The centerfire pistol event is shot with centerfire (as opposed to rimfire) caliber pistols. It’s a mens-only event and the format mirrors the Sport Pistol event exactly.
Like Standard Pistol, it is shot at the international level up to the World Championships, but is not in the Olympic program.
The competition consists of 60 shots fired in two 30-shot Stages. These are:
- Precision Stage (30 shots); consisting of six 5-shot series, each series fired in 5 minutes shooting time
- Rapid Fire Stage (30 shots); consisting of six 5-shot series, each shot fired at a 3 seconds exposure of the target
In the precision stage, there are 6 series each of 5-shots fired in 5 minutes shooting time. In the rapid fire stage, there are 6 series each of 5-shots fired in the ‘duelling’ time: the targets face for 3 seconds, with an away time of 7 seconds before the next facing.
The shooter must have his arm no more than 45 degrees from the vertical for each ‘exposure’ (before the targets face (paper targets) or the green light comes on).