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Homesteader shooting hawks, 1940

Shooting is the act of firing a gun or other projectile weapon such as a bow or crossbow. The word shooting can refer to the practice of hunting, where it implies hunting of upland game birds such as grouse or pheasant. Shooting can also mean the sport of target shooting, which includes shotgun sports like skeet, trap and sporting clays, precision rifle and handgun shooting at stationary paper targets or reactive metal targets, or the growing sport of cowboy action shooting, where participants wear clothing from the late 1800s and fire period weapons at a variety of reactive targets. The topic of shooting also encompasses the practical shooting sports of IPSC and IDPA competition which strive, with varying degree of success, to simulate the conditions and requirements of defensive pistol combat and to train participants for real-world self defense with their handguns. In addition, there are other practical shooting sports, such as 3-Gun competition, where participants use handgun, rifle or shotgun to engage various paper or steel targets during the course of fire. Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Look up shooting, shoot in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 410 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (3501 × 5115 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 410 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (3501 × 5115 pixel, file size: 1. ... A gun is a common name given to an object that fires high-velocity projectiles. ... The bayonet is used as both knife and spear. ... “Hunter” redirects here. ... Upland game is an American term which refers to those game birds hunted with pointing breeds, flushing spaniels, and retrievers which are not water fowl. ... Genera Tetrao Lagopus Falcipennis Centrocercus Bonasa Dendrapagus Tympanuchus Grouse are from the order Galliformes which inhabit temperate and subarctic regions of the northern hemisphere. ... Genera Ithaginis Catreus Rheinartia Crossoptilon Lophura Argusianus Pucrasia Syrmaticus Chrysolophus Phasianus † See also partridge, quail Pheasants are a group of large birds in the order Galliformes. ... The shooting sports include those competitive sports involving tests of proficiency (accuracy and speed) using various types of guns such as firearms and airguns (see Archery for more information on shooting sports that make use of bows and arrows). ... A pump-action, a Remington 870, two semi-automatic action Remington 1100 shotguns, 20 boxes of shotgun shells, a clay trap, and three boxes of clay pigeons. ... The term skeet may refer to: A slang black people use A clay target. ... A trap is a device or tactic intended to harm, capture, detect, or inconvenience an intruder. ... Sporting Clays is a clay pigeon shooting sport. ... Cowboy Action Shooting (CAS), also known as Western Action Shooting or Single Action Shooting, is a competitive shooting sport that originated in California, USA, in the early 1980s. ... Practical shooting is a sport which challenges an individuals ability to shoot rapidly and accurately with a full power handgun, rifle, and/or shotgun. ... An IPSC shooter using a modified . ... The International Defensive Pistol Association promotes defensive pistol shooting as a sport, using equipment including full-charge service ammunition to solve simulated real world self-defense scenarios. ... A Browning 9 millimeter Hi-Power Ordnance pistol of the French Navy, 19th century, using a Percussion cap mechanism Derringers were small and easily hidden. ... A rifle is a firearm with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves (rifling) cut into the barrel walls. ... A pump-action, a Remington 870, two semi-automatic action Remington 1100 shotguns, 20 boxes of shotgun shells, a clay trap, and three boxes of clay pigeons. ...

All of the various forms of shooting can be fascinating and rewarding activities for people of all ages. But the utmost consideration, which takes precedence over everything else, is safety. Like many other activities such as cooking or skiing, there is an element of danger involved in shooting, and this danger demands a sober understanding and respect for firearms and the rules for safely handling them.

The four rules of firearm handling

1. Treat all firearms as if they are loaded.
2. Never point a firearm at anything you are not willing to kill or destroy.
3. Keep your finger off the trigger and outside of the trigger-guard until your sights are on the target and you are ready to fire.
4. Know your target, what the firearm and ammunition can do, what's between you and your target, and what is beyond.

It is more correct to refer to most gun "accidents" as negligent discharges. Adherence to these four rules precludes virtually all possibility of a negligent discharge.

In addition to the basic Four Rules, certain behaviors are customary. When handing a firearm to someone else, the giver should either already have the action of the firearm open, or open it to show the recipient that it is empty. On receiving the firearm, the recipient should open the action and check for him or herself that it is unloaded. Even though the firearm is determined to be empty, it is always treated as loaded, according to Rule One (Always Loaded). It is very rude and dangerous to point a firearm at any other person at any time. This falls under Rule Two (Never Point), as well as Rule One (Always Loaded). Pointing a firearm at another person should be considered a threat, and violations of Rule Two should be acted on by explaining the error to the committer, and correcting his or her behavior.

Civilian shooting technique

Precision marksmanship in shooting competition (unlike in combat) can be achieved by proper execution of the seven step checklist in shooting:

• Stance

When handling a pistol, close your eyes and raise the gun naturally without thinking, (however, do this with an unloaded weapon with its safety on, as not doing so is extremely dangerous and not recommended) then open your eyes to see where your natural arm position points to.

• Grip

There should be no gap between the top of the grip and the part of hand between the thumb and the index finger.

• Sight alignment

The front and back sights must be aligned both horizontally and vertically.

• Target alignment

Align the "aligned sights" to the target.

• Breathing

Accuracy will be at its best when the body is most relaxed. This moment is known as the "natural respiratory pause" and is the point at which two-thirds of the lung's capacity have been exhaled. During normal breathing, this usually lasts from about 2 to 3 seconds, but may be extended up to 8 seconds to allow time to aim and squeeze the trigger before lack of oxygen begins to adversely affect aim.

• Trigger squeeze

A quick motion of the finger will jerk the gun and change the aim. Instead, slowly squeeze the trigger and apply no less than 4 pounds 3 ounces to the trigger. You should NOT anticipate the exact moment of firing.

• Follow through

After the firing, align the sights with the target again.

Stovepipe

A stovepipe is a common firearm malfunction. An assortment of modern hand-held firearms using fixed ammunition, including military assault rifles, a sporting shotgun (fourth from bottom), a tactical shotgun (third from bottom), and a sporting rifle (top). ...

It occurs when the shooter fires a semi-automatic pistol with a limp wrist, causing the muzzle to rise excessively. As a result, the spent case is not totally ejected and the base (rim) gets caught by the slide slamming home. The end result is a shell case that sticks out of the chamber like a stove pipe, and must be manually removed, usually by racking the slide. However, this may also happen in a semi-automatic rifle if the feeding ramp is dirty or the cartridge has a malfunction, or when using poor quality firearms or ammunition. This can be remedied as stated above for a handgun. Springfield Armory M1911A1 . ... In firearms the slide is the upper half of a semi-automatic pistol. ... A stove is a heat-producing device. ...

See also

• The Marksmanship WikiBook (still needs considerable work)
• shootingwiki.org

References

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Category:Shooting