ISSF 10 meter air rifle
10 meter air rifle is an International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) shooting event, shot over a distance of 10 metres (10.94 yards) from a standing position with a 4.5 mm (0.177 in) calibre air rifle with a maximum weight of 5.5 kg (12.13 lb). The use of specialized clothing is allowed to improve the stability of the shooting position and prevent chronic back injury which can be caused by the asymmetric offset load on the spine when the rifle is held in position. It is one of the ISSF-governed shooting events included in the Olympic games.
Shots are fired from the standing position only, as opposed to some other airgun shooting disciplines such as for three positions (popular in the United States) or in disabled sports.
The major competitions are the Olympic Games every four years and the ISSF World Shooting Championships every four years (the Games and the Championships are held two years apart). In addition, the event is included in the ISSF World Cup series, the ISSF World Cup Final, in continental championships, and in many other international and national competitions. It is an indoor sport. In many clubs and ranges, electronic targets are now being used instead of the traditional paper targets.
Scores in 10 meter air rifle have improved rapidly during the last few decades and today top competitors sometimes achieve maximum results (a "possible") for the initial or qualification phase (600 for men and 400 for women). The majority of these full marks were achieved at non-directly ISSF supervised international and national-level matches and championships, where official ISSF recognized world records cannot be set.[1] This leads to many national records in fact being equal to the world records.
Until 2013, the maximum achievable aggregate score (qualification + final score) is 709 for men (600 + 109.0) and 509 for women (400 + 109.0).
No top competitor has achieved an official perfect aggregate score. Under rules introduced in 2013, the qualification scores that used to be combined with the finals scores for competition results are deleted, and the best eight competitors start all over again. In the 20 shots final, the highest achievable final score is 218.0 points. Up to 2018, no top competitor has achieved an official perfect final score.
New rules introduced in 2018 deleted the competition differences between men and women, changing the 40 shots for women into 60 shots.
Also, the final was changed to 24 shots finals were introduced (5 shots + 5 shots + 14 shots elimination phase). In the final, the highest achievable final score is 261.6 points. Up to 2018, no top competitor has achieved an official perfect final score.
Rules
Qualification Round
The course of fire is an unlimited number of sighter shots followed by 60 competition shots for men or 40 competition shots for women, all fired within 75 minutes for men or 50 minutes for women. During this initial or qualification phase a maximum of 10 points are awarded for each shot.
Finals
Up until 2012, the top eight shooters from the qualification phase move on to a finals event consisting of 10 shots – each decimal scored to a maximum of 10.9 – with the cumulative score determining the winner (qualification + finals score). Every scoring ring is 5 mm wide and sub-divided in 0.5 mm (≈ 0.1719 MOA) increments in 10 "subrings". Like the other scoring rings the maximum of 10.9 is derived from an additional set of 10 "subrings" within the center 10-point circle, increasing in 0.1 point value as the rings approach the center of the target.
In November 2012, The ISSF announced new finals rules for 2013-2016.[2] The new finals has shooters starting from zero, eliminating the qualification scores that used to be combined with the finals scores for competition results. The new format begins with 2 series of 5 shots each, to be fired within 250 seconds per series. This is followed by 14 single shots each fired on command with 50 seconds for each shot. Eliminations of the lowest scoring finalists begin after the tenth shot (series + first 2 single shots) and continue after every two shots, until the gold and silver medalists are decided. There is a total of 24 finals shots, setting the highest possible 24 shots score at 261.6 points. If there is a tie for the lowest ranking athlete to be eliminated, the tied athletes will fire additional tie-breaking single shots until the tie is broken.
Equipment
For the 10 meter air rifle and air pistol disciplines, match diabolo pellets are used. These pellets have wadcutter heads, meaning the front is (nearly) 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.
Match air rifle shooters 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.[3] 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 (0.176 in) up to 4.52 mm (0.178 in).
