Competitors shoot at a stationary target consisting of ten concentric rings, with the innermost being the ‘inner ten’ with a diameter of 5 mm.
The targets are placed 50m away and shooters fire from the prone position. The Rifle is of .22 (“Small-bore”) caliber with an maximum permissible weight of 8kg for men and 6.5 kg for women. 60 shots (including unlimited sighters) are fired in 75 minutes. This gives a score out of 600.
In the Men’s 50m Prone event, the best eight shooters from this opening program qualify for the final, which consists of ten further shots, each fired on command. Each shot is evaluated in decimal tenths (10.9 being the maximum). The decimal score gives a maximum “Final” score of 109. The “Final” Score is added to the score from the opening program, giving a maximum score of 709.
The Women’s 50m Prone event has no “Final” Event and positions are decided from the 60-shot score.
*At the Olympic level, this event is only shot by men.
USA Shooting video describing the Prone Smallbore Rifle Event