The western Region is part of the N-SSA, the North-South Skirmish Association, which is an organization which competes in live fire competition against other re-activated regiments that fought in the civil war. The Western Region is comprised of teams from Illinois and Wisconsin and compete at several ranges in both states. All the teams wear what the actual regiments wore at the time that they were in service during the Civil War . Each team takes pride in both shooting and the authentic appearance that the portray when they step to the line. The competition is serious for these shooters and when it's all over and the medals are handed out, they all walk away friends, and looking forward to the next match.
The list below will give you an idea of what our competitions are all about, and the degree of marksmanship that is needed to be at the top of the pile when time is called and the smoke clears.
Musket
The core of the North-South Skirmish Association is the
musket team match. For both National and Regional matches, this competition
consists of eight members. There are usually five events, one event at a
distance of 100 yards and four at a distance of 50 yards. The events for the
National musket matches are:
50 yards - 32 clay pigeons on a cardboard backer
50 yards - 16 hanging 4"x4" ceramic tiles
50 yards - 16 hanging clay pigeons
50 yards - 16 hanging clay flower pots
100 yards - 10 hanging 6"x6" ceramic tiles
Regional musket matches are free to substitute other targets in place of the
ones listed above. Other typical targets for the 50 yard events are 12 ounce
drink cans or 8 ounce Styrofoam cups filled with water. Another typical target
for the 100 yard event would be 2 liter bottles filled with colored water.
Events are timed, usually five minutes, and rapid fired. When all the targets
for an event are broken, time is stopped. The winner of the match is the team
with the lowest total time for all events.
Carbine
The second largest (next to the musket match) competition
within the North-South Skirmish Association is the carbine team match. For the
National matches, this competition consists of eight members shooting at the
following targets:
100 yards - 10 hanging 6"x6" ceramic tiles
50 yards - 32 clay pigeons on a cardboard backer
50 yards - 16 hanging 4"x4" ceramic tiles
50 yards - 16 hanging clay pigeons
50 yards - 16 hanging clay flower pots
Regional carbine matches quite often consist of five members, this is done to
increase the number of teams competing since there are a smaller number of
people attending. There are usually four or five events, one event at a
distance of 100 yards and three or four at a distance of 50 yards. Regional
carbine matches are free to substitute other targets in place of the ones
listed above. Other typical targets for the 50 yard events are 12 ounce drink
cans or 8 ounce Styrofoam cups filled with water. Another typical target for
the 100 yard event would be 2 liter bottles filled with colored water. Events
are timed, usually five minutes, and rapid fired. When all the targets for an
event are broken, time is stopped. The winner of the match is the team with
the lowest total time for all events.
Revolver
The fastest competition within the North-South Skirmish Association is the revolver team match. For the National matches, this competition consists of four members shooting at targets at 25 yards.
25 yards - 12 clay pigeons on a cardboard backer
25 yards - 8 hanging 4"x4" ceramic tiles
25 yards - 8 hanging clay pigeons
Regional revolver matches quite often consist of three members, this is done
to increase the number of teams competing since there are a smaller number of
people attending. There are usually three events, one event at a distance of
50 yards and two at a distance of 25 yards. Regional revolver matches are free
to substitute other targets in place of the ones listed above. Other typical
targets for the 25 yard events are 12 ounce drink cans or 8 ounce Styrofoam
cups filled with water. Typical targets for the 50 yard event would be
6"x6" ceramic tiles or 2 liter bottles filled with colored water.
Events are timed, usually two minutes, and rapid fired. When all the targets
for an event are broken or when all revolvers are empty, time is stopped. The
winner of the match is the team with the lowest total time for all events.
Breechloader
The newest competition within the North-South Skirmish
Association is the breechloader team match. For the National matches, this
competition consists of four
members shooting at the following targets:
50 yards - 32 clay pigeons on a cardboard backer
50 yards - 16 hanging clay pigeons
50 yards - 16 hanging clay pots
100 yards - 10 hanging 6"x6" ceramic tiles
Regional breechloader matches quite often consist of three members, this is
done to increase the number of teams competing since there are a smaller
number of people attending. There are usually three or four events, one event
at a distance of 100 yards and two or three at a distance of 50 yards.
Regional breechloader matches are free to substitute other targets in place of
the ones listed above. Other typical targets for the 50 yard events are 12
ounce drink cans or 8 ounce Styrofoam cups filled with water. Another typical
target for the 100 yard event would be 2 liter bottles filled with colored
water. Events are timed, usually three minutes, and rapid fired. When all the
targets for an event are broken, time is stopped. The winner of the match is
the team with the lowest total time for all events.
Cannon
The most unique competition within the North-South Skirmish
Association is the artillery team match, this match is broken down into rifled
artillery and smoothbore artillery. For the National matches, this competition
consists of five to eight members shooting at the following targets:
200 yards - bulls-eye
200 yards - counter battery
Regional artillery matches will also consist of five to eight members firing
rifled and smoothbore artillery. Many regional matches fire at distances of
100 and 200 yards at targets as big as 36"x36" sheetrock squares and
at targets as small as clay pigeons. Events usually last for one hour with a
maximum of twelve shots fired. The ten highest scoring shots of the twelve are
counted with the winner being the team with the highest score.
Mortar
The most interesting competition within the North-South
Skirmish Association is the mortar team match. For the National matches, this
competition consists of four to six members shooting at the following target:
100 yards - stake standing in the ground
Regional mortar matches will also consist of four to six members. Many
regional matches fire at distances of 100 and 200 yards at the stake standing
in the ground. Events usually last for one hour with a maximum of seven shots
fired. The five shots closest to the stake are measured with the winner being
the team with the lowest total distance.
Individual competition
Individual competition within the North-South Skirmish
Association is contested with all hand and shoulder firearms. The following is
a list of the individual matches:
50 yard Carbine; target N-SSA #1; 5 record shots per bull
maximum.
100 yard Carbine; target N-SSA #2; 10 record shots per bull maximum.
Carbine Aggregate; combined total of 50 and 100 yard carbine targets.
50 yard Musket; target N-SSA #1; 5 record shots per bull maximum.
100 yard Musket; target N-SSA #2; 10 record shots per bull maximum.
Musket Aggregate; combined total of 50 and 100 yard musket targets.
Musket/Carbine Aggregate; combined total of musket and carbine aggregates.
25 yard Revolver; target N-SSA #3; 5 record shots per bull maximum.
50 yard Revolver; target N-SSA #4; 10 record shots per bull maximum.
Revolver Aggregate; combined total of 25 and 50 yard revolver targets.
50 yard Aggregate; combined total of carbine, musket and revolver 50 yard
targets.
Grand Aggregate; combined total of carbine, musket and revolver aggregates.
50 yard Breech Loading Rifle/Carbine II; target N-SSA #1; 5 record shots per
bull maximum.
100 yard Breech Loading Rifle/Carbine II; target N-SSA #2; 10 record shots per
bull maximum.
Breech Loading Rifle/Carbine II Aggregate; combined total of 50 and 100 yard
targets.
50 yard Smoothbore; target N-SSA #2; 10 record shots per bull maximum.
