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 and bows/crossbows.
The National Rifle Association (NRA) is the governing body for full bore rifle and pistol shooting sports in the United Kingdom. The Association was founded in 1859 with the founding aim of raising funds for an annual national rifle meeting to improve standards of marksmanship. Today the NRA continues this objective as well as organising civilian target shooting and selecting British teams to contest the ICFRA World Championships. The National Shooting Centre at Bisley is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the association.
Fullbore Target Rifle (TR) is a precision rifle shooting sport discipline governed by the International Confederation of Fullbore Rifle Associations (ICFRA). The sport evolved as a distinct British and Commonwealth of Nations discipline from Service rifle (SR) shooting in the late 1960s. Its development was heavily influenced by the British National Rifle Association (NRA). Due to this history, it is usually contested amongst the shooting events at the Commonwealth Games, although not at the Olympics. World Championships are held on a four-year cycle. The annual NRA Imperial Meeting at Bisley in the UK is globally recognised as a historic annual meeting for the discipline.
The National Small-bore Rifle Association (NSRA), is the national governing body for all small-bore rifle and pistol target shooting in the United Kingdom, including airgun and match crossbow shooting.
The ANZAC Rifle Range is a rifle range located on the Malabar Headland, Malabar, in the City of Randwick local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It is headquarters to the New South Wales Rifle Association, and hosts the annual NSW Queen's Prize shooting competitions. The range is located on land owned by the Commonwealth of Australia.
The Elcho Shield is an annual long range shooting competition between national teams of eight from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. The trophy holder was originally able to choose the venue of the competition, however, since the NRA's move to Surrey from Wimbledon in 1890, the competition has been held at National Shooting Centre, Bisley in Surrey, England. It is usually contested during the NRA Imperial Meeting.
Maurice George Gordon was a New Zealand competitive rifle shooter who won a gold medal representing his country at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games in Christchurch.
The Leech Cup is an cup named after Major Arthur Blennerhassett Leech, and awarded to long range shooters by the National Rifle Association of America (NRA). It is the oldest trophy awarded in competitive target shooting in the United States. Firing is with rifles equipped with metallic, non-magnifying sights.
Sgt. Sherri Jo Gallagher is an American soldier who holds 22 United States national rifle records. In 2010, she was named the U.S. Army Soldier of the Year.
The National Shooting Centre is the UK's largest shooting sports complex, comprising several shooting ranges as well as the large "Bisley Camp" complex of accommodation, clubhouses and support services. The centre is located near the village of Bisley in Surrey from which it takes its colloquial name "Bisley ranges". The site is wholly owned by the National Rifle Association (NRA). The NSC is the trading name of the facility.
Creedmoor Rifle Range was sited on Long Island in what is now Queens Village, Queens, New York.
The International Confederation of Fullbore Rifle Associations (ICFRA) is the international association for the fullbore rifle shooting sports of Target Rifle ('TR') (in the US 'Palma' Rifle) and F-Class, which are long range competitions shot at distances between 300 and 900 meters or 300 to 1,000 yards depending on the range. F-Class shooters often shoot concurrently with the world's long-range TR shooters and use the same targets, except that the F-Class target has an extra ring half the diameter of the smallest in use for TR. ICFRA manages the programme of World Championships and other major matches for Fullbore Rifle and seeks to standardize the competition rules for TR and F-Class around the world. In competitions, wind reading skills are important. In order to hit their targets competitors must sense wind direction and speed and adjust their sights accordingly by applying knowledge and experience about wind's effect on the Trajectory of the bullet. World Long-Range Rifle Team and Individual Championships for both TR and F-Class are hosted every four years alternately two years apart. The winner of the World Long Range TR Team Championship is awarded the Palma trophy.
David T. Cloft is a competitive smallbore and long range rifle shooter from the United States, who has won seven National Championships and has set 11 US National Records. In 1999, he became the first American to be Knighted by the Princess of Buedingen, Germany, after winning their annual Schutzenfest. He formerly served as a United States Army officer and retired at the rank of lieutenant colonel.
The National Rifle Association of New Zealand (NRA) is the national governing body for Fullbore rifle shooting in New Zealand.
The Ashburton Shield is an historic trophy for target rifle shooting in the British Isles. It is awarded annually to the winning team of VIII at the Schools' Meeting, held at Bisley by the National Rifle Association. The competition is open to teams of cadets from, predominantly, Combined Cadet Force units based in public and private schools.
The Sovereign's Prize is a British fullbore target rifle shooting competition. It is the climax of the National Rifle Association's annual Imperial Meeting and is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious prizes in the sport globally. The prize is typically referred to as the Queen's Prize or the King's Prize depending on the incumbent British monarch, although in colloquial use "the Queen's" has predominated due to the long reigns of Queen Victoria and Elizabeth II.
The sport of rifle shooting at Cambridge University has been practised since at least the early 19th century. Beginning as part of the military training of the Cambridge University Rifle Volunteers, it has since been conducted by a number of student clubs, and is currently carried out predominantly by the Cambridge University Rifle Association and Cambridge University Small Bore Club, with some participation by the Cambridge University Revolver and Pistol Club for the discipline of gallery rifle.
The Imperial Meeting is a major annual target shooting competition hosted by the National Rifle Association on the historic Bisley Camp in England.
Major Henry Fulton (USA)