Shooting sports is a group of

competitive Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, indi ...

and

recreation Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for happiness, enjoyment, amusement, ...

sport Sport is a physical activity or game, often Competition, competitive and organization, organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The numbe ...

ing activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in

shooting Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or blowpipe). Even the acts of launching flame, artillery, darts, harpoons, grenades, rockets, and guided missile ...

— the art of using ranged weapons, mainly

small arms A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions). The first firearms originate ...

(

firearm A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions). The first firearms originate ...

s and

airgun 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 contr ...

s, in forms such as

handgun A handgun is a firearm designed to be usable with only one hand. It is distinguished from a long gun, long barreled gun (i.e., carbine, rifle, shotgun, submachine gun, or machine gun) which typically is intended to be held by both hands and br ...

rifle A rifle is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting and higher stopping power, with a gun barrel, barrel that has a helical or spiralling pattern of grooves (rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus o ...

s and

shotgun A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, peppergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge (firearms), cartridge known as a shotshell, which discharges numerous small ...

s) and bows/

crossbow A crossbow is a ranged weapon using an Elasticity (physics), elastic launching device consisting of a Bow and arrow, bow-like assembly called a ''prod'', mounted horizontally on a main frame called a ''tiller'', which is hand-held in a similar f ...

s. Shooting sports can be categorized by equipment, shooting distances, targets,

time limit A time limit or deadline is a narrow field of time, or a particular point in time, by which an objective or task must be accomplished. Once that time has passed, the item may be considered overdue (e.g., for work projects or school assignments). In ...

s 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 of shooting and the high (and often lethal) impact energy of the

projectile A projectile is an object that is propelled by the application of an external force and then moves freely under the influence of gravity and air resistance. Although any objects in motion through space are projectiles, they are commonly found ...

s, shooting sports are typically conducted at either designated permanent

shooting range A shooting range, firing range, gun range or shooting ground is a specialized facility, venue, or field designed specifically for firearm usage qualifications, training, practice, or competitions. Some shooting ranges are operated by milita ...

s or temporary shooting fields in the area away from settlements.

History

Great Britain

The

National Rifle Association The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent Gun politics in the United States, gun rights ...

(NRA) was founded in 1859 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".

United States

Target shooting was a favorite sport in

colonial America The colonial history of the United States covers the period of European colonization of North America from the late 15th century until the unifying of the Thirteen British Colonies and creation of the United States in 1776, during the Re ...

, with the New England Puritans regularly testing their shooting skills for recreation and at militia training days. The Scotch Irish settlers on the frontier favored shooting matches sponsored by Tavern keepers. Turkey shoots were popular after harvest time. Contestants would pay an entry fee, and everyone who killed a tethered turkey at 110 yards for muskets or 165 yards for rifles could keep the bird. German gunsmiths in Pennsylvania began to manufacture Flintlock rifles in the 1720s, which became especially popular among hunters because of its long-range accuracy. It could be accurate to 200 yards. Along about 1820, percussion caps, and the locks that ignited them, became available, and nearly all new firearms began to be constructed using this ignition system. Many flintlock firearms were also subsequently converted to the percussion system, which was a relatively simple procedure that could be accomplished by local gunsmiths. Although percussion ignition did not add to the accuracy of the firearm, the time between when the firearm firing mechanism (or "lock") started the sequence that lead to the ignition of the propellant in the barrel, was shortened drastically. This made getting smaller shot groups on the target more attainable as the possibility of the firearm moving off the aiming point after the shooter pressed the trigger was lessened. This shortened ignition time, which is referred to as "lock time" was (and still is) a very important factor in target shooting. The closed design of the percussion system materially improved reliability of the firearm, especially in rainy or damp conditions. The faster "lock time" also made hitting fast-moving aerial targets with a cloud of tiny lead pellets ("shot") fired from a smooth-bore firearm a real possibility. Practicing for game hunting by shooting at artificial aerial targets launched from spring-powered launching devices ("traps") became highly popular and led to the development of the modern Trap, Skeet, and Sporting Clays shooting sports. In 1831 a sportsman club in Cincinnati Ohio held a competitive shoot at pigeons and quail released from ground traps. German ethnic communities set up athletic clubs and shooting clubs, especially in the Midwestern states In the 1850–1917. period Breach loading shotguns introduced in the 1860s, and the knowledge of rifles by Civil War soldiers, made trap shooting popular. However, there was human humanitarian opposition to killing live birds—and the passenger pigeon was dying out—so glass or clay targets were used instead. 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. 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 NRAoA 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 NRAoA. The NBPRP (now known as the

Civilian Marksmanship Program The Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) is a national organization dedicated to training and educating U.S. citizens in responsible uses of firearms and airguns through gun safety training, marksmanship training, and competitions. The CMP is a f ...

) also participates in the National Matches at Camp Perry. In 1903, the NRA of America 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 Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...

, the

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States, U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises U.S. state, state, Territories of the United States, U.S. terr ...

, U.S. Jaycees,

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

, The USA High School Clay Target League, the Scholastic Clay Target Program, National Guard Bureau, ROTC, and

JROTC The Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) is a Federal government of the United States, federal program sponsored by the United States Armed Forces in high schools and also in some middle schools across the United States and at US mil ...

Olympics

French pistol champion and founder of the modern Olympics,

Pierre de Coubertin Charles Pierre de Frédy, Baron de Coubertin (; born Pierre de Frédy; 1 January 1863 – 2 September 1937), also known as Pierre de Coubertin and Baron de Coubertin, was a French educator and historian, co-founder of the International Olympic ...

, 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. 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 The International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) is the governing body of Shooting at the Summer Olympics, Olympic shooting events. It also regulates several ISSF shooting events, non-Olympic shooting sport events. The Federation's activities ...

(ISSF) has oversight of all Olympic shooting events worldwide, while National Governing Bodies (NGBs) administer the sport within each country.

