Shooting sports

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Shooting sports
Vincent Hancock at 2008 Summer Olympics men's skeet finals 2008-08-16.JPG
From the final Shoot-Off at the men's skeet competition during the 2008 Summer
Olympics.
Highest governing body Several organizations, see list
Nicknames Shooting
First played Switzerland in the second half of the 15th century[citation
needed]
Characteristics
Contact No
Team members Yes or no, depending on competition
Mixed gender Yes or no, depending on discipline
Type Indoor or outdoor
Venue Shooting range
Presence
Olympic Yes
World Championships Yes
Paralympic Yes
Shooting sports is a collective group of competitive and recreational sporting
activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in using
various types of ranged weapons, mainly referring to man-portable guns (firearms
and airguns, in forms such as handguns,[1] rifles[2] and shotguns[3]) and
bows/crossbows.[4][5]

Different disciplines of shooting sports can be categorized by equipment, shooting

distances, targets, time limits and degrees of athleticism involved. Shooting
sports may involve both team and individual competition, and team performance is
usually assessed by summing the scores of the individual team members. Due to the
noise[6] of shooting and the high (and often lethal) impact energy of the
projectiles, shooting sports are typically conducted at either designated permanent
shooting ranges[7] or temporary shooting fields in the area away from settlements.

Contents
1 History
2 Gun shooting sports
2.1 Bullseye shooting
2.1.1 Bullseye shooting with handguns
2.1.2 Bullseye shooting with rifles
2.2 Field shooting
2.2.1 Field shooting with handguns
2.2.2 Field shooting with rifles
2.3 Rapid fire
2.3.1 Rapid fire with handguns
2.3.2 Rapid fire with rifles
2.4 Clay target
2.5 Running target
2.6 Practical shooting
2.7 Long range
2.8 Benchrest
2.9 Metallic silhouette
2.10 Western
2.11 Muzzleloading
2.12 Para shooting
2.13 Competitions using factory and service firearms
2.14 Plinking
3 Bow shooting sports
3.1 Archery
3.2 Crossbow
4 Athletic shooting sports
5 Confrontational shooting sports
5.1 Paintball
5.2 Airsoft
5.3 Laser tag
5.4 Archery Tag
6 See also
7 References
8 External links
History
The National Rifle Association of the United Kingdom (NRA) was founded in 1860 to
raise the funds for an annual national rifle meeting "for the encouragement of
Volunteer Rifle Corps and the promotion of Rifle-shooting throughout Great
Britain".[8]

For similar reasons, concerned over poor marksmanship during the American Civil
War, veteran Union officers Col. William C. Church and Gen. George Wingate formed
the National Rifle Association of America in 1871 for the purpose of promoting and
encouraging rifle shooting on a "scientific" basis.[9] In 1872, with financial help
from New York state, a site on Long Island, the Creed Farm, was purchased for the
purpose of building a rifle range. Named Creedmoor, the range opened in 1872, and
became the site of the first National Matches until New York politics forced the
NRA to move the matches to Sea Girt, New Jersey. The popularity of the National
Matches soon forced the event to be moved to its present, much larger location:
Camp Perry. In 1903, the U.S. Congress created the National Board for the Promotion
of Rifle Practice (NBPRP), an advisory board to the Secretary of the Army, with a
nearly identical charter to the NRA. The NBPRP (now known as the Civilian
Marksmanship Program) also participates in the National Matches at Camp Perry.[10]

Girls' rifle team at Central High, Washington, DC. November 1922.

In 1903, the NRA began to establish rifle clubs at all major colleges,
universities, and military academies. By 1906, youth programs were in full swing
with more than 200 boys competing in the National Matches. Today, more than one
million youth participate in shooting sports events and affiliated programs through
groups such as 4-H, the Boy Scouts of America, the American Legion, U.S. Jaycees,
NCAA, The USA High School Clay Target League, the Scholastic Clay Target Program,
National Guard Bureau, ROTC, and JROTC.

French pistol champion and founder of the modern Olympics, Pierre de Coubertin,
participated in many of these early competitions. This fact certainly contributed
to the inclusion of five shooting events in the 1896 Olympics. Over the years, the
events have been changed a number of times in order to keep up with technology and
social standards. the targets that formerly resembled humans or animals in their
shape and size have are now a circular shape in order to avoid associating the
sport with any form of violence. At the same time, some events have been dropped
and new ones have been added. The 2004 Olympics featured three shooting disciplines
(rifle, pistol, and shotgun) where athletes competed for 51 medals in 10 men's and
7 women's events�slightly fewer than the previous Olympic schedule.[9]

In the Olympic Games, the shooting sport has always enjoyed the distinction of
awarding the first medals of the Games. Internationally, the International Shooting
Sport Federation (ISSF) has oversight of all Olympic shooting events worldwide,
while National Governing Bodies (NGBs) administer the sport within each country.

