Shooting as a social activity began to develop at the end of the 18th century. The first Civic Shooting Society was founded in the city of Osijek in 1784, and a shooting society was founded in Zagreb two years later. During the 19th century, shooting societies were also being founded in other Croatian cities. Numerous shooting societies built shooting ranges. The Zagreb Shooting Range in Tuškanac, built in 1838 as the first sports facility in the Republic of Croatia, had a special importance in the cultural and political life of Croatia. It was a gathering place for the participants of the Croatian National Revival and the venue of many dance and social parties. At the beginning of the 20th century, shooting gradually turned from a social and entertainment activity into a sporting activity. The Croatian Shooting Association was founded in Zagreb in 1948.
More notable sports results were achieved after the Second World War, when Stjepan Prauhardt, Zlatko Mašek, Josip Ćuk, Tihomir Sertić, Krešo Anić, Biserka Vrbek, Vesna Domazet and Mirela Skoko won medals at world championships, and Jasna Šekarić, then a member of the Osijek 1874 Shooting Club, won one gold and one bronze medal at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul. Exceptional results were achieved at the world and European championships after Croatia gained its independence and the shooters who stand out with the most significant results are Snježana Pejčić, who won a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, Giovanni Cernogoraz and Josip Glasnović, who won gold medals at the 2012 Olympic Games in London and the 2016 Olympics in Rio, as well as Miran Maričić who won bronze medal at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Exceptional results have also been achieved in crossbow shooting, and the athlete who stands out is Branka Pereglin, many-time European and world champion and world record holder from the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century.