Shooting sport

Shooting competition in the U.S. with a National Match M1.

A shooting sport is a competitive sport involving tests of proficiency (accuracy and speed) using various types of guns, such as firearms and airguns. Shooting sports are categorized by the type of firearm, target, and distance at which the targets are shot.

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".[1]

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.[2] 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.[3]

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. These programs have all continued to thrive despite political pressure to disband. The success of these programs is often attributed to an emphasis on safety and education that has resulted in an unprecedented scholastic and collegiate athletic safety record.

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.[4]

The Olympic Games continue to provide the shooting sports with its greatest public relations opportunity. The 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.

Archery

Target shooting with a recurve bow.

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.

Crossbow

Main article: Match crossbow

The International Crossbow Shooting Union (Internationale Armbrustschützen Union-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; 30m Match-crossbow, 10m 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.[5]

Rifle

Indoor rifle shooting.

A rifle is a firearm or airgun with a rifled barrel, but commonly refers to long weapons that usually require two hands to hold and fire steadily. They generally have a longer range and greater accuracy than pistols, and are popular for hunting.

An ISSF 10 meter air rifle competition (33 feet).

Pistol

Indoor air pistol shooting.

Handguns are smaller than rifles, and are much more convenient to carry in general. They usually have a shorter range and lesser accuracy compared to rifles. The two main subtypes of handguns, are pistols and revolvers.

Shotgun

Vincent Hancock in the men's skeet finals at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

A shotgun is similar to a rifle, but typically fires projectiles that either contain many smaller sub-projectiles called Shot (pellet), or one large projectile. They are more often over & under break-action or semi-automatic. The majority of shotgun events are included in Clay pigeon shooting.

Action shooting

Action shooting, also known as dynamic shooting or practical 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.

See also

References

  1. "Volunteers & The NRA", researchpress.co.uk Archived April 23, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.
  2. Australia, Sporting Shooter's Association of. "| Sporting Shooters' Association of Australia (SSAA)". ssaa.org.au. Retrieved 2016-08-12.
  3. "Shooting Equipment and history - Olympic Sport History". www.olympic.org. Retrieved 2016-08-12.
  4. Australia, Sporting Shooter's Association of. "| Sporting Shooters' Association of Australia (SSAA)". ssaa.org.au. Retrieved 2016-08-12.
  5. "Shooting Equipment and history - Olympic Sport History". www.olympic.org. Retrieved 2016-08-12.
  6. "Shooting Equipment and history - Olympic Sport History". www.olympic.org. Retrieved 2016-08-12.
  7. "Shooting Equipment and history - Olympic Sport History". www.olympic.org. Retrieved 2016-08-12.
  8. "Shooting Equipment and history - Olympic Sport History". www.olympic.org. Retrieved 2016-08-12.
  9. 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.
  10. "NRA Law Enforcement Division: Police Pistol Combat Competition". ppc.nra.org. National Rifle Association of America. 2015.
  11. ICORE History and Information
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Shooting sports.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Recreational shooting.

International governing bodies

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