Having originally established shooting as an organized sport in the USA, the NRA
was the obvious choice to administer the United States participation in the Olympic
games. The NRA dutifully managed and financially supported international and
conventional shooting sports (i.e., National Matches) for over 100 years until the
formation of USA Shooting.

Gun shooting sports

High-speed photography of the smoke of burnt gunpowder and a .38 Special bullet
fired out of a Smith & Wesson Model 686 revolver.
Gun shooting sports are shot with either firearms or air guns, which can be either
handguns, rifles and/or shotguns.

Handguns are handheld small arms designed to be shot off-hand without needing a
shoulder stock. The two main subtypes of handguns are pistols and revolvers. They
are much more convenient to carry in general, but usually have a shorter effective
range and less accuracy compared to long guns such as rifles.

A rifle is a long gun with a rifled barrel, and requires the use of both hands to
hold and brace against the shoulder via a stock in order to shoot steadily. They
generally have a longer range and greater accuracy than handguns, and are popular
for hunting. In shooting sports, bolt action rifles are the most commonly used, and
semi-automatic rifles are generally not allowed with the exception of a few small-
caliber and practical shooting disciplines.

A shotgun is similar to a rifle but often smoothbore and larger in caliber, and
typically fires either a shell containing many smaller scattering sub-projectiles
called shots, or a single large projectile called a slug. In shooting sports,
shotguns are more often over/under-type break action or semi-automatic shotguns,
and the majority of shotgun events are included in clay pigeon shooting.

Bullseye shooting

A round shooting target with several hits in the center, which is called
"bullseye".
Bullseye shooting is a term used to describe several pistol and rifle shooting
disciplines where the objective is to achieve as many points as possible by hitting
a round shooting target as close to the middle as possible with slow precision
fire. These disciplines place a large emphasis on precision and accuracy through
sight picture, breath and trigger control.[citation needed] Fixed and relatively
long time limits give the competitors time to concentrate for a perfect shot. An
example of bullseye shooting is the ISSF pistol and rifle disciplines, but there
are also many other national and international disciplines which can be classified
at bullseye shooting. The shooting distances are typically given in round numbers,
such as 10 15, 25, 50, 100, 200 or 300 meters depending on firearm type and
discipline. Competitions are usually shot from permanent shooting ranges and with
the same target arrangement and distance from match to match. Usually the
competitors each have their own shooting target and shoot beside each other
simultaneously. Because of the relatively simple match format, beginners are often
recommended bullseye shooting in order to learn the fundamentals of marksmanship.
[citation needed] Bullseye shooting is part of the Summer Olympic Games, and a
considerable amount of training is needed to become proficient.

Bullseye shooting with handguns

The six ISSF shooting events with pistols (four Olympic events plus two events not
included in the Olympics program but are contested in World Cups and World
Championships), its roots date back to the first modern Olympic Games in 1896,
consist of both precision slow-fire and rapid-fire target shooting from distances
of 10, 25, and 50 meters. The pistols are unique in appearance compared to normal
guns and each events has its own pistols designed specifically for the job.
Shooters must use one hand only to shoot at small "bullseye" target downrange. In
the UK (except for Northern Ireland), it is no longer possible to practice for some
of the Olympic events following the Firearms (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1997,
legislation brought in after the Dunblane Massacre.
The CISM Rapid Fire match is similar to the ISSF 25 m Rapid Fire Pistol event.
NRA Precision Pistol, also called conventional pistol shooting, is a bullseye
shooting where up to 3 handguns of differing calibers are used. Its history is
almost as old as ISSF events. Shooters must fire the pistol one-handed at 6- and 8-
inch bullseye targets placed 25 and 50 yards downrange respectively.
Precision Pistol Competition (PPC), was originally a police shooting program
started in 1960 by the National Rifle Association.[11]

The ISSF 10 meter air pistol final in the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Boris Kokorev from Russia during the ISSF 50 meter pistol 2007 World Cup in Munich.

Bullseye shooting with rifles

Four position small bore is a popular sport in the U.S.[10]
The six rifle ISSF shooting events (including three Olympic events) consist of
long-time target shooting from distances of 10 or 50 or 300 metres (33 or 164 or
984 ft).[10]
Gallery rifle shooting is popular in the UK and was introduced as a substitute for
many pistol shooting disciplines following the 1997 handgun ban.
High Power Rifle (also known as "Across the Course" or 'traditional' High power) in
the United States is a format that shoots 3-position (standing, kneeling, or
sitting, and prone) at 200, 300, and 600 yards. The term "Across the Course" is
used because the match format requires the competitors to shoot at different
distances to complete the course of fire.
Military Service Rifle shooting is a shooting discipline that involves the use of
rifles that are used by military forces and law-enforcement agencies, both past and
present use. Ex-military rifles, sniper rifles (both past and present) and civilian
versions of current use service rifles are commonly used in the Military Service
Rifle shooting competitions. It is popular in the United States and culminates each
year with the National Matches being held at Camp Perry, Ohio. Some countries have
outlawed civilian shooting at human-silhouette targets; silhouette targets are not
used in the National Match Course of Fire. Bullseye targets are used. High Power
Rifle competition often is held at the same events as Service Rifle, such as the
U.S. national championships each year at Camp Perry. High Power competitors
generally are civilians using whatever rifles they prefer within the rules, whereas
Service Rifle entrants are limited to current or previous U.S. armed forces
weapons. Although according to NRA rules only certain matches allow optical sights,
normally those conducted at ranges over 600 yards.
Project Appleseed is a rifle marksmanship program by The Revolutionary War Veterans
Association that teaches both rifle marksmanship and oral history regarding the
American Revolutionary War. It shoots 3-position (standing, sitting, and prone) at
25 meters at reduced scale targets, simulating shooting at 100, 200, 300, and 400
yards. The techniques taught easily apply to transitioning to High Power Rifle.
Full bore and small bore rifle shooting in the United Kingdom.
Three position airgun competitions, popular in the United States.