Competition disciplines

Shooting at the Summer Olympics Shooting sports have been included at every Summer Olympic Games since the birth of the modern Olympic movement at the 1896 Summer Olympics except at the 1904 and 1928 games. Summary Events Shooting was one of the nine events at the first m ...

includes fifteen medal events, covering seven disciplines. Medal events are evenly distributed between rifle, pistol and shotgun with five events each. Three Mixed Pairs events were introduced to ensure gender equity between men's and women's events. They replaced 50m Prone Rifle, 50m Free Pistol and Double Trap which were all men-only events. ;Rifle *50 meter rifle three positions (individual - men and women) *10 meter air rifle (individual - men and women) *10 meter air rifle (mixed pairs) ;Pistol *25 meter rapid fire pistol (individual - men) *25 meter sport pistol (individual - women) *10 meter air pistol (individual - men and women) *10 meter air pistol (mixed pairs) ;Shotgun *Trap (men and women) *Skeet (individual - men and women) *Skeet (mixed pairs)

Gun shooting sports

Gun shooting sports are shot with either

s or

air gun 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 contr ...

s, which can be

s or

s. Handguns are handheld

designed to be shot off-hand without needing a shoulder stock. The two main subtypes of handguns are

pistol A pistol is a type of handgun, characterised by a gun barrel, barrel with an integral chamber (firearms), chamber. The word "pistol" derives from the Middle French ''pistolet'' (), meaning a small gun or knife, and first appeared in the Englis ...

s and

revolver A revolver is a repeating handgun with at least one barrel and a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold six cartridges before needing to be reloaded, ...

s. They are much more convenient to carry in general, but usually have a shorter effective range and less

accuracy Accuracy and precision are two measures of ''observational error''. ''Accuracy'' is how close a given set of measurements (observations or readings) are to their ''true value''. ''Precision'' is how close the measurements are to each other. The ...

compared to

long gun A long gun is a category of firearms with long Gun barrel, barrels. In small arms, a ''long gun'' or longarm is generally designed to be held by both hands and braced against the shoulder, in contrast to a handgun, which can be fired being held w ...

s such as rifles. In shooting sports, revolvers and

semi-automatic pistol A semi-automatic pistol (also called a self-loading pistol, autopistol, or autoloading pistol) is a repeating firearm, repeating handgun that automatically ejects and loads cartridge (firearms), cartridges in its chamber (firearms), chamber afte ...

s are the most commonly used. A

is a

with a rifled

barrel A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden stave (wood), staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers ...

, and requires the use of both hands to hold and brace against the shoulder via a

stock Stocks (also capital stock, or sometimes interchangeably, shares) consist of all the Share (finance), shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided. A single share of the stock means fractional ownership of the corporatio ...

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 Bolt action is a type of manual Action (firearms), firearm action that is operated by ''directly'' manipulating the bolt (firearms), turn-bolt via a cocking handle, bolt handle, most commonly placed on the right-hand side of the firearm (a ...

semi-automatic rifle A semi-automatic rifle is a type of rifle that fires a single round each time the Trigger (firearms), trigger is pulled while automatically loading the next Cartridge (firearms), cartridge. These rifles were developed Pre-World War II, and w ...

s are the most commonly used. A

is similar to a rifle but often smoothbore and larger in

caliber In guns, particularly firearms, but not #As a measurement of length, artillery, where a different definition may apply, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel Gauge ( ...

, and typically fires either a

shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses Science Biology * Seashell, a hard outer layer of a marine ani ...

containing many smaller scattering sub-projectiles called shots, or a single large projectile called a

slug Slug, or land slug, is a common name for any apparently shell-less Terrestrial mollusc, terrestrial gastropod mollusc. The word ''slug'' is also often used as part of the common name of any gastropod mollusc that has no shell, a very reduced ...

. 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 Clay pigeon shooting, also known as clay target shooting, is a shooting sport involving shooting at shooting target#Clay pigeons, special flying targets known as "clay pigeons" or "clay targets" with a shotgun. Despite their name, the targets ...

Bullseye shooting

Bullseye shooting Bullseye shooting is a category of shooting sport disciplines where the objective is to score points with carefully placed precision fire by hitting a shooting target, target as close to its center as possible. The name refers to the target cen ...

'' is a category of 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. 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 as bullseye shooting. The shooting distances are typically given in round numbers, such as 10, 25, 50, 100, 200 or 300 meters depending on firearm type and discipline. Competitions are usually shot from permanent

s and with the same target arrangement and distance from match to match. Usually the competitors each have their own

shooting target Shooting targets are objects in various forms and shapes that are used for pistol, rifle, shotgun and other shooting sports, as well as in darts, target archery, crossbow shooting and other non-firearm related sports. The center is often call ...

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. Bullseye shooting is part of the

Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The 1896 Summer Olympics, inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, ...

, and a considerable amount of training is needed to become proficient.

Bullseye shooting with handguns

* There are six ISSF shooting events with pistols. These include three Olympic events, plus three events not included in the Olympic program but contested at World Championships. Their roots date back to the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, consisting of both precision slow-fire and rapid-fire target shooting from distances of 10, 25, and 50 meters. The specialised pistols offer anatomic grips, with competitors shooting one-handed. 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 meter rapid fire pistol event. * NRA Precision Pistol is a bullseye shooting event 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 of America. KOCIS London Korea Jinjongoh Shooting 13 (7683323904).jpg, The Men's ISSF 10 meter air pistol final in the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

Kokorev Munich07 50m event.jpg, Boris Kokorev from Russia during the ISSF 50 meter pistol 2007 World Cup in Munich Celine Goberville during Air Pistol match at London 2012 Summer Olympic Games.jpg, Women's 10 meter air pistol at the 2012 Summer Olympics

Bullseye shooting with rifles

* The six rifle ISSF shooting events (including two Olympic events: 10 meter air rifle and 50 meter rifle three positions) consist of slow-fire target shooting from distances of . *

Fullbore target rifle Fullbore target rifle (TR) is a precision rifle shooting-sport discipline governed by the International Confederation of Fullbore Rifle Associations (ICFRA). TR uses single-shot rifles, usually chambered in .308 Winchester, .308 calibre, with cir ...

involves prone shooting with single-shot rifles at distances of 300yds to 1200yds. It is particularly popular in Britain and within the

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an International organization, international association of member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, 56 member states, the vast majo ...

