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. Due to the layout of the National revolver range, it is currently not possible to include 50 yard revolver events although most Regional revolver matches include them. The events for a National revolver match are:

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 wa ter.

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 threee 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.

Artillery

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.

Smoothbore

The fastest growing competition in the N-SSA is the smoothbore team match. For National matches, this competition consists of four shooters; some Regional skirmishes allow three-member teams. National matches consist of four events -- one at 50 yards and three at 25 yards. National smoothbore match events are:

Regional smoothbore matches are free to substitute other targets. Typical substitutes for the 25-yard events include 4x4 wood blocks and water-filled 12- to 16-oz. soft-drink bottles. The 50-yard event may see hanging 2-liter bottles filled with outdated soda or colored water.

Events are timed, usually three minutes, and rapid fired. When all the targets for an event are broken, time is called. The team with the lowest total time for all events wins the match.

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.

Individuals

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.
• 25 yard Smoothbore, target N-SSA #1, 5 record shots per bull maximum.
• 50 yard Smoothbore; target N-SSA #2; 10 record shots per bull maximum.
• Smoothbore Aggregate; combined total of 25- and 50-yard smoothbore targets.

Civilian Costume

The costume committee of the North-South Skirmish Association holds its costume competitions during every Nationals. Always a crowd pleaser, this competition is the most beautiful to watch. The competitors create their own outfits and after long hours of work, have the opportunity to show off.

Some of the catagories for the costume competition are:

• Children
• Informal Girls
• Semiformal Girls
• Civilian Boys
• Military Boys
• Visual
• Teens Informal
• Teens Semiformal
• Young Ladies Visual
• Ladies Informal
• Intermediate Ladies Informal
• Intermediate Ladies Semiformal
• Ladies Visual
• Judges Award