Editing Shooting sports (section)

== History ==
===Great Britain===
The [[National Rifle Association (United Kingdom)|National Rifle Association]] (NRA) was founded in 1859 to raise the funds for an annual national rifle meeting "for the encouragement of Volunteer Rifle Corps and the promotion of Rifle-shooting throughout Great Britain".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.researchpress.co.uk/wimbledon/wimbledon.htm |title=Wimbledon & the Volunteers |year=2005 |last=Minshall |first=David |website=ResearchPress.co.uk |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120423040445/http://www.researchpress.co.uk/wimbledon/wimbledon.htm |archive-date=April 23, 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

===United States===
Target shooting was a favorite sport in [[colonial America]], with the New England Puritans regularly testing their shooting skills for recreation and at militia training days. The Scotch Irish settlers on the frontier favored shooting matches sponsored by Tavern keepers. [[Turkey shoot#Sport usage|Turkey shoot]]s were popular after harvest time. Contestants would pay an entry fee, and everyone who killed a tethered turkey at 110 yards for muskets or 165 yards for rifles could keep the bird. German gunsmiths in Pennsylvania began to manufacture Flintlock rifles in the 1720s, which became especially popular among hunters because of its long-range accuracy. It could be accurate to 200 yards. Along about 1820, percussion caps, and the locks that ignited them, became available, and nearly all new firearms began to be constructed using this ignition system. Many flintlock firearms were also subsequently converted to the percussion system, which was a relatively simple procedure that could be accomplished by local gunsmiths. Although percussion ignition did not add to the accuracy of the firearm, the time between when the firearm firing mechanism (or "lock") started the sequence that lead to the ignition of the propellant in the barrel, was shortened drastically. This made getting smaller shot groups on the target more attainable as the possibility of the firearm moving off the aiming point after the shooter pressed the trigger was lessened. This shortened ignition time, which is referred to as "lock time" was (and still is) a very important factor in target shooting.   The closed design of the percussion system materially improved reliability of the firearm, especially in rainy or damp conditions.{{Relevance inline|reason=Discussion (without citations) of flintlock development in the US and improved reliability/accuracy of firearms doesn't seem directly relevant to broader topic development of target shooting. Section needs a rewrite to focus on the competitive aspects separate to the equipment/firearm aspects|date=March 2023}} The faster "lock time" also made hitting fast-moving aerial targets with a cloud of tiny lead pellets ("shot") fired from a smooth-bore firearm a real possibility. Practicing for game hunting by shooting at artificial aerial targets launched from spring-powered launching devices ("traps") became highly popular and led to the development of the modern Trap, Skeet, and Sporting Clays shooting sports.

In 1831 a sportsman club in Cincinnati Ohio held a competitive shoot at pigeons and quail released from ground traps. German ethnic communities set up athletic clubs and shooting clubs, especially in the Midwestern states In the 1850–1917. period<ref>Richard L. Hummel, and Gary S. Foster, "Germanic/American shooting societies: continuity and change of schuetzenvereins." ''International Journal of the History of Sport'' 15.2 (1998): 186-193.</ref> Breach loading shotguns introduced in the 1860s, and the knowledge of rifles by Civil War soldiers, made trap shooting popular. However, there was human humanitarian opposition to killing live birds—and the passenger pigeon was dying out—so glass or clay targets were used instead.<ref>"Pottery Pigeons" ''Timeline'' (March/April 1994) 11#2 pp. 22-27 identifies  George Ligowsky of Cincinnati as an inventor of clay pigeons.</ref><ref>Steven A. Riess, ed.  ''Sports in America from Colonial Times to the Twenty-First Century: An Encyclopedia'' (Sharpe, 2011), 3:828.</ref>

Concerned over poor marksmanship during the American Civil War, veteran Union officers Col. William C. Church and Gen. George Wingate formed the [[National Rifle Association of America]] in 1871 for the purpose of promoting and encouraging rifle shooting on a "scientific" basis.<ref>Russell Gilmore, "'The New Courage': Rifles And Soldier Individualism, 1876-1918." ''Journal of Military History'' 40.3 (1976): 97+</ref> In 1872, with financial help from New York state, a site on Long Island, the Creed Farm, was purchased for the purpose of building a rifle range. Named [[Creedmoor Rifle Range|Creedmoor]], the range opened in 1872, and became the site of the first National Matches until New York politics forced the NRAoA to move the matches to [[Sea Girt, New Jersey]]. The popularity of the National Matches soon forced the event to be moved to its present, much larger location: [[Camp Perry]]. In 1903, the U.S. Congress created the [[National Board for the Promotion of Rifle Practice]] (NBPRP), an advisory board to the Secretary of the Army, with a nearly identical charter to the NRAoA. The NBPRP (now known as the [[Civilian Marksmanship Program]]) also participates in the National Matches at Camp Perry.<ref name="olympic.org">{{cite web|url=https://www.olympic.org/shooting-equipment-and-history|title=Shooting Equipment and history - Olympic Sport History|website=www.olympic.org|access-date=August 12, 2016|date=May 15, 2018|archive-date=August 18, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160818081014/https://www.olympic.org/shooting-equipment-and-history|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Marlin, Marlin, Jeffrey A. "The National Guard, the National Board for the Promotion of Rifle Practice, and the National Rifle Association: Public Institutions and the Rise of a Lobby for Private Gun Ownership." (Dissertation, Georgia State University, 2013). [https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/history_diss/33 online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191101110952/https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/history_diss/33/ |date=November 1, 2019 }}</ref><ref>James B. Trefethen, ''Americans and their guns: The National Rifle Association story through nearly a century '' (1967)</ref>

[[Image:Washington DC Girls' Rifle Team.jpg|right|thumb|Girls' rifle team at Central High, Washington, DC, November 1922]]

In 1903, the NRA of America began to establish rifle clubs at all major colleges, universities, and military academies. By 1906, youth programs were in full swing with more than 200 boys competing in the [[National Matches]]. Today, more than one million youth participate in shooting sports events and affiliated programs through groups such as [[4-H]], the [[Boy Scouts of America]], the [[American Legion]], U.S. [[Jaycees]], [[NCAA]], The [[USA High School Clay Target League]], the Scholastic Clay Target Program, [[National Guard Bureau]], [[ROTC]], and [[JROTC]].

===Olympics===
French pistol champion and founder of the modern Olympics, [[Pierre de Coubertin]], participated in many of these early competitions. This fact certainly contributed to the inclusion of five shooting events in the [[1896 Summer Olympics|1896 Olympics]]. Over the years, the events have been changed a number of times in order to keep up with technology and social standards. The targets that formerly resembled humans or animals in their shape and size have are now a circular shape in order to avoid associating the sport with any form of violence. At the same time, some events have been dropped and new ones have been added. The 2004 Olympics featured three shooting disciplines (rifle, pistol, and shotgun) where athletes competed for 51 medals in 10 men's and 7 women's events—slightly fewer than the previous Olympic schedule.<ref name="Australia">{{cite web|url=http://ssaa.org.au/|title={{!}} Sporting Shooters' Association of Australia (SSAA)|last=Australia|first=Sporting Shooter's Association of|website=ssaa.org.au|access-date=August 12, 2016|archive-date=August 8, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160808023152/http://ssaa.org.au/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the Olympic Games, the shooting sport has always enjoyed the distinction of awarding the first medals of the Games. Internationally, the [[International Shooting Sport Federation]] (ISSF) has oversight of all Olympic shooting events worldwide, while National Governing Bodies (NGBs) administer the sport within each country.