F.A.Q.
Contact UsWhat do you shoot?
Are these real guns?
Yes, they are real firearms. And they fire real bullets. Which is why safety is always one of our prime concerns.
Ranges are constructed so as to be safe, and target shooters are trained by competent and qualified range officers and coaches so that they can shoot safely.
And in all the time we’ve been shooting, we’ve never had a single injury. You run an enormously higher risk on the drive to or from the range than you do while shooting on the range.
Has anyone ever gotten shot while target shooting in Ireland?
No. There haven’t even been any accidents. In the past fifty years of target shooting, the NTSA has a perfect safety record. (I told you we were careful!)
Is this even legal?
Yes. This is perfectly legal and above board. It’s an Olympic sport. In fact, it’s the oldest sport in the modern olympics, the largest sport in the games and always the first medal given out. Target shooting as a sport takes place in over one hundred and fifty countries world-wide. And it has been a sport in Ireland for quite some time – the earliest record we have of target shooting in Ireland dates to a target shooting competition in Trinity College in 1840.
Do you hunt?
No. We don’t shoot at animals, or even silhouettes of animals. We shoot at paper targets only. (The olympic shotgun shooters shoot at clay disks). We pose no danger whatsoever to Bambi’s mom!
Do you shoot with shotguns?
Well, we don’t, but the Irish Clay Pigeon Shooting Association do (they handle the Olympic shotgun discipline in Ireland). You should read www.target.ie for more details.
Is this like Airsoft or Paintball?
No, this is nothing like either – though to be honest, it’s more fun.
Is this like the shooting in the Olympics?
It’s not just like the shooting in the Olympic Games, it is the shooting in the Olympic Games. We’ve trained and sent three athletes to the Games in recent years – two to Atlanta and one to Sydney. But the people standing on the firing line in the Olympic Games are shooting with the same equipment and using the same rules, as every club shooter in Ireland.
Do you shoot Biathlon events?
Well, no. Given the lack of snow in Ireland, it would be a bit difficult!
Do you use telescopic sights?
No, none of the ISSF disciplines use telescopic sights. We use what are called iron sights. These comprise a rearsight and a foresight. You look through the rearsight, line up the foresight and then line both up with the target and fire. Sounds simple, doesn’t it?