Liz Wilson was stunned on Christmas morning when she unwrapped a present from her loving husband Murray.

"It was quite a surprise," she laughed as she recalled looking down at a .22 calibre rifle sitting on her lap.

"I had never touched a rifle until Murray bought me this .22 Savage. It's definitely not something I ever expected," Mrs Wilson said.

The grandmother of seven said, while it was not a typical Christmas gift, eight years on it was still one of the best presents she had ever received.

Mrs Wilson said her husband wanted to share his love of rifle shooting, but she was not sure it was for her at the start.

"I thought, 'Oh my God' but he insisted," she said.

"After six months of club shoots he took me to Sydney to a beautiful range to compete. I couldn't believe it.

"The wind was awful and it really tested me."

With a natural talent and a determined personality, Mrs Wilson quickly took to the sport and climbed in the Australian rankings.

Her ranking has slipped since she was diagnosed with breast cancer in July.

While she does not compete anymore, Mrs Wilson says she still goes down for "a bit of a ping" with Murray at their local range in Ravenshoe in far north Queensland.

"Now I have a 308 rifle, which is more powerful, and I prefer that," she said.

"I was ranked the third best woman in my division at one stage but since falling sick I've dropped down in the grades."

Her husband Murray is the vice-captain of Ravenshoe-Mt Garnett Rifle Club.

He admitted his wife was a better shot than him these days.

"She is a much superior shooter than I am. She doesn't know how good she is," he said.

Mrs Wilson said the best part of the Australian shooting community was the comradery.

"I do love the social interaction, I wouldn't say that I am horribly competitive but I like to win too," she joked.

"We have travelled all over Australia and we have shot at ranges all over the country.

"The people in the shooting community are just fantastic. You become part of each other's lives."

The Australian team won gold (left) in America in 2013 and then took out the F-Open rifle shooting gold medal (right) once again this month in Canada. ( Supplied: Marty Lobert )

Australia punches above its weight in rifle shooting

While making the rest of the world jealous was not his main goal, rifle shooter Marty Lobert says it was the icing on the cake when Australia took out the recent world rifle shooting championships.

The Cairns Rifle Club member was a vital member of the Australian shooting team who flew to Canada earlier this month to compete on the world stage.

The championships are held every four years and hundreds of shooters from countries all over the globe compete for the title.

Mr Lobert said the sport was quickly gaining momentum here in Australia.

The team completed in two categories overseas, F-Open and F-T/R and came home with the gold and silver respectively.

In F-Open, the most popular division, competitors lie prone and aim to shoot a bullseye on a still target.

While F-T/R shooting has similarities, competitors use a bipod for support.

This means shooters of nearly any physical ability can compete on an equal level.

"One of the best parts of the sport is that age, gender and physical ability doesn't have a big impact because it is about skill," Mr Lobert said.

After winning the F-Open World Championships four years ago the Australian team wanted to prove their first win was not a fluke.

Although it was an extremely close race between Australia, Canada and America, the underdogs from Down Under took out the title again, winning gold in the F-Open division.

Mr Lobert said the gold medal win was a historic moment in Australia's sporting history, especially considering how popular shooting was in America and Canada.

"It's a credit to our country and our dedication to be there in spite of those odds," he said.

"It makes it so inspirational. Having won it back-to-back cements Australia's position in this sport."

Rifle shooting is not as simple as pointing a gun at a target and shooting.

Mr Lobert said something as small as a light breeze could make or break a shot.

"The bullseye at 900 metres away is five inches [12cm] across, so you can imagine it's incredibly satisfying to hit a bullseye time after time and know what sort of accomplishment that really is," he said.