(mostly former constituents of the British Empire). * Gallery rifle shooting is popular in the UK, using carbine rifles chambered in pistol calibres. Gallery Rifle 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. Under NRA of America 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 United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. * Four position small bore is a popular sport in the U.S, which adds Sitting to the Three positions used internationally. Jungschütze in einer Praxisübung.jpg, A junior shooter in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

target shoots with a

SIG 550 The SG 550 is an assault rifle manufactured by Swiss Arms, SIG Sauer AG (formerly a division of Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft, now known as SIG Holding AG) in Switzerland. "SG" is an abbreviation for ''Sturmgewehr'' ("assault rifle"). T ...

. A brass catcher is fitted to avoid disturbing other shooters with the ejection. 02 - 2023 Welsh 50Metre Smallbore Rifle Championship.jpg, Competitors shoot in an ISSF 50 metre prone competition in

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. A para-athlete shoots from a chair. 300m_shooters_in_two_positions.jpg, Two shooters during an ISSF 300 meter rifle three positions (prone, kneeling and standing)

Field shooting

Field-Shooting Field-shooting or terrain-shooting (Danish: ''terrænskydning'', Norwegian: ''feltskyting'', Swedish: ''fältskytte''{{Cite web , url=http://www.sandvikensskyttegille.se/fs_info.php , title=Swedish: Fältskytte gevär förklarat {{! Sandvikens Sk ...

or Terrain-Shooting refer to a set of pistol and rifle shooting disciplines that usually are shot from temporary shooting ranges in outdoor 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, with classes up from small-bore .22 LR to large-bore .500 S&W Magnum. Matches are held outdoor throughout the year with varied

s 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). * Swiss field shooting with handguns is a discipline under the Swiss Shooting Sport Federation arranged under a common Swiss ruleset, and has been part of the annual field shooting championship since 1919 alongside field shooting with rifles, which have been arranged since 1899. APK feltskyting.jpg, Nordic Handgun Field Shooting in Arendal,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

in 2007

Field shooting with rifles

* Nordic Rifle Field-Shooting 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 Long range shooting is a collective term for shooting sport, shooting disciplines where the distance to the target is significant enough that the shooter has to put effort into calculating external ballistics, various ballistic factors, esp ...

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). * Swiss field shooting with rifles is a discipline under the Swiss Shooting Sport Federation arranged under a common Swiss ruleset. The annual Swiss Field Shooting Championship has been held since 1899. From 1919, Swiss field shooting with handguns has also been av part of the Swiss Field Shooting Championship. * 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 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 contr ...

discipline originating in the United Kingdom, but gaining popularity worldwide. Hunter field target is a variation of field target. Fältskytte.jpg, Nordic Rifle Field Shooting in Sweden during the winter in 2012 NM feltskyting.jpg, The Norwegian Rifle Field Shooting Championship at the 2007 Landsskytterstevnet M1 Garand competition.JPEG, Field-like shooting competition in USA using a National Match M1 Re-exposure.JPG, Field target shooting in Germany

Rapid fire

Rapid fire with handguns

* The ISSF 25 meter pistol and ISSF 25 meter rapid fire pistol events are contested at the Olympic Games. * 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. Female athlete fires an ISSF Sport Pistol.jpg, Female athlete competes in 25 meter pistol event. Sanderson9209 (28322239393).jpg, 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 NRA Bianchi Cup.jpg, John Pride at the 2008 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 Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

. Stangskyting1.jpg, Stang-Shooting at the 2007 Landsskytterstevnet in Norway. The nearest targets are placed at 155 meters, the farthest at 221 meters. Felthurtigskyting.jpg, Field-Rapid-Shooting at the 2007 Landsskytterstevnet in Norway

Clay target

Clay pigeon shooting Clay pigeon shooting, also known as clay target shooting, is a shooting sport involving shooting at shooting target#Clay pigeons, special flying targets known as "clay pigeons" or "clay targets" with a shotgun. Despite their name, the targets ...

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 machines called "Traps". ** Skeet: Targets are either thrown in singles or doubles from two throwers called "traps" placed 40 meters apart. ** Trap and Double Trap: Either one (trap) or two targets (double trap) are thrown from 15 meters in front of the shooter. * The Fédération 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. File:A typical "American" trap shoot scene.jpg, Trap shooting in USA File:Skeet. William H. Keever, USA.JPEG, Skeet shooting in USA File:USMC-120414-M-EY704-001.jpg, Clay targets being placed in an automatic throwing machine File:Trap shooting at WPFG (19279134951).jpg, Trap shooting at the 2015 World Police and Fire Games in USA File:Skeet.gif, Sketch of a Skeet

Running target

Running target shooting refers to a number of disciplines involving a shooting target—sometimes called a

boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

moose The moose (: 'moose'; used in North America) or elk (: 'elk' or 'elks'; used in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is the world's tallest, largest and heaviest extant species of deer and the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is also the tal ...

, or

deer A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow 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 * 100 m running moose, popular in Scandinavia both as a sport and hunting exercise. Competitions in Sweden are held at 80 meters. *

100 meter running deer 100 meter running deer is a discontinued ISSF shooting events, ISSF shooting event, that was part of the Shooting at the Summer Olympics, Olympic program from 1908 to 1924, in 1952 and 1956, and of the ISSF World Shooting Championships program f ...

, also somewhat popular in Scandinavia and Great Britain

Moving target

Shooting at the 1908 Summer Olympics – Men's moving target small-bore rifle

Disappearing target

Shooting at the 1908 Summer Olympics – Men's disappearing target small-bore rifle

Practical shooting

Practical shooting Practical shooting, also known as dynamic shooting or action shooting, is a set of shooting sports in which the competitors try to unite the three principles of precision, power, and speed, by using a firearm of a certain minimum power factor to ...

