Resources

Shotgun Shells Explained

The shotgun is designed to throw a group or “pattern” of many small pellets called “shot,” which makes hitting a flying or moving target much more feasible than using a single projectile, as fired by a rifle or pistol. Because it utilizes numerous pellets instead of a single bullet, a shotshell is constructed differently than a cartridge for rifles or pistols. So, instead of the rifle or pistol cartridge’s brass case that contains primer, powder and bullet, the shotgun’s shotshell consists of a hull that contains the primer, powder, shot wad and an amount of shot. There are many different shotgun bore sizes or “gauges” (much like rifle and pistol caliber size), and gauges of differing shell length, and all can be loaded with a wide variety of shot sizes. Let’s break down some of these terms so you can better understand your shotgun or make a well-informed and safe purchase the next time you head to your favorite gun store or range.

New Shooter Profile: A Conversation with USA Shooting’s Jessica Delos Reyes

Jessica Delos Reyes is the Media and Public Relations Manager for USA Shooting, the national governing body for the Olympic shooting sports, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. A relative newbie on the job—she started on April 1, 2013—Delos Reyes is discovering the finer aspects of the sport of shooting from the finest shooters in the world.

Shooting Sports to Try: Metallic Silhouette Shooting

Have a gun? Almost any gun? Pistol, revolver, smallbore rifle, hunting rifle, lever-action, blackpowder rifle or even an airgun? Then you might find metallic silhouette competition is the game for you.

The Road to Rio

Sometimes it takes a second chance to make the right impression.

It was just such a second chance that allowed, Rome, New York, native Tammy Delano to move to the Olympic Training Center as a resident athlete, win a gold medal at the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) World Cup in Poland, and earn the right to compete in R2 and R3 for the USA Shooting Team at the IPC World Championships in Suhl, Germany.

Finding the Right Competition for Your Pistol Skills

There are so many opportunities to compete with your pistol. From air pistols to full-power handguns, there is something for every type of pistol shooter in this roundup below.

Try Competitions To Become A More Effective Shooter

There’s a big difference between good and effective.

If you are involved in shooting purely for recreation and the joy of punching holes in paper or tin cans, then being a good shooter is, well, good enough.

If you intend to use your gun for self or home defense, then you need to think about how to become a more effective shooter.

Target Shooters are Friendly and Supportive

As a new shooter, you should have three objectives: Be safe, strive to be better and have fun. Shooting in competitions is a great way to accomplish each of these goals.

Why You Might Like Sporting Clays

If you like to play golf, or even mini-golf, and you like to shoot skeet or trap, you’re going to love sporting clays. Or if you want more of a challenge than shooting at airborne clay targets, you’ll appreciate the change-up when a “rabbit” target zigzags across the field in front of you. Barbara Baird provides a look at sporting clays, commonly referred to as “golf with a shotgun.”

Jamie Gray, 2012 Olympic Gold Medalist — From First Shots to Golden Shots

Competing as an Olympic athlete and earning an Olympic gold medal in London has provided rifle shooter Jamie Gray (Lebanon, Pa.) with unmatched perspective in terms of what the shooting sports has provided her. What began as a way to connect with her older brother, has now turned into a life-long love affair with a game that demands perfection, mental fortitude and the incessant need to educate the masses about a sport limited by its exposure but yet driven by a passionate following. We introduce you to one of the sport’s best in hopes it can help motivate the hesitant or drive the unwilling to learn more about the sport and fire the First Shots toward a lifetime of fun, opportunity and reward. Read More.