Quiz: How Much Do You Know About Rifle Shooting Sports?

How much do you know—or think you know—about rifles and rifle ammunition? Take our 10-question quiz and find out. The answers are at the end of the quiz but don’t peek ahead, we’ll know!

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1)  True or false, all modern rifle ammunition is either rimfire or centerfire?

a. True
b. False

 

2)  In the AR-15 style of rifles so popular today, what do the initials AR stand for?

a. Automatic Rifle
b. Assault Rifle
c. ArmaLite Rifle
d. All of the above terms may correctly be used interchangeably

 

3)  AR-15 style rifles are sometimes called MSRs; what do those initials stand for?

a. Modern Sporting Rifle
b. Military Style Rifle
c. Manufacturer’s Suggested Rifle (as recommended for beginners)
d. None of the above

 

4)  The popular .30/06 rifle cartridge is of what caliber and in what year was it introduced?

a. .30 caliber and 1806
b. .30 caliber and 1906
c. .30 caliber and 2006
d. None of the above

 

5)  When sighting-in a rifle with open sights, also known as iron sights, which direction should you move the rear sight?

a. In the same direction you want the hits on the target to move
b. In the opposite direction you want the hits on the target to move
c. Just give up and put a telescopic sight on the rifle!

 

6)  In what era of American history did the term “sniper” originate?

a. Frontier era
b. Market-hunting era
c. Civil War era

 

7)  Which of the terms below has to do with the misfiring of a flintlock muzzleloading rifle?

a. Going off half-cocked
b. Flash in the pan
c. Shooting your wad
d. All of the above

 

8)  In the sport of Cowboy Action Shooting, what is the action of the rifle that participants are required to shoot?

a. Bolt-action
b. Semi-automatic action
c. Lever-action
d. Any of the above, it’s a matter of the participant’s choice

 

9)  In the sport of 3-Gun, what is the action of the rifle that participants shoot?

a. Bolt-action
b. Semi-automatic action
c. Lever-action

 

10)  Which rifle did you first learn to shoot?

a. BB gun
b. .22 LR
c. Other

 

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Answers:

1. A (True)
2. C (ArmaLite Rifle: In the 1950s, ArmaLite was the first gun manufacturer to introduce the AR-15 style rifle to the general public; it was the civilian, semiautomatic version of the military’s M16.)
3. A (Modern Sporting Rifle)
4. B (.30 caliber and 1906)
5. A (Move the rear sight in the same direction you want the hits on the target to move)
6. B (Market-hunting era: Years ago when wildlife was allowed to be sold for food, one of the species hunted was a shorebird known as a snipe.  And, yes, there really are such critters.  But snipe fly very fast and erratically, so to be known as a “sniper” you had to become a good wingshot with a shotgun.  Today, the term “sniper” has evolved into describing anyone who is an excellent shot with any type of firearm, but particularly a rifle.)
7. D (All of the above)
8. C (Lever action)
9. B (Semiautomatic action)
10. A, B, or C (It doesn’t matter how you answered our last quiz question, your first shooting experience with a rifle still remains a special memory, doesn’t it? Your homework is to pass that experience along to a new shooter!)

 

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Score Card: Well, how did you do?

• One to five answers correct: keep shooting.
• Six to eight answers correct: well done.
• Nine or 10 answers correct: Top Gun!

 

Read Mr. Gross’ previous quiz on the shooting sports