The ISSF 10 meter air rifle discipline is part of the Olympics.

A junior shooter in Switzerland exercising bullseye shooting with a SIG 550. The
rifle is equipped with a brass catcher to avoid disturbing other shooters with the
ejection.
An ISSF 50 meter rifle prone competition in Los Angeles, USA in 2012.

Two shooters during an ISSF 300 meter rifle three positions (prone, kneeling and
standing).

Field shooting
Field-Shooting or Terrain-Shooting [12][13] refer to a set of pistol and rifle
shooting disciplines that usually are shot from temporary shooting ranges in the
terrain at varying (and sometimes unknown) distances, rather than at permanent
shooting ranges at fixed distances.

Field shooting with handguns

Nordic Handgun Field-Shooting competitions are shot with pistol and revolver in
different classes depending on equipment,[14] with classes up from small-bore .22
LR to large-bore .500 S&W Magnum.[15] Matches are held outdoor throughout the year
with varied shooting targets and distances, and are arranged by the Norwegian
Shooting Association (NSF), the Danish Gymnastics and Sports Associations (DGI
Shooting) and the Swedish Pistol Shooting Association (SPSF).

Nordic Handgun Field Shooting in Arendal, Norway in 2007.

Field shooting with rifles

Nordic Rifle Field-Shooting[16] are shot with either small-bore .22 LR cartridge at
100 meters, or intermediate (such as .223 Remington or 6mm BR) or battle rifle
cartridges (such as the 6.5�55mm, .308 Winchester or the .30-06 Springfield) at
distances from 100 to 650 meters. With 200 and 300 meters being ordinary shooting
distance in Nordic Bullseye Rifle-Shooting, those targets placed well beyond 300
meters in Rifle Field-Shooting means that the competition format also can be
classified as a long range shooting discipline. Matches are usually held in the
winter season with varied targets, and are arranged by the National Rifle
Association of Norway (DFS), the Danish Gymnastics and Sports Associations (DGI
Shooting) and the Swedish Shooting Sport Association (SvSF).
Precision rifle competitions, like the Precision Rifle Series (PRS), is both a
field and long range shooting discipline where rifles with intermediate or battle
rifle cartridges are shot in the terrain at varying distances from about 10 to 1000
meters.
Field Target is an outdoor air gun discipline originating in the United Kingdom,
but gaining popularity worldwide.

Nordic Rifle Field Shooting in Sweden during the winter in 2012.

The Norwegian Rifle Field Shooting Championship at the 2007 Landsskytterstevnet.

Field-like shooting competition in USA using a National Match M1.

Field target shooting in Germany

Rapid fire
Rapid fire with handguns
The Bianchi Cup, a fusion of IPSC (without the "run and gun" element) and bullseye
shooting (except shot with two hands and going prone whenever rules allow it) where
accuracy under tight time limits in four simulated scenarios, known as the
"Event(s)", is the basis of this competition. Shooters must start with gun in the
holster on every strings of fire and distances range from 10 to 50 yards.
Fast draw, also known as quick draw, a form of pistol action shooting from North
America, based on the romanticized art of the gunslingers in the American Old West,
using traditional single action revolvers. But unlike Cowboy action shooting, Fast
Draw is done with special blanks or wax bullets. While some competitions are
strictly against the clock, with the fastest time winning, many are set up as head
to head single or double elimination matches.

Keith Sanderson from USA during the ISSF 25 meter rapid fire pistol event at the
2016 Rio Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

John Pride at the 2008 The Bianchi Cup.

Rapid fire with rifles

The CISM Rapid Fire match is a sped-up version of the ISSF 300 m Standard Rifle
event.
Felthurtigskyting (literally Field Rapid Shooting) and Stangskyting are a type of
variable rapid-fire rifle competitions popular in Scandinavia.

Stang-Shooting at the 2007 Landsskytterstevnet in Norway. The nearest targets are

placed at 155 meters, the farthest at 221 meters.

Field-Rapid-Shooting at the 2007 Landsskytterstevnet in Norway.

