Christopher Wolf, age 15, of Casper, Wyo., for his question:
WHEN DID TARGET SHOOTING ORIGINATE?
Target shooting is a popular indoor and outdoor sport. Pistols or rifles are used to hit stationary targets. In trapshooting, unlike target shooting, the targets move. The sport of target shooting originated in the 16th century.
Target shooting as a sport actually dates back to the time when the pistol and rifle were invented. But for a number of centuries the sport , wasn't too well organized because firearms weren't too accurate.
Frontiersmen of Colonial America took part in weekend target shooting competitions and also organized the turkey shoot.
During the days of the American Revolution, sharpshooters played a strategic role as snipers. Then, later, after the Civil War, an interest in rifle shooting grew. Before this time target shooting was a sport enjoyed primarily in rural areas, but then it also became a pastime for many city dwellers.
Accuracy and reliability of rifles and pistols came with advances in the manufacturers of guns by 1870. With these improvements came organized regional and national target shooting competitions.
In pistol shooting competitions, a person must fire a handgun at targets 20 to 50 yards away. The guns used are .22 caliber, .38 caliber and .45 caliber. Both revolvers and automatic pistols are used. Each person firing uses 30 rounds ordinarily: 10 rapid fire shots at 25 yards, then 10 slow fire shots at 50 yards and finally 10 timed fire shots at 25 yards.
Small bore and high power events are the two classifications for rifle target shooting matches. High power rifles are .3G caliber guns that are fired at distances ranging from 200 to 1,000 yards and small bore rifles are .22 caliber that are fired at targets posted at distances that range from 50 to 200 yards.
Both the high power rifles and the small bore rifles usually weigh a great deal more than standard hunting'guns. Because of this, target guns have a high degree of stability and a great deal of accuracy.
The small bore and high power target shooting contests are broken down into events for firearms with optical sights and for those with only metallic sights.
The chief element of an optical sight is a tiny telescope that is mounted on the barrel of the gun. It provides an enlarged view of the target.
Metallic sights are very simple. They are actually guides fastened to the barrel that are marked to assist in aiming the rifle. There is no magnification and therefore this type of sight provides a tougher test of shooting skill than does the optical sight.
In a rifle competition, a person must fire from a prone, sitting, kneeling and standing position, in that order. The one with the highest overall score wins.