THE SPORT OF SHOOTING

Vincent Hancock - 3 time Olympic Skeet medalist

Clay target being broken

Kayle Browning - Trap Olympic medalist

Kim Rhode - 6 time Olympic medalist ejecting shells

Within the discipline of shooting there are three categories branching over both Olympic and Paralympic athletes. The three are shotgun, pistol, and rifle. Here is a brief peak at each.

Olympic Shotgun

The most popular of the shooting disciplines, probably due to the fact that there is movement of both the athletes and the targets. In Olympic shotgun there are three subcategories: trap, skeet, and mixed trap. Non-Olympic subcategories can include sporting clays, double trap, down-the-line, and five stand, but we will focus on the Olympic ones for this.

All shotgun events are shot at targets called clays, pigeons, or birds. These are 4.5in ceramic disks that are thrown from machines sometimes called houses. All events are also shot with similar firearms, though there are many different brands and adjustments to these firearms depending on the athletes. Scoring is also the same across events, utilizing a hit or miss system. A target is considered hit if any fragment comes off upon impact of the shot. There is possibility for miscalls, where athletes, coaches, and officials can use video to decide the final outcome. This is not an NCAA recognized sport, however there are many collegiate clubs that host their own competitions.

Trap: Clays are launched from a single machine (house) generally going away from the shooter, or it can form a more diagonal path. The disks are launched at roughly 42 miles per hour and are between 48 - 52 yards from the shooter when shot. In qualification there are 125 targets thrown total, split into 5 rounds of 25 targets per round. and though they are single targets, the athletes are allowed to fire two shots at them. The athletes are allowed to keep the stock of the shotgun in their shoulder as they prepare for the target, when ready they will yell "pull" so the clay is released.

Trap Mixed Team: Everything is the same as trap individual, except now one man and one woman from the same country will compete side by side in pairs against other teams. Both athletes will shoot 75 targets, split into 3 rounds of 25 targets each, for a combined total of 150.

Skeet: Clays are shot in different variances (remember this for the finals explanation) which are doubles, reverse doubles, singles, and reverse singles. A double is a pair of clays coming from two different houses, usually one from the left and one from the right. One will be considered high, and one will be low. The targets will come out at the same time, but the high one will be shot first. A reverse double is when the low one will be shot first. A single target will be either one from the high house (normal) or one from the low house (reverse). There is a total of 125 targets, split into 5 rounds of 25 targets per round. These disks are the same used in trap, but they go about 62 yards and fly at 46 -48 miles per hour. The athlete must hold the back stock of the shotgun lowered out of their shoulder until they yell "pull" and the clays are released, then they must mount and shoot.

Finals are shot after the competition round to determine the overall medalists of each event. After all shots have been fired and the scores have been totaled, the top (highest) 8 scores will move on. The rules are different and continue to change but here are the current (12/2/22) rules.

Trap: The 8 will be split into two "ranking match" groups where group one contains places 1, 3, 5, and 7 and group two contains places 2, 4, 6, and 8. Group one will shoot 15 targets each then the athlete in 4th place will be eliminated. The remaining 3 will shoot another 10 targets each, then eliminating the athlete in 3rd place. The same is repeated for group two. The top 2 from each group will join together to shoot a four-person medal match. Each of the 4 athletes will shoot 15 targets before eliminating the final 4th place finisher. The remaining 3 will shoot another 10 targets, then award the bronze medal. The top 2 remaining will shoot another 10 targets to decide the silver and gold medalists. If there are any ties a shoot-off will be conducted until the tie is broken. *unlike the qualification, only one shot at each target is allowed in the finals*

Trap Mixed Team: The top 6 teams will be split into three groups. The teams ranked 1 and 2 will shoot for the gold and silver medals. The teams ranked 4 and 5 will shoot for a bronze medal and the teams ranked 3 and 6 will shoot for a bronze medal (two bronze medals given). All three will be shot as follows: Each athlete will shoot 5 targets (combined 10 targets per team) and the team with the highest amount of hits will receive 2 points. The first team to acquire 6 points, wins their match.

Skeet: The 8 will be split into two "ranking match" groups where group one contains places 1, 3, 5, and 7 and group two contains places 2, 4, 6, and 8. Group one will shoot 20 targets (set to a specific variance) each then the athlete in 4th place will be eliminated. The remaining 3 will shoot another 10 targets each, then eliminating the athlete in 3rd place. The same is repeated for group two. The top 2 from each group will join together to shoot a four-person medal match. Each of the 4 athletes will shoot 20 targets before eliminating the final 4th place finisher. The remaining 3 will shoot another 10 targets, then award the bronze medal. The top 2 remaining will shoot another 10 targets to decide the silver and gold medalists. If there are any ties a shoot-off will be conducted until the tie is broken.

