ISSF 10 meter air pistol

The 10 meter air pistol is an Olympic shooting event governed by the International Shooting Sport Federation. It is similar to 10 meter air rifle in that it is shot with 4.5 mm caliber air guns at a distance of 10 metres, and that the match consists of a qualification round of 60 competition shots within 75 minutes. If an Electronic Scoring System is not available, 15 minutes are added to the time limit. Competitors are allowed to shoot an unlimited amount of shots during the 15 minutes preparation and sighting time. Along with the 50 meter pistol, it is considered a precision shooting event. Thus, numerous shooters compete in both events.
There are some restrictions on the pistol regarding its dimensions, weight and trigger pull weight. It must be operated by one hand only from a standing, unsupported position. The shooter decides his or her own tempo as long as the maximum time is not exceeded.
After the qualification round, the shooters with the top eight scores move on to a final round consisting of 24 competition shots. After the tenth shot, individual commands are given so that the audience may follow the progress of the standings.
The major competitions are the Olympic Games every four years and the ISSF World Shooting Championships every four years. In addition, the event is included in ISSF World Cups and in continental championships, as well as in many other international and national competitions. It is an indoor sport and, at the highest level, electronic targets are used instead of the traditional paper targets.

Range and target

The distance from floor level to the centre of the target is 1400mm +/- 50mm.
The air pistol range is the same as the air rifle range, giving each shooter a table, a 1 meter wide firing point, and a 10-meter distance between the firing line and the target line. The current rules require ranges to be built indoors, with specified minimum requirements for artificial lighting. Many of the top-level competitions are held at temporary ranges installed in versatile sporting facilities or convention centers.
The target, 17 by 17 cm, is traditionally made of light-coloured cardboard upon which scoring lines, and a black aiming mark consisting of the score zones 7 through 10, are printed. There is also an inner ten ring, but the amount of inner tens is only used for tie-breaking. The changing of these traditional targets is handled by each shooter, by means of electronic – or more archaically, manually operated – carrier devices. In major competitions, only one shot may be fired on each target, a number that can increase to two, five or even ten with lowering level and importance of the competition. Used targets are collected by range officials to be scored in a separate office.
During the last few decades, these paper targets have been gradually replaced by electronic target systems, immediately displaying the results on monitors. When using these systems, actual scoring lines are not printed, but the location of the impact hole is automatically converted into corresponding scores by a computer. ISSF rules now require the use of these systems in top-level competitions. They are generally used in other international competitions as well, and in some countries they are even common in national competitions.

Equipment

To promote comfortable and accurate shooting from a standing position match air pistols must have fast lock times, shoot practically recoilless and vibration free and exhibit minimal movement and balance shifts during discharge. The pistol must also be able to be tailored by adjustable user interfaces and various accessories to individual shooters personal preferences. Combined with appropriate match pellets the pistol has to produce a consistent 10 ring performance, so a non maximal result during the initial phase can be attributed to the participant.
The pistols used are gas-driven with a caliber of 4.5 mm. The minimum trigger pull weight is 500 gram, half that of a sport pistol, and the grip restrictions are similar to sport pistols, but the box in which an air pistol must fit is larger: 42 by 20 by 5 cm. This allows for longer sight lines and also gives room for cocking arms, although with a few exceptions modern match air pistols use pre-filled air, or less commonly carbon dioxide, containers. The maximum overall weight is. The pistol must be operated by only one hand from a standing position, and may only be loaded with one pellet at a time.
For the 10 metre air pistol and air rifle disciplines match diabolo pellets are used. These pellets have wadcutter heads, meaning the front is flat, that leave clean round holes in paper targets for easy scoring. Match pellets are offered in tins and more elaborate packagings that avoid deformation and other damage that could impair their uniformity.
Air gunners are encouraged to perform shooting group tests with their gun clamped in a machine rest to establish which particular match pellet type performs best for their particular air gun. To facilitate maximum performance out of various air guns the leading match pellet manufacturers produce pellets with graduated "head sizes", which means the pellets are offered with front diameters from 4.48 mm up to 4.51 mm.
As in other ISSF pistol events, clothing that restricts the movement of joints for support is not allowed. Optical aids such as iris diaphragms or prescription glasses are allowed as long as they are not mounted on the pistol, which may only have open sights. Though shooting glasses are extremely customizable, most pairs contain three basic elements: a lens, a mechanical iris, and a blinder. These components work together to help shooters focus on both the faraway target and their gun's sights at the same time.
Ear protection is recommended by the ISSF as well as by coaches, who sometimes stress their usefulness in shutting out distracting noise rather than their necessity for safety reasons.
It is each shooter's responsibility to get the pistol and shoes validated in a specific area, the equipment control, prior to starting the competition. To discourage shooters from lowering the trigger pull weight after passing the equipment control, random controls are conducted after the match. Failure to pass such controls results in immediate disqualification.

