gunnery

Etymology

gun + -ery

noun

1. (uncountable) The science of guns and gunfire, including aspects of bullet flight and impact.
2. (uncountable) The design and manufacture of guns, particularly those of a large caliber.
3. (uncountable) The firing of guns.
   Northward incessantly, the flickering gunnery rumbles, / Far off, like a dull rumour of some other war. 1920, Wilfred Owen, “Exposure”, in Poems, London: Chatto & Windus, page 18
   The 12th march company telephoned claiming that someone in the office had heard that they were waiting to do some shooting practice at moveable targets and that they would only leave after gunnery practice under front conditions. 1973, Jaroslav Hašek, chapter 5, in Cecil Parrott, transl., The Good Soldier Švejk, London: William Heinemann, page 438
   Basically, the problem was actually the British had too many ships! The Grand Fleet wasn't half bad with its gunnery, but there was so many battleships throwing fire at the battlecruisers and battleships of the High Seas Fleet that it was actually very difficult to tell "Is that splash from us? Is that splash from that ship? Is that splash from a ship in another division? We don't know!", so a lot of incorrect estimates and measures were taken, which lead to an awful lot of waterspouts going up, but not anywhere near the number of hits that you would otherwise expect[…] 2 May 2021, Drachinifel, 3:59:19 from the start, in The Drydock - Episode 144, archived from the original on 2022-09-26
4. (countable) A place where guns are tested, or where people are trained in their use.