Clay target
Clay pigeon shooting are shotgun disciplines shot at flying clay pigeon targets.

The three Shotgun ISSF/ Olympic shooting events are all are based on quick reaction
to clay targets thrown by a machines called "Traps".
Skeet: Targets are either thrown in singles or doubles from two throwers called
"traps" placed 40 meters apart.[17]
Trap and Double Trap: Either one (trap) or two targets (double trap) are thrown
from 15 meters in front of the shooter.[17]
The F�d�ration Internationale de Tir aux Armes Sportives de Chasse (FITASC) Compak
Sporting is a type of shotgun sport shooting similar to sporting clays, trap and
skeet.
Other shotgun sports with (at least partial) international recognition include
Sporting Clays, Down-The-Line/ATA and Five stand.

Trap shooting in USA.

Skeet shooting in USA.

Clay targets being placed in an automatic throwing machine.

Trap shooting at the 2015 World Police and Fire Games in USA.

Sketch of a Skeet shooting range.

Running target
Running target shooting refers to a number of disciplines involving a shooting
target�sometimes called a boar, moose, or deer�that is made to move as if it is a
running animal. Events of this type include:

ISSF 10 meter running target

ISSF 10 meter running target mixed
ISSF 50 meter running target
ISSF 50 meter running target mixed
Running moose, popular in Scandinavia both as a sport and hunting exercise.
Competitions in Sweden are held at 80 meters.[citation needed]
Running deer, also somewhat popular in Scandinavia and Great Britain.
Practical shooting
Practical shooting, also known as action shooting or dynamic shooting, is a generic
term applicable to shooting sports where speed is of equal importance as precision.
Many of the disciplines involve movement, and when using handguns they are often
drawn from a holster.

The International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC) is the oldest and largest
sanctioning body within practical shooting. IPSC is sometimes considered the
"Formula One" of shooting sports, and is shot with handguns, rifles and shotguns.
While the United States Practical Shooting Association (USPSA) is the U.S. regional
affiliate of IPSC, many of USPSA's rules differ slightly from those used
internationally. IPSC was developed by former police and civilian marksmen and
later used as a basis for modern military and police exercises. It is a variation
where the shooter often moves during shooting, and hits scored and shooting time
are equally important. Stage procedure is generally not dictated (freestyle) and
the shooter is allowed to determine the order and manner in which he or she engages
the targets.
International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA) is an action shooting sport that
uses semi-automatic handguns and revolvers with a strong emphasis on concealed
shooting. Many aspects of stage engagement are dictated to competitors and
penalties are given to competitors whom the safety officer determines attempted to
gain a competitive advantage or engaged in a forbidden action with a "guilty mind"
- that he knowingly failed to do right.
3-Gun (3G) or Multi-Gun (MG) are practical shooting events where each of the stages
generally require the competitor to use and transition between a combination of
rifles, handguns, and/ or shotguns[18] or other types of firearms. 3-Gun has a lot
in common with ordinary IPSC/ USPSA matches, having courses of fire where the
shooter must move through different stages and engage targets in a variety of
different positions.
Steel Challenge is a speed shooting championship solely about shooting steel
targets as fast as possible, and is governed by the Steel Challenge Shooting
Association (SCSA). There are eight standardized courses of fire, and a special
"stop plate" must be shot last to stop the timer.
International Confederation of Revolver Enthusiasts (ICORE) is an international
community which promotes action shooting competitions with revolvers. Founded in
1991, the sport has elements from the Bianchi Cup, IPSC, and the Steel Challenge.
[19]
IPSC Action Air follows the same principle of IPSC, using airsoft instead of real
firearms. The ranges, paper targets and poppers are scaled down to suit airsoft,
and the sport enjoys popularity in countries such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Japan
where civilian ownership of real firearms are either illegal or extremely difficult
to obtain.
Bowling pin shooting (primarily shot with handguns) has the competitors race
against one another to knock standard bowling pins from a table in the shortest
elapsed time.
ActionAirgun is an indoor action shooting sport using semi-automatic airsoft
pistols and courses of fire downloaded from a central hub. Shooters upload shooting
times to a website to resolve competitions.

An Open division practical pistol shooter during a stage.

A Norwegian practical rifle shooter at the 2017 IPSC Rifle World Shoot in Russia.

Three times practical revolver world champion Ricardo L�pez Tugendhat from Ecuador.

Long range
Long range shooting is a term used to describe shooting disciplines held at such
distances that sight adjustment based from judging atmospherical conditions become
critical.

