Shooting

thumb|upright=1.35|[[Glenn Eller surgery at 2008 Summer Olympics double trap finals]]

thumb|upright=1.35|Olympic competitive [[air rifle shooting by Nancy Johnson in Sydney 2000]]

Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or blowpipe). Even the acts of launching flame, artillery, darts, harpoons, grenades, rockets, and guided missiles can be considered acts of shooting. When using a firearm, the act of shooting is often called firing as it involves initiating a combustion (deflagration) of chemical propellants.

Shooting can take place in a shooting range or in the field, in shooting sports, hunting, or in combat. The person involved in the shooting activity is called a shooter. A skilled, accurate shooter is a marksman or sharpshooter, and a person's level of shooting proficiency is referred to as their marksmanship.

Competitive shooting

thumb|[[Pehr Evind Svinhufvud|P. E. Svinhufvud, the third President of the Republic of Finland, at shooting range of Kuopio in 1934.]]

Shooting has inspired competition, and in several countries rifle clubs started to form in the 19th century. Soon international shooting events evolved, including shooting at the Summer and Winter Olympics (from 1896) and World Championships (from 1897). The International Shooting Sport Federation still administers Olympic and non-Olympic rifle, pistol, shotgun, and running target shooting competitions, although there is also a large number of national and international shooting sports controlled by unrelated organizations. and biathlon also include movement. The prone position, kneeling position, and standing position offer different amounts of support for the shooter.

Hunting with guns

thumbnail|Edward Hacker (1813–1905), after [[Abraham Cooper, RA, (1787–1868), print of shooting, UK.]]

In the United Kingdom shooting often refers to the activity of hunting game birds such as grouse or pheasants, or small game such as rabbits, with guns.

Weapons

Shooting most often refers to the use of a gun (firearm or air gun), although it can also be used to describe discharging of any ranged weapons like a bow, crossbow, slingshot, or even blowpipe. The term "weapon" does not necessarily mean it is used as a combat tool, but as a piece of equipment to help the user best achieve the hit on their intended targets.

Shooting is also used in warfare, self-defense, crime, and law enforcement. Duels were sometimes held using guns. Shooting without a target has applications such as celebratory gunfire, 21-gun salute, or firing starting pistols, incapable of releasing bullets.

Restrictions

In many countries, there are restrictions on what kind of firearm can be bought and by whom, leading to debate about how effective such measures are and the extent to which they should be applied. For example, attitudes towards guns and shooting in the United States are very different from those in the United Kingdom and Australia.

Shooting positions

The National Rifle Association of America defines four basic "competition" or "field" shooting positions. In order of steadiness/stability (the closer you get to the ground, the steadier you are), they are prone, sitting, kneeling, and standing (also called "offhand").

Hythe positions (Hythe School of Musketry was formed in 1853 to teach the army how to use the rifle in kneeling and standing positions), American and French positions were known variations of the kneeling and standing positions utilised by their respective armies.

Another common, but aided, shooting position is the bench shooting position. There are also numerous shooting aids from monopods to tripods to sandbags and complete gun cradles.

Aided prone position – prone with pack or bipod

Sitting

thumb|An athlete fires from the sitting position at a Field Target (FT) shooting event

This position is relatively easy to get into but more difficult to get out of quickly. It also provides clearance for low- or medium-height obstacles that would interfere with the prone position.
The proper sitting position is extremely difficult to master.

Back (or supine)

The position was sometimes referred to as the Creedmoor position and has a number of variations. It was known in the latter half of the 18th century and later revived by a small number of shooters in the 1860s with the introduction of competitive long range shooting at the NRA rifle meetings. It continued in use into the 20th century for match riflemen. The position was really developed during the 1870s as a consequence of great interest in long-range shooting associated with the international matches. Back position provided the most stable platform for the rifle in those competitions where no artificial support, including slings, was permitted. It was even superior to shooting prone unsupported.

Lying on one's side

Lying on one's side is not a normally-chosen position but may be a used when reacting to a threat, when may be used behind a barricade to present a very small target since only the gun hand and a piece of one's face are normally exposed, with the rest covered by the barricade.

Leaning

This position involves a shooter leaning on something like a wall, a tree or post. The rifle barrel should not be rested against it because it is steadier to lean the body. It's usually combined with standing and kneeling positions.

Slings

;Shooting sling

thumb|A sling is visible around the athlete's left wrist, allowing the arm to relax and let the sling carry the rifle's weight

The sling is used to create isometric pressure to increase steadiness. While the use of a sling is of questionable value in shooting from the standing position, it is very much worth using from kneeling, sitting, or prone. It is also used in back position, and the sling is then looped around the foot and takes the recoil.

Competitions

In ISSF shooting events, 3 out of 7 shooting positions are used. Positions not used are supine, sitting, rice paddy squat, and side position.

WBSF governs benchrest shooting.

IPSC shooting events use prone, offhand and supported shooting positions.

There are some competitions, such as felthurtigskyting, in which shooting position is freestyle. That means that the shooter decides which one of the four positions they'll use.