(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

IN AN UNEXPECTED move, the White House has released a photograph of the President firing a shotgun as the gun rights debate rages on in the US.

Barack Obama is seen shooting clay targets on a range at Camp David in Maryland. The image is dated 4 August 2012.

He will travel outside Washington DC next week to promote his gun-control proposals.

The President says he is a recreational skeet shooter and this seems to be an attempt by the administration to back up that claim. He had recently told The New Republic Magazine that he had fired a gun, an admission that surprised many people. Many pressed his media team for proof.

Gun advocates in the US oppose Obama’s call for a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition, as well as his wish for background checks for all gun purchases. The plans were announced last month, weeks after 20 children and six adults were shot dead at Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown.

Experts in the US are now busy analysing the photo to determine if Obama is a novice or experienced shooter.

-Additional reporting by AP