Target Shooting Disciplines

Sparks

Okay, this thread is to go over the multitude of different events there are in the world of target shooting. Not just the ISSF events, but all of them!

I'll kick it off with the ISSF disciplines overview, and put up individual posts for each discipline over the next few days.

From ISSF-shooting.org:

The ISSF recognizes shooting sport events in four disciplines - rifle, pistol, running target and shotgun: All events are conducted as individual and team events - three member teams - for men, women, junior men and junior women.

In the rifle events, competitors earn points with their shots at a 10-ring target, and the shooter with the most points at the end of the competition wins. Shooters fire from standing, kneeling and prone positions.

In the finals, the 10 rings on the target are sub-divided into ten score zones, making the highest score for a shot 10.9. The final-round score is added to the qualification-round score to determine the winner. Normally, scores range from one point for hitting the outside zone to 10 for a hit in the 10 ring. The higher score is awarded when a shot hits the line between two zones.

In the standing position for all rifle events, the rifle is held with both hands and rests on the shoulder, and the left arm may be supported on the chest or hip.

When kneeling, the right-handed shooter may touch the ground with the toe of the right foot, the right knee and the left foot. The left knee may support the left elbow, but the point of the elbow must be no more than 10 centimetres past or 15 centimetres behind the point of the knee. Rifle shooters may use a soft, cylindrical roll to support the instep when kneeling.

The maximum changeover time between positions is 10 minutes for 50m-rifle events.

In the prone position, a shooter may not let the rifle rest against, or touch, any object. The right-handed shooter's left forearm must form an angle of at least 30 degrees from the horizontal.

Only "metallic" sights are permitted, which have no lenses or system of lenses. An aperture is used at the rear with a diameter in the region of 1.1mm and at the front either an aperture or a post or blade front sight. Coloured filters are permitted and the rear sight has fine adjustments for windage and elevation.
pistol

Pistol events are scored the same as rifle events, with competitors aiming at a 10-ring target. Pistol shooters use a standing position and must hold and fire the gun with one hand, with the wrist clearly free of support.
pistol sights

Only "open" sights consisting of a post or blade sight at the front and the notch at the rear; optical, mirror, telescope, laser beam or electronically projected dot, sights are prohibited. The rear sight usually has fine adjustments for windage and elevation.
running target

In the men's running target event, competitors shoot at a moving paper target from a distance of 10 metres. The event involves a "slow run" and a "fast run". The shooter stand unsupported and shoots in a standing position, starting with his rifle at hip level and raising it only after the target appears.
shotgun

In all shotgun events (Trap, Skeet and Double Trap) shooters stand in shooting stations and fire at the clay targets, shaped like flying saucers, as they are released on the shooters' signals. In each event, the targets are propelled at high speed, and the person who hits the most wins.

In the trap and double-trap events, if a target isn't released immediately after a shooter's signal, the shooter may refuse to shoot by lowering the gun. The skeet event involves up to a three-second delay after the shooter's call for the target. If the target is not released within that time frame, the shooter again may refuse the target by lowering the firearm. In all shotgun events, a target is declared "hit" when it is shot according to the rules and at least one visible piece is broken from it.
the shotgun

Shotguns are smooth bored, invariably over-under (one barrel above the other) and fire cartridges loaded with pellets their weight of which must not exceed 24.5g.

The effective range of a shotgun against a clay target is about 50m.

There are three Olympic shotgun events for Men and Women: Trap, Double Trap and Skeet.

In the Olympics in Bejing we will have 15 seperate events:
10m Air Rifle, Men and Women
50m Rifle Three-Position, Men and Women
50m Rifle Prone, Men only
10m Air Pistol, Men and Women
25m Sport Pistol, Women only
25m Rapid Fire Pistol, Men only
50m Free Pistol, Men only
Trap, Men and Women
Double Trap, Men only
Skeet, Men and Women

That's down two from Athens, because the International Olympic Council asked the ISSF to reduce the number of shooting disciplines from 17 - so Running Target and Women's Double Trap are gone

In Ireland, the most commonly shot disciplines are 10m air rifle (men and women shoot shoulder-to-shoulder up to the international competition level, for logisitical simplicity), 50m prone rifle (shot with .22 calibre rifles), 100yd prone rifle, 25yd indoor prone rifle, and the 50m three-position event, but that last one (as it's so demanding on the shooter) is the least commonly shot one, alas, with only two or three matches a year in Ireland
(Pity too, it's my favorite discipline).

There is also the 300m event, but that's rather rare in Ireland as even though we had one of Europe's best fullbore shooting teams prior to '72, the rifles used were effectively banned, gutting the sport. It is starting to make a comeback in Ireland at the moment, with an Army team training for CISM matches, but it's very early days right now.

JR

Hi Sparks! Checking in here from the USA.

I'd like to add my first contribution by posting some links that explain the uniquely American rifle sport known as Conventional High Power Rifle. That is my favorite discipline, though I am also a clays shooter (English Sporting, mostly)

What is High Power Rifle?
The Course of Fire
Equipment
Scoring procedures

I'd be happy to answer any questions about my sport!

Sparks

Good to have you here JR, I know there are a lot of target shooters in Ireland interested in fullbore shooting with service rifles. Personally, I'm not sure I'd take it up past the "give it a try" stage right now, but that's not to say there aren't .223 rifles I'd like to own:

JR

Sparks, that rifle you displayed (TUBB 2000) is actually not a Service Rifle. It is what the US NRA rules consider a Match Rifle. It is very, very close to an ISSF Free Rifle, except for the detachable magazine because our style of shooting contains two rapid fire stages (sitting at 200 yards and prone at 300) that require magazine reloads.

It is not currently available in 223, but I hear that McBros Rifles (the manufacturer) is developing a magazine for that purpose.

The three Service Rifles authorized for US NRA High Power Rifle competition are the US M1 (Garand), US M14 (and civilian semi-auto only versions) and the US M15 (and civilian semi-auto only versions).

I own and compete with a custom-made match rifle based on a Winchester Model 70 and a Rock River Arms National Match AR-15.

Here is a link to the US National Rifle Association High Power Rifle (Fullbore) rules.