Shooting sports
French sports shooter Éric Delaunay at the 2024 Summer Olympics | |
| Highest governing body | Several organizations, see list |
|---|---|
| Nicknames | Shooting |
| First played | Switzerland in the second half of the 15th century |
| Characteristics | |
| Contact | No |
| Team members | Yes or no, depending on competition |
| Mixed-sex | Yes or no, depending on discipline |
| Type | Indoor or outdoor |
| Venue | Shooting range |
| Presence | |
| Olympic | 1896-1900, 1908–1924, since 1932 |
| Paralympic | since 1976 |
Shooting sports is a group of competitive and recreational sporting activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in shooting — the art of using ranged weapons, mainly small arms (firearms and airguns, in forms such as handguns, rifles and shotguns) and bows/crossbows.
Shooting sports can be categorized by equipment, shooting distances, targets, time limits 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 projectiles, shooting sports are typically conducted at either designated permanent shooting ranges or temporary shooting fields in the area away from settlements.