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Homesteader shooting hawks, 1940

Shooting is the act or process of firing guns or other projectile weapons such as bows or crossbows.

The word shooting can refer to game hunting which implies the hunting of upland game birds such as grouse or pheasant, rabbits, deer or other game animals.

Shooting can also refer to the sport of target shooting. This includes shotgun (skeet or trap), all of which use sporting clays.

Further, shooting refers to the sport of rifle and handgun precision marksmanship. Here, stationary paper targets or reactive metal targets are used.

There is also a growing sport of Cowboy action shooting. Here, competitors wear attire from the late 1800s and fire period weapons (single-action revolvers, lever-action rifles, and either double-barrel or pump-action shotguns) at a variety of metal and reactive targets.

The topic of shooting also encompasses the practical shooting sports of IPSC and IDPA competition. These strive, with varying degrees of success, to simulate the conditions and requirements of defensive pistol combat. Their goal is to train participants for real-world self defense using one's personal handgun of choice.

And, there is yet another practical shooting sport - 3-Gun competition - in which contestants use handgun, rifle, and shotgun to engage various paper or steel targets during the course of fire.

All of these various forms of shooting can be fascinating and rewarding activities for people of all appropriate ages. The utmost consideration, and one which takes precedence over everything else, is safety. Like many activities such as mountain climbing, skiing, sky-diving, or shooting, there is an element of danger involved. And especially here, this danger demands a sober understanding and respect for firearms and the specific rules for the safe handling of them.

Basic safety tips:

1. Treat all firearms as if they are loaded.
2. Never point a firearm at anything or anyone that they are not willing to destroy or kill.
3. Keep their finger off the trigger, and outside of the trigger-guard, until their sights are on the intended target and they are ready to fire.
4. Know their target, what the projectile (ammunition) can do, what's between the shooter and target, and what is beyond the target.

It is a reasonable supposition to refer to most gun "accidents" as negligent discharges.^{[citation needed]} Therefore, the shooter's diligent adherence to these four rules precludes nearly all possibilities of a negligent discharge.

In addition to these rules, certain behaviors are customary and expected in shooting:^{[citation needed]}
- When handing a firearm to another person, the giver should either already have the action of the firearm open, or open it to show the recipient that it is, in fact, empty.
- On receiving the firearm, the recipient should check for himself/herself that it is, in fact, unloaded. Even though the firearm is determined to be empty, remember, it must always be treated as loaded, according to Rule 1.
- It is not only dangerous, it is very rude for one to point a firearm at any person at any time. This falls under Rule 1 (Always Loaded), as well as Rule 2 (Never Point). Pointing a firearm at another person is considered a threat, and any violation of this should be acted upon by a stern admonishment of the guilty person.

• The Marksmanship WikiBook (still needs considerable work)
• Bullseye (shooting competition)
• Shooting sports

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Category:Shooting