About
About
Aim of the game
Across a variety of firearm classes and positions, competitors must shoot at stationary or moving targets, scoring points for accuracy
Why should you watch this?
Shooting is a true test of accuracy and demands intellectual and psychological skill rather than physical strength, with competitions won and lost by a matter of millimetres
Venues
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Bullseye
Centre of the target, worth the maximum number of points
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Firing line
The line behind which competitors take up their positions
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Series
A sequence of shots, usually five or 10
Impress your friends
Rifles and pistols
Depending on the event, the athlete’s position is either standing, kneeling or ‘prone’ (lying on their front) and either 10m, 25m or 50m from the target.
Each event has qualification rounds, in which the number of shots ranges from 40 to 120, and a final phase, in which each athlete shoots between 20 and 45 times, except for the 25m pistol, which sometimes requires more shots in the final.
Scoring
The target is divided into 10 rings, with the centre being worth the most points and the other rings decreasing in value the further they are from the middle. In the qualifying phase, there are two scoring systems, which are used in different events:
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Shooters score between one and 10 points for each shot, depending on which ring is hit
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Each ring is divided into 10 zones, which are worth from 1.0 to 10.9 points
In the finals, only the second system is used.
The 25m rapid fire pistol and 25m pistol events have a different scoring system, in which there is a determined hit zone and only hits and misses are counted
Shotgun
In the trap, double trap and skeet events, shooters must hit ‘clays’ (flying discs) that are flung into the air from machines on the ground. The winner is the athlete who shoots the most clays in the final.
The clays are launched by electro-mechanical devices and can reach speeds of up to 88.5 km/h. Made of environmentally friendly material, the discs are 11cm in diameter and 2.5-2.6cm thick, weighing 100-110g.
A ‘hit’ is confirmed when any piece of a clay is seen to fall from it.
Shooting positions
In the trap and double trap events, athletes shoot from five central positions in the range at clays launched from the pit. In the trap events, women shoot at 75 clays and men shoot at 125 in the qualification rounds, with both genders shooting at 15 clays in the finals. In the double trap events, there are 150 clays in qualification and 15 doubles in the finals.
In the skeet events, competitors shoot from eight numbered positions in the range at clays launched from the high and low houses. In the qualification rounds, women shoot at 75 clays and men shoot at 125, with both genders shooting at 16 clays in the finals.
Equipment
Athletes can wear ear protection to minimise the noise of the shot, and tinted glasses to protect their eyes.
Stats
Top Medalists
| Men | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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USA
Carl Osburn
|
5 | 4 | 2 | 11 | |
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SWE
Alfred Swahn
|
3 | 3 | 3 | 9 | |
|
NOR
Otto Olsen
|
4 | 3 | 1 | 8 | |
| Women | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
USA
Kimberly Rhode
|
3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |
|
RUS
Marina Dobrancheva-Logvinenko
|
2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | |
|
BUL
Maria Grozdeva
|
2 | 0 | 3 | 5 | |