Fullbore target shooting is concerned with shooting at targets at ranges of

300�1200 yards. The sport is internationally governed by ICFRA, and is popular in
the UK, USA, Germany and Commonwealth countries. Similar disciplines called
bullseye and field shooting are popular in Scandinavia, although fired at shorter
distances.
Palma is an ICFRA fullbore competition format that dates from 1876, featuring long-
range rifle shooting, out to 1,000 yards. The first Palma match was contested by
teams from the U.S., Australia, Canada, Scotland and Ireland (with muzzle loaded
rifles at that time). The matches continued to the late 1920s, and the trophy was
eventually lost in Washington DC around the outbreak of WW2. The match was revived
in the modern era in 1966 in Canada, and continues between teams from around the
world. The PALMA bolt action rifles are 7.62mm NATO caliber (Winchester .308) and
fire Match Grade ammunition using a 155 grain bullet using micrometer aperature
(iron) sights.[20] The last two International Long-range Target Rifle Matches were
held in Australia in 2011 and the U.S. in 2015, were won by Great Britain.[21]
F-Class is another ICFRA fullbore competition format shot with Fullbore Target
Rifles at ranges up to 1000 yards, the rifles being fitted with telescopic sights
and the use of fore-end and butt rests being permitted. This is a fast-growing
variant of Fullbore Target Rifle. The 'F' honours George Farquharson, the Canadian
inventor of F-Class.
Precision Rifle Competitions, a relatively new long range competition format which
seeks to find a balance between speed and precision, often involving movement and
shooting from unusual positions with a time limit, at both known and unknown
distances.
T-Class Shooting Sport Competitions. Practical sniping with precision rifle systems
is a shooting sport, which gains tremendous popularity worldwide over a short
period of time. It concentrates on shooting onto static or dynamic targets of
various distances (known and unknown), from different positions, under artificially
created, but realistic stressful circumstances. It proves to be extremely
interesting both for implementation and observation, due to its demanding level of
difficulty. The International T-Class Confederation (ITCC) is a non-profit
organization, which is founded in 2014 for the purpose of promotion of the T-Class
shooting sport internationally, with headquarters residing in Bulgaria. It offers a
Set of Rules for designing and managing T-Class Competitions.
Palma shooting in Canada in 2011.

An ICFRA F-Class rifle equipped with a scope and bipod.

Benchrest
Benchrest shooting is concerned with shooting small groups with the rifleman
sitting on a chair (bench) and the rifle supported from a table. Of all shooting
disciplines, this is the most demanding equipment-wise. Depending on equipment
class, international benchrest competitions are governed by either the World
Benchrest Shooting Federation or World Rimfire and Air Rifle Benchrest Federation.

An Ansch�tz 1903 rifle in caliber .22 LR used for benchrest shooting at 50 meters.

A BCM Europearms single shot benchrest rifle.

Metallic silhouette
Metallic silhouette competitors shoot at animal-shaped steel silhouettes (chickens,
pigs, turkeys and rams) that must be knocked down to score. Banks of 5 targets are
placed at up to 500 meters, with distance and size of target determined by firearm
class. Classes include Handguns, Small Bore Rifle (Hunter, Silhouette), High Power
Rifle (Hunter, Silhouette), air rifle and black powder rifle. Handguns used in the
Unlimited Categories are rifle-like in appearance; Thompson Contender, Remington
XP-100, and other pistols are chambered in rifle calibers with the power,
aerodynamic efficiency, and external ballistics required for precise shooting at
200 meters. There are silhouette categories appropriate for virtually all types of
adjustable sight pistols and rifles, only excluding high-velocity armor-piercing
rounds that would damage targets. Targets for open sighted guns are placed between
25 and 200 meters, and are designed to provide a usable size of the hit zone of
about 1.5 milliradians (or 5 minutes of arc).

Cut cardboard targets of the same shape and sizes which are used for IHMSA metal
targets in metallic silhouette shooting.

Chicken, pig, turkey, and ram. The different targets are placed at different
distances, and in this image the targets are scaled to how they would appear to the
shooter in angular sizes (mil or moa).

Western
Cowboy action shooting (CAS), almost identical to USPSA and IDPA stage design but
with Western cowboy themed props, shot with long guns and revolvers of the same
era. Mere act of shooting itself is not enough. Competitors must choose and go by a
cowboy nickname or alias and are required to look the part by donning authentic
cowboy and cowgirl garments.
Cowboy mounted shooting, also called Western Mounted Shooting or simply Mounted
Shooting, is a competitive equestrian sport involving the riding of a horse to
negotiate a shooting pattern. Rule sets vary between shooting sport organizations,
it can be based on the historical reenactment of historic shooting events held at
Wild West Shows in the late 19th century. Modern events use blank ammunition
instead of live rounds, certified to break a target balloon within twenty feet.[22]

A Cowboy action shooter firing a lever action rifle at steel targets. The Range
Officer to the left is holding a shooting timer to measure the time.

Scenery in a Western scenario.

The shooter uses different firearms during a stage. In this stage revolvers were
used at the close range blue targets and a lever action at the red targets furthest
away.

Cowboy mounted shooting at the 2012 AQHA Mounted Shooting World Championship.

Muzzleloading
Muzzleloading are concerned with shooting replica (or antique) guns.

