Free pistol is regarded as one of the most difficult events in all of the shooting sports. It’s generally a mens-only event. Within a maximum of 120 minutes, any number of sighting shots plus 60 competition shots are fired at a target 50 meters away. A small bore single loaded pistol in 5.6mm (.22) caliber with no restrictions on weight, barrel length or trigger pull weight is permitted in the competition. A well fitting grip is used but this must not go beyond the hand or touch any part of the wrist. Only open sights are permitted.
The center of the target is 50 mm in size, and the gun must be fired, single-handed, in the standing position. In the following final, 10 shots must be completed within a maximum of 75 seconds per shot.
Here again, the score is evaluated in decimal tenths and added to the opening score. The final result is added to the score of the opening program to determine the final score.
World class free pistols (like the Morini CM84E shown above) cost anywhere from $1200 to $2500. New and developing shooters can find used free pistols from $500 to $1500.
USA Shooting video describing the 50m Free Pistol Event