Service Rifle
A course of fire shot with military-pattern rifles from field positions, often fired across the course at multiple distances against time.
Service rifle is a competition format shot with military-pattern rifles, where the equipment is meant to resemble issued infantry arms rather than purpose-built target guns. It is most often fired as part of a High Power across-the-course match, moving through standing, sitting, and prone stages at several distances. The classic version is shot over iron sights, and a shooting sling is wrapped tight around the support arm to steady the rifle in the slower-fire positions.
The discipline tests a shooter under pressure, since strings are fired against the clock and the toughest stage is usually the offhand standing slow fire with no support at all. Because the rifles stay close to service configuration, scores reflect the shooter’s skill far more than exotic gear. That constraint is the whole point: it keeps the contest honest and grounded in field marksmanship.