Numerical solutions of exact controllability problems for linear and semilinear wave equations with distributed controls are studied. Exact controllability problems can be solved by the corresponding optimal control problems. The optimal control problem is reformulated as a system of equations (an optimality system) that consists of an initial value problem for the underlying (linear or semilinear) wave equation and a terminal value problem for the adjoint wave equation. The discretized optimality system is solved by a shooting method. The convergence properties of the numerical shooting method in the context of exact controllability are illustrated through computational experiments.