Match air pistols in production

The following air pistols are in production :

Baikal IZH-46M *Not available in the USA.
Benelli Kite and Benelli Kite Young
FAS 6004
Feinwerkbau P8X and Feinwerkbau P11
Hämmerli AP20
Match Guns MGH1, MGH1- Light and Match Guns MGH1- Hybrid
Morini CM 162 EI, Morini CM 162 MI, Morin I 162 EI- Titanium, and Morini 200 EI
Pardini K10 & K12 and Pardini K10 & K12 Junior
Steyr Evo 10, Steyr Evo 10E, Steyr LP 2 and Steyr LP 50
Tesro PA 10-2
Walther LP500
Walther LP400
Course of fire

Shooters are generally divided into four classes: men, junior men, women and junior women. The junior classes are included in most championships, with some notable exceptions. A shooter remains a junior up to and including the calendar year in which he or she becomes 21 years of age, although a junior may opt to participate in the main class instead. There are also ISSF Junior World Cups.
In both the qualification stage and the final stage, all shooting is supervised by a Chief Range Officer, whose duties include responsibility for the correct behaviour of all personnel, dealing with technical irregularities, and cooperation with the jury.

Qualification

For the qualification stage, the shooters are divided as necessary into relays. Each relay starts with a 15 minute preparation time during which the shooter may fire an unlimited number of sighting shots. Afterwards, the Chief Range Officer gives the command "match firing, start", indicating the start of the competition time. 60 competition shots must be shot within a 75 minute period time. The 60 shots are usually organized in 6 ten-shot series for display on scoreboards.

Final

The top eight shooters in the qualification round advance to the final. Often, many shooters have the same score. The higher number of inner tens is the first tiebreaker. If two or more shooters have the same amount of inner tens, the shooter with the highest score in the last ten-shot series is placed higher.
During the final, the score zones are divided into tenths, so that each hit can give up to 10.9 points instead of the maximum 10 during the qualification. Electronic targets are required by the ISSF for finals at the Olympic Games, ISSF World Cups and ISSF World Championships.
After a five-minute sighting shot period and the presentation of the athletes to the audience, the athletes have 250 seconds to shoot five shots after the command "for the first competition series, load, start". The same command is given again for a second five shot series. After the tenth shot, separate commands are given for each competition shot with a time limit of 50 seconds per shot. After each two shots, the athlete with the lowest score is eliminated until two shooters are left to compete for the first place in the 23rd and 24th shot.
Current rules were introduced in 2017 after the 2016 Summer Olympics.