--If you are an international style shotgun shooter and want to help me improve this information (research was done, sources are questionable) please email me at info.2020neolympian@gmail.com--

Katelyn Abeln - 25m pistol

James Hall - 10m Air Pistol

Henry Leverett - 25m Rapid Fire

Olympic Pistol

Next is a more stationary discipline. Within Olympic pistol there are four of its own subcategories; 25 meter rapid fire (men), 25 meter sport (women), air pistol, and air mixed team. Pistol is shot at either a single stationary target or a series of five stationary targets, with different distances depending on the specific category and governing body (international versus collegiate).

Air Pistol: Utilizes a .177 caliber pellet shot with compressed air roughly between 160-190 meters per second. The course of fire comprises of 60 individual shots in a time limit of 75min, with 15min in the beginning acting as sight in time (unlimited shots in this 15min, these shot do not count for score).The target is 17cm across, with the black (7 ring) being 11.5cm and the 10 itself around 1.5cm (a little bit smaller than a dime). It is positioned at 10m away from the firing line and 1.4m above the ground. The scoring is integer, with a 10 being the highest and a 0 the lowest, this means the highest possible score is a 600. Center shots, or Xs (10.2 or higher), are also commonly used to break ties if the same scores are shot.

This is all the exact same for NCAA.

Air Mixed Team: All of the same principals, but a different course of fire. The mixed team also is, as the name suggests, shot with both a male and a female as partners. The partners are from the same country, and will shoot next to each other for the duration of this event. The qualification round is 30 shots in 30min, and all teams participating shoot it. The scores are from each athlete in the team are added together and the top 4 move on to finals.

Currently this is not shot in NCAA, and Tokyo 2020 was its Olympic debut.

25m Pistol: Shot with a .22 rimfire bullet, in 5 round magazines. It is one of the few events that is still modified differently for men and women. For both genders, the 10 ring on the target is 10cm, and there are red and green lights at the tops of the targets to signal when to start and when to stop firing. For women there is a single target and the course of fire is 60 shots, split into two parts with 30 shots each. The first part is called precision, and it contains 3-minute sighters followed by 6 series of 5 shots in 5 minutes each. Often the next day they will shoot the rapid fire stage, which has again 6 series of 5 shots. The series of five begin with the athlete holding the pistol about at hip level (45 degrees), then when the light turn green they have 3 seconds to raise the pistol and shoot. After the individual shot they lower back to the resting position for 7 seconds, before another 3 second shot is fired. After 5 shots like this they will get a short break, then continue until the match is finished. For men, there are five targets (with their centers each 75cm away from each other) in a row. The match is started by a sighters series of five shots fired in 8 seconds (one shot at each of the 5 targets). This is followed by 60 shot match, broken down into the same two 30 shot stages, each stage having 6 separate series. The first two series are five shots shot in 8 seconds. The second two series, both five shots, are shot in 6 seconds. The last two series, five shots again, are shot in 4 seconds. Once these 30 shots are completed, the whole stage (8sec > 6sec > 4sec) is repeated once more but at a different time, again usually a different day. For both genders this gives us a total of 60 shots, where integer scoring tells the highest score out of 600 points.

For NCAA sport and standard pistol are shot, but the courses of fire and rules are different.

Air Pistol: The top 8 will remain together and will receive a 5-minute sighters time after they have finished their preparation. All athletes will fire 2 separate series, which will be 5 shots in 4 minutes and 10 seconds. After these 2 series (10 shots), there will be an additional 2 shots fired individually in 50 seconds each. After a total of 12 shots, the athlete in 8th place will be eliminated. Another series of 2 individual shots will be shot, eliminating 7th place after, and this pattern continues until all medals are decided. If there are ties at any point on the position of an elimination, a 50sec shoot off shot will be conducted, the lower score gets eliminated or in the case of a tie another shot will be taken

Air Mixed Team: After the top 4 are determined, they will be split into 2 matches. The teams ranked 3rd and 4th compete against each other for a bronze medal, while the 1st and 2nd ranked teams will shoot against each other to determine the silver and gold. The bronze medal and gold medal matches will begin with a 5-minute sighters time, then the athletes then move to single shots fired in 50sec. Once all four athletes fire their single shots, the pairs scores are added together then compared with the other team. Whichever has the highest will gain two points, in the event of a tie both teams will receive one point. The first team to 16 point wins the final.

25m Pistol: The final utilized a hit or miss system, where a 9.7 or higher is considered a hit. For men the top 8 will be split into two groups. Group one being 1, 3, 5, and 7 and group two being 2, 4, 6, and 8. After a quick 4 second series to sight in, athletes will shoot 4 series of 5 shots in 4 seconds. After these 4 series (20 shots) 3rd and 4th are eliminated, and 1st and 2nd will move into a separate medal match. This is the same for both groups. Once the top 2 in each group is established, they will combine into a group of 4 for the medal match. They will then complete another 4 second sighters before again doing 4 series of 5 shots in 4 seconds each. After these 20 shots the 4th place is final. The remaining 3 will fire two more series before awarding the bronze medal. The top two will then shoot 2 more series for the silver and gold medals.