, 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 A handgun holster is a device used to hold or restrict the undesired movement of a handgun, most commonly in a location where it can be easily withdrawn for immediate use. Holsters are often attached to a belt or waistband, but they may be atta ...

. * The

International Practical Shooting Confederation The International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC) is the world's largest shooting sport association, and the largest and oldest within practical shooting. Founded in 1976, the IPSC nowadays affiliates over 100 regions from Africa, America ...

(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. * Multigun 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 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 that promotes action shooting competitions with revolvers. Founded in 1991, the sport has elements from the Bianchi Cup, IPSC, and the Steel Challenge. * IPSC Action Air follows the same principle of IPSC, using

airsoft Airsoft, also known as survival game () in Japan where it was popular, is a team sport, team-based shooting sport, shooting game in which participants eliminate opposing players out of play by shooting them with airsoft pellets, spherical plast ...

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 Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

, and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

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. Open division master class competition shooter.jpg, An Open division practical pistol shooter during a stage Norwegian Open division competitor at the 2017 IPSC Rifle World Shoot.jpg, A Norwegian practical rifle shooter at the 2017 IPSC Rifle World Shoot in Russia IPSC Revolver World Champion Ricardo López Tugendhat from Ecuador.jpg, Three times practical revolver world champion Ricardo López Tugendhat from Ecuador

Long range

Long range shooting Long range shooting is a collective term for shooting sport, shooting disciplines where the distance to the target is significant enough that the shooter has to put effort into calculating external ballistics, various ballistic factors, esp ...

is shooting 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, US, Germany and Commonwealth countries. Similar disciplines called bullseye and field shooting are popular in Scandinavia, although fired at shorter distances. ** "Target Rifle" (also known as Palma rifle) 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 Palma 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. Regulations stipulate bolt-action rifles chambered in 7.62mm NATO caliber (Winchester .308) and firing Match Grade ammunition using a 155 grain bullet using micrometer aperture (iron) sights, or a 5.56mm NATO (.223 Remington) with a max bullet weight of 90 grains, and iron sights. Due to developments in modern bullet technology, an 85.5 grain bullet out of a .223 can out shoot a .308, with the right load. 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. ** 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. **National Rifle League (NRL) is a

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of ...

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

dedicated to the growth and education of precision rifle shooting in the United States. Their match format allows any caliber between .224 to .308 and not to exceed , involving at least 50 shooters with each firing minimum 140 rounds in at least 12 individual stages, over the course of at least two days. Since its debut in 2017, currently 11 clubs from eight states are involved in the league. **National Rifle League 22 (NRL22) is a sub-league under the National Rifle League dedicated to .22 Long Rifle rimfire rifles. It was established to address the fact that most localities do not have access to 1000 yard ranges, but nearly all localities have 100-yard ranges and most shooters own .22 rifles. Their championship match consist of minimum 170 rounds fired in at least 15 individual stages. Currently 68 clubs from 31 states in the US participate in NRL22 matches, with addition to two overseas clubs from UK and Australia. * 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. Connaught Cadets.JPG,

("Palma") shooting in Canada in 2011 BCM Europearms F-Class OPEN.jpg, 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. JGA1903-BR50.jpg, An Anschütz 1903 rifle in caliber .22 LR used for benchrest shooting at 50 meters BCM Europearms BARREL BLOCK.jpg, 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 Aerodynamics () is the study of the motion of atmosphere of Earth, air, particularly when affected by a solid object, such as an airplane wing. It involves topics covered in the field of fluid dynamics and its subfield of gas dynamics, and is an ...

efficiency, and

external ballistics External ballistics or exterior ballistics is the part of ballistics that deals with the behavior of a projectile in flight. The projectile may be powered or un-powered, guided or unguided, spin or fin stabilized, flying through an atmosphere or ...

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

milliradian A milliradian (International System of Units, SI-symbol mrad, sometimes also abbreviated mil) is an SI derived unit for angular measurement which is defined as a thousandth of a radian (0.001 radian). Milliradians are used in adjustment of ...

s (or 5

minutes of arc A minute of arc, arcminute (abbreviated as arcmin), arc minute, or minute arc, denoted by the symbol , is a unit of angular measurement equal to of a degree. Since one degree is of a turn, or complete rotation, one arcminute is of a tu ...

). IHMSA silhouetten bogenscheiben.jpg, Cut cardboard targets of the same shape and sizes which are used for IHMSA metal targets in metallic silhouette shooting Metallic silhouettes.jpg, 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 Cowboy action shooting (CAS, also known as Western action shooting, single action shooting, cowboy 3-gun, and Western 3-gun) is a competitive shooting sport that originated in 1981 at the Coto de Caza Shooting Range in Orange County, Califor ...

(CAS) is almost identical to USPSA and IDPA stage design but with Western cowboy-themed props. Competitors shoot with historical long guns and revolvers, and are required to use a themed alias and authentic dress. * Cowboy mounted shooting, also called Western Mounted Shooting or simply Mounted Shooting, is a competitive equestrian sport involving the riding of a

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...

to negotiate a shooting pattern. Rule sets vary between shooting sport organizations, it can be based on the

historical reenactment Historical reenactment (or re-enactment) is an educational entertainment, educational or entertainment activity in which mainly amateur hobbyists and history enthusiasts dress in historical uniforms and follow a plan to recreate aspects of a histor ...

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. Cowboy Action Shooting.JPG, 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. Cowboy Action Shooting stage.JPG, Scenery in a

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

scenario Cowboy Action Shooting - stage targets.JPG, 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. Mounted Shooting Champion Chad Little by Western Shooting Horse.jpg, Cowboy mounted shooting at the 2012 AQHA Mounted Shooting World Championship

Muzzleloading

Muzzleloading Muzzleloading is the shooting sport of firing muzzleloader, muzzleloading guns. Muzzleloading guns, both antique and reproduction, are used for target shooting, hunting, historical re-enactment and historical research. The sport originated in the ...

are concerned with shooting

replica A replica is an exact (usually 1:1 in scale) copy or remake of an object, made out of the same raw materials, whether a molecule, a work of art, or a commercial product. The term is also used for copies that closely resemble the original, without ...

