So you want to get into target shooting, but aren’t sure which discipline is right for you? Shooting of all kinds requires a huge amount of skill, concentration and nerve. Not to mention strength, stamina and fine-motor skills.

There’s a variety of shooting sports involving various guns, target types and distances waiting for you to pull the trigger and try. Here, we take a look at some of the traditional target sports to the up and coming disciplines taking America by storm.

Air rifle & pistol

Air rifle and pistol shooting is an ISSF event shot typically at a distance of 10m in an unsupported standing position. It uses air pellets and is a great discipline for those starting out in shooting, particularly youngsters.

Small-bore rifle and pistol shooting

Target rifle and pistol shooting sports have been one of the staple disciplines since the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. Competitions are hosted in shooting ranges where competitors aim at targets at distances of 10, 25 and 50m.

There are numerous events to try which include prone, 3 position rifle, rapid fire pistol and more.

PRS / long range

Long range shooting is rising in popularity in the States. A typical PRS stage requires a competitor to engage multiple targets from 300 to 1200 yards, usually within 90 seconds or less. The sniper-style sport requires a huge level of skill and precision. However, getting into the sport is not cheap.

Practical shooting

Also known as action shooting, practical disciplines are one of the fastest growing shooting sports. It involves competitors combining precision, speed and accuracy to score as many points as possible in the shortest amount of time.

A typical Speed Steel competition consists of eight standardised stages with steel targets in three sizes; small circular, large circular and square.

Silhouette

Despite it being a fairly old form of target shooting, it’s a must for any competitive shooter. Metallic silhouette shooting involves shooting at steel targets which represent game animals at varying distances. This is with the aim of seeking to knock the metal target over.

Silhouette truly brings precision shooting to a simpler and some say a more pure form. You won’t find any heavy 3p coats or anatomically adjustable rifles. What you will find are competitors all over the world simply standing on the firing line and shooting.

Silhouette applies certain parameters to the rifles which keeps the competition between the shooters and not so much their equipment. 

Benchrest

Benchrest shooting involves high precision rifles shooting at paper targets. The rifles ride on a front and rear rest sitting on a table or bench. World Benchrest Shooting Federation (WBSF) is the main international governing body for benchrest shooting, and encompass both fullbore and smallbore competitions.

The American Rimfire Association has devised a new factory class for beginners to show up and shoot. Competitors select a .22LR rifle under $1,000, add an optic, add a bipod or front rest and compete. It follows the same rules as the traditional ARA benchrest matches allowing each competitor 20 minutes to shoot a 25 bull target aiming to achieve a maximum score of 2500.

So what are you waiting for? Get started today, and check out our range of target shooting sport equipment.