Learn · Glossary

Range terms, A to Z

Plain definitions for words you'll hear at a club, from bay to X ring.

45 terms

A

Action: The working mechanism of a firearm that loads and holds the cartridge, such as a bolt. "Action open" means the mechanism is open so anyone can see the chamber is empty.

Backstop: The bank or wall behind the targets that stops the shots. Range officers make sure targets are placed so aimed shots end up in it.
Bay: A marked shooting position on the firing line, usually numbered. Ranges are sometimes described by how many bays they have, for example a 10 bay pistol range.
Butts: On a fullbore rifle range, the area at the target end where markers lower, mark and raise the targets and signal each shot's value. The word also means the bank behind a target that stops shots.

Calibre: The diameter of a firearm's bore, given in millimetres or fractions of an inch. It is also used, less precisely, as the name of a cartridge, such as .22 or .308.
Cease fire: The command to stop shooting immediately. On fullbore rifle ranges anyone who sees something unsafe can call it; at many other ranges the range officer calls it, so tell the range officer straight away if you see something unsafe. Stop, keep the muzzle downrange, unload and make safe as the range officer directs.
Centrefire: A cartridge with its primer in the centre of the base. Fullbore rifles and most action pistols use centrefire cartridges.
Chamber: The part of the barrel that holds the cartridge just before it is fired. When you check a firearm is unloaded, check the chamber and make sure the magazine is removed or empty too.
Come-and-try: A supervised introductory session a club runs for newcomers, usually with club equipment and an instructor. Some sessions need booking, so check with the club. It isn't membership or a licence.
Course of fire: The description of an event: how many shots in each series and stage, the type of firing and the time limits.

Detail: One group of shooters on the firing line at the same time. When a range rotates groups, the range officer calls the next detail forward once everyone is back behind the line.
Downrange: The direction from the firing line towards the targets, and the area out there, including the targets and the backstop.
Dry fire: Releasing the trigger of an unloaded firearm, often as practice. Competition rules set out when it is allowed.

Empty chamber indicator: A brightly coloured flag or insert placed in the open action to show at a glance that the chamber is empty. Also called a safety flag or breech flag.

F Class: A fullbore rifle discipline shot prone with a telescopic sight and the rifle on a front rest or bipod and rear bag, typically from 300 out to 1000 yards.
Firearms registry: The state or territory police unit that issues licences and permits and keeps the register of firearms. Each state and territory has its own.
Firearms safety course: An accredited course that first-time licence applicants must complete. Your registry or club can tell you which course applies where you live.
Firing line: The line, marked or imaginary, that people shoot from. Nobody goes forward of it while the range is open, and no one touches a firearm at the line while anyone is in front of it.

Genuine reason: The reason a licence applicant must show for needing a firearm. Sport or target shooting is one, and the national agreement requires sports shooters to be members of an approved club. Personal protection is not a genuine reason.
Grade: The level a shooter competes at, set by grading scores. Target Rifle Australia uses grades A to D. Target Pistol Australia's precision events are graded from Master to D, with different scales for some action and metallic silhouette events.

Hearing protector class: The rating from Class 1 to Class 5 shown on hearing protectors tested to the Australian and New Zealand standard. A higher class gives more protection. SSAA Victoria's Eagle Park range, for example, recommends Class 5 for all shooters.

Inner ten: The ISSF name for a 10 that lands in the small centre ring. In international rifle and pistol events scored in full rings, the number of inner tens is the first tie-breaker.

Magazine: A device that holds cartridges and feeds them into the chamber. It can be detachable or built in. Range rules we checked ask for detachable magazines to be removed when unloading.
Match shots: The shots that count towards your score, as opposed to sighters.
Muzzle: The end of the barrel where the bullet leaves the firearm.
Muzzle discipline: Keeping the muzzle pointed in a safe direction at all times, loaded or unloaded. At the firing line that means downrange. Away from it, range rules we checked ask for the muzzle to point upright or the firearm to be holstered, and one range also allows shotguns and double barrel rifles to point at the ground.

Offhand: Shooting while standing, without a rest. The SSAA says rifle metallic silhouette is shot offhand with no support, not even a sling.

Permit to acquire: A separate permit, often called a PTA, needed for each firearm you buy, in addition to your licence. How you apply depends on your state or territory.
Probationary member: A new club member completing a probationary period of training and supervised shoots before full membership. Some clubs call it provisional membership. Requirements vary by club and state.
Prone: Shooting while lying face down. Fullbore Target Rifle and F Class, and smallbore 50 metre prone, are shot this way.

Range is clear: A call from the range officer that every firearm has been checked and it's safe for people to go forward. Firearms stay untouched until everyone is back.
Range officer: The person in charge of safety on the range, often called the RO. They give the commands, check that firearms are clear and have the final say on safety. Their instructions come first.
Range standing orders: A club's written rules for how its range runs, covering commands, safety rules and procedures. Range officers are expected to know them.
Relay: In competition, the time slot or group a competitor shoots in. Start lists give each competitor a relay and a firing point.
Rimfire: A cartridge whose primer sits in a rim around the edge of its base. The firing pin strikes the rim to fire it. Smallbore target rifles use .22 rimfire cartridges.

Series: A run of shots fired as part of a stage or course of fire.
Sighter: A practice shot fired before match shots to check your aim. Sighters don't count towards your score unless the rules allow them to be converted.
Skeet: A clay target format with targets thrown from two towers, one high and one low, on set paths while shooters move around a semicircle of stations.
Squad: A small group of shooters who shoot together and move through the shooting positions in turn. The term is used especially in clay target shooting.
Stage: A part of an event. In 3 position rifle each position is a stage. In action shooting, a stage is one course of targets you shoot against the clock.
String: A set number of shots fired in one sequence, often within a time limit. On fullbore ranges, the range is closed once every shooter has finished their string and rifles are cleared.

Trap: A clay target format where targets are thrown away from the shooter from a trap house in front of the shooting stands. Down the line is a common form.

Unload and show clear: A command to unload, open the action and let the range officer check the firearm is empty.

V: In fullbore Target Rifle, a hit in the V-bull, a small ring inside the bull, counted separately. A score of 48.4 means 48 points with 4 Vs.

X ring: A small ring at the centre of some targets. Hits inside it are counted as Xs, and the X count is often used to separate equal scores.