Shooting sports is a group of competitive and recreational sporting activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in shooting — the art of using ranged weapons, mainly small arms and bows/crossbows.
In the United States (U.S.), a marksmanship badge is a U.S. military badge or a civilian badge which is awarded to personnel upon successful completion of a weapons qualification course or high achievement in an official marksmanship competition. The U.S. Army and the U.S. Marine Corps are the only military services that award marksmanship qualification badges. However, marksmanship medals and/or marksmanship ribbons are awarded by the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, and U.S. Air Force for weapons qualifications. For non-military personnel, different U.S. law enforcement organizations and the National Rifle Association (NRA) award marksmanship qualification badges to those involved in law enforcement. Additionally, the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) and the NRA award marksmanship qualification badges to U.S. civilians. Most of these organizations and the U.S. National Guard award marksmanship competition badges to the people they support who succeed in official competitions.
Metallic silhouette shooting is a group of target shooting disciplines that involves shooting at steel targets representing game animals at varying distances, seeking to knock the metal target over. Metallic silhouette is shot with large bore rifles fired freehand without support out to 500 meters, and with large bore handguns from the prone position with only body support out to 200 meters. Competitions are also held with airguns and black-powder firearms. A related genre is shot with bow and arrow, the metal targets being replaced with cardboard or foam. The targets used are rams, turkeys, pigs, and chickens, which are cut to different scales and set at certain distances from the shooter depending on the specific discipline.
Benchrest shooting is a shooting sport discipline in which high-precision rifles are rested on a table or bench — rather than being carried in the shooter's hands — while shooting at paper or steel targets, hence the name "benchrest". Both the forearm and buttstock of such a rifle are usually fully supported by bean bags, a bipod/monopod (front/rear) combination, and/or a specially designed fixture device called shooting rest, so that the gun can remain stably pointing at the target without needing to be held by someone. When shooting, the shooter simply sits/stands comfortably behind the table/bench, operates the action and pulls the trigger, without needing to worry about carrying any weight of the gun. This is in contrast to other shooting disciplines, where the shooter has to bear at least part of the gun's weight while holding it steady to aim, even when using support devices such as bipods, tripods or shooting sticks.
The National Rifle Association (NRA) is the governing body for full bore rifle and pistol shooting sports in the United Kingdom. Registered as a United Kingdom charity, its objectives are to "promote and encourage marksmanship throughout the King’s dominions in the interest of defence and the permanence of the volunteer and auxiliary forces, naval, military and air." The formal purposes of the charity are to promote the efficiency of the armed forces of the Crown, or the police, fire and rescue or ambulance services. The National Shooting Centre at Bisley is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the association.
Fullbore Target Rifle (TR) is a precision rifle shooting sport governed by the International Confederation of Fullbore Rifle Associations (ICFRA). The sport evolved as a distinct British and Commonwealth of Nations discipline from Service rifle (SR) shooting in the late 1960s. Its development was heavily influenced by the British National Rifle Association (NRA). Due to this history, it is usually contested amongst the shooting events at the Commonwealth Games, although not at the Olympics. World Championships are held on a four-year cycle. The annual NRA Imperial Meeting at Bisley in the UK is globally recognised as a historic annual meeting for the discipline.
The National Small-bore Rifle Association, the NSRA, is the national governing body for all Small-bore Rifle and Pistol Target Shooting in the United Kingdom, including Airgun and Match Crossbow Shooting.
High Power Rifle, also called XTC from "Across the Course", is a shooting sport using fullbore target rifles which is arranged in the United States by the National Rifle Association of America (NRA). The sport is divided into classes by equipment, and popular types of matches include Service Rifle, Open, Axis and Allies and metallic silhouette. The term High Power Rifle sometimes also includes the international shooting disciplines of Palma and F-Class by the International Confederation of Fullbore Rifle Associations (ICFRA) which are represented by the NRA in the United States.
