Air Rifle & Smallbore Rifle
Air Rifle & Smallbore Rifle
| As the name suggests, these Olympic sports are confined to rifles of smaller calibre - .22 rimfire rifles and .177 air rifles. Smallbore rifle shooting and air rifle shooting is extremely popular all around the world, where the tradition goes back many years. | |
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Air Rifle The
air rifle match consists of a 60 shot event for men and a 40 shot event
for women using a .177 calibre target air rifle weighing no more than
5.5kg. Pictures of the types of rifles used in competition, are available
on this site.
The event is shot in the standing position over a distance of 10 metres usually on an indoor range with set lighting standards. In international competition, there are separate events for men and women, although both genders jointly contest many of the events in Australia. Air Rifle is an inexpensive way of getting into shooting, and it is an especially appropriate way to introduce juniors to shooting. Pictured left is Commonwealth Games medallist Carrie Quigley shooting air rifle. |
| 50m Prone
Competitors fire 60 shots over the 50 metre
range using a .22 target rimfire rifle with standard velocity ammunition.
The shots are fired from the prone position in a total time limit of 75
minutes.
The men's rifle must not weigh more than 8kg and the women's not more than 6.5kg. Prone is the most contested singular event in Australia and would be regarded as the most popular. There are local variations that include a short range event at 20 metres, and a long range event over 90 metres. Commonwealth Games medallists Les Imgrund shooting kneeling and Belinda Imgrund shooting prone with other members of the WA State Squad. |
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Free Rifle 3x40
Competitors fire 120 shots over 50 metres using a .22 target rimfire rifle weighing no more than 8kg. Forty shots are fired from the prone position, 40 from a standing position and 40 from a kneeling position. This is most certainly the most challenging of all the events, and often regarded as the marathon match of smallbore shooting since it takes over 4 hours to complete. Internationally this is a men's match.
Sport Rifle
Competitors fire 60 shots over 50 metres using a .22 target rimfire rifle weighing no more than 6.5kg. Twenty shots are fired from a prone position, then 20 from a standing position and 20 from a kneeling position.
With the inclusion of the three shooting positions, this is also a
challenging event lasting over 2 hours. Internationally this is a women's
match. |
| Smallbore shooting is contested
at both the Olympic and Commonwealth Games. There are also World Shooting
Championships every four years. The world titles attract competitors from
more than 100 countries.
In recent years Australian rifle shooters have made their mark in international events with Commonwealth Games individual and team medals, World Championships team medals, and World Cup and World records to their credit. Rifle shooting featured in the Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 Olympics, and five athletes are currently in solid training for the Beijing 2008 matches. |
There are many different styles and types of rifle used in the sport. Many shooters use standard manufacturer's designs, while others fully custom their rifles, both in looks and shape.
Use this link to see pictures of the equipment that is commonly used in the sport of smallbore rifle, and air rifle shooting.
updated 2008
