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Shooting sports

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The shooting sports include those competitive sports involving tests of accuracy and speed when shooting various types of guns, including airguns. Shooting with bows and arrows is not treated in this article, but at Archery. Sometimes hunting is also considered a shooting sport, and indeed shooting on live pigeons was once an Olympic event.

The shooting sports are categorized by the type of weapon or target used. The web site www.wheretoshoot.org identifies 20 different shooting sports, but does not claim that the list is complete.

History

Competing in shooting accuracy has a history almost as old as weaponry itself. During the 19th century, shooters began to organize themselves nationally, and one of these was French pistol champion Pierre de Coubertin. This fact certainly contributed to the inclusion of ten shooting events in the 1896 Olympics. Soon World Championships were being organized as well.

During the years, the sports have been changed a number of times and new ones have been added. For instance, from the beginning many of the targets had human-like (or in the case of running target, animal-like) shapes; most have now assumed a circular form to reduce the connotations with the use of guns in wars. One fact that has not changed, however, is that it is only at the Olympic Games that the sports gain attention from the media and public. As a participant sport, however, it is one of the largest in the world.

Recently, a number of threats to the shooting sports have been revealed. One such threat is scepticism from the public, often unaware of the rigorous safety rules that surround the sports, and the resulting extremely restrictive gun policy of some governments, notably the British. Another is that authorities like the IOC have become more focused on spectator sports and less interested in sports like shooting. Attempts have been made to render shooting more appealing to the media, as with the introduction of finals in 1985. Television broadcasts of shooting finals have been somewhat successful, but are generally restricted to the Olympics.

Rifle shooting sports

  • The four Rifle ISSF shooting events (including two Olympic events) consist of long-time target shooting from distances of 10, 50 and 300 m.
  • The two Running Target ISSF shooting events consist of rapid shooting at a target that moves sideways from distances of 10 and 50 m.
  • Biathlon is an Olympic sport combining shooting and cross-country skiing.
  • The CISM Rapid Fire match is a speeded version of the ISSF 300 m Standard Rifle event.
  • Muzzle loading is concerned with shooting antique guns.
  • Benchrest shooting is testing the participants' skills as producers of equipment (notably ammunition) rather than their shooting accuracy.
  • There are a vast number of nationally recognized sports, including:
    • Three position airgun competitions, popular in the United States.
    • Field shooting, often at very long distances, popular in Scandinavia.
    • Running target shooting at 80 m, on a target depicting an elk, popular in Sweden as a hunting exercise.
    • Summer biathlon, with skiing replaced by running, popular in Germany.

Handgun shooting sports

  • The six Pistol ISSF shooting events (including four Olympic events) consist of both precision and rapid-fire target shooting from distances of 10, 25 and 50 m.
  • The CISM Rapid Fire match is similar to the ISSF 25 m Rapid Fire Pistol event.
  • Practical shooting, developed from military and police exercises, is a variation where the shooter often moves during shooting, and hit scores and shooting time are equally important.
  • PPC 1500, also developed from police exercises, is standard precision shooting, as opposed to practical shooting, but somewhat imitating real-life conditions.
  • Muzzle loading as above also uses revolvers.
  • Metallic silhouette shooting is shooting with big-calibre handguns at metallic silhouettes that respond to hits.
  • Here also there are a vast number of nationally recognized sports, including:
    • The NRA conventional pistol competition, shot with three different handguns, popular in the United States but also some other countries.
    • Field shooting, a type of variable rapid-fire competition, popular in Scandinavia.

Shotgun shooting sports

  • The three Shotgun ISSF shooting events (presently all Olympic) are based on quick reaction to clay targets thrown by a machine.
  • Other shotgun sports with (at least partial) international recognition include Sporting Clays, providing more variation than the standard ISSF events.

International governing bodies

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