History

The air pistol event was introduced on the World Championship level in 1970, and on the Olympic programme in 1988. Before 1985, when finals began to be used, championships were decided by the results of the 40 or 60 shot match. Before 1982, the men's match also consisted of 40 shots.
As in many other ISSF events, the target for air pistol was reduced in size in 1989, also lowering the scores, and thereby resetting all records. The development after this shows a contrast to that of air rifle shooting: whereas in air rifle the winning score of the 1989 World Championships would not have reached the final 17 years later, the same result increase has not occurred in air pistol. Sergei Pyzhianov's world record of 593 points, set in the first World Cup Final with the new targets, remained unbeaten for almost 20 years until Jin Jong-oh set a new one with 594 points in at the ISSF World Cup Changwon 2009.
Although competitions are no longer held outdoors, the most important competitions are still scheduled for the Northern Hemisphere summer season because they are combined with outdoor events such as 50m rifle and 25m pistol events. Many lesser international events, however, are held during the European indoor season between October and March, culminating in the European Championships each year. Most of these competitions are multi-day events held together with air rifle matches.

World Championships, Men

Year	Place	Gold	Silver	Bronze
1970	Phoenix
1974	Thun
1978	Seoul
1979	Seoul
1981	Santo Domingo
1982	Caracas
1983	Innsbruck
1985	Mexico City
1986	Suhl
1987	Budapest
1989	Sarajevo
1990	Moscow
1991	Stavanger
1994	Milan
1998	Barcelona
2002	Lahti
2006	Zagreb
2010	Munich
2014	Granada
2018	Changwon

World Championships, Men Team

Year	Place	Gold	Silver	Bronze
1970	Phoenix	Soviet Union Anatoli Egrishin Grigori Kosych Evgeni Raskazov Vladimir Stolipin	Finland Immo Huhtinen Seppo Makinen Matti Juhani Patteri Seppo Saarenpaeae	West Germany Heinrich Fretwurst Heinz Mertel Ernst Mueller Manfred Moeller
1974	Thun	Soviet Union Anatoli Egrishin Grigori Kosych Valeri Margasov Vladimir Stolipin	West Germany Manfred Deichmann Heinrich Fretwurst Dieter Gruetz Wolfgang Labenski	East Germany Helmut Artelet Heinz Szurlies Matthias Hoeflitz Harald Vollmar
1978	Seoul	Finland Teemu Anttila Seppo Mäkinen Paavo Palokangas Seppo Saarenpää	Brazil Paulo Lamego Wilson Scheidemantel Benevenuto Tilli Bertino Souza	Sweden Weith Andersson Ove Gunnarsson Staffan Oscarsson Ragnar Skanåker
1979	Seoul	Sweden Weith Andersson Stig Borje Nilsson Staffan Oscarsson Ragnar Skanåker	United States Jimmie Dorsey Don Hamilton Samual Hunter Don Nygord	South Korea Jang Sik Kim Won Suk Lee Tae Ho Lim Seung Lin Park
