TCU rifle has brought home three national championships in the past 10 seasons, earning them the title of the “most dominant sport at TCU.”

Here are a few things fans should know about the sport as the Frogs seek to repeat as national champions in 2020. 

What are the two disciplines in rifle, and how are they different?

The sport is split into two disciplines: small bore and air rifle. 

In small bore, there are three positions the shooter must attempt, all 50 feet away from the target. The first is standing, the second is prone and the third is kneeling. The shooter receives 20 shots per position, making a total of 60 shots. 

While athletes switch shooting positions three times in small bore, they stand 10 meters from the target the entire time in air rifle.

The gun used in smallbore is heavier than the gun used in air rifle, and the bullets are larger. In small bore, the guns are .22 caliber. In air rifle, the guns are .177 caliber, meaning that the bullets are 0.22 of an inch and 0.177 of an inch in diameter, respectively. 

How do competitions work?

There are relays in rifle. At TCU, the first relay begins with the smallbore competition, followed by the air rifle competition. Once the first round of shooters competes in both disciplines, the next round will begin. 

TCU’s range has 12 lanes; therefore, 12 shooters can go at a time. 

The time allotted for the smallbore event is 105 minutes. In that time, competitors are allowed to take as much time as they need for each shot, as long as they have completed 60 by the end. The rules are the same in air rifle; however, the shooters are only allotted an hour and 30 minutes. 

How are competitions scored?

Each discipline is scored on 60 shots. The closer the attempt is to the center of the target, the more points are awarded. 

The maximum amount of points an athlete can make per shot is 10 whole numbers are used to score in collegiate rifle. 

Before each competition, the team chooses five of its members to be “counters,” or scorers. Only the top four scores of the five counters will be weighted in the team score. 

The team score is the team aggregate of the top four counters’ scores. An individual aggregate is the combination of a counters’ score in both events. 

Outside of the top five, team members compete for their individual scores. 

No. 2 TCU will face UTEP on the road this Saturday in their final regular-season match of the year.