However at higher and top competitive levels, even these variations are thought too coarse-grained and match pellets are batch tested; that is, the specific gun is mounted in a machine rest test rig and pellets from a specific production run on a specific machine with the same ingredients fed into the process (a batch) are test-fired through the gun.[4] Many different batches will be tested in this manner, and the pellets which give the smallest consistent group size without fliers (shots which fall outside of the main group) will be selected (small but inconsistent group sizes are not useful to a top competitor); and the shooter will then purchase several tens of thousands of pellets from that batch. Group sizes of 4.5 mm (0.177 in) diameter are theoretically possible, but practically shot groups of 5.0 mm (0.197 in) are considered highly competitive.[5] Unbatched ammunition, especially if the air gun is not regularly cleaned, is generally thought to be capable of only 8.0 mm (0.315 in) diameter group sizes. Batch-testing match pellets for a particular gun is not generally thought to be worthwhile until the shooter reaches a high proficiency level (around the 95% level i.e 570 for men, 380 for women).
The occurrence of full marks scores is mainly due to the continuous development of the employed match air rifles from spring-piston type designs into single-stroke pneumatic and pre-charged pneumatic (PCP) designs. Modern PCP match rifles from the leading manufacturers all feature regulated PCP actions to minimize shot-to-shot operating pressure variation and hence muzzle velocity inconsistency, mechanical or electronic match triggers offering fast lock times, shoot practically recoilless and vibration free, exhibit minimal movement and balance shifts and can be tailored by an adjustable aluminum stock and other user interfaces and various accessories to the individual shooters personal preferences to promote comfortable and accurate shooting from a standing position. Combined with appropriate match pellets these rifles produce a consistent 10-ring performance, so a non-maximal result during the initial phase can be attributed to the participant.
Gallery
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Women's 10 m Air Rifle competition at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney
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Olympic gold medalist Nancy Johnson aims carefully as she competes in the women's 10 m Air Rifle competition at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney
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Hattie Johnson aiming her air rifle. She competed in the women's 10 m Air Rifle competition at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece
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Deena Wigger in 1996
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Competitor resting between shots during an ISSF competition
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User adjustable stock of a PCP match rifle
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Electronic scoring system used at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
World Championships, Men
World Championships, Men Team
World Championships, Women
World Championships, Women Team
World Championships, total medals
Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | West Germany (FRG) | 14 | 6 | 9 | 29 |
2 | Soviet Union (URS) | 7 | 12 | 10 | 29 |
3 | United States (USA) | 7 | 12 | 4 | 23 |
4 | France (FRA) | 7 | 2 | 0 | 9 |
5 | Bulgaria (BUL) | 6 | 0 | 3 | 9 |
6 | Germany (GER) | 5 | 0 | 4 | 9 |
7 | China (CHN) | 3 | 6 | 1 | 10 |
8 | Hungary (HUN) | 3 | 3 | 3 | 9 |
9 | Norway (NOR) | 3 | 2 | 4 | 9 |
10 | Russia (RUS) | 3 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
11 | East Germany (GDR) | 3 | 1 | 6 | 10 |
12 | Switzerland (SUI) | 2 | 6 | 0 | 8 |
13 | Yugoslavia (YUG) | 1 | 4 | 0 | 5 |
14 | Poland (POL) | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 |
15 | Czech Republic (CZE) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
16 | Belarus (BLR) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
17 | India (IND) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
18 | Finland (FIN) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Israel (ISR) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
20 | South Korea (KOR) | 0 | 4 | 8 | 12 |