Smallbore rifle shooting, sometimes known as miniature rifle shooting, is a set of disciplines of shooting sports. Smallbore shooting uses smaller-calibre rifles, typically chambered in .22 Long Rifle, at ranges generally of 100 yards (91 m) or shorter. Depending on the range, it can either be conducted indoors or outdoors.
The National Shooting Centre is the UK's largest shooting sports complex, comprising several shooting ranges as well as the large "Bisley Camp" complex of accommodation, clubhouses and support services. The centre is located near the village of Bisley in Surrey from which it takes its colloquial name "Bisley ranges". The site is wholly owned by the National Rifle Association (NRA). The NSC is the trading name of the facility.
Bullseye shooting is a category of shooting sport disciplines where the objective is to score points with carefully placed precision fire by hitting a target as close to its center as possible. The name refers to the target center's nickname — the "bull's eye". In Scandinavia, this type of shooting competition is referred to as Range-Shooting, as it usually takes place at dedicated shooting range.
The NRA Whittington Center is one of the largest and most comprehensive shooting facilities in the United States. Owned and operated by the National Rifle Association of America (NRA), the centre is located in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of Colfax County, New Mexico. Ten percent of the 33,300-acre (13,500 ha) site has been developed to include twenty-three shooting ranges, an administration building, a cafeteria, a museum, a library, classrooms, and full-service hookups for 175 recreational vehicles. The remainder of the site provides wildlife habitat at elevations above 6,300 feet (1,900 m) with primitive camp-grounds and remote back-country cabins for hunting, bird watching, wildlife viewing, photography, hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding.
The International Confederation of Fullbore Rifle Associations (ICFRA) is the international association for the fullbore rifle shooting sports of Target Rifle ('TR') (in the US 'Palma' Rifle) and F-Class, which are long range competitions shot at distances between 300 and 900 meters or 300 to 1,000 yards depending on the range. F-Class shooters often shoot concurrently with the world's long-range TR shooters and use the same targets, except that the F-Class target has an extra ring half the diameter of the smallest in use for TR. ICFRA manages the programme of World Championships and other major matches for Fullbore Rifle and seeks to standardize the competition rules for TR and F-Class around the world. In competitions, wind reading skills are important. In order to hit their targets competitors must sense wind direction and speed and adjust their sights accordingly by applying knowledge and experience about wind's effect on the Trajectory of the bullet. World Long-Range Rifle Team and Individual Championships for both TR and F-Class are hosted every four years alternately two years apart. The winner of the World Long Range TR Team Championship is awarded the Palma trophy.
Peter Michael Jory is a British sport shooter from the island of Guernsey.
The National Rifle Association of New Zealand (NRA) is the national governing body for Fullbore rifle shooting in New Zealand.
The Ashburton Shield is an historic trophy for rifle shooting in the United Kingdom and the British Isles. It is awarded annually to the winning team of VIII at the Schools Meeting, held at Bisley by the National Rifle Association. The competition is open to teams of cadets from, predominantly, Combined Cadet Force units based in public and private schools. A separate competition is held the week prior for cadet units not attached to a school, as part of the Inter-Services Cadet Rifle Meeting (ISCRM).
The Sovereign's Prize is a British fullbore target rifle shooting competition. It is the climax of the National Rifle Association's annual Imperial Meeting and is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious prizes in the sport globally. The prize is typically referred to as the Queen's Prize or the King's Prize depending on the incumbent British monarch, although in colloquial use "the Queen's" has predominated due to the long reigns of Queen Victoria and Elizabeth II.
This article lists the main target shooting events and their results for 2013.
The sport of rifle shooting at Cambridge University has been practised since at least the early 19th century. Beginning as part of the military training of the Cambridge University Rifle Volunteers, it has since been conducted by a number of student clubs, and is currently carried out predominantly by the Cambridge University Rifle Association and Cambridge University Small Bore Club, with some participation by the Cambridge University Revolver and Pistol Club for the discipline of gallery rifle.
The Imperial Meeting is a major annual target shooting competition hosted by the National Rifle Association on the historic Bisley Camp in England.
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