Section 1: Introduction
1.1 Overview and Governing Body
Shooting has been part of every modern Olympic Games since 1896 (absent only in 1904 and 1928), making it one of the original Olympic sports. The International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF), founded in 1907 and headquartered in Munich, Germany, governs the sport under the ISSF Official Statutes, Rules and Regulations. Olympic shooting comprises three disciplines — Rifle, Pistol, and Shotgun — with 15 medal events at the Games, including mixed team events added in 2020.
1.2 Olympic Events
- Rifle: 10 m Air Rifle (men/women/mixed team), 50 m Rifle 3 Positions (men/women)
- Pistol: 10 m Air Pistol (men/women/mixed team), 25 m Rapid Fire Pistol (men), 25 m Sport Pistol (women)
- Shotgun: Trap (men/women/mixed team), Skeet (men/women/mixed team)
- Mixed team events pair one male and one female shooter from the same nation
1.3 History and Traditions
Target shooting has roots in military marksmanship training dating back centuries. The sport was championed by Pierre de Coubertin, himself an accomplished pistol shooter, for inclusion in the first modern Olympics at Athens 1896. Traditionally strong nations include India, China, South Korea, Germany, Italy, the United States, and Russia. The sport has undergone significant format changes since 2012, with the introduction of elimination-style finals that dramatically increased spectator appeal.
1.4 ISSF Structure
The ISSF oversees more than 160 national member federations organized under continental confederations. The ISSF Technical Committee develops rules and equipment standards, revised on a quadrennial cycle aligned with the Olympic Games. The ISSF World Cup circuit runs annually with multiple stages across the globe, and ISSF World Championships are held every four years in non-Olympic years.
Which section governs what. The ISSF publishes one combined rule book whose parts are numbered, so citations below name the part: Section 6 General Technical Rules for all Shooting Disciplines, 7 Rifle Rules, 8 Pistol Rules, 9 Shotgun Rules. Note the book calls itself Edition 2025 even though the current print took effect on 1 July 2026 — the edition year and the effective date are not the same thing, and third-party copies of the rules frequently conflate them.