--If you are an international or NCAA pistol shooter and want to help me improve this information (research was done, sources are questionable) please email me at info.2020neolympian@gmail.com--

Alexis Lagan - 10m Air Pistol

Alison Weisz - 10m air rifle World Champion

SIUS Electronic Target System

Patrick Sunderman - 50m Smallbore Prone Position

Olympic Rifle

Last is the one this website is mostly focusing on. Rifle is the least mobile of the three. In Olympic rifle there are three subcategories: air, air mixed, and 50m smallbore. Non-Olympic categories can include 3man teams, 50m mixed teams, 3 position air, 50ft smallbore, and prone. Like pistol, rifle is shot at a single stationary target and size is dependent on distance.

Air rifle: A .177 caliber pellet shot with compressed air roughly between 160-190 meters per second. The course of fire comprises of 60 individual shots in a time limit of 75min, with 15min in the beginning acting as sight in time (unlimited shots in this 15min, do not count for score). The target is 4.55cm across, with the black (4 ring) being 3.5cm and the 10 itself only .05cm (the size of a period in size 12 font). It is positioned 10m away from the firing line and 1.4m above the ground. Internationally the scoring is decimal, with a 10.9 being the highest and a 0.0 the lowest, this means the highest possible score is a 654. Center shots, or Xs (10.2 or higher), are also commonly used to break ties if the same scores are shot.

NCAA has the exact same course of fire with the exception of scoring. Rather than decimal it is integer, so a 10 is a 10 no matter the decimal after it and the highest score possible is a 600-60x.

Air Mixed Team: All of the same principals, but a different course of fire. The mixed team also is, as the name suggests, shot with both a male and a female as partners. The partners are from the same country and will shoot next to each other for the duration of this event. The qualification round is 30 shots in 30min, and all teams participating shoot it. The scores are from each athlete in the team are added together and the top 4 move on to finals.

Currently this is not shot in NCAA, and Tokyo 2020 was its Olympic debut.

50-Meter Smallbore: Shot with a .22 caliber bullet through a single shot, bolt action firearm. This event is internationally shot outdoors, with wind flags provided so athletes can read the wind and better adapt their shooting to the environment. The course of fire contains 20 shots in three different positions (kneeling, prone, and standing in that order) and is commonly referred to as the 3x20. The total ring size is 15.4cm and the black (4 ring) is 10.6cm. The 10 ring is 1.4cm and the target is stationed at .75m above the ground. This event is shot in three positions; however, the target does not change heights. The scoring is integer, with the highest possible score being a 600. Center shots (Xs) are also used as a tie breaker in these events.

In NCAA a 3x20 is also fired with the same methods of scoring. The difference is that in NCAA smallbore is shot indoors and at 50 feet (about 15 meters) and the target height does vary.

Air Rifle: The top 8 will remain together and will receive a 5-minute sighters time after they have finished their preparation. All athletes will fire 2 separate series, which will be 5 shots in 4 minutes and 10 seconds. After these 2 series (10 shots), there will be an additional 2 shots fired individually in 50 seconds each. After a total of 12 shots, the athlete in 8th place will be eliminated. Another series of 2 individual shots will be shot, eliminating 7th place after, and this pattern continues until all medals are decided. If there are ties at any point on the position of an elimination, a 50sec shoot off shot will be conducted, the lower score gets eliminated or in the case of a tie another shot will be taken.

Air Mixed Team: After the top 4 are determined, they will be split into 2 matches. The teams ranked 3rd and 4th will shoot against each other in the bronze medal match while the 1st and 2nd ranked teams will shoot against each other to determine the silver and gold. The bronze and gold medal matches will begin with a 5-minute sighters time, then the athletes then move to single shots fired in 50sec. Once all four athletes fire their single shots, the pairs scores are added together then compared with the other team. Whichever has the highest will gain two points, in the event of a tie both teams will receive one point. The first team to 16 point wins the final.

50m Smallbore: The top 8 will remain together and will begin the final in the kneeling position. After shooting a 5min sighters they will shoot 3 series of 5 shots each in 3 minutes and 20 seconds per series. They will then get 7 minutes to changeover their equipment and sight into the prone position. Once time is up all athletes will fire 3 more series of 5 shots each now in 2 minutes and 30 seconds per series. Once they have 30 total shots down, they get 8 minutes to changeover into the standing position. The athletes will again fire 2 series of 5 shots in 4 minutes and 10 seconds per series. Now that there is a 40 shot total, the athletes in 8th and 7th will be eliminated. Then we move onto single shots fired in 50sec each, after the first shot 6th is eliminated and the pattern continues for 4 more shots to determine medals. If there are ties at any point on the position of an elimination, a 50sec shoot off shot will be conducted, the lower score gets eliminated or in the case of a tie another shot will be taken.

Sagen Maddalena - 50m Smallbore Kneeling Position

There is also Para for all of these! If you would like to help set up bios for those events please let us know at info.ambitionshootingsports@gmail.com