shooting

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shooting firing with rifle, shotgun, pistol, or revolver at stationary or moving targets. The term shooting is also used in Great Britain to mean small-game hunting .

In the 19th cent. the sport of rifle shooting became increasingly popular in England and in the United States, where the National Rifle Association (NRA) was formed (1871) to standardize the rules for rifle marksmanship. Matches were arranged and trophies offered. Pistol and revolver events were added in 1900. Shooting events have been included in the Olympic games since 1896; separate men's and women's events were established in 1984.

Among the Olympic events are pistol shooting at 50 m (164 ft), rifle shooting at 300 m (984 ft), trapshooting and skeet, and small-bore rifle shooting. NRA-sponsored tournaments are divided into sections for small-bore rifles, high-power rifles, pistols, and revolvers. In small-bore rifle shooting the targets range in distance from 50 ft to 200 yd (15.24–182.88 m), and in pistol and revolver shooting from 50 ft to 50 yd (15.24–45.72 m). For long-range rifle marksmanship, targets from 200 to 1,000 yd (182.88–914.4 m) are used. A shooting target is made of black-on-white cardboard and is composed of a bullseye (black) and several concentric circles. Competitors shoot from four positions with the rifle—prone, sitting, kneeling, and standing. Matches in which competing teams exchange scores by telegraphic and postal facilities are common.

Trapshooting with shotguns began in England in the 19th cent. To simulate the flight of game birds, "clay pigeons" (originally made of clay but now molded of silt and pitch in the shape of saucers) are hurled from a mechanical contrivance (the trap). The distance between the shooter and the target varies from 16 to 25 yd (14.63–22.86 m); a 12-gauge gun is preferred. Trapshooting was adopted in the United States in the late 19th cent., and in 1900 the American Trapshooting Association was organized. Annual championship matches are held at Vandalia, Ohio.

Skeet, in its early years called "round the clock" shooting, was devised (1910) by C. E. Davies of Andover, Mass. The name, chosen in a magazine contest, is an old Scandinavian form of the word shoot. Two trapshooting devices hurl "pigeons" at and over each other from 40 yd (36.58 m) apart. The marksman shoots at the moving target from different stations on the perimeter of a semicircle connecting the traps. Guns used are 12-, 16-, 20-, and 28-gauge and .410 bore. In skeet matches 25 "pigeons" are thrown, of which 8 are hurled in pairs.

Bibliography: See J. Lugs, A History of Shooting (1968); S. Slahor et al., Shooting Guide for Beginners (1986); W. S. Jarrett, ed., Shooter's Bible (1989).

shooting, as a sport, may be divided into shooting at animals or birds, or shooting at targets in competition. Pheasant- and grouse-shooting reached its peak in the vast country-house gatherings of Edwardian England: game was rigorously preserved and poaching caused much ill-feeling in rural society. Big-game shooting, largely in Africa and India, was fashionable in the 19th and early 20th cents. A regular feature of overseas royal visits was a big-game shoot: George V on a visit to Nepal in 1912 claimed 21 tigers, 8 rhino, and 1 bear in a fortnight's shooting. Organized target-shooting in Britain dates from the mid-19th cent. The National Rifle Association was founded at Wimbledon in 1860 and transferred in 1880 to Bisley in Surrey. The Queen's Prize, first awarded in 1860, remains one of the most coveted honours. Bisley is the venue for regular summer competitions, for different classes of weapons, including small-bore rifles. Shooting was included in the first of the modern Olympics in 1896.

J. A. Cannon

shoot·ing / ˈshoōting/ • n. the action or practice of shooting: the unprovoked shooting of civilians by soldiers | 20,000 fatal shootings a year. ∎  the sport or pastime of shooting with a gun. ∎  the right of shooting game over an area of land. ∎  an estate or other area rented to shoot over. • adj. moving or growing quickly: shooting beams of light played over the sea. ∎  (of a pain) sudden and piercing. PHRASES: the whole shooting match inf. everything: the whole shooting match is being computerized.

shooting Competitive sport involving firearms, in which a competitor, or team of competitors, fires at stationary or moving targets. The three main types of shooting are rifle, pistol, and clay-pigeon shooting. Within rifle shooting, the three basic classes of competition are for air rifle, small-bore, and large-bore rifle; all but air rifle shooting are Olympic sports. The two main forms of pistol shooting, rapid-fire (or silhouette) and free shooting, are both Olympic sports. There are three disciplines of clay-pigeon shooting – Olympic trench, skeet, and down-the-line shooting. The first two types are Olympic sports.

shooting, as a sport, may be divided into shooting at animals or birds, or shooting at targets in competition. Pheasant‐ and grouse‐shooting reached its peak in the vast country‐house gatherings of Edwardian England: game was rigorously preserved and poaching caused much ill‐feeling in rural society. Big‐game shooting, largely in Africa and India, was fashionable in the 19th and early 20th cents. Organized target‐shooting in Britain dates from the mid‐19th cent. The National Rifle Association was founded at Wimbledon in 1860 and transferred in 1880 to Bisley in Surrey.

shooting shooting star a small, rapidly moving meteor burning up on entering the earth's atmosphere; in literary use, sometimes an image for a glorious position that cannot be sustained.
the whole shooting match everything.

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