1981	Santo Domingo	Bulgaria Ljubtcho Diakov Liubcho Dimitrov Ivan Mandov Jean Mihov	Switzerland Rolf Beutler Roman Burkhard Jacques Alain Perrin Rene von Gunten	Soviet Union Igor Basinski Anatoli Egrishin Alexander Sniezhko Sergei Sumatokhin
1982	Caracas	Soviet Union Anatoli Egrishin Alexsander Melentiev Sergei Sumatokhin Vladas Turla	United States Erich Buljung Jimmie Mc Coy Don Nygord Darius Young	Sweden Weith Andersson Stig Borje Nilsson Benny Oestlund Ragnar Skanåker
1983	Innsbruck	Soviet Union Anatoli Egrishin Alexsander Melentiev Vladas Turla	Sweden Benny Oestlund Staffan Oscarsson Ragnar Skanåker	France Jean Bilon Jacky Durand Remy Harang
1985	Mexico City	Soviet Union Anatoli Egrishin Boris Kokorev Vladas Turla	France Pierre Bremond Philippe Cola Remy Harang	United States George Ross Arnold Vitarbo Darius Young
1986	Suhl	Soviet Union Igor Basinski Boris Kokorev Alexsander Melentiev	France Pierre Bremond Philippe Cola Remy Harang	East Germany Gernot Eder Jens Potteck Uwe Potteck
1987	Budapest	Soviet Union Anatoli Egrishin Boris Kokorev Alexsander Melentiev	East Germany Gernot Eder Jens Potteck Uwe Potteck	Bulgaria Ljubtcho Diakov Tanyu Kiryakov Sabi Sabev
1989	Sarajevo	Soviet Union Sergei Barmin Alexsander Melentiev Sergei Pyzhianov	Italy Roberto Di Donna Dario Palazzani Vincenzo Spilotro	Hungary Csaba Gyorik Zsolt Karacs Zoltan Papanitz
1990	Moscow	Soviet Union Boris Kokorev Mikhail Nestruev Sergei Pyzhianov	Hungary István Ágh Csaba Gyorik Zoltan Papanitz	East Germany Gernot Eder Uwe Potteck Jens Potteck
1991	Stavanger	Soviet Union Sergei Barmin Boris Kokorev Sergei Pyzhianov	Germany Gernot Eder Hans-Juergen Bauer-Neumaier Uwe Potteck	China Jinbao Li Yifu Wang Haifeng Xu
1994	Milan	China Haifeng Xu Yifu Wang Shengge Zhang	Italy Vigilio Fait Roberto Di Donna Vincenzo Spilotro	Hungary Csaba Gyorik Zsolt Karacs Zoltan Papanitz
1998	Barcelona	China Yifu Wang Dan Xu Hui Wu	Russia Mikhail Nestruev Vladimir Gontcharov Boris Kokorev	Belarus Igor Basinski Kanstantsin Lukashyk Siarhei Yurusau
2002	Lahti	Russia Mikhail Nestruev Vladimir Gontcharov Vladimir Isakov	China Yifu Wang Zongliang Tan Huaiyu Li	Ukraine Oleg Dronov Victor Makarov Ivan Rybovalov
2006	Zagreb	China Wei Pang Zhongzai Lin Zongliang Tan	Russia Mikhail Nestruev Vladimir Isakov Vladimir Gontcharov	France Walter Lapeyre Manuel Alexandre-Augrand Franck Dumoulin
2010	Munich	Russia Sergey Chervyakovskiy Leonid Ekimov Vladimir Isakov	Serbia Andrija Zlatic Damir Mikec Dimitrije Grgic	South Korea Jin Jong-Oh Lee Dae-Myung Han Seung Woo
2014	Granada	Pang Wei Pu Qifeng Wang Zhiwei	Jin Jong-oh Kim Cheong-Yong Lee Dae-myung	Vladimir Gontcharov Vladimir Isakov Sergey Chervyakovskiy
2018	Changwon	Lee Dae-myung Jin Jong-oh Han Seung-woo	Abhishek Verma Om Prakash Mitharwal Shahzar Rizvi	Artem Chernousov Denis Koulakov Anton Gourianov

