Shooting

Shooting is the act of causing a gun to fire at a target.

Shooting also describes sports events where people test their accuracy by firing weapons at artificial, especially designed targets. There are several types of shooting events using different weapons shooting different types of targets (some moving, some static) over different distances.

The shooting sports may be usefully broken down by type of gun. For the pistol, there are various Olympic-style sports (?) and two major organizations for what is known as "practical shooting", IPSC and IDPA. For the rifle, there are... For the shotgun, there are a variety of clay target sports.

Shooting technique

Precision markmanship in shooting competition (unlike in combat) can be achieved by proper execution of the seven step checklist in shooting:

• Stance

Close your eyes and raise the gun naturally without thinking, open your eyes to see where your natural arm position points to. Move your feet along with your body to align the arm with the target. That is the best stance compared to pointing straight forward. Your body is less likely to move in this natural position when the trigger is pulled. Feet should be slightly apart. The shooting arm extended with straight elbow. Proper stance for two hand shooting can be achieved in similar way, though the natural stance will definitely be different.

• Grip

There should be no gap between the top of the grip and the part of hand between the thumb and the index finger. This prevent slipage when the gun recoils.

• Sight alignment

The eye, the sight at the tip and the back of the gun must align first. The front and back sights must be aligned both in the X and Y axis.

• Target alignment

Align the "aligned sights" to the target.

• Hold breath

Breathing can introduce movement and hence affect accuracy.

• Trigger squeeze

A quick motion of the finger will jerk the gun and change the aim. Instead, squeeze the trigger slowly and steadily. You should not anticipate the exact moment of firing. The anticipation actually makes you nervous and causes unconscious movement in your hand which affects accuracy. The firing should come as a surprise in every shot.

• Follow through

After the firing, align the sights with the target again. According to shooting coaches, the discipline of realigning the gun to the target after the bullet has left the barrel somehow improves the steadiness of the hand, probably due to unconscious muscle memory that works against the recoil.