How does the 10 m air pistol final work?
B · Beginner · Finals and ties · 4 of 5The final is up to 24 shots, scored in decimals from zero. All eight fire two series of five shots, then single shots on command with 50 seconds for each. The lowest scorer goes out after the 12th shot and after every second shot from then on, until the 24th decides gold and silver.
How it works
- Warm-up: five minutes of preparation and sighting with unlimited sighting shots.
- First stage: two series of five shots. Each series has 250 seconds.
- Second stage: 14 single shots. For each one the Chief Range Officer says "FOR THE NEXT COMPETITION SHOT, LOAD" and, five seconds later, "START". Finalists then have 50 seconds.
- Scoring: decimal scoring, although the qualification was in full rings.
- Who goes out:
- after 12 shots, 8th place;
- after 14 shots, 7th place;
- after 16 shots, 6th place;
- after 18 shots, 5th place;
- after 20 shots, 4th place;
- after 22 shots, 3rd place, the bronze medal;
- after 24 shots, silver and gold.
- Ties: athletes tied for the place to be eliminated fire extra single shots until the tie is broken.
- An early shot: a shot fired after "LOAD" and before "START" is scored as a miss.
- The announcer: comments on the ranking after each series and shot. Single shot scores are not read out.
- The end: when no tie or protest is left the Chief Range Officer declares "RESULTS ARE FINAL".
The best possible score is 261.6, twenty-four shots of 10.9.
Tricky cases
Does the bronze medallist fire all 24 shots?
No. The athlete in third place goes out after 22 shots. Only the last two fire 24.
Two finalists are level in last place when someone has to go out. Who goes?
Neither, yet. The tied athletes fire one more shot each, and again if needed, until one is ahead.
A finalist's rifle or pistol fails during a single shot. Do they lose the shot?
It depends on the cause. For an allowable malfunction the athlete gets up to one minute to repair or replace the gun and then repeats the shot. Only one such malfunction is allowed in the final.
Do penalties from before the first shot disappear when shooting starts?
No. They are taken from the score of the first match shot.
Why the rule exists
Dropping one athlete every two shots keeps something at stake at every stage, down to a last pair shooting for gold. Shooting single shots on command means all the remaining finalists fire in the same 50 seconds and the scoreboard changes for everyone at once.
Where it differs
| Where | What changes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| ISSF rules | As above | ISSF 6.17.2 |
| Mixed team final | Three series of five and nine single shots for each partner, with a team out after every three shots from the 18th | ISSF 6.18.3 |
| Timings | The rule calls its timings guidelines and points to a separate commands document, which was not read | ISSF 6.17.2 (note) |
From the rule book
ISSF Official Statutes, Rules and Regulations, Edition 2025 (second print 07/2026), General Technical Rules 6.17.1.6, 6.17.1.14 and 6.17.2. Effective 1 July 2026. Checked 14 October 2026. Official document: ISSF Rule Book (PDF).