Olympic pistol events

[Capt. William]

I have done a little pistol shooting; basically just plinking, and qualifying for a concealed weapon permit. I'm curious about the rules for NRA Bullseye, and International events (with the latter, Centerfire, and Rapid Fire).

With NRA bullseye/precision style: is it required to shoot all 3 pistols (.22, centerfire, and .45?)

Does the .45 caliber have any real accuracy advantage over a .32 or .38 at a short indoor range?

Can anyone recommend good beginner's pistols for these events?

Thanks in advance for any info provided!

Capt. William

[Mike McDaniel]

Taking your questions in order....

1. No, you do not have to shoot all 3 guns in Bullseye. A novice is probably better off to just shoot .22.

2. No, the .45 ACP round does not have an advantage at short range, other than the larger bullet hole (if it touches the higher ring, you get the higher score). The real ballistic edge of the .45 is over the .32, and at 50 yards.

3. Beginner's pistols - My advice would be a used High Standard, or a Baikal Izh-35. Yeah, you could buy a Ruger, but you'll hate yourself when you clean it - assuming you get one with a decent trigger.

[Capt. William]

Thank you for the info, Mike! :-)

Capt. William

[Bill Poole]

you titled this thread "olympic pistol EVENTS"

of those mentioned only rapid fire (.22 LR) is an olympic event

International center fire is non-oly but world championships and local events shoot it, including USAS Nationals.

if you have a .22 of any type, TRY rapid fire, if you like it and want to get serious, contact larry's guns in maine about a Hammeri or Pardini http://www.larrysguns.com/
Pilkington might have something used too.

the Hammerli trailside seems to be getting good reviews and Larry had a special batch of them made up for NRA bullseye test target at 50m and he can supply scope mount (don't even think about it for international), grips, etc.

non-oly standard pistol, which is very similar to bullseye without the national match stage, uses the same .22 pistol and Oly womens sport pistol (and non-oly junior men's sport pistol) does too.

While you're talking to Larry, ask about the Pardini .32

it seems everyone uses a .32.

but if you club has a international CF event, shoot whatever you got!

one "could" shoot 50m free pistol (an oly event) with a semi auto if you load singly, but .... most folks use a very specialized ("free" of most restrictions) gun

Poole
http://arizona.rifleshooting.com/

[funtoz]

There is no requirement in the rules that would force you to shoot all three variants of the bullseye match. Match rules may require you to shoot all three guns in 2700 matches. That would be up to the match organizers. It would be best to make contact with the people that run matches near you. They can provide much more help than we can in a forum like this Here are some things to consider in deciding what direction to go with your shooting. Serious bullseye shooters are going to shoot the 45, and they are going to have red-dot sights on their guns. International style shooters must use open sights and their primary tool is a 22.

The 45 used in bullseye is not your garden variety 1911 target pistol. They tend to be semi-custom commercial tools or full custom, smith built ones... price is right up there too. The 45 cannot be used for international centerfire in any sanctioned matches. There is an advantage to using a 45 over a 32 or 38 in bullseye matches where the bigger hole can help your score. There is no advantage for the 38 over the 32 for international centerfire since the scoring is based on a 32 size hole. The biggest, commoly available calibers allowed for international shooting are 9mm or 38.

The most useful target pistol is a 22 standard pistol. It can be used for bullseye, rapid fire, standard pistol, sport pistol, and free pistol. You can usually find a match somewhere that you can use your 22 in. If you're down on funds, pick up a used Ruger target auto. Learn how to shoot with it and try out the different styles of shooting, then buy a purpose specific tool for what you like.

Larry

[Ed Hall]

First, I'd like to invite you over to the Bullseye List where many of your BE questions have already been addressed several times over the years. An archive search will turn up groups of threads and new members are always welcomed with a variety of information flowing. You can visit the archives without joining the list and/or you can join and post questions. Here are some links if you're interested in checking out the List:

List Home Page - http://lava.net/~perrone/bullseye/
List Archive - http://www.escribe.com/sports/bullseye/index.html

I have some formatted archive searches set up here:

http://www.geocities.com/ed_ka2fwj/asearch.html

Now, some further information. I usually suggest starting with only the .22 for BE and many venues will allow a new shooter to fire .22 through the entire three gun match if range space is available. The firing in the Center Fire and .45 portions will be "just for practice" and whether any fee is requested varies from place to place. A few wish to recover target costs, while most are happy to introduce the sport and allow the firing without additional cost. Just check with the match director(s) before the match to see if/how they allow for this with new shooters. In this case, only the .22 Match scores will be forwarded to NRA for classification. Also keep in mind that due to registration fees, the cost for firing .22 only will be higher than one-third of the entire match cost.

As an additional note, you can enter the NRA National Matches and fire only the .22 Match, but the NRA will charge the entire National Match fee no matter how much is fired and they will only allow .22s during the other matches for juniors in a special program called the "Made in America Match."

Depending on your chosen direction (National vs. International) for any formal shooting, you will need to join NRA and/or USAS to compete in many of the matches, although NRA does allow for non-member involvement in some of its sanctioned matches. Joining can normally be accomplished at the match venue while registering.

As for rules, a somewhat outdated NRA version can be seen here:

http://www.bullseyepistol.com/rulebook.htm

and the current ISSF rules can be found here:

http://www.issf-shooting.org/rules/rules.asp

Take Care,
Ed Hall
http://www.airforceshooting.org/
http://www.geocities.com/ed_ka2fwj/

[Capt. William]

The most useful target pistol is a 22 standard pistol. It can be used for bullseye, rapid fire, standard pistol, sport pistol, and free pistol. You can usually find a match somewhere that you can use your 22 in. If you're down on funds, pick up a used Ruger target auto. Learn how to shoot with it and try out the different styles of shooting, then buy a purpose specific tool for what you like.

Larry

Thanks, Larry, and everyone, for all the advice! (Is this a record for resurrecting old threads, or what?! )

That is excellent advice above about getting started: which I still haven't done! Hurricane Katrina and many other things have kept me busy but I still do a little paper punching. I have decided to start my more formal pistol shooting in "my own back yard", so to speak, and hence have an air pistol on order. I figure I can get the hang of bulleye shooting with it for cheap and in my own yard, and can still earn NRA badges and compete in postal matches without having to leave home.

Otherwise: yes, a .22 standard auto pistol will be the way to go for me!

Jim

[Capt. William]

It should be here by the weekend!

Jim