooting shoes.
4. No shooting aid, device, or clothing that directly connects the rifle to the ground may be used in offhand matches.
It is the intention of the Open Class rules to provide the competitor with a format having the least amount of restriction, fostering the goal of accurate plain-base lead bullet shooting using a single-shot rifle. Open Class welcomes those shooters wanting to utilize modern developments to promote the accuracy and performance of the single-shot rifle firing a lead, plain-base bullet. Shooters using equipment not meeting the requirements for Traditional Class may compete in Open Class following these few simple rules.
TARGETS AND SCORING GUIDELINES
The Wyoming Schuetzen Union recognizes in its record keeping the German Ring target and the Standard American target for regular sanctioned competition. The German Ring target will consist of the traditional 1 1/2 inch center counting 25 points, with corresponding 3/4 inch rings out to a 1 ring. On those targets printed only to specific rings, shots outside the rings will count as misses. German ring targets adjusted in size to correspond to 100 yards, 50 yards, and 50 feet will also be recognized and records kept for those specific distances.
The Standard American target for offhand shooting will be the 10-ring target, for benchrest shooting it will be the 12-ring target. There is no mandatory target color required by the Wyoming Schuetzen Union. Targets must be shot on the printed side and may not be altered by the competitor. Offhand targets will be scored to closest leaded edge to the highest ring; benchrest targets will be scored to the bullet's center requiring that the bullet hole's center at least be on the edge of the ring to score the higher ring. Targets displaying claimed cross-fired shots must have those shots initialed by the Schuetzenmeister who has determined their origin. Extra bullet holes in a target belong to the competitor unless initialed by the Schuetzenmeister. Competitors under no circumstances shall be allowed to remove their fired targets from the backer, score their own targets, or remove their targets from the range before the end of the day's competition.
Scored targets will be posted and open to inspection by all competitors for the day's shooting. Competitors may file a protest concerning any target, for a fee of $10.00, with the Schuetzenmeister. In the event of a contested decision, the Schuetzenmeister may convene a Shooter's Jury comprised of three competing shooters to render a final decision. Shooter's Jury decisions concerning scoring or questionable procedures are final and may not be appealed. Protest fees will be submitted to the prize committee.
Competitors attempting to falsify scores or not comply with the rules governing competitions will be expelled from said match with no reimbursement of entry fees. At the discretion of both the Schuetzenmeister and the Shooter's Jury such individuals may be banned from all future Wyoming Schuetzen Union sanctioned matches.
Scores submitted to the Wyoming Schuetzen Union for the purpose of establishing records must be shot in a Wyoming Schuetzen Union sanctioned match and at an affiliated club; it also must be accompanied by the original target signed by the Schuetzenmeister and no fewer that three participating competitors. The Wyoming Schuetzen Union will contact those individuals to confirm legitimacy of the score and only then will the score be entered in the records.
SHOOTING PROCEDURES
In Wyoming Schuetzen Union sanctioned matches, sighter targets are allowed at the discretion of the Schuetzenmeister for both offhand and benchrest competition. A sight-in period of no more than ten minutes per relay is allowed in sanctioned matches. Competitors may not fire on their sighter target after firing their first record shot. In the event that a record shot misses the target completely, that shot is to be scored as a miss. Competitors are allowed up to 4 minutes per record shot in sanctioned matches.
SCHUETZENMEISTER RESPONSIBILTIES
The Schuetzenmeister is charged with the orderly and responsible running of the match in accordance with the rules of the Wyoming Schuetzen Union for sanctioned competitions. The Schuetzenmeister may, at his discretion, solicit the help of competitors or individuals to aid him in running the competition. Decisions made by the Schuetzenmeister concerning interpretations of rules, target scoring, or behavior infractions can only be overridden by the Shooter's Jury; the Shooter's Jury shall be selected from the ranks of the competitors by the Schuetzenmeister. In issues of range safety the Schuetzenmeister's word is final; competitors not complying with the Schuetzenmeister's requirements for safe handling of firearms may be expelled from the range at the pleasure of the Schuetzenmeister.
SCHUETZEN BOARD
The charter members of the Wyoming Schuetzen Union will elect from its ranks a Schuetzen Board. The Schuetzen Board will be comprised of ten charter members who will enjoy a term of two years with no limit on the number of terms a member may be elected to. The Schuetzen Board will deal with issues concerning competition and rules applying to competition, their amendment or changes.
AMENDMENTS TO RULES
In the event that changes to previously stated rules are desired by a significant number of affiliated clubs those clubs may petition the Schuetzen Board to amend the rules. An amendment to the rules requires a 2/3-majority vote in favor of the change by the Schuetzen Board members. Changes or amendments will take effect on Jan.1 of the following year.
