How much money do pro shooters make?

[makks]

Hello fellow shooters, I hope you can help me in answering this question.

I have been shooting free pistol and air pistol for a while now. I began to hit decent scores in the last month or two, and hope to eventually shoot my way up to the national team, or at least close to it :). I hit around 540 FP, and 560 AP. I'm very curious as to what I can expect to make, right now I don't even have a slightest clue.

Thanks,
Max.

[Martin Catley]

Are you serious!

[orionshooter]

You are most likely to continue earning exactly what you are earning now.

[EJ]

To be frank, nothing.

If you're lucky you might become sponsored from manufacturers, private businesses (you have to find them) or a national team/Olympic organization. That only means you won't have to buy your equipment/ammunition or pay for plane tickets and entry fees for competitions (usually international ones). You won't be able to live off your sport unless you are a trainer or do lectures etc (but even here it's hard to make a living out of it).

Shooting is an amateur sport.

[BenEnglishTX]

Assuming the OP isn't joking -

Where ISSF disciplines are concerned, you've already received some good answers.

In the U.S., there are a few shooters who make substantial money from shooting but they are all in the run-n-gun sports. Smith and Wesson, for example, pays Jerry Miculek and Rob Leatham to travel, shoot, win, speak, and sell guns. Heck, I'd pay to watch Miculek shoot; he's amazing. Example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLaizy8GfTE

If you want to get paid, I suggest you live in the U.S. and change the type of shooting you do. And be really, really good.

[Richard H]

If you want to live off a sport boy did you pick the wrong one.

IPSC guys make money, some shot gunners if your willing to go to places where they gamble (live birds especially) you can make money.

As for target sports it seems archery is a better sport for earning a living, there's at least a few, mostly earn there money being factory reps.

There are a few in ISSF in europe that make their living off of shooting but again its usually as a factory rep, and they have other duties too.

[j-team]

Hello fellow shooters, I hope you can help me in answering this question.

I have been shooting free pistol and air pistol for a while now. I began to hit decent scores in the last month or two, and hope to eventually shoot my way up to the national team, or at least close to it :). I hit around 540 FP, and 560 AP. I'm very curious as to what I can expect to make, right now I don't even have a slightest clue.

Thanks,
Max.

Get your scores up to 560 and 580 so you can make your Nationals team. Then you'll get some funded trips overseas. Do well at them and some manufacturer might give you a pistol and someone else might give you some ammo.

That's getting rich ISSF pistol style!

[makks]

I wasn't planning on shooting being my source of income, but i thought i could at least get something out of it. This is a pretty sad situation. To my knowledge, european and most asian countries have their shooters on a steady salary + money for winning. This can't be based completely on enthusiasm, still hard to imagine top 3 FP/AP shooters not getting some sort of financial support.

[Dr. Jim]

A friend who has fairly consistently been on the Canadian national team over the past 25-30 years, and shot in many international matches, once told me that he estimates that he has spent close to half a million dollars in taking part in the shooting game. When you have to cough up a few hundred dollars just to be considered, and allowed to shot in the trials , I can believe it.

Dr. Jim

[David M]

Take up Golf or Tennis

[bruce]

To my knowledge, european and most asian countries have their shooters on a steady salary + money for winning.

In the case of GB, there are currently 12 supported athletes in the World class programme, two in rifle and ten in shotgun.
Supported does not mean salaried.

Most countries have a reward programme for Olympic medals, and none of the rewards in the past, that I'm aware of, made anyone wealthy.

Certainly with ISSF disciplines, the question should be
"How much do international competitors spend?"

And the answer to that question is usually, "Everything"

[Richard H]

Speaking for Canada there most shooters are what are called self funded.

To start you pay for,your national and team trials, depending where you live and where the national are that can run $3000. If you make the team it cost you $200. You have to buy your uniform.

Next you go to Some World Cups. Fort Benning is the cheapest if you drive with someone else probably cost you around $1000. Every other World Cup will cost you $3000-$5000.

They occasional will pick some costs like match fees (cheapest cost) and some times hotel rooms (rare).

Then there's all the other matches you shoot with travel, ammo, guns, other gear, club memberships, gym, massage, chiro extra, coaching ect.

Then there is the funding from Sport Canada, a full card might get you $10,000 these are very rare for shooters. The province of Ontario has funding too 6 cards for juniors 6-7 thousand for juniors each and 2 adult cards of the same amount. The money is better than nothing, but it barely makes a dent in your expenses.

[justadude]

In the US you have left out joining the US Army and trying to be selected to the Army Marksmanship Unit. You are paid as a regular soldier and you do have other soldier type duties but while a member of the AMU your primary job is about shooting.