Competitor shooting at 1000 yards (914.4 meters) laying on back

Competitor from Team Norway shooting at 1000 yards (914.4 meters)

Replica Rigby rifle used at the 2015 MLAIC Muzzleloading Long Range Championship

A member of Team USA loading his blackpowder rifle

Para shooting
Paralympic shooting, also known as "shooting Para sport", is an adaptation of
shooting sports for competitors with disabilities. Paralympic shooting first
appeared in the Summer Paralympics at the 1976 Toronto Games. Para shooting is
internationally governed by the International Paralympic Committee. To help
establish fair competition, a shooting classification called Para-shooting
classification in place for the Paralympic Games.

Para shooting with a rifle sitting in a wheelchair.

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Competitions using factory and service firearms
Shooting competitions for factory and service firearms, usually called Service
Rifle, Service Pistol, Production, Factory or Stock, describe a set of disciplines
or equipment classes where the types of permitted firearms are subject to type
approval and few aftermarket modifications are permitted. Thus the terms refer to
permitted equipment and modifications rather than the type of shooting format
itself. The names Service Rifle and Service Pistol stem from that the equipment
permitted for these types of competitions traditionally were based on standard
issue firearms used by one or several armed forces and civilian versions of these,
while the terms Production, Factory and Stock often are applied to more modern
disciplines with similar restrictions on equipment classes. Factory and service
classes are often restrictive in nature, and the types of firearms permitted are
usually rugged, versatile and affordable. In comparison, more expensive custom
competition equipment are popular in more permissive equipment classes. Both types
of equipment classes can be found within many disciplines, such as bullseye, field,
practical and long range shooting.

Service rifle shooting in Slovenia with the Zastava M48 rifle.

Service rifle shooting in United States with an M16/AR-15 style rifle.

Plinking
Plinking refers to informal target shooting done for pleasure or practice typically
at non-standard targets such as tin cans, logs, cartons, fruits, or any other
homemade or naturally occurring objects like rocks or tree branches. The primary
appeals of plinking as a sport are the broad variety of easily available locations,
minimal costs, freedom in practice styles, and more relaxing and less restrictive
shooting experience.

The flexibility of target choice is also why plinking is popular. A small, three-
dimensional target in an outdoors setting is much more akin to a real-world hunting
and varminting scenario, presenting a better simulated opportunity to practice
shooting skills. A plinking target will also often react much more positively to a
hit than a paper target used in formal competitions, either audibly with a sharp
impact sound (hence the name "plink") or visually by bouncing, splattering or
falling over. Steel targets used for formal action and long range shooting
competitions are also popular for plinking due to the ease of setting up and
confirming good hits.

A woman plinking with a Hi-Point pistol in .40 S&W in Alaska.

Plinking with a Ruger 10/22 rifle in Burro Canyon, Arizona, USA.

Plinking on a Saturday in Burro Canyon, Arizona, USA. On this range firearms must
be kept unloaded in the rack, except when on the firing line.

Bow shooting sports

Archery
Modern competitive archery involves shooting arrows at a target for accuracy from a
set distance or distances. A person who participates in archery is typically called
an archer or a bowman, and a person who is fond of or an expert at archery is
sometimes called a toxophilite. The most popular competitions worldwide are called
target archery. Another form, particularly popular in Europe and America, is field
archery, which generally is shot at targets set at various distances in a wooded
setting. There are also several other lesser-known and historical forms, as well as
archery novelty games. Note that the tournament rules vary from organization to
organization. World Archery Federation rules are often considered normative, but
large non-WA-affiliated archery organizations do exist with different rules.
Competitive archery in the United States is governed by USA Archery and National
Field Archery Association (NFAA), which also certifies instructors. Run archery is
a shooting discipline connecting archery with running.

Target shooting with a recurve bow.

Archery competition in M�nchengladbach, West Germany, June 1983.

Crossbow
Main article: Match crossbow
The International Crossbow Shooting Union (Internationale Armbrustsch�tzen Union or
IAU) was founded in Landshut, Germany on June 24, 1956 as the world governing body
for crossbow target shooting. The IAU supervises World, Continental and
International crossbow shooting championships in 3 disciplines; 30 m Match-
crossbow, 10 m Match-crossbow and Field-crossbow shooting. IAU World Championships
take place every two years with Continental Championships on intervening years.
Other International and IAU-Cup events take place annually.[10]

Anna Sushko of Russia, 2006 Junior World Champion, holding an ICU 10 m Match
Crossbow

A competitor at the 30 meter event at the 2008 ICU Match-Crossbow World

Championships in Sulgen, Switzerland.

