Competitive Shooting Sports: An Introduction In this month’s discussion I will introduce you to the world of shooting sports. Firearm shooting competitions have been around as long as firearms have been in existence. In the United States, in the late 1700’s “Turkey Shoots” were organized to test the abilities of the local population. The prize,…
How Does Trap and Skeet Shooting Differ? Trap and skeet shooting are two clay shooting sports in which participants shoot moving clay targets in various conditions. These sports originated as practice rounds for gunsmiths to shoot without harming live birds. But due to the rise of animal rights, these practices have grown into their very…
A Brief History of Shooting Competitions and Firearms Competitive marksmanship predates not only firearms but bows and arrows: games like bocce, skittles, and cornhole emphasize accuracy, while discus, javelin, and hammer throwing emphasize range. By Medieval times, archery and crossbow competitions were famous enough to give rise to lore of Robin Hood and Wilhelm Tell. Unsurprisingly, those…
A History of Hunting with Firearms While the history buffs are cracking their knuckles excitedly and getting ready to refute my every word, everyone else is remembering the puddles of drool they left on their desks while their history teachers droned on in class. But before you prepare yourself to feel a drowsiness that rivals…