Getting Started

The many disciplines of military shooting competitions. They have in common the use of a weapon to hit with maximum precision and repetitively. We will have a target at a location of mist and hits (LOMAH). The targets, depending on the discipline, are at distances of 10 to 300 meters (or even more for long-distance shooting) from the shooter.

It is the third individual sport practiced in the world after tennis and golf. The military shooting competition is a diversified sport, thanks to these many disciplines, that can be practiced at any age. Shooting is practiced in sports clubs or grouped into national federations and will coordinate with each other at the level of international bodies.

Also, there are some disciplines such as the Olympic competitions. The pistol and rifle are 10 meters with compressed air, while we practice pistol speed and combined ladies at 25 meters with pistols of caliber.

What Is Military Shooting Competitions

The Olympic Shooting

Like almost all disciplines, women are reserved for men because of Pierre de Coubertin’s opposition to the practice of sport. These could only compete in the same events as the men as in the Mexico City games in 1968. And these seven mixed events lasted until 1980.

It became a partially gendered practice again from the 1984 games. They reduced the number of events in which women may take part to five (three women’s events and two mixed events) while they increased the permitted events for men to eight (six men’s and two mixed).

In 1992, a mixed skeet event witnessed Shan Zhang, a Chinese competitor, break the world record and win ahead of five male competitors. It will be the first and last time since in the following games in 1996, the practice is gendered. Men and women compete in uncommon events, even when the weapons and the shooting distances are identical. The women’s events, which are less many, have a lower number of strokes than the men’s events. In 2015, there were fifteen discrete events, nine for men, and six for women.

The Federations of Shooting Sport in France

The main federation is the French Shooting Federation (FFTir 6), a 1901 law association created in 1967. The FTIR is recognized as a public utility and approved by Youth and Sport. The French Tennis and Shooting Federation (FFTB 7) brings together over 600 clubs and over 25,000 licensees.

The FTIR has 28 leagues and over 220,000 licensees (2014) between the ages of 7 and 99, including 5,000 competitors, 200 international level competitors, 30 fencers who took part in the Olympic Games, and nine Olympic medalists. There are approximately 16,000 women. The FTIR recognizes the following disciplines:

• Program for the youngest competitors: 30 strokes
• Program for little boys and girls: 40 strokes
• Program for cadets, juniors, ladies, and seniors: 60 strokes
• Weapon: standard caliber rifle 4.5 mm

Top 10 International Military Shooting Competitions

1. ISSF World Shooting Championships: Before the first Modern Olympic Games in 1896, many European countries had established shooting associations and other organizations and held shooting competitions one after another. The first ISSF World Shooting Championship was held in 1897.

2. Olympic: Sports shooting was already one of the Olympic disciplines in Athens in 1896.

3. Australian Army Skill at Arms Meet (AASAM): The shooting tournament was held in Australia annually. It is the national spring pistol shooting competition tournament.

4. International Military Competition: On August 23, 2020, the International Military Competition-2020 was held in the opening ceremony in Arabino, Moscow region.

5. Military Pentathlon: The Military Pentathlon is a sporting event made up of five disciplines: shooting, obstacle course, 50-meter swimming with obstacles, jet grenades and 8km cross-country.

6. French Grand Prix Tar: The shooting regulation in French Grand Prix Tar suffers the experimental basis on the GP of France 2019.

7. International Long Distance Shooting Competition: Open to all participants, it will host the largest shooting range in Western Europe, around 300 teams each composed of a shooter and a spotter.

8. International Military Games: The second edition of the International Military Games, which combines land, air, and naval competitions, began on July 30 in Russia. There are 19 countries participating.

9. CISM Military World Games: The latest CISM Military World Games was held from 18th to 27th October, 2019.

10. World Police and Fire Games: World Police and Fire Games is a biennial multi-sport event in which policemen and firefighters from around the world participate.

Rules of Military Shooting Competitions

It is a discipline where the targets are arranged on a course against the clock. The shooter must alternate between moves to follow the path and shoot the targets by LOMAH Sensor quickly and accurately or by other electronic shooting scoring system. It requires complete mastery of the weapon and strict safety rules. Several Weapon Divisions can be used:

• Open: The F1 of Sports Shooting of Speed. They customize weapons to be the most suitable for the competitor’s wishes. The only restrictions are the length of the magazine that must not exceed 170 mm and the weight of the warheads. It must be at least 120 grains (7.78 g) to qualify for a major count. The weapons of this division come with electronic or optical sighting systems.
• Standard: Custom weapons subject to strict technical constraints. The caliber must be at least 10mm to qualify for a major point count. They cannot come with an electronic or optical sighting system or compensators. In firing configuration (hammer cocked, safety engaged, and empty magazine inserted), they must fit into a control box of 225 × 150 × 45 mm.
• Changed: It is a hybrid division between Open and Standard. The creation of these weapons is a real challenge for gunsmiths because of the constraints imposed by the regulations. Since 1st January 2012, it is no longer recognized by the IPSC. The Classic replaces this division.
• Classic: It is the return of the first IPSC single-column magazine guns. For the middle finger, there are only eight shots in the magazine. In minor (9mm), 10 shots are accepted.
• Production: It is the simplest division. They are out-of-the-box weapons with very few modifications and adaptations allowed. The parts offered in the manufacturer’s catalog can only replace parts and accessories. Finally, the weapons which can claim a classification in Production appear on a list updated regularly by an international committee.
• Standard revolver: this division groups revolvers without electronic or optical sighting or compensators. As with the Standard, 10mm is the minimum caliber to qualify for a major point count.

The points count when the targets have three zones (A, C, and D). It allows the shooter to determine the points gained. These points are variable according to the power factor that the shooter declares, Major or Minor. During the competition, a referee controls the factor declared by the competitor according to a procedure defined by the regulations.

• Minor: A = 5, C = 3, and D = 1
• Major: A = 5, C = 4, and D = 2

Final Words

We should note that the weapon is only an accessory tool of this sport in the same way as javelin, bow and arrows, sword, pole, and so on for many other sports. As in these sports, it requires a meticulous use which imposes discipline and concentration fundamental data of sport and leisure shooting.

Sport shooting is one of the few sports which is easily practiced until an advanced age (89 years without difficulty) for people with disabilities. It also helps hyperactive children to learn concentration, discipline, method, self-esteem, and humility.