ISSF 10 meter air rifle
10 meter air rifle is an International Shooting Sports Federation shooting event, shot over a distance of from a standing position with a calibre air rifle with a maximum weight of. 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 or in disabled sports.
The major competitions are the Olympic Games every four years and the ISSF World Shooting Championships every four years. 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. During the 1970s technical advances in the employed match air rifles made the international shooting union, known as the UIT back then, but today the International Shooting Sport Federation, decide to reduce the size of the 10 meter air rifle target to its current dimensions.
Rules
Until 2013, the maximum achievable aggregate score was 709 for men and 509 for women. The score for the qualification used integers and the final stage included decimals. No top competitor achieved an official perfect aggregate score under these rules.Under rules introduced in 2013, the qualification scores that used to be combined with the finals scores for competition results were deleted, and the best eight competitors started all over again. In the 20 shots final, the highest achievable final score was 218.0 points. No top competitor achieved an official perfect final score under these rules.
Rules introduced in 2018 ended the competition format differences between male and female athletes. Also, the final was changed to 24 shots. In the final, the highest achievable final score is 261.6 points. Up to 2020, no top competitor has achieved an official perfect final score under these rules. The current world record is 252.8 for men and 252.9 for women.
Qualification Round
Pre 2013 qualification rules
The course of fire was 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 was awarded for each shot. Top competitors sometimes achieved maximum results for the initial or qualification phase. 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. This leads to many national records in fact being equal to the world records.2013 to 2018 qualification rules
The course of fire was 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 10.9 points was awarded for each shot. The highest possible 60 shots score for men was 654.0 points and for woman 436.0 points.2018 qualification rules
ISSF rules introduced in 2018 ended the gender differences, expanding the 40 shots qualification phase for women into 60 shots, setting the highest possible 60 shots score at 654.0 points.Finals
Pre 2013 finals rules
The top eight shooters from the qualification round moved 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. Every scoring ring is 5 mm wide and sub-divided in 0.5 mm 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.2013 to 2018 finals rules
In November 2012, The ISSF announced other finals rules. This finals rules had the best eight shooters starting from zero, eliminating the qualification scores that used to be combined with the finals scores for competition results. The format consisted of 20 finals shots scored in 0.1 point value as the rings approach the center of the target, setting the highest possible 20 shots score at 218.0 points.2018 finals rules
Since 2018 the ISSF finals rules rank the eight best shooters starting from zero, eliminating the qualification scores. The format consists of 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 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 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. 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 up to.
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 are test-fired through the gun. Many different batches will be tested in this manner, and the pellets which give the smallest consistent group size without fliers will be selected ; and the shooter will then purchase several tens of thousands of pellets from that batch. Group sizes of diameter are theoretically possible, but practically shot groups of are considered highly competitive. Unbatched ammunition, especially if the air gun is not regularly cleaned, is generally thought to be capable of only 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.
