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

Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2019 9:09 am
by 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.

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

Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2019 9:40 am
by 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.

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

Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2019 9:45 am
by 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

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

Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2019 9:47 am
by David Levene
Gwhite wrote: Tue Aug 06, 2019 9:40 am 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

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

Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2019 9:50 am
by targetshooter_10x
Thank you all. I had read the something similar as well... but the mis-information or old information still exists.

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

Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2019 10:19 am
by 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.

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

Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2019 5:13 pm
by 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.

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

Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2019 7:43 pm
by 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

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

Posted: Tue Aug 06, 2019 11:42 pm
by john bickar
Gwhite wrote: Tue Aug 06, 2019 5:13 pm 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.)

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

Posted: Sat Aug 31, 2019 12:17 am
by 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.

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

Posted: Sun Sep 01, 2019 11:32 am
by sparky
hurt wrote: Tue Aug 06, 2019 7:43 pm 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.