ISSF (International Shooting Sport Federation)

ISSF are Olympic and Commonwealth games events.

There are seven main pistol events, Rapid Fire, 10m Air Pistol Mens & Womens, Centre Fire, Sports Pistol, Standard Match and 50m Free Pistol.

Only five of these are shot at the Olympics – Centre Fire and Standard match are included at the Commonwealth games and at club and national levels.


LINKS

Check out our ISSF pics on Facebook.

ISSF Sports Channel – You Tube channel
ISSF Grading Information
ISSF Facebook Page
ISSF Wikipedia entry

If you have a smartphone, it’s worth checking out a few of the apps available to ISSF shooters (eg ISSF Trainer, TargetScan etc).


 

Download: Metro Pistol Club Score Card PDF

10M Air Pistol

Refer to our separate Air Pistol Shooting Discipline page.

25M Rapid Fire Pistol

In 25 m Rapid Fire Pistol competitors use semi-automatic pistols in .22 calibre (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 target 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. 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.

Distance = 25 m
Calibre = .22 long rifle rimfire
Minimum trigger pull = 1000g
Number of shots/time = 60 competition shots, fired as two stages of 30 shots.
Target = 10-ring of 100 mm diameter, each ring increases by 100 mm

25M Centre Fire Pistol

25m Centre Fire Pistol is one of the ISSF shooting events and is normally a men-only event. Other than the calibre used, the Centre Fire event is exactly the same as the 25m Pistol Women, and Mens Sport Pistol events. The 25m Centre Fire match is shot with a handgun of any calibre between 7.62mm (.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 Centre-Fire comes from the ignition system of these calibers as opposed to the Rimfire of .22 cartridges.

Distance = 25 m
Calibre = any between 7.62mm (.30″) and 9.65 mm (.38″)
For Womens Pistol and Mens Sports events, .22 calibres are used
Minimum trigger pull = 1000g
Number of shots/time:
Precision Stage = 30 shots, in six series of 5 shots, each series is 5 minutes
Rapid Fire Stage = 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.
Target:
Precision Stage = 10 ring of 50 mm diameter, each ring increases by 50 mm
Rapid Fire Stage = 10 ring of 100 mm diameter, each ring increases by 100 mm.



25M Pistol

25m Pistol Women’s event is similar to Centre Fire. 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. After all competitors have completed the Precision Stage, they then fire the Rapid Fire Stage. There is a total of 60 shots fired.

Distance = 25 m
Calibre = .22 long rifle rimfire
Minimum trigger pull = 1000g
Number of shots/time:
Precision Stage = 30 shots, in six series of 5 shots, each series is 5 minutes
Rapid Fire Stage = 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.
Target:
Precision Stage = 10 ring of 50 mm diameter, each ring increases by 50 mm
Rapid Fire Stage = 10 ring of 100 mm diameter, each ring increases by 100 mm.

25M Standard Pistol

25m Standard Pistol is one of the ISSF shooting events introduced at the World Championship level in 1970. Standard Match uses .22 caliber pistols over 25 meters. The match consists of 3 separate time stages. 5 shots in 150 seconds, 5 shots in 20 seconds and 5 shots in 10 seconds. A total of 60 shots are fired.

Distance = 25 m
Calibre = .22 long rifle rimfire
Minimum trigger pull = 1000g
Number of shots/time = 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
Target = 10 ring of 50 mm diameter, each ring increases by 50 mm

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 Pistol again uses .22 caliber pistols. It is shot over 50 metres and consists of 60 shots in 2 hours.

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.

50m Pistol is described as the purest form of precision shooting amongst the pistol events, which has undergone minimal rule changes over the past 75 years.

Distance = 50 m
Calibre = .22 long rifle rimfire
Minimum trigger pull = none
Number of shots/time = 60 shots in 2 hours
Target = 10 ring of 50 mm diameter, each ring increases by 50 mm