(or antique) guns. Shooting laying on back at the 2015 MLAIC Long Range World Championship.jpg, Competitor shooting at 1000 yards (914.4 meters) laying on back Norwegian competitor at the 2015 MLAIC Long Range World Championship.jpg, Competitor from Team Norway shooting at 1000 yards (914.4 meters) A replica Rigby rifle at the 2015 MLAIC Long Range World Championship 2.jpg, Replica Rigby rifle used at the 2015 MLAIC Muzzleloading Long Range Championship A member of Team USA loading his blackpowder rifle at the 2015 MLAIC Long Range Championship.jpg, 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 The International Paralympic Committee (IPC; ) is an international non-profit organisation and the global governing body for the Paralympic Movement. The IPC organizes the Paralympic Games and functions as the international federation for nin ...

. To help establish fair competition, a shooting classification called Para-shooting classification is in place for the

Paralympic Games The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disability, disabilities. There are Winter Paralympic Games, Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 ...

. The events mirror to some extent the shooting events at the Olympic Games. Air Pistol is typically shot from a seated position with the pistol unsupported. The amount of back-support permitted is determined by the athlete's level of disability. The Air Rifle events include Rifle "Standing", which is shot seated like Air Pistol, with variable levels of back support. "Prone" Rifle uses the basic prone shooting position utilising a sling for the supporting arm, but is shot rested on a table with the athlete seated either in a chair or wheelchair. Schiessen-koerperbehinderung.jpg, Para shooting with a rifle sitting in a

wheelchair A wheelchair is a mobilized form of chair using two or more wheels, a footrest, and an armrest usually cushioned. It is used when walking is difficult or impossible to do due to illnesses, injury, disabilities, or age-related health conditio ...

Defense.gov photo essay 110517-F-QE915-898.jpg Defense.gov photo essay 110517-M-XXXXK-007.jpg Locomotive_mechanic_competes_in_Army_Trials_150330-A-ZU617-055.jpg, Para "Prone" modifies the basic prone shooting position to be shot from a table.

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 Type approval or certificate of conformity is granted to a product that meets a minimum set of regulatory, technical and safety requirements. Generally, type approval is required before a product is allowed to be sold in a particular country, so ...

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

. Merjenje z M48.jpg, Service rifle shooting in

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

with the Zastava M48 rifle US Navy 070712-N-6832D-055 Senior Chief Machinist's Mate Curtis Norris peers down the sight of his service rifle.jpg, Service rifle shooting in

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 can A steel can, tin can, tin (especially in British English, Australian English, Canadian English and South African English), or can is a container made of thin metal, for distribution or storage of goods. Some cans are opened by removing the to ...

s, logs,

carton A carton is a box or container usually made of liquid packaging board, paperboard and sometimes of corrugated fiberboard. Many types of cartons are used in packaging. Sometimes a carton is also called a box. Types of cartons Folding cartons ...

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

s, or any other homemade or naturally occurring objects like rocks (however, it is unsafe to shoot at 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 Hunting is the Human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/hide (sk ...

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

competitions are also popular for plinking due to the ease of setting up and confirming good hits. Having Fun in Alaska.jpg, A woman plinking with a Hi-Point pistol in .40 S&W in Alaska Burro Canyon fun shoot - 8444999291.jpg, Plinking with a Ruger 10/22 rifle in Burro Canyon, Arizona, US NO LOADED GUNS IN RACK.jpg, Plinking on a Saturday in Burro Canyon, Arizona, US. On this range firearms must be kept unloaded in the rack, except when on the firing line.

Athletic shooting sports

Athletic shooting sports are hybrid events of normally stationary shooting sport competitions and the

sport of athletics Athletics is a group of sporting events that involves competitive running, jumping and throwing. The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross country running, cross-country running, and racewalking. ...

or other physically demanding non-shooting sports. Many were borne from military exercises and emphasize physical endurance. * IBU Biathlon is a Winter Olympic sport combining

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing whereby skiers traverse snow-covered terrain without use of ski lifts or other assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreational activity; however, some still use it as a m ...

(normally freestyle skate skiing) and shooting with .22 LR rifles. In Scandinavia the discipline is simply known as "Ski Shooting" (Swedish: ''skidskytte'', Danish: ''skiskydning'', Norwegian: ''skiskyting''). * Bike biathlon or ''velo biathlon'' (Russian ''Велобиатлон'') combines

cycling Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...

(

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

mountain bike A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling (''mountain biking''). Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in r ...

) and shooting (

). * ISSF Target Sprint combines medium-range run (3 × 400 m) and

shooting. *

Modern pentathlon The modern pentathlon is an Summer Olympics, Olympic multisport that consists of five events: fencing (one-touch épée followed by direct elimination), freestyle swimming, obstacle course racing, Laser pistol (sport), laser pistol shooting, and ...

is a Summer Olympic

includes a combined event called Laser-run that consists of 4 laps of 800 metres combined with 4 rounds of timed shooting with a laser air pistol as one of its original five parts. * Nordic Ski Field Shooting (Norwegian: ''skifeltskyting'', Swedish: ''skidfältskytte'') is a Nordic discipline organised by the National Rifle Association of Norway and the Swedish Shooting Sport Association which is based on the origins of modern biathlon. It is normally held using classic (in-track) skiing, but competitions can also be held in a freestyle skate skiing format. Furthermore, 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. * Nordic shooting with cross-country running (Norwegian: ''skogsløp'', Swedish: ''springfältskytte'') is a Nordic discipline arranged by the National Rifle Association of Norway and the Swedish Shooting Sport Association which combines 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. *