The occurrence of high 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 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 like the non-magnifying target shooting diopter and globe sighting line 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 sub-10.0 average result can be attributed to the participant and at 2019 top competition level a 10.5 average result can be regarded as excellent.
Gallery
World Championships, Men
| Year | Place | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| 1966 | Wiesbaden | |||
| 1970 |  Phoenix | |||
| 1974 | Thun | |||
| 1978 |  Seoul | |||
| 1979 | Seoul | |||
| 1981 | Santo Domingo | |||
| 1982 | Caracas | |||
| 1983 | Innsbruck | |||
| 1985 | Mexico City | |||
| 1986 | Suhl | |||
| 1987 | Budapest | |||
| 1989 | Sarajevo | |||
| 1990 |  Moscow | |||
| 1991 | Stavanger | |||
| 1994 | Milan | |||
| 1998 | Barcelona | |||
| 2002 | Lahti | |||
| 2006 | Zagreb | |||
| 2010 |  Munich | |||
| 2014 |  Granada | |||
| 2018 | Changwon |
World Championships, Men Team
| Year | Place | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| 1966 | Wiesbaden | Switzerland Auguste Hollenstein Erwin Vogt Hans Simonet Kurt Mueller | West Germany Gerd Kuemmet Ernst Beith Bernd Klingner Gunter Vetter | Soviet Union Ludwig Lustberg Eduard Jarosh Vladimir Konyakhin Vassily Borisov |
| 1970 | Phoenix | West Germany Peter Kohnke Bernd Klingner Gottfried Kustermann Klaus Zaehringer | United States Lanny Bassham David Boyd John Robert Foster Lones Wigger | East Germany Dieter Munzert Hartmut Sommer Helman Uhlemann Uto Wunderlich |
| 1974 | Thun | West Germany Franz Hamm Gottfried Kustermann Bernd Ramms Wolfgang Ruehle | United States Lanny Bassham David Cramer Edward Schumacher John Writer | Poland Stanislaw Marucha Eugeniusz Pedzisz Romuald Simionov Andrzej Trajda |
| 1978 | Seoul | West Germany Kurt Hillenbrand Gottfried Kustermann Oswald Schlipf Werner Seibold | United States John Akemon Lanny Bassham Kurt Fitz Randolph David Kimes | South Korea Gyong Hwan Bae Ja Hyoun Myoung Jang Woon Seo Deok Ha Yoon |
| 1979 | Seoul | Switzerland Kuno Bertschy Hans Braem Hansueli Minder Anton Mattle | United States David Cramer Ray Carter Michael Gross Ernest van de Zande | Great Britain Malcolm Cooper John Churchill Barry Dagger Robert Joyce |
| 1981 | Santo Domingo | West Germany Walter Hillenbrand Kurt Hillenbrand Kurt Rieth Oswald Schlipf | France Pascal Bessy Patrice de Mullenheim Daniel Labrune Dominique Maquin | Norway Amund Bjerbnes Arnt-Olav Haugland Per Erik Lokken Harald Stenvaag |
| 1982 | Caracas | Norway Arnt-Olav Haugland Per Erik Lokken Svien Sotberg Harald Stenvaag | West Germany Kurt Hillenbrand Kurt Rieth Oswald Schlipf Bernhard Suess | East Germany Bernd Hartstein Sven Martini Frank Rettkowski Andreas Wolfram |
| 1983 | Innsbruck | France Jean-Pierre Amat Michel Bury Philippe Heberlé | West Germany Peter Heinz Bernhard Suess Hubert Suess | Soviet Union Alexander Mitrofanov Viktor Vlasov Juri Zavolodko |
| 1985 | Mexico City | France Jean-Pierre Amat Philippe Heberlé Dominique Maquin | Yugoslavia Rajmond Debevec Sacir Dzeko Goran Maksimovic | West Germany Kurt Hillenbrand Walter Hillenbrand Bernhard Suess |
| 1986 | Suhl | West Germany Johann Riederer Hubert Suess Bernhard Suess | United States Daniel Durben Kurt Fitz Randolph Robert Foth | Norway Arnt-Olav Haugland Harald Stenvaag Kare Inge Viken |
| 1987 | Budapest | United States Daniel Durben Robert Foth Matthew Suggs | Yugoslavia Rajmond Debevec Sacir Dzeko Goran Maksimovic | Soviet Union Juri Fedkin Kirill Ivanov Juri Zavolodko |
| 1989 | Sarajevo | France Jean-Pierre Amat Franck Badiou Nicolas Berthelot | Soviet Union Viatcheslav Botchkarev Juri Fedkin Sergei Martynov | West Germany Hannes Hirschvogel Johann Riederer Matthias Stich |
| 1990 | Moscow | West Germany Hannes Hirschvogel Johann Riederer Matthias Stich | East Germany Olaf Hess Sven Martini Frank Rettkowski | South Korea Young Chul Cha Tae Jin Eom Jung Mo Yoo |
| 1991 | Stavanger | Norway Nils Petter Haakedal Leif Steinar Rolland Harald Stenvaag | Soviet Union Eugeni Aleinikov Juri Fedkin Sergei Schedrin | Germany Hannes Hirschvogel Johann Riederer Matthias Stich |
| 1994 | Milan | Belarus Anatoli Klimenko Georgi Nekhaev Sergei Martynov | Czech Republic Milan Bakes Petr Kurka Dalimil Nejezchleba | Russia Juri Fedkin Artem Khadjibekov Sergei Schedrin |
| 1998 | Barcelona | Russia Artem Khadjibekov Eugeni Aleinikov Konstantin Prikhodtchenko | South Korea Kean Bae Chae Young Sueb Lim Jung Jun Ko | Slovakia Jozef Gönci Miroslav Svorada Peter Bubernik |
