Rifle shooting

The shooting I compete in is called Small-Bore-Rifle shooting.

Small-bore-rifle shooting is an Olympic discipline. Shooting is judged and scored based on results only. Competitors have strict guidelines and rules that they and their equipment must conform to and abide by. Finals consist of the top 8 placed shooters.

Small-bore-rifle shooting has three events

10 metre air rifle

50 metre prone

50 metre three position

Air rifle is shot in the standing position at a distance to the target of 10 metres. It consists of 60 competition shots in a time period of 1 hr and forty- five minutes. The match is scored out of a possible 600 points with each shot having a maximum value of 10 points.

Air rifle matches are indoors. The bull’s eye, or target centre, is approximately half a millimetre in diameter.

Prone - is a position, where the competitor lies on the ground and uses their elbows as support. One arm supports the fore end of the rifle and carries the weight with the aid of a sling. The second hand controls finer movement and trigger control.

The prone position consists of 60 competition shots at a distance of 50 metres. Like air rifle, the score is out of a possible 600 points but the time limit is reduced to 1hr and 15 minutes. Prone, unlike air rifle, is exposed to outside elements for the duration of the match. The conditions during every match will vary. Shooters may have changing conditions such as wind, rain, light, fog and mirage. In order to have the top shooters compete at the same time in an event, eliminations are held. This allows the top shooters to compete under the same conditions and at the same time. The number of shooters eliminated depends on the range size, how many people can shoot at one time and how many people have entered the event.

Three Position - is a combination of prone, standing and kneeling in that order and competition for this event is also outdoors. The match consists of 40 shots in each position. All 40 shots are completed for one position before changing to the next position. The maximum time allowed for the prone section of the match is 45 minutes, standing is 1hr and 15 minutes and kneeling is 1hr. With the rifle weight being close to 8kgs, stamina is important for this event.

Finals - function differently to the rest of the matches. The finals consist of 10 shots. Each shot is now worth a maximum value of 10.9 points. Unlike a match, the competitors cannot just shoot at the target, as before. They now have to follow the finals format and the commands of a range officer. The competitors are given the command to load and start, for each of the ten shots. Finals format for air rifle allows 70 seconds for the shot to be completed after the command - start. Prone allows 45 seconds. Three position finals are always shot in the standing position and over a 70 second time limit. After every individual shot in a final, each of the top 8 shooters score is broadcasted and also placed on a scoreboard with a running tally. If any shooters have a tied score at the completion of the ten shots, then they will remain on the firing point and shoot, shot for shot until the tie is broken in a sudden death format. When the final is completed, the first, second and third placed competitor is announced and the match is over.