Rifle Shooting sports is a collective group of competitive and recreational sporting activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in using various types of ranged weapons, mainly referring to man-portable guns (firearms and airguns, in forms such as handguns, rifles and shotguns and bows/crossbows. Shooting sports may involve both team and individual competition, and team performance is usually assessed by summing the scores of the individual team members.

The National Rifle Association of the United Kingdom (NRA) was founded in 1860 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".

For similar reasons, 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. 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.