Athletic shooting sports

Biathlon is an Olympic sport combining cross-country skiing (normally freestyle
skate skiing) and shooting with .22 LR rifles.[10] In Scandinavia the discipline is
simply known as "Ski Shooting" (Swedish: skidskytte, Danish: skiskydning,
Norwegian: skiskyting).
Ski Field Shooting (Norwegian: DFS skifeltskyting) is a Norwegian discipline
arranged by the National Rifle Association of Norway which is based on the origins
of modern biathlon. It is normally held in a classic (in-track) format, but
competitions can also be held in a freestyle skate skiing format. Furthermore, the
shooting is done with fullbore calibers and usually in the field from temporary
shooting ranges. The discipline is considered as a near precursor to modern
biathlon.
Summer biathlon, with skiing replaced by running, popular in Germany.
Field running (Norwegian: DFS skogsl�p) is a Norwegian discipline arranged by the
National Rifle Association of Norway combining running with shooting. It is
considered the summer edition of Ski Field Shooting. Running distances are usually
between 2 and 3 kilometers with 2 to 3 shooting series.
Target sprint combines medium-range run (3 � 400 m) and air gun shooting.
Military patrol was a team winter sport in which athletes competed in cross-country
skiing, ski mountaineering and rifle shooting. It was usually contested between
countries or military units.
Modern pentathlon includes timed shooting with an air pistol as the first of its
five parts.
Underwater target shooting is a combined underwater and shooting sport that tests a
competitors� ability to accurately use a speargun via a set of individual and team
events conducted in a swimming pool using free diving or Apnoea technique.

Military patrol in Riesengebirge, Germany in 1932.

Ole Einar Bj�rndalen in Trondheim during the 2009 Biathlon World Cup.

Confrontational shooting sports

Confrontational shooting sports is a set of relatively new team sports using non-
lethal ranged weapons that are safe enough to shoot at other people. Previously
such games were not possible due to safety concerns since bows and guns are
generally too lethal and dangerous for human targets, but the development of newer
airgun and infrared technologies allowed for the development of safe
confrontational disciplines. While initially only for sport and recreations,
professional sport competitions are now held. These type of games are also used for
tactical gunfight training by military and law enforcement agencies to some extent.
[citation needed]

Paintball
Paintball is a competitive sport in which players from opposing teams eliminate
opponents out of play by hitting them with round, breakable, dye-filled oil and
gelatin pellets ("paintballs"), shot from gas-powered air weapons called paintball
markers. It can be played on indoor or outdoor fields scattered with natural or
artificial terrain, which players use for tactical cover. Paintball game types
vary, but can include capture the flag, elimination, ammunition limits, defending
or attacking a particular point or area, or capturing objects of interest hidden in
the playing area. Depending on the variant played, games can last from seconds to
hours, or even days in scenario play. The game is developed in the 1980s and now is
regularly played at a formal sporting level with organized competition involving
major tournaments, professional teams and players.

National Xball League is the United States' professional paintball circuit. The
league consists of a Professional Division, consisting of the best players the
sport has to offer, that extends down to the beginner ranks of "Division 5" for
those newer to the tournament atmosphere. The league hosts five national events
across the country in places such as Las Vegas, Dallas, Nashville, Cleveland,
Chicago, Atlantic City and Orlando throughout the year, starting in March and
ending their season in early November. The league's largest event each year is the
season finale known as the World Cup, with the 2016 World Cup hosted 3,554 players
from 35 countries.
National Collegiate Paintball Association is an all-volunteer, non-profit
organization created by United States college players. The goal of the NCPA is to
promote the positive aspects of the sport in an intercollegiate manner. The NCPA
consists of two distinct classes which competes separately � Class AA is an open-
class division where any college may enter and compete in regional and national
tournaments. Class A is a closed-class division where only certain colleges may
compete after securing a bid in the previous season, and represents the best talent
of college paintball and includes universities such as Drexel University,
University of Maryland, Illinois State University, Purdue University, University of
Connecticut, Penn State University and 10 other teams across three conferences all
fighting for a national title. The association's 2007 playoff tournament was aired
on Fox Sports Net's digital cable college sports network, Fox College Sports.

Players next to an inflatable Sup'Air bunker.

View of a course during a speedball game in progress.

Airsoft
Airsoft is a competitive sport similar in concept to paintball, in which
participants from opposing teams eliminate opponents by hitting each other with
solid round plastic pellets launched from low-powered smoothbore air guns called
airsoft guns. It is different to paintball in that airsoft pellets do not visibly
mark the targets like paintballs, and thus the sport relies heavily on an honor
system where a hit player has the ethical duty to call himself out of play,
regardless of whether anyone else sees it happen. Most airsoft guns are also
magazine-fed (unlike the commonly top-mounting pellet loader of paintball markers)
with mounting platforms compatible with real firearm accessories, and tend to more
closely resemble real guns in appearance, making them more popular for military
simulation and historical reenactments. The greater toughness of airsoft pellets
also allows the use of better powerplants and apparatus such as hop-up device for
improved external ballistics, making the gameplay more resembling to real
gunfights. They are also much cheaper for casual players to participate than
paintball.

The airsoft gameplay varies in style and composition just like paintball, and is
also played in both indoor and outdoor courses. Situations on the field frequently
involve the use of real-life military tactics to achieve objectives, and it is not
uncommon for participants to emulate uniforms and gears of real military and police
organizations for sense of realism. The games are normally supervised (and
sometimes umpired) by trained on-site administrators, and the guns are usually
checked through a chronograph to enforce power output restrictions.

