Yes, Ohio State has a rifle team

By: Paige Hollowell

When I was 11 years old, my brother joined the NJROTC rifle team at our high school. Since I was at the age when I wanted to do everything he did, I joined shortly after.

Since then, I’ve seen every shade of surprise on people’s faces when I mention what sport I do. I’ve learned to enjoy it — more often than not, I make people guess before revealing the real answer, since there’s virtually no chance they’ll get it right.

If you want to know how one of Ohio State’s most niche sports works, you’ve come to the right place. Here’s a simple guide to NCAA rifle.

The Format

There are two guns used in NCAA rifle competitions: air rifle, which is .177 caliber, and smallbore, which is .22 caliber. 

Every college match starts with smallbore, where shooters have an hour and a half to fire 60 shots in three positions –  standing, kneeling and prone – with 20 shots per position from 50 feet away. 

After a short break, we shoot air rifle, where shooters have an hour and 15 minutes to fire 60 shots – all standing – from 10 meters away. 

The diameter of the target itself is slightly larger than a quarter, while the 10 ring measures 0.5 millimeters in diameter. Think about the size of a tip of a ballpoint pen. 

During competition, shooters wear stiff suits made out of leather and canvas to help with stability and injury prevention.

Scoring

Each shot is worth up to 10 points. Competitions in the NCAA are integer matches, so you can shoot up to a 600. This has been done many times. International matches, including the Olympics, are scored in decimal, with a 10.9 being the highest possible shot. 

The team score is made up of the top four scores out of the five shooters that the coach selects before each match. The total possible score 4800. 

At OSU

The Ohio State team is currently made up of nine people, but with new NCAA regulations, teams can have up to 12 at a time. Ohio State currently has seven girls and two guys. They are both seniors, so next year rifle will officially become a women's-only sport at Ohio State.

Even though it’s the only mixed sport in the NCAA, meaning men and women directly compete against each other, the majority of teams in the NCAA are all-girls (and girls are statistically better at shooting). 

While Ohio State is a Big Ten school, the only other university in the conference with a rifle team is Nebraska, so the team competes in a different conference.

Ohio State is in the Patriot Rifle Conference with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, University of Texas-El Paso, Texas Christian University, University of Alaska-Fairbanks, the Air Force Academy and as of last year, Ole Miss. 

Ohio State will host the NCAA National Rifle Championships on March 14-15.

Ohio State is hosting the NCAA National Rifle Championships this year on March 14-15.