Olympic Pistol events consist of:
- 10m Air Pistol
- 25m Sport Pistol (.22 calibre)
- 25m Centre Fire Pistol (.32 to .38 calibre)
- 25m Rapid Fire Pistol (.22 calibre)
- 50m Free Pistol (.22 calibre)
Shooting Positions
Pistol shooters use a standing position and must hold and fire the gun with one hand, with the wrist clearly free of support.
Pistol sights: Only “open” sights are permitted. The open sights consist of a post or blade sight at the front and the notch at the rear. Optical, mirror, telescope, laser beam or electronically projected dot, sights are prohibited. The rear sight usually has fine adjustments for windage and elevation.
About ISSF Pistol Shooting
10m Air Pistol
(Men and Women)
10m Air pistol are ISSF events shot by both men and women, at all levels of competition up to and including the Olympics and Paralympics.
10m Specifications
Target: 10 ring of 11.5 mm diameter, each ring increases by 16 mm
Distance: 10 m
Calibre: .177”, 4.5 mm air pistol – compressed air or gas
Minimum trigger pull: 500 g
Number of shots/time: 60 shots for Men & Junior Men in 90 min (75 min on electronic targets). 40 shots for Women & Junior Women in 60 minutes (50 min on electronic targets)
The 10m Air Pistol events, and the 50m Pistol event are arguably the most mentally demanding events.
The top 8 women contestants, and the 8 top men contestants having the highest scores progress on to the Men’s and the Women’s finals, which consists of 20 shots with a shooter eliminated after the eighth shot and after each subsequent 2 shots.
50m Pistol
Formerly known as Free Pistol, the 50m Pistol event is shot at all levels of competition up to and including the Olympics and Paralympics using .22 calibre single-shot pistols.
50m Specifications
Target: 10 ring of 50mm diameter, each ring increases by 50mm
Distance: 50 metres
Calibre: .22 long rifle rimfire
Minimum trigger pull: There is no minimum trigger pull specified for this event.
Number of shots/time:
60 competition shots in six series of 10 shots each with 15 mins for each series (90 min on electronic targets).
In this event the pistol may only be loaded with one round of ammunition at a time and must be operated with only one hand, which cannot be supported in any way. There are practically no rules for the pistol itself, trigger force may be as low as the competitor chooses, the grip may be designed in any way provided it does not give support beyond the wrist, and there are no restrictions on size and weight of the pistol.
The top 8 contestants having the highest scores progress on to the final, which consists of 20 shots with a shooter eliminated after the eighth shot and after each subsequent two shots.
50m Pistol is described as the purest form of precision shooting amongst the pistol events and the match has undergone minimal rule changes over the past 75 years.
In Australia the event is also shot by women at most competitions.
25m Pistol
Women and Men’s Sport Pistol
Formerly known as Sport Pistol, 25m Pistol women’s event was introduced in the 1960s. Internationally 25m Pistol is only shot up to and including the Olympics by women, and up to and including the Paralympics by men and women, and by juniors at the World Championships, In Australia, the event is also shot by men at many State competitions.
25m Pistol combines both precision and rapid-fire, in two stages each of 30 shots
25m Specifications
Distance: 25 metres
Calibre:.22 long rifle rimfire
Minimum trigger pull: 1000g.
PRECISION STAGE
Number of shots/time: 30 shots, in six series of 5 shots, each series is 5 minutes
Precision Stage target: 10 rings of 50 mm diameter, each ring increases by 50 mm
After all the competitors have completed the Precision Stage, they then fire the Rapid Fire Stage.
RAPID FIRE STAGE
Number of shots/time: 30 shots, in six series of 5 shots.
Each series consists of 5 exposures of the target, each exposure is for 3 seconds; the shooter fires one shot per exposure.
Rapid Fire Stage target: 10 rings of 100 mm diameter, each ring increases by 80 mm.
The top 8 contestants having the highest scores progress on to the final, which consists of two stages. After the first stage of five, additional rapid-fire stage series of 5 shots each, four of the top scoring finalists then compete for medal contention.
25m Center Fire Pistol
Formerly known as Sport Pistol, 25m Pistol women’s event was introduced in the 1960s. Internationally 25m Pistol is only shot up to and including the Olympics by women, and up to and including the Paralympics by men and women, and by juniors at the World Championships, In Australia, the event is also shot by men at many State competitions.
25m Centre Fire Pistol is one of the ISSF shooting events.
Other than the calibre used, the Centre Fire event is exactly the same as the 25m Pistol Women, and Men’s Sport Pistol events.
The 25m Centre Fire match is shot with a handgun of any calibre between 7.62 mm (.30”) and 9.65 mm (.38”). The most popular choices by far are specially designed sport pistols and revolvers in .32 calibre. Using a revolver is not a disadvantage because there are no speedy series of shots involved. The name Center-Fire comes from the ignition system of these calibers as opposed to the Rimfire of .22 cartridges.
There is no Final round for the Centre Fire Pistol event.
In Australia this event is also shot by women at most competitions.
25m Rapid Fire Pistol
In 25m Rapid Fire Pistol competitors use semi-automatic pistols in .22 caliber (5.6mm) at all levels of competition up to and including the Olympics. A series (or string) consists of five (5) shots fired, one at each of five targets within a limited time.
Five targets stand next to each other at a 25m distance from the shooter. When the targets appear, the competitor must raise his/her arm from a 45-degree angle and fire his/her five shots. If a shot is too late, it will score as a miss.
Target: 10 rings of 100 mm diameter, each ring increases by 80 mm
Distance: 25 meters
Calibre: .22 long rifle rimfire
Minimum trigger pull: 1000g.
Number of shots/time: 60 competition shots, fired as two stages of 30 shots.
There are three different time limits: 8 seconds, 6 seconds and 4 seconds for the series. A stage consists of two series in each time, and a full course of fire comprises two such stages.
The top 6 contestants having the highest scores progress on to the final, which consists of four additional rapid-fire stage series of 5 shots each, fired in the 4-seconds sequence. The final score is added to the qualification score.
In Australia this event is also shot by women at most competitions.
25m Standard Pistol
25m Standard Pistol is one of the ISSF shooting events introduced at the World Championship level in 1970.
Target: 10 rings of 50 mm diameter, each ring increases by 50 mm
Distance: 25 meters
Caliber: .22 long rifle rimfire
Minimum trigger pull: 1000g.
Number of shots/time: 60 competition shots, fired as four stages of 20 shots.
The 60-shot match is divided into 5-shot series with different timings:
4 series of 5 shots within 150 seconds for each series
4 series of 5 shots within 20 seconds for each series
4 series of 5 shots within 10 seconds for each series
There is no Final round for the Standard Pistol event
In Australia this event is also shot by women at most competitions