There are currently no formal national or international governing bodies for the
airsoft sport. Competitive tournaments are usually organized by private clubs or
among enthusiasts and professional/semi-professional teams (often referred to as
"clans"), with rules and restrictions varying from each events.

Three airsoft team members defending an aera during an indoor CQB game.

From an outdoor airsoft game.

Three airsoft team members during a field game.

Laser tag
Laser tag (despite the name, laser is actually not used due to safety concerns) is
a tag game played with gun-shaped infrared illuminators and sensors worn on the
body of the players. Since its birth in 1979, laser tag has evolved in both indoor
and outdoor games, each with gameplay styles such as annihilation, capture the
flag, domination, VIP protection, (usually sci-fi) role playing, etc. When compared
to paintball and airsoft, laser tag is painless and very safe because it involves
no projectile impacts, and indoor games may be considered less physically demanding
because most indoor venues prohibit running or roughhousing.

Zone Laser Tag World Championships were international tournaments among

professional/semi-professional teams from North American, Europe and Australia,
hosted every few years since 2003.
Bi-lateral international championships have included USA vs. Australia and
Australia vs. South Africa.
National tournaments in various countries including Australia, USA, Sweden,
Finland, UK, etc.
Private club-level events such as TagCon (annual in UK and USA), Tagfest (annual in
USA), Dropzone (annual in UK), LaserStorm (annual in Australia), etc.

An indoor laser tag competition at Long Beach, California in 2011.

Soldiers equipped with professional laser tag training equipment

Archery Tag
Archery Tag is a form of combat archery sport where participants shoot one another
using a bow with arrows with large foam tips. The game's rules closely resemble
dodgeball. The game begins with a number of arrows in the center of the arena. At
the whistle, players race to collect them, before firing them at one another across
the playing field. A player is eliminated if struck by an arrow, and a player can
bring an eliminated teammate back into play by catching an arrow. To avoid injury,
participants wear protective facemasks and use bows with less than 30 pounds (14
kg) draw weight. It was invented in 2011 by John Jackson of Ashley, Indiana, and
experienced a boost in popularity from the Hunger Games books and film series,
which feature a bow-wielding protagonist Katniss Everdeen. Jackson staged Archery
Tag games at local premieres of the films. By 2014, Jackson had licensed the game
to 170 locations, mostly in the United States, but also in Russia, Peru and Saudi
Arabia.

Battle gaming variants of Archery Tag also exist, such as Dagorhir, Amtgard,
Belegarth and Darkon, where archers are pitted among melee players welding foam
weapons to simulate medieval battles.

A game of archery tag in Toronto

See also
List of shooting sports organizations
Shooting sports in Canada
Shooting ranges in the United States
Shooting ranges in Norway
Shooting ranges in Switzerland
Shooting targets
Plinking
Shot grouping
Sch�tzenverein
References
Handgun Sports � NSSF | National Shooting Sports Foundation
Rifle Sports � NSSF | National Shooting Sports Foundation
Shotgun Sports � NSSF | National Shooting Sports Foundation
Archery 101 by Archery 360
Archery | World Archery
Noise exposure assessment and abatement strategies at an indoor firing range. -
PubMed - NCBI
Noise levels at shooting range - timesofmalta.com
"Volunteers & The NRA", researchpress.co.uk Archived April 23, 2012, at the
Wayback Machine.
Australia, Sporting Shooter's Association of. "Sporting Shooters' Association of
Australia (SSAA)". ssaa.org.au. Retrieved 2016-08-12.
"Shooting Equipment and history - Olympic Sport History". www.olympic.org.
Retrieved 2016-08-12.
"NRA Law Enforcement Division: Police Pistol Combat Competition". ppc.nra.org.
National Rifle Association of America. 2015.
Danish: Aalborg Skyttekreds af 1862 - Terr�nskydning
Norwegian: feltskyting � Store norske leksikon
Swedish: Svenska Pistolskyttef�rbundet-Om pistolskytte-F�ltskjutning
Norwegian: Litt om feltskyting � Haugesund Pistolklubb (English: A little about
field shooting - Haugesund Pistol Club)
Swedish: F�ltskytte gev�r f�rklarat | Sandvikens Skyttegille
 Topend Sports | About Shooting Sports
DeJesus, Ivey (January 8, 2015). "A pistol, rifle and shotgun sport part of the
lineup at NRA's Great American Outdoor Show". PA Media Group.
ICORE History and Information
"Palma USA". Retrieved 31 March 2017.
http://competitions.nra.org/documents/pdf/compete/nat-trophy/tro-090.pdf
Taffin, John (28 September 2005). Single Action Sixguns. Iola, Wisconsin: Krause
Publications. pp. 299�300. ISBN 1-4402-2694-6.
External links
Get Inspired: How to get into Shooting - BBC Sport
How to get into shooting - Shooting UK
How To Get Started | NRA Explore
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Shooting sports.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Recreational shooting.
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