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.
The modern pentathlon is an Olympic sport consisting of fencing, freestyle swimming, equestrian show jumping, pistol shooting, and cross country running. The event is inspired by the traditional pentathlon held during the ancient Olympics. The modern pentathlon was first held in 1912, and its rules have changed several times over the years. The latest structure, as of the 2020 Olympics, consists of three separate events for fencing, swimming, and equestrian, which determine each athlete's starting time in the final event. The last event, called the laser-run, alternates four legs of laser pistol shooting followed by an 800 m run.
An air gun or airgun is a gun that uses energy from compressed air or other gases that are mechanically pressurized and then released to propel and accelerate projectiles, similar to the principle of the primitive blowgun. This is in contrast to a firearm, which shoots projectiles using energy generated via exothermic combustion (deflagration) of chemical propellants, most often black powder or smokeless powder.
A BB gun is a type of air gun designed to shoot metallic spherical projectiles called BBs, which are approximately the same size as BB-size lead birdshot used in shotguns. Modern BB guns usually have a smoothbore barrel with a 4.5 mm (0.177 in) caliber, and use steel balls that measure 4.3–4.4 mm (0.171–0.173 in) in diameter and 0.33–0.35 g (5.1–5.4 gr) in weight, usually zinc- or copper-plated for corrosion resistance. Some manufacturers still make the slightly larger traditional lead balls that weigh around 0.48–0.50 g (7.4–7.7 gr), which are generally intended for use in rifled barrels.
10 metre air rifle is an International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) shooting event, shot at a bullseye target over a distance of 10 meters using a 4.5 mm (0.177 in) calibre air rifle with a maximum weight of 5.5 kg (12.13 lb). It is one of the ISSF-governed shooting sports included in the Summer Olympics since the 1984 Los Angeles Games.
The 10 meter air pistol is an Olympic shooting event governed by the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF). It is similar to 10 meter air rifle in that it is shot with 4.5 mm caliber air guns at a distance of 10 metres (11 yards), and that the match consists of a qualification round of 60 competition shots within 75 minutes. If an Electronic Scoring System (EST) is not available, 15 minutes are added to the time limit. Competitors are allowed to shoot an unlimited number of shots during the 15 minutes preparation and sighting time. Along with the 50 meter pistol, it is considered a precision shooting event. Thus, numerous shooters compete in both events.
The International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) is the governing body of the Olympic shooting events. It also regulates several non-Olympic shooting sport events. The Federation's activities include regulation of the sport, managing Olympic qualification events and quota places, as well as organization of international competitions such as the ISSF World Cup series and ISSF World Championships.
Jasna Šekarić is a Serbian sport shooter, considered as one of the most successful female shooters in ISSF history. She has won a total of five Olympic medals: one gold, three silvers and one bronze. She has also won three World Championship gold medals in the 10 m air pistol, in addition to five European Championship gold medals she won in the 10 m air pistol and 25 m pistol. In 1992, she lost the Olympic gold medal to Marina Logvinenko despite having the same score. She is one of only six shooters to compete in at least seven Olympic Games.
Crosman Corporation is an American designer, manufacturer and supplier of shooting sport products, with a long-standing presence in airgun design and a tradition of producing pellet and BB guns. Crosman is also a producer of many varieties of airgun and airsoft ammunition and CO2 Powerlet cartridges. In addition, Crosman sells branded, licensed products as well as a variety of airsoft guns.
Shooting competitions at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing were held from August 9 to August 17, at the Beijing Shooting Range Hall and Beijing Shooting Range Clay Target Field. Of the fifteen events, the host country won five.
A pellet is a non-spherical projectile designed to be shot from an air gun, and an airgun that shoots such pellets is commonly known as a pellet gun. Air gun pellets differ from bullets and shot used in firearms in terms of the pressures encountered; airguns operate at pressures as low as 50 atmospheres, while firearms operate at thousands of atmospheres. Airguns generally use a slightly undersized projectile that is designed to obturate upon shooting so as to seal the bore, and engage the rifling; firearms have sufficient pressure to force a slightly oversized bullet to fit the bore in order to form a tight seal. Since pellets may be shot through a smoothbore barrel, they are often designed to be inherently stable, much like the Foster slugs used in smoothbore shotguns.
Paralympic shooting, also known as shooting Para sport, is an adaptation of shooting sports for competitors with disabilities. Shooting is a test of accuracy and control, in which competitors use pistols or rifles to fire a series of shots at a stationary target. Each shot is worth a maximum score of 10.9 points. Athletes use .22 caliber rifles, pistols and .177 caliber air guns. Paralympic shooting first appeared in the Summer Paralympics at the 1976 Toronto Games.
Robyn van Nus is an Australian sport shooter. She competed in two events at the 2008 Summer Olympics and the 2012 Summer Olympics; the Women's Air Rifle, 10 metres event where she finished 44th overall in 2008 and 45th in 2012, and the Women's Small-Bore Rifle, Three Positions, 50 metres event where she finished 40th overall in 2008 and 41st in 2012.
Hayley Chapman is an Australian sport shooter representing Australia at the 2012 Summer Olympics in shooting in the 25m pistol event where she placed 34th out of 39.
Jonathan William James Hammond is a British sport shooter, who has competed for Scotland at the Commonwealth Games and Great Britain at the Olympics. He is currently the head coach of the rifle team at the West Virginia University.
Rebecca Nicole "Beki" Snyder is a Canadian-born American sport shooter. She is a four-time Olympian, and won a silver medal for pistol shooting at the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She was also a resident athlete at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
The Philippine National Shooting Association (PNSA) is the National Sports Association (NSA) governing shooting sports in the Philippines, covering both Olympic discipline shooting sports and non-Olympic shooting events like the bench rest or practical pistol. PNSA is the Philippine shooting sport NSA recognized by and a regular member of the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC), funded by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC).
Oman competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, when the event was held from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's ninth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics. Four Omani athletes, two men and two women, were selected to compete in athletics and shooting at the Games. Among them were sprinter Barakat Al-Harthi, the lone returning Olympian from the previous Games.
The 2021 European Shooting Championships were held from 22 May to 5 June 2021 in Osijek, Croatia. 1,473 athletes from 52 countries competed.
Heather Kuttai is a Canadian SH3-classified Paralympic shooter who competed in the Paralympic Games. She won two silver medals in each of the women's air pistol 2–6 and the mixed air pistol team open competitions at the 1988 Summer Paralympics in Seoul, and a bronze medal in the mixed air pistol SH1–3 event at the 1992 Summer Paralympics in Barcelona. Kuttai is an 2009 inductee of the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame.
