- Steyr LP10
Air Pistol is shot by both women and men. Permitted are a 4.5mm (.177) air pistol with a maximum weight of 1500 g from which the pellet is propelled by air either by an external lever or by pre-compressed air or CO2 cylinder. The trigger pull must be a minimum of 500 g. The pistol grip must not go past the hand nor touch any part of the wrist, and has other restrictions on shape and dimensions and the pistol must be capable of fitting into a box of 420 x 200 x 50mm. Only open sights are permitted.
- Taylor Gallegos shooting Air Pistol at 2011 NJOSC
The match is shot, single-handed, in the standing position at a distance of 10 meters, and the center of the target is 11.5 mm in diameter. The time limit for men with any number of sighting shots and the 60 competition shots is 105 minutes, for women the time limit is 75 minutes. The final of the best eight consists of 10 shots within 75 seconds per shot, and the score is evaluated in decimal tenths. The final result is added to the score of the opening program to determine the final score.
- ISSF 10m Air Pistol Target
The target is 17 by 17 cm (6.7 by 6.7 in), is traditionally made of light-colored cardboard upon which scoring lines, and a black aiming mark consisting of the score zones 7 through 10, are printed. There is also an inner ten ring, but the number of inner tens is only used for tie-breaking. The changing of these traditional targets is handled by each shooter, by means of electronic – or more archaically, manually-operated – carrier devices.
During the last few decades, these paper targets have been gradually replaced by electronic target systems, immediately displaying the results on monitors. When using these systems, actual scoring lines are not printed, but the location of the impact hole (which can be determined acoustically) is automatically converted into corresponding scores by a computer. ISSF rules now require the use of these systems in top-level competitions. They are generally used in other international competitions as well, and in some countries they are even common in national competitions.
World class air pistols (like the Steyr LP10 shown above) cost anywhere from $1500-$2500. Good quality air pistols for new and developing shooters cost between $200-$500 each.
USA Shooting video describing the 10m Air Pistol Event