| 2002 | Lahti | Russia Konstantin Prikhodtchenko Eugeni Aleinikov Artem Khadjibekov | China Li Jie Fu Zhang Yalin Cai | United States Jason Parker Matthew Emmons Troy Bassham |
| 2006 | Zagreb | China Li Jie Qinan Zhu Lei Zhang | Russia Konstantin Prikhodtchenko Denis Sokolov Serguei Kruglov | Austria Christian Planer Thomas Farnik Mario Knoegler |
World Championships, Women
| Year | Place | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| 1970 | Phoenix | |||
| 1974 | Thun | |||
| 1978 | Seoul | |||
| 1979 | Seoul | |||
| 1981 | Santo Domingo | |||
| 1982 | Caracas | |||
| 1983 | Innsbruck | |||
| 1985 | Mexico City | |||
| 1986 | Suhl | |||
| 1987 | Budapest | |||
| 1989 | Sarajevo | |||
| 1990 | Moscow | |||
| 1991 | Stavanger | |||
| 1994 | Milan | |||
| 1998 | Barcelona | |||
| 2002 | Lahti | |||
| 2006 | Zagreb | |||
| 2010 | Munich | |||
| 2014 | Granada | |||
| 2018 | Changwon |
World Championships, Women Team
| Year | Place | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| 1970 | Phoenix | Yugoslavia Magdalena Herold Mirjana Masic Desanka Perovic | Soviet Union Tamara Cherkasova Lucia Fagereva Tatiana Ratnikova | West Germany Ingrid Kappes Monika Riesterer Anneliese Rhomberg |
| 1974 | Thun | Soviet Union Kira Boiko Tatiana Ratnikova Baiba Zarina | Poland Elzbieta Janik Elzbieta Kowalewska Irena Wierzbowska-Mlotkowska | West Germany Elke Becker Elisabeth Bals Elisabeth Boehmer |
| 1978 | Seoul | United States Karen Monez Wanda Oliver Sue Ann Sandusky | South Korea Young Soon Kim Nam Soon Park Joo Hee Yoo | West Germany Elisabeth Bals Monika Sonnet Jutta Sperlich |
| 1979 | Seoul | United States Becky Braun Wanda Jewell Karen Monez | South Korea Kyung Ok Chung Nam Soon Park Duk Nam Yoon | Great Britain Sarah Cooper Leslie Dodds Irene Daw |
| 1981 | Santo Domingo | Soviet Union Baiba Berklava Valentina Cherkasova Svetlana Komaristova | Norway Thoril Brodahl-Radet Elisabeth Brodahl Anne Grethe Jeppesen | Bulgaria Anna Kirova Vesela Letcheva Anka Pelova |
| 1982 | Caracas | East Germany Gilda Gorzkulla Marlies Helbig Marlies Moch | United States Wanda Jewell Karen Monez Gloria Parmentier | Soviet Union Svetlana Komaristova Lessia Leskiv Anna Malakhova |
| 1983 | Innsbruck | West Germany Ulrike Holmer Sigrid Lang Silvia Sperber | Hungary Eva Forian Kiss Eva Herrne Laszlone Hunyadi | Soviet Union Svetlana Komaristova Marina Kuznetsova Lessia Leskiv |
| 1985 | Mexico City | Bulgaria Krassimira Dontcheva Vesela Letcheva Nonka Matova | United States Mary Godlove Mary Schweitzer Pat Spurgin | Hungary Eva Forian Laszlone Hunyadi Agnes Szasz |
| 1986 | Suhl | Finland Leena Melartin Thune Pirjo Peltola Sirpa Ylönen | Switzerland Gaby Buehlmann Irene Dufaux Suter Vreni Ryter | Soviet Union Valentina Cherkasova Anna Maloukhina Marina Suslova |
| 1987 | Budapest | Bulgaria Krassimira Dontcheva Vesela Letcheva Nonka Matova | West Germany Heike Goette Carmen Giese Birgit Zeiske | Soviet Union Anna Maloukhina Natalia Oleneva Irina Shevtsova |
| 1989 | Sarajevo | Bulgaria Vesela Letcheva Nonka Matova Anitza Valkova | Soviet Union Valentina Cherkasova Anna Maloukhina Svitlana Seledkova | Hungary Marta Bogdan Eva Forian Eva Joo |
| 1990 | Moscow | United States Launi Meili Kristen Peterson Deena Wigger | Hungary Bernadette Fehrentheil Eva Forian Eva Joo | Soviet Union Valentina Cherkasova Anna Maloukhina Iryna Shylava |
| 1991 | Stavanger | Soviet Union Valentina Cherkasova Svitlana Seledkova Iryna Shylava | Hungary Bernadette Fehrentheil Eva Forian Eva Joo | United States Elizabeth Bourland Launi Meili Debora Sinclair |
| 1994 | Milan | Germany Petra Horneber Bettina Knells Sonja Pfeilschifter | Russia Valentina Cherkasova Irina Gerasimenok Anna Maloukhina | South Korea Eun Joo Lee Mi Ran Oh Kab Soon Yeo |
| 1998 | Barcelona | Germany Sonja Pfeilschifter Petra Horneber Dunja Beilharz | China Yinghui Zhao Hong Shan Xian Wang | Spain Marina Pons Cristina Antolin Marta Antolin |
| 2002 | Lahti | China Li Du Jing Gao Yinghui Zhao | South Korea Sun Hwa Seo Hyung Mi Kim Dae Young Choi | Ukraine Natallia Kalnysh Lessia Leskiv Nataliya Omelyanenko |
| 2006 | Zagreb | Germany Sonja Pfeilschifter Barbara Lechner Sylvia Aumann | China Li Du Yinghui Zhao Jieyi Tang | Russia Marina Bobkova Tatiana Goldobina Lioubov Galkina |
| 2010 | Munich | Germany Jessica Mager Beate Gauss Sonja Pfeilschifter | China Yi Siling Wu Liuxi Liu Qing | United States Meghann Morrill Jamie Lynn Gray Emily Caruso |