Military patrol Military patrol is a team winter sport in which athletes compete in cross-country skiing (sport), cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. Formerly ski mountaineering was also part of the sport. It is usually contested between countries or milit ...

was a team winter sport in which athletes competed in cross-country skiing,

ski mountaineering Ski mountaineering (abbreviated to skimo) is a skiing discipline that involves climbing mountains either on skis or carrying them, depending on the steepness of the ascent, and then descending on skis. There are two major categories of equipment ...

and rifle shooting. It was usually contested between countries or

military unit Military organization ( AE) or military organisation ( BE) is the structuring of the armed forces of a state so as to offer such military capability as a national defense policy may require. Formal military organization tends to use hiera ...

s. * Moose biathlon (Finnish ''Hirvenhiihto'') is a variation of biathlon comprising cross-country skiing, range estimation and rifle shooting at paper targets of moose. Moose shooting with cross-country running (Finnish ''Hirvenjuoksu'') is a summer variant where the skiing part is replaced with running. * Orienteering shooting (Finnish ''ampumasuunnistus'') combines shooting with orienteering, and competitions are organised in Denmark by DMSA, in Sweden by the civilian Swedish Multisport Association and in Finland by the FRSF. * Pistol shooting with cross-country running (''maastokilpailu''), organized in Finland by the FRSF. * Pistol skiing (Norwegian ''pistollangren'', Swedish ''pistolskidskytte'', Finnish ''pistooliammuntahiihto'') is biathlon with pistols and revolvers, and is organised in Norway by NROF, in Sweden by SPSA and in Finland by the FRSF. * Summer biathlon, with skiing replaced by either running or rollerskis, is popular in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. * Ski Archery is a variation of biathlon combining archery marksmanship with cross country skiing. * Underwater target shooting is a combined

underwater An underwater environment is a environment of, and immersed in, liquid water in a natural or artificial feature (called a Water, body of water), such as an ocean, sea, lake, pond, reservoir, river, canal, or aquifer. Some characteristics of the ...

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 A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming and associated activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built abo ...

using free diving or Apnoea technique. Bundesarchiv Bild 102-12927, Riesengebirge, Reichswehrübung.jpg, German

military patrol Military patrol is a team winter sport in which athletes compete in cross-country skiing (sport), cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. Formerly ski mountaineering was also part of the sport. It is usually contested between countries or milit ...

Giant Mountains The Giant Mountains, Krkonoše, or Karkonosze (Czech: , , ), are a mountain range located in the north of the Czech Republic and the south-west of Poland, part of the Sudetes mountain system (part of the Bohemian Massif). The Czech–Polish bor ...

in 1932 2018-01-04 IBU Biathlon World Cup Oberhof 2018 - Sprint Women 10.jpg, Standing phase at the 2018 Biathlon World Cup in Oberhof Bjorndalen-Trondheim09.jpg, Ole Einar Bjørndalen in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...

during the 2009

Biathlon World Cup The Biathlon World Cup is a top-level biathlon season-long competition series. It has been held since the winter seasons of 1977–78 for men and 1982–83 for women. The women's seasons until 1986–87 season were called the European Cup, alt ...

Bike Pistol Biathlon.jpg, Bike biathlon competition using handguns

Bow shooting sports

Archery

Modern competitive archery involves shooting

arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...

s 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 Target archery is the most popular form of archery, in which members shoot at stationary circular targets at varying distances. All types of bow – longbow, barebow, Recurve bow, recurve and Compound bow, compound – can be used. In Great Brita ...

. 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. 3D archery, which differs from field archery in that the targets are animal models, is also quite popular in the same regions. There are also several other lesser-known and historical forms, as well as archery novelty games. 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. WA target shot with a compound bow (Devizes Bowmen).jpg, Target shooting with a

recurve bow In archery, a recurve bow is one of the main Bow shape, shapes a bow (weapon), bow can take, with limbs that curve away from the archer when unstrung. A recurve bow stores more energy and delivers energy more efficiently than the equivalent strai ...

ArcheryGermanyEarly1980s-2.jpg, Archery competition in

Mönchengladbach Mönchengladbach (, ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in North Rhine-Westphalia, western Germany, west of the Rhine, halfway between Düsseldorf and the Netherlands, Dutch border. Geography Municipal subdivisions Since 2009, th ...

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

, June 1983

Crossbow

The International Crossbow Shooting Union (''Internationale Armbrustschützen Union'' or IAU) was founded in

Landshut Landshut (; ) is a town in Bavaria, Germany, on the banks of the Isar, River Isar. Landshut is the capital of Lower Bavaria, one of the seven administrative regions of the Free state (government), Free State of Bavaria, and the seat of the surrou ...

on June 24, 1956, as the world governing body for

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. World Crossbow Shooting Association (WCSA) organises competitions in 7 disciplines: Target, Target match play, Forest, Forest match play, 3D, Bench & prone target and Indoor target. IAU 10m match xbow.jpg, Anna Sushko of Russia, 2006 Junior World Champion, holding an ICU 10 m Match Crossbow IAU match xbow.jpg, A competitor at the 30 meter event at the 2008 ICU Match-Crossbow World Championships in Sulgen,

Dart shooting sports

Sport blowgun

There are several competition styles of sport blowgun practised around the world. A standardization of competition style is based upon fukiya, and governed by the International Fukiyado Association. It is a 10-metre target shooting, using a standardized barrel caliber and length, and a standardized dart length and weight as outlined by IFA. There are two more styles, both based upon the Cherokee Annual Gathering Blowgun Competition. The Field Style competition is similar to the winter Biathlon, where the shooter runs from a starting line to a target lane, shoots and retrieves the darts, and continues to the next station. The course length varies from 400 to 800 m with from 9 to 16 targets at various heights and shooting distances. The final style is the Long Distance target shoot. The target is a circle of 24 cm diameter, and the firing line is 20 m away. Three darts are fired by each shooter, at least one of which must stick in the target. All successful shooters move to the next round, moving back 2 m each time.