Bear in mind, you have to produce, can't cut it as a top shooter? The army will find another army job for you.

That is about as close as you are going to come to being paid to shoot this kind of stuff. (ISSF based competition)

Now, if you do become a successful shooter and get some recognition there are a small handful of collegiate coaching positions to be had. (A few dozen perhaps) Clearly you would have to live where ever the college you coach for is located and the salaries are modest and your job exists at the pleasure of the athletic director. (No guarantee it will be there tomorrow.) The emphasis here is on the words small number, it is nothing I would tell a person to plan on doing as a career path.

Bottom line here: Better keep your day job!!!

Cheers,
'Dude

[Sparks]

Speaking for Ireland, our shooters are what you'd call broke :D
We have two or three supported shooters in clay pigeon who'd get up to a maximum of 30k (euros) in grants, but they're the exception (and they've a few world championships medals in Trap in their cupboards).

Also, 30k won't fund a full season, let alone a shooter for a year.

For our rifle shooters to qualify for that 30k, they'd have to medal in the Olympics or the World Championships in that year. Meaning you couldn't win the grant two years running. Assuming, of course that the Irish Sports Council would even recognise the Olympic NGB...

[Rutty]

I saw a breakdown of the cost of keeping a shooter in full time training for a year. It was based upon a squad of 10-12 as more elements were shared. Without allocating amounts to each item, the elements were:

Equipment
Ammunition
Accommodation
Living expenses
Loss of earnings element & pension contribution (you are after all asking them to put their life on hold for a couple of years or so)
Coaching
Physio, Nutritionist, Sports Science consultant etc.
Training facilities -range, gym etc.
Relocation expenses (They need to move to where they train)
Travel & Accommodation for international matches and overseas training
Admin support

You can probably add a few more items as well.

The annual cost was estimated at GBP100,000 - 120,00/year

This is for your top tier, a good sized 2nd tier who are part time and partially funded will probably cost as much again to support.

Rutty

[john_almighty]

Depends where you are from. In India they hold them very highly and the last gold medalist in AP from India is always in news and many other run very lucrative shooting ranges where they give tuition. and So on. Just sign on a good PR firm and you would do fine. If the Kardashins can make money, as a world class shooter, I am sure you will do good. It just so happens that most shooters are very humble and don't actively seek publicity. In UK I rarely see them even mention Peter Wilson the double trap champion in this Olympics as they are paranoid about guns here so no chance you will make anything in UK.

[Bowman26]

You better get Nike to start making shooting shoes and clothes or something if you want to get paid. I heard Insane Bolt the sprinter gets around $20 million a year in money from sponsers and endorsers. $20 million to run fast for a few meters. Makes MLB pitchers looks like they earn their money.

I would think the best you could hope and this is what I would aspire to is a simple sponsorship or be a Team Shooter for a company like Lapua or Eley etc. If I could get some free ammo, some equipment and some travel/entry fee costs covered for traveling to events I would be happy with that..


Bo

[muffo as guest]

In the US you have left out joining the US Army and trying to be selected to the Army Marksmanship Unit. You are paid as a regular soldier and you do have other soldier type duties but while a member of the AMU your primary job is about shooting.

Bear in mind, you have to produce, can't cut it as a top shooter? The army will find another army job for you.

That is about as close as you are going to come to being paid to shoot this kind of stuff. (ISSF based competition)

Now, if you do become a successful shooter and get some recognition there are a small handful of collegiate coaching positions to be had. (A few dozen perhaps) Clearly you would have to live where ever the college you coach for is located and the salaries are modest and your job exists at the pleasure of the athletic director. (No guarantee it will be there tomorrow.) The emphasis here is on the words small number, it is nothing I would tell a person to plan on doing as a career path.

Bottom line here: Better keep your day job!!!

Cheers,
'Dude

If I was in the states this is where I would go. As I'm hoping to get to that level. If you happen to get right to the top of the sport. As in ranked in the top few in the world you can get pasted to shoot. In aus there are 2 female shooters that are played by some kind of sports commission I think around 65k a year

[Misny]

The fact of the matter is that, in the U.S., the general public isn't interested in competitive shooting, therefore no one supports it financially. It's always been that way and I don't see it changing in the future. As a general rule, even folks on gun-related websites don't have an interest in competitive shooting.

[Sparks]

The fact of the matter is that, in the U.S., the general public isn't interested in competitive shooting, therefore no one supports it financially. It's always been that way and I don't see it changing in the future. As a general rule, even folks on gun-related websites don't have an interest in competitive shooting.

True, but that doesn't mean it couldn't change. Golf made the change over the last few decades, we'd just have to replicate what they did...


...just as soon as we figure out exactly what it was that they did that worked so well :D