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The ISSF programme
Pistol shooting is not one event. It is a family of precision disciplines that test the same fundamental skills in very different ways — from the deliberate stillness of Air Pistol and 50m Pistol to turning targets, time pressure and the controlled speed of Rapid Fire. CLDPC is an ISSF discipline club: these six matches are at the heart of what we shoot, what our ranges are built for and what our competitions are run under.
Our programme
Six matches
The International Sport Shooting Federation administers pistol, rifle and shotgun matches shot around the world. Standardised rules and worldwide participation are what let several of these events sit on the Olympic and Commonwealth Games programmes — and what makes the match you shoot here the same match shot at that level.
Air Pistol
A slow fire match demanding similar precision to Free Pistol, shot at 10 metres on a target measuring 17cm × 17cm with a 12mm ten-ring. The match is 60 shots.
- Olympic
- 10m indoor
- 60 shots
- .177 air
Air pistol is a great teacher of handgun fundamentals: these are highly accurate handguns with a minimum trigger weight of 500 grams, easy to control and with no recoil. They are economical to shoot and silent compared with cartridge firearms. Three operating systems are used — spring and piston, pneumatic, and gas. Good target air pistols have adjustable grips, sights and triggers and are extraordinarily accurate — which brings you back to the central challenge of the sport: the pistol does not move; the shooter does.
Standard Pistol
Shot at 25 metres with a .22 Long Rifle semi-auto on a precision target with a 50mm ten-ring, in timed series of five shots on turning targets.
- 25m outdoor
- 60 shots
- .22LR semi-auto
Four series of 150 seconds, four of 20 seconds and four of 10 seconds — 60 shots in total. Each series starts with the shooter's arm at 45° to the horizontal. Barrels are limited to 150mm and triggers to no lighter than 1000g. Recoil handling matters, especially in the 10-second series, and a momentary lapse of concentration can see many points disappear. The match combines precision and rapid-fire technique, which is exactly what makes it interesting.
Centrefire Pistol
One of the most popular events, and one of the oldest. Two separate 30-shot stages at 25 metres.
- 25m outdoor
- 60 shots
- .32–.38 calibre
The precision stage is shot on a precision target with a 50mm ten-ring, five minutes for each five-shot series. The rapid fire stage is shot on turning targets: one shot with each exposure, the target turning toward the shooter for 3 seconds and away for 7, with the arm lowered to 45° between exposures. Any centrefire calibre from .32 to .38 may be used, revolver or semi-auto, barrel no longer than 150mm, trigger no lighter than 1000g. The heavier trigger plus centrefire recoil makes this a genuinely difficult event for a new shooter — and a universally popular one.
25m Pistol
Identical to Centrefire, except that the handguns are .22 Long Rifle semi-autos complying with Standard Pistol specifications.
- 25m outdoor
- 60 shots
- .22LR semi-auto
Some manufacturers — Walther and Feinwerkbau among them — make special lightweight versions of their Standard Pistols for this match. It is officially designated for women and juniors, but at club and state level it is also shot by men.
50m Pistol (Free Pistol)
One of the oldest matches: sixty shots at precision targets, offhand, at 50 metres. The ten-ring is 50mm across.
- 50m outdoor
- 60 shots
- .22LR single shot
The handguns are long-barrelled .22 Long Rifle single shots — exceptionally accurate, with full wrap-around orthopaedic grips, very light set triggers and high-precision sights. Scoring well is very difficult without the elements of accurate handgunning mastered. It presents a formidable challenge to a new shooter and is, at the same time, an excellent way to learn, because there is no time pressure to hurry through the match.
Rapid Fire Pistol
Five targets side by side at 25 metres. When they appear, the competitor raises their arm from 45° and fires five shots — one at each target.
- Olympic
- 25m outdoor
- 60 shots
- .22LR
Sixty competition shots fired as two stages of 30. Three time limits apply to the series: 8 seconds, 6 seconds and 4 seconds. A stage is two series at each time, and a full course of fire is two such stages. A shot fired too late scores as a miss. In Australia the event is shot by both men and women at most competitions.
Also affiliated
Service Pistol & WA1500
Pistol Australia is the peak sporting body for pistol shooting in Australia, and our affiliation with it covers the Service Pistol and WA1500 disciplines as well as the ISSF programme.
These are holster-start matches shot over distances from 7 to 50 yards, from prone, kneeling, sitting, barricade and free-standing positions, using centrefire pistols in 9mm, .38 and .357. The same firearms suit both. A current PA Holster Accreditation is required to compete or train in either.
Range 4, with its relocatable target trolley and three removable barricades, is where members practise the barricade and short-distance work these disciplines call for. The Club Captain is the person to talk to about current arrangements and what is coming up.
Find the match that suits you
New shooters usually start on air pistol, where the fundamentals are easiest to learn and the cheapest to practise. Everything else follows from there.