Shooting at home
A licensed range, range-supplied equipment and a range officer; at home, the safety rules, scoring, breathing and stillness, with no weapon.
What should we practise today?
Tell us where you are and who is playing. You get one card and the reason.
New to shooting? The game in a minute
Read this once before the first card.- The sport in short
-
Target shooting is hitting the centre of a target from a fixed distance, as calmly and as often as possible. It is a sport of stillness, breathing and concentration, not strength. Children usually start with an air rifle at 10 metres at a club, from an age set by the law of their country.
- The kinds of shooting
-
Rifle and pistol events fire at paper or electronic targets (10 m for air guns, 25 m and 50 m for others). Shotgun events (trap and skeet) fire at clay discs thrown into the air.
- How scoring works
-
The target has rings from 1 on the outside to 10 in the middle. A shot that touches a line scores the higher ring. A match is a set number of shots, often 60, added together; the best shooters then shoot a final.
- Rules children break first
-
- Never point anything at a person, not even a toy or a finger.
- Only shoot at a range, with a range officer, using the range's equipment.
- Do what the range officer says, at once.
- Eye and ear protection on the range; wash hands after touching ammunition.
- At home you learn, with no weapon
-
The range rules and commands, scoring a target, belly breathing and standing still, and the sight picture on paper. All shooting is learnt at a range.
Words you will hear (20, in plain language)
- Range
- The place built for shooting, with safe walls and a controlled area.
- Range officer
- The person in charge of safety on the range; their word is final.
- Range commands
- The set words the range officer uses to start and stop shooting.
- Firing line
- The line shooters stand or lie at, and the line where the targets are.
- Down range
- Toward the targets, the only safe direction to point.
- Muzzle
- The open front end of the barrel.
- Air rifle
- Guns that fire small pellets with air, used for 10 m shooting.
- Target face
- The printed target, and its rings numbered 1 to 10.
- Group
- Where a set of shots landed, and the middle of that set.
- Sight
- The parts on top of the gun used to aim (a ring or a post), and how they line up with the target.
- Follow-through
- Staying still and looking at the target for a moment after the shot.
- Trigger
- The part the finger pulls, and the point where it starts to resist just before the shot.
- Natural point of aim
- Where the gun points when the body is relaxed in position.
- Prone
- Lying on the front, standing up, or kneeling on one knee to shoot.
- Calling the shot
- Saying where the shot went before you look.
- Shot log
- A written record of shots and scores.
- Belly breathing
- Breathing so the belly rises and falls while the chest stays still.
- Match
- A set number of shots added up; the final is the extra round for the top shooters.
- Licence
- The legal permission a country may require to shoot or own a gun.
- Anti-doping
- Rules against banned drugs; beta-blockers slow the heart and are banned in shooting.
Try it, nothing to buy
Mark the space once. Every card starts from it.- Base setup Mark your space Indoor room for b1 and b2; a licensed range only for b3 onward. What fits, kit and safety
- b1 · Basic Range rules and commands Game: Range officer says 8 min · 1 and a grown-up · one room
- b2 · Basic Reading the target and scoring Game: Score race 6 min · 1 to 2 players · one room
- b3 · Basic Belly breathing and a still body, no weapon Game: Statue 10 min · 1 to 2 players · one room
The cards, level by level
Nobody is late. A beginner of any age starts at Basic.Ticks and stars are saved in this browser only. Clearing the browser's data, or another browser, starts from zero. Carry them into the app
Basic 5 cards · show· hide Safety first: the range rules and commands, how a target is scored, and calm. At the range, beginners get basic instruction and practice under a coach: the rifle positions or the pistol stance, and how to fire.
- b1✓ Range rules and commands At home
- b2✓ Reading the target and scoring At home
- b3✓ Belly breathing and a still body, no weapon At home
- b4✓ Sight picture and follow-through, no weapon At home
- b5✓ First supervised sessions, at a range At a club
Move on when the range officer or coach clears the child for the first supervised session.
Intermediate 2 cards · show· hide Scores rise through many correct repetitions of the basic skills: the positions (prone, standing, kneeling), natural point of aim, the breathing cycle, follow-through and calling the shot. How much correct practice a shooter gets, and how often the range is open, matter more than body build.
Move on when the coach confirms the shooter holds a routine across a full match.
Advanced 1 cards · show· hide Competition preparation, a lot of technical training, equipment fitted to the shooter, trigger adjustment and tactics for finals. Beta-blockers (drugs that slow the heart) are banned.
Teaching this at home
Contact, falls, weapons or heights. At home only games and knowledge; the skill is taught at a club.
You do not need to know the sport. Each card tells you where to stand, what to say and what to look at. Pick one thing to say in a session and say only that. The first week looks messy; that is normal. End every session on one that works.
Cards marked At a club are taught by a coach. They tell you what the coach teaches, what is safe at home, and what to ask the club before your child joins.
How to warm up before playing is at workonfitness.com. The rules of the game are at sportsmaze.com.