Can you use 22 shorts for shooting 50 Meter free pistol?

[targetshooter_10x]

So the title pretty much is the reason for the post.

Is it legal to shoot 22 shorts for 50 Meter free pistol? The main reason being is that I have read and heard that it's legal to use old pre 2000 Olympic rapid fire guns to shoot free pistol. Which seems counter to their original purpose but I could see it given the right gun.

Thanks for the information in advance.

[Gwhite]

In a word, no:

Rule 8.4.3.4 50m Pistol
a) Any caliber 5.6 mm (.22 cal.) rimfire pistol chambered for long rifle cartridges may be used

The pistol must be chambered for .22 long rifle. I suppose you could shoot shorts in one, but the accuracy would probably be terrible, and you would eventually ruin the chamber.

[David Levene]

No.

ISSF rule 8.4.4 states that you must use .22LR.

If you want to use any kind of semi-auto (or revolver) then you can only load it with 1 round, ISSF rule 8.12

[David Levene]

I suppose you could shoot shorts in one, but the accuracy would probably be terrible, and you would eventually ruin the chamber.

As I quoted above, 8.4.4 says you must use .22LR

[targetshooter_10x]

Thank you all. I had read the something similar as well... but the mis-information or old information still exists.

[Jon Math]

I was under the impression the only thing a free pistol ever had to be was safe and 22 LR chambered. The rapid fire pistol was shot with shorts back before the rules change; and in spite of now being obsolete they are hard to find and expensive when you do.

[Gwhite]

There are a few shooters who use old rapid fire guns in the Greater Boston Pistol League. It's a 50 foot bullseye league, and if it goes bang & make the right sized holes, it's pretty much OK.

[hurt]

Do you think the chamber could be reamed to long rifle dimensions and shoot CCI Quiet. They shoot pretty soft and are pretty accurate. I dont know if you would need a stronger recoil spring or need to add some weight to the slide? Since you have to single load..no magazine changes would be needed..at least in something like an OSP where it is easy to reach the chamber. Or ream it out and get heavy springs and weights to shoot any SV ammo. Just a thought

[john bickar]

There are a few shooters who use old rapid fire guns in the Greater Boston Pistol League. It's a 50 foot bullseye league, and if it goes bang & make the right sized holes, it's pretty much OK.

I competed in the GBPL for one season a number of years ago. I have many fond, and some odd/funny, memories of the experience.

It's "one of a kind". That was my experience with pistol shooting in New England in general.

(I shot a .22LR, FWIW.)

[Dr.Lee]

Besides the ruling on using.22LR, the proper twist rate for .22lr is 1-16 or 1-17”. .22 short requires a 1-20” twist. Plus the bore size is smaller for the.22 short.

Dr.

[sparky]

Do you think the chamber could be reamed to long rifle dimensions and shoot CCI Quiet. They shoot pretty soft and are pretty accurate. I dont know if you would need a stronger recoil spring or need to add some weight to the slide? Since you have to single load..no magazine changes would be needed..at least in something like an OSP where it is easy to reach the chamber. Or ream it out and get heavy springs and weights to shoot any SV ammo. Just a thought

You could probably ream it, though you'd probably have to play with the magazines to get it to feed .22lr reliably. Not sure how hot CCI Quiets are compared to .22 shorts, but if you use anything much hotter than .22shorts, you might need a stiffer recoil string and/or a way to add mass to the bolt.