21 | Great Britain (GBR) | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
22 | Austria (AUT) | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
23 | Slovakia (SVK) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
24 | Romania (ROU) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
25 | Italy (ITA) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Japan (JPN) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
Kazakhstan (KAZ) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
Netherlands (NED) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
Spain (ESP) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
Sweden (SWE) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
Ukraine (UKR) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
Totals (31 entries) | 70 | 70 | 71 | 211 |
Current world records
Current world records in 10 metre air rifle | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Men | Qualification | 600 | Tevarit Majchacheep (THA) Denis Sokolov (RUS) Gagan Narang (IND) Gagan Narang (IND) Zhu Qinan (CHN) |
January 27, 2000 March 1, 2008 May 5, 2008 May 16, 2008 September 22, 2011 |
Langkawi (MAS) Winterthur (SUI) Bangkok (THA) New Delhi (IND) Wrocław (POL) |
edit | |||
Final | 703.8 | Zhu Qinan (CHN) (600+103.8) | September 22, 2011 | Wrocław (POL) | edit | ||||
Junior Men | Individual | 599 | Cheon Min-ho (KOR) Zhu Qinan (CHN) Zhu Qinan (CHN) Sergey Richter (ISR) |
April 24, 2004 August 16, 2004 October 30, 2004 May 16, 2009 |
Athens (GRE) Athens (GRE) Bangkok (THA) Munich (GER) |
edit | |||
Women | Qualification | 400 | Seo Sun-hwa (KOR) Gao Jing (CHN) Lioubov Galkina (RUS) Du Li (CHN) Lioubov Galkina (RUS) Suma Shirur (IND) Lioubov Galkina (RUS) Monika Haselsberger (AUT) Barbara Lechner (GER) Zhao Yinghui (CHN) Wu Liuxi (CHN) Du Li (CHN) Sonja Pfeilschifter (GER) Kateřina Emmons (CZE) Lioubov Galkina (RUS) Yi Siling (CHN) |
12 April 2002 22 April 2002 24 August 2002 4 June 2003 14 June 2003 13 February 2004 22 February 2004 22 April 2004 5 March 2005 11 April 2005 11 June 2005 4 October 2006 24 May 2008 9 August 2008 5 November 2008 1 August 2010 |
Sydney (AUS) Shanghai (CHN) Munich (GER) Zagreb (CRO) Munich (GER) Kuala Lumpur (MAS) Bangkok (THA) Athens (GRE) Tallinn (EST) Changwon (KOR) Munich (GER) Granada (ESP) Milan (ITA) Beijing (CHN) Bangkok (THA) Munich (GER) |
edit | |||
Final | 505.6 | Yi Siling (CHN) (400+105.6) | 1 August 2010 | Munich (GER) | edit | ||||
Teams | 1196 | China (Du, Wu, Zhao) | December 6, 2007 | Kuwait City (KUW) | edit | ||||
Junior Women | Individual | 400 | Seo Sun-hwa (KOR) Zhang Yi (CHN) |
April 12, 2002 December 6, 2007 |
Sydney (AUS) Kuwait City (KUW) |
edit | |||
Teams | 1188 | South Korea (Choi, Kim, Seo) | July 8, 2002 | Lahti (FIN) | edit |
Post 1 January 2013 World and Olympic Records
Qualification records Men | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
World record | Peter Sidi (HUN) | 633.5 | Munich, Germany | 25 May 2013 |
Olympic record | Niccolò Campriani (ITA) | 630.2 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 8 August 2016 |
Qualification records Women | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
World record | Chen Dongqi (CHN) | 422.9 | Munich, Germany | 28 May 2015 |
Olympic record | Du Li (CHN) | 420.7 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 6 August 2016 |
Final records Men | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
World record | Xuechao Qian (CHN) | 210.6 | Munich, Germany | 21 May 2016 |
Olympic record | Niccolò Campriani (ITA) | 206.1 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 8 August 2016 |
Final records Women | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
World record | Yi Siling (CHN) | 211.0 | Beijing, China | 3 July 2014 |
Olympic record | Virginia Thrasher (USA) | 208.0 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 6 August 2016 |
References
- ^ Records officially recognized by the ISSF
- ^ "New ISSF 2013-2016 Rules: competitions will start from zero, and end in a duel". International Shooting Sport Federation.
- ^ "Air Gun Testing Target Pellets" (PDF). Neal J. Guns Ecommerce Blog. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 March 2009.
- ^ Scott Pilkington (May–June 2008). "About Pellet Numbers and Pellet Testing" (PDF). USA Shooting News. Retrieved 2013-02-20.
- ^ Haendler & Natermann Finale Match Rifle