Confrontational shooting sports

Confrontational shooting sports is a set of relatively new

team sport A team sport is a type of sport where the fundamental nature of the game or sport requires the participation of multiple individuals working together as a team, and it is inherently impossible or highly impractical to execute the sport as a s ...

s 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

and

infrared Infrared (IR; sometimes called infrared light) is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than that of visible light but shorter than microwaves. The infrared spectral band begins with the waves that are just longer than those ...

technologies allowed for the development of safe confrontational disciplines. While initially only for sport and recreations, professional sport competitions are now held. These types of games are also used for tactical gunfight training by military and law enforcement agencies to some extent.

Olympic dueling

Olympic dueling is an archaic individual sport that sought to safely emulate the deadly practice of pistol

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people with matched weapons. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the rapier and later the small sword), but beginning in ...

ling, akin to

fencing Fencing is a combat sport that features sword fighting. It consists of three primary disciplines: Foil (fencing), foil, épée, and Sabre (fencing), sabre (also spelled ''saber''), each with its own blade and set of rules. Most competitive fe ...

emulating sword fighting. It involved the use of specially built primer-fired pistols to propel wax bullets. Two versions of the sport were demonstration events at the 1906 Olympics and 1908 Olympics. It was also a popular sport in France. 1908_Olympics_wax_duel_field.png, A duel at the 1908 Olympics 1908_Olympics_wax_duel_portrait.png, Portrait shots of Olympic duelists, showing their safety equipment and modified guns

Paintball

Paintball Paintball is a competitive sport, competitive team sport, team shooting sport in which players eliminate opponents from play by hitting them with spherical dye-filled gelatin capsules called Paintball equipment#Paintballs, paintballs that b ...

is a competitive sport in which players from opposing teams eliminate opponents out of play by hitting them with round, breakable,

dye Juan de Guillebon, better known by his stage name DyE, is a French musician. He is known for the music video of the single "Fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical ele ...

-filled oil and

gelatin Gelatin or gelatine () is a translucent, colorless, flavorless food ingredient, commonly derived from collagen taken from animal body parts. It is brittle when dry and rubbery when moist. It may also be referred to as hydrolyzed collagen, coll ...

pellets ("paintballs"), shot from

HPA The pascal (symbol: Pa) is the unit of pressure in the International System of Units (SI). It is also used to quantify internal pressure, stress, Young's modulus, and ultimate tensile strength. The unit, named after Blaise Pascal, is an S ...

/ -powered

air gun 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 contr ...

s called

paintball marker A paintball marker, also known as a paintball gun, paint gun, or simply marker, is an air gun used in the shooting sport of paintball, and the main piece of paintball equipment. Paintball markers use compressed gas, such as carbon dioxide (CO2) ...

s. 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 was developed in the 1980s and is now regularly played at a formal sporting level with organized competition involving major tournaments, professional teams and players. * National Xball League is the

' 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 Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, 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,

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 Drexel University is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Drexel's undergraduate school was founded in 1891 by Anthony Joseph Drexel, Anthony J. Drexel, a financier ...

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

Illinois State University Illinois State University (ISU) is a public research university in Normal, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University and is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teachin ...

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

Penn State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

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 Fox Sports Networks (FSN), formerly known as Fox Sports Net, was the collective name for a group of regional sports channels in the United States. Formed in 1996 by News Corporation, the networks were acquired by the Walt Disney Company on Mar ...

's digital cable college sports network,

Fox College Sports Stadium College Sports (formerly Fox College Sports) was a group of three American sports networks. Owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group and Allen Media Group (under the joint venture Diamond Sports Group), the three channels aired college and hig ...

. SupAir Player.jpg, Players next to an inflatable Sup'Air bunker Speedball game.jpg, View of a course during a speedball game in progress

Airsoft

Airsoft Airsoft, also known as survival game () in Japan where it was popular, is a team sport, team-based shooting sport, shooting game in which participants eliminate opposing players out of play by shooting them with airsoft pellets, spherical plast ...

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 gun 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 contr ...

s called

airsoft gun Airsoft guns are air guns used in airsoft sports. They are a special type of low-power smoothbore guns designed to shoot Airsoft pellets, plastic pellets often colloquially (but incorrectly) referred to as "BB (ammunition), BBs", which are typ ...

s. It is different from paintball in that airsoft pellets do not visibly mark the targets like paintballs, and thus the sport relies heavily on an

honor system An honor system, trust system or honesty system is a way of running a variety of endeavors based on trust, honor, and honesty. The honor system is also a system granting freedom from customary surveillance (as to students or prisoners) with ...

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 Military simulations, also known informally as war games, are simulations in which theories of warfare can be tested and refined without the need for actual hostilities. Military simulations are seen as a useful way to develop Military tactics, t ...

and

s. The greater toughness of airsoft pellets also allows the use of better powerplants and apparatus such as hop-up device for improved

, making the gameplay more accurately resemble real gunfights. They are also much cheaper for casual players to participate than paintball. Airsoft gameplay varies in style and composition just like paintball and is played in both indoor and outdoor courses. Situations on the field frequently involve the use of real-life

military tactic Military tactics encompasses the art of organizing and employing fighting forces on or near the battlefield. They involve the application of four battlefield functions which are closely related – kinetic or firepower, mobility, protection or ...

s to achieve objectives, and it is not uncommon for participants to emulate the uniforms and equipment of real military and police organizations for a sense of realism. Games are normally supervised (and sometimes umpired) by trained on-site administrators, and players' airsoft 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 A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...

semi-professional Semi-professional sports are sports in which athletes are not participating on a full-time basis, but still receive some payment. Semi-professionals are not amateur because they receive regular payment from their team, but generally at a cons ...

teams (often referred to as "clans"), with rules and restrictions varying from event to event. Three airsoft players defending an area.jpg, Three airsoft team members defending an area during an indoor CQB game RPGers Airsoft Arène.jpg, From an outdoor airsoft game Partida de airsoft.jpg, Three airsoft team members during a field game