World Championships, Women

World Championships, Women Team

Year	Place	Gold	Silver	Bronze
1970	Phoenix	Soviet Union Nina Stoliarova Nina Rasskazova Nadezda Ibragimova	West Germany Ortrud Feickert Karin Fitzner Ruth Kasten	United States Lucile Chambliss Sally Carroll Barbara Hile
1974	Thun	Soviet Union Zinaida Simonian Nina Stoliarova Galina Zarikova	United States Sharon Best Barbara Hile Ruby Fox	West Germany Karin Fitzner Ruth Kasten Ortrud Feickert
1978	Seoul	Sweden Kerstin Hansson Gun Näsman Ingridh Strömqvist	Australia Julie Aitken Patricia Dench Maureen Hill	South Korea Kwan Seok Kang Yang Ja Kim Yang Ja Moon
1979	Seoul	United States Sally Carroll Ruby Fox Patricin Olsowsky	Sweden Kerstin Hansson Gun Naesman Sally Remmert	Great Britain Carol Bartlett Rosemarie Edgar Trudy Henry
1981	Santo Domingo	Soviet Union Marina Dobrantcheva Nonna Kalinina Zinaida Simonian	Switzerland Veronica Edelmann Doris Hafen Elisabeth Sager	United States Carol Baker Ruby Fox Sally Carroll
1982	Caracas	Soviet Union Marina Dobrantcheva Inna Rose Auksne Treinite	China Jianmin Gao Yi Nang Zhifang Wen	Sweden Monica Aberg Chris Johansson Gun Naesman
1983	Innsbruck	Sweden Monica Aberg Kerstin Bodin Sally Remmert	Austria Corinna Hoffmann Christine Strahalm Christa Werk	United States Sally Carroll Ruby Fox Cathy Graham
1985	Mexico City	Soviet Union Irada Ashumova Marina Dobrantcheva Inna Rose	Sweden Kerstin Bodin Britt Marie Ellis Maritha Karlsson	West Germany Angelika Hermann Kirsten Steinert Margit Stein
1986	Suhl	Soviet Union Marina Dobrantcheva Irina Kotcherova Lalita Tsvetkova	East Germany Diana Mueller Heidrun Richter Anke Voelker	Sweden Kerstin Bodin Britt Marie Ellis Maritha Karlsson
1987	Budapest	Soviet Union Nino Salukvadze Svetlana Smirnova Lalita Tsvetkova	Poland Dorota Bidolach Maria Janicka-Janda Julita Macur	West Germany Lieselotte Breker Anetta Kalinowski Margit Stein
1989	Sarajevo	West Germany Lieselotte Breker Anetta Kalinowski Margit Stein	Soviet Union Olga Shilenok Nino Salukvadze Svetlana Smirnova	Hungary Agnes Ferencz Anna Gonczi Marta Kotroczo
1990	Moscow	Soviet Union Marina Logvinenko Nino Salukvadze Svetlana Smirnova	Federal Republic of Germany Lieselotte Breker Monika Schilleder Margit Stein	Bulgaria Mariya Grozdeva Margarita Shkodrova Tania Staneva
1991	Stavanger	Soviet Union Olga Klochneva Marina Logvinenko Nino Salukvadze	Germany Lieselotte Breker Margit Stein Anke Voelker	Yugoslavia Ksenja Macek Jasna Šekarić Mirela Skoko
1994	Milan	China Xiaoping Fan Duihong Li Ge Ma	Bulgaria Diana Iorgova Mariya Grozdeva Tania Staneva	Germany Doreen Mueller Margit Stein Anke Voelker
1998	Barcelona	Russia Galina Beliaeva Svetlana Smirnova Marina Logvinenko	China Yeqing Cai Jie Ren Luna Tao	Germany Carmen Meininger Margit Stein Anke Schumann
2002	Lahti	Russia Olga Kousnetsova Svetlana Smirnova Galina Beliaeva	Belarus Viktoria Chaika Liudmila Chabatar Yuliya Alipava	China Luna Tao Ying Chen Jie Ren
2006	Zagreb	China Jun Hu Fengji Fei Ying Chen	Belarus Viktoria Chaika Liudmila Chabatar Yauheniya Haluza	Russia Natalia Paderina Olga Kousnetsova Svetlana Smirnova
2010	Munich	Australia Lalita Yauhleuskaya Dina Aspandiyarova Linda Ryan	South Korea Lee Ho-Lim Kim Byung-Hee Park Min-Jin	China Guo Wenjun Su Yuling Zhang Jingjing
2014	Granada	Jasna Šekarić Bobana Veličković Zorana Arunović	Guo Wenjun Zhang Mengyuan Zhou Qingyuan	Renáta Tobai-Sike Zsófia Csonka Adrienn Nemes
2018	Changwon	Jiang Ranxin Wang Qian Ji Xiaojing	Kim Min-jung Kim Bo-mi Kwak Jung-hye	Vitalina Batsarashkina Margarita Lomova Svetlana Medvedeva

World Championships, total medals

Current world records

Olympic and World Champions

The ISSF publishes lists of historical champions.

Men

A green background indicates the Olympic champion.

Women