Laser tag

Laser tag (despite the name,

laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word ''laser'' originated as an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radi ...

is actually not used due to safety concerns) is a tag game played with

light guns and

sensor A sensor is often defined as a device that receives and responds to a signal or stimulus. The stimulus is the quantity, property, or condition that is sensed and converted into electrical signal. In the broadest definition, a sensor is a devi ...

s 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 Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

) role playing, etc. When compared to

paintball Paintball is a competitive sport, competitive team sport, team shooting sport in which players eliminate opponents from play by hitting them with spherical dye-filled gelatin capsules called Paintball equipment#Paintballs, paintballs that b ...

and

, laser tag is painless and very safe because it involves no

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, US, Sweden, Finland, UK, etc. * Private club-level events such as TagCon (annual in UK and US), Tagfest (annual in US), Dropzone (annual in UK), LaserStorm (annual in Australia), etc. More sophisticated forms of laser tag, such as MILES, are used (in conjunction with blanks) by militaries to allow for non-lethal combat training. Long Beach Comic & Horror Con 2011 - Party Xtreme Laser Tag (6301174661).jpg, An indoor laser tag competition at

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

in 2011 Soldat français au CENZUB.jpg, Soldiers equipped with 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 Foams are two-phase materials science, material systems where a gas is dispersed in a second, non-gaseous material, specifically, in which gas cells are enclosed by a distinct liquid or solid material. Note, this source focuses only on liquid ...

tips. The game's rules closely resemble

dodgeball Dodgeball is a team sports, team sport in which players on two opposing teams try to throw balls and hit opponents while avoiding being hit themselves. The objective of each team is to eliminate all members of the opposing team by hitting them w ...

. 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 draw weight. It was invented in 2011 by John Jackson of

Ashley, Indiana Ashley is a town in Indiana located on the border of Smithfield Township, DeKalb County and Steuben Township, Steuben County. The population was 1,026 at the 2020 census. History Ashley was platted and incorporated on July 18, 1892 when the ...

, and experienced a boost in popularity from the '' Hunger Games'' books and

film series A film series or movie series is a collection of related films in succession that share the same fictional universe, or are marketed as a series. It is a type of series fiction. This article explains what film series are and gives brief examples ...

, 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

, but also in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

and

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

. Battle gaming variants of Archery Tag also exist, such as Dagorhir, Amtgard, Belegarth and Darkon, where archers are pitted among

melee A melee ( or ) is a confused hand-to-hand combat, hand-to-hand fight among several people. The English term ''melee'' originated circa 1648 from the French word ' (), derived from the Old French ''mesler'', from which '':wikt:medley, medley'' and ...

players welding foam weapons to simulate

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

battles. Archery Tag.jpg, A game of archery tag in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Esports

Esports Esports (), short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, played individually or as teams. ...

is the competitive playing of

video games A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

, often referring to play at the professional level. While the term esports includes many types of video games unrelated to shooting sports, a major subset of esports are the shooters, namely

first-person shooters A first-person shooter (FPS) is a video game genre, video game centered on gun fighting and other weapon-based combat seen from a First person (video games), first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action directly through t ...

and third-person shooters. Matches of these games can take a variety of forms but traditionally take formats similar to paintball, involving teams of players whose objective is to eliminate the opposing team in simulated combat, often while also focusing other key objectives. Major games of these styles currently in professional play include (among others) '' Counter-Strike: Global Offensive'', ''

Overwatch ''Overwatch'' (abbreviated as OW) is a multimedia franchise centered on a series of multiplayer first-person shooter (FPS) video games developed by Blizzard Entertainment. ''Overwatch (video game), Overwatch'' was released in 2016 with a success ...

'', ''

Team Fortress 2 ''Team Fortress 2'' (''TF2'') is a Multiplayer video game, multiplayer first-person shooter game developed and published by Valve Corporation in 2007. It is the sequel to the 1996 ''Team Fortress'' Mod (video gaming), mod for ''Quake (video g ...

'', ''

Valorant ''Valorant'' is a 2020 First-person shooter, first-person tactical shooter, tactical hero shooter video game developed and published by Riot Games. A free-to-play game, ''Valorant'' takes inspiration from the ''Counter-Strike'' series, borrow ...

'', and '' PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds''. Organized play is done both

online In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity, and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed as "on lin ...

or in-person. While there has been serious interest to include esports in the Olympics and similar events, the inclusion of shooters has been less welcomed due to their often violent visual content. Goście Intel Extreme Masters (8465481816).jpg, Casual players playing a shooter at the 2013

Intel Extreme Masters The Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) is a series of international esports tournaments held in countries around the world. These Electronic Sports League (ESL) sanctioned events, sponsored by Intel, currently host events in ''Counter-Strike 2''. Oth ...

Katowice Katowice (, ) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Katowice urban area. As of 2021, Katowice has an official population of 286,960, and a resident population estimate of around 315,000. K ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

MLG_Columbus_-_Luminosity_vs_Navi.jpg, A live professional '' CS:GO'' match in 2016

References

External links

Get Inspired: How to get into Shooting - BBC Sport

How to get into shooting - Shooting UK
{{Authority control

sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...

Summer Olympic sports Marksmanship Projectile weapons Precision sports Competition Sports by type

History

Great Britain

United States

Olympics

Competition disciplines

Gun shooting sports

Bullseye shooting

Bullseye shooting with handguns

Bullseye shooting with rifles

Field shooting

Field shooting with handguns

Field shooting with rifles

Rapid fire

Rapid fire with handguns

Rapid fire with rifles

Clay target

Running target

Moving target

Disappearing target

Practical shooting

Long range

Benchrest

Metallic silhouette

Western

Muzzleloading

Para shooting

Competitions using factory and service firearms

Plinking

Athletic shooting sports

Bow shooting sports

Archery

Crossbow

Dart shooting sports

Sport blowgun

Confrontational shooting sports

Olympic dueling

Paintball

Airsoft

Laser tag

Archery Tag

Esports

See also

References

Further reading

External links