Rapid Fire Pistol

Rapid fire pistol is a men’s-only event and consists of two rounds of 30 shots each, and one round consists of two series of five shots fired in eight, six, and four seconds. A series of five shots is fired at five targets, 75 cm apart, at a distance of 25 meters.

Rapid Fire Pistol competitions use paper targets that are able to turn 90 degrees to appear to the shooter and then turn back to disappear when the shooting time is up. During the last few decades, these targets have gradually been replaced by electronic devices which use red and green lights to indicate the beginning and the end of the shooting time, and which automatically handle late shots. As these systems are expensive, they are normally only used in international competitions.

A series (or string) consists of five shots fired at one target each within a limited time. The targets stand next to each other at a 25 m distance from the shooter. As with all ISSF Pistol disciplines, all firing must be done with one unsupported hand. When the targets appear or when the green light comes on, the competitor must raise his arm from a 45 degree angle starting position and fire his five shots. If a shot is too late, it will score as a miss.

There are three different time limits for the series: 8 seconds, 6 seconds, and 4 seconds. A stage consists of two series of each type, and a full course of fire comprises two such stages, or a total of 60 shots. Since the targets are divided into concentric score zones with 10 being the most central part, the total maximum score is 600.

In major competitions, the top six shooters qualify for a final round of four additional 4-second series, using decimals of points. The results of the qualification round and the final are added together, and any ties are broken by firing an additional 4-second series.

The finals format for Rapid Fire underwent a major revision in 2010, where now shooters participate in a hit-or-miss, elimination style format. For a complete description of the new finals format, download a PDF describing the entire process here.

World class rapid fire pistols (like the Pardini SP1 RF pictured above) cost between $1300-$2500. Entry level target pistols that can be used by new and developing rapid fire shooters range from $300-$1200.

USA Shooting video describing the 25m Rapid Fire Pistol Event

Rapid Fire training procedure (Condensed):

Note – Rapid Fire is a match of muscle memory.  Dry fire is your friend.  Fifty thousand lifts, and you will start to get smooth.  It is a lot less expensive to do this dry fire rather than wasting ammo.  

• Shoot one shot at a time on just one rapid target, using the sport pistol rapid fire timing of 3 seconds to raise from a 45 degree down position and shoot a single shot.  Continue just this until nearly all shots are a 9 or 10 and always less than 3 seconds time (ideally about 2.5 seconds or so).  Work on developing a fast initial lift with a slowed down glide into the target center so you come to a stop dead center without bouncing around.  Pick up the front sight and focus on it during the lift – do not focus on the target.  Break the shot without disturbing sight alignment.  The first shot is the foundation for the series.  If it does not go well, the rest of a series is very likely to also be poor.

• Upon achieving step 1 goal, add a second target to the left of the first one and shoot two shot drills until both targets are nearly always 9s or 10s.  The second shot should be about 1.25 seconds after the first.  Use of a shooting timer (apps are also available) to record the timing of shots is beneficial.  If you can program the timer for multiple beeps, you can use that to help develop a cadence to follow.

• Add targets (up to 5) only after achieving the goal with current number.

• Once you can get 9s and 10s on all 5 targets, start over again with a 6 second cadence (2 seconds + 1 second for each additional shot is 6 seconds, so you need to be slightly quicker than that), then finally work on the 4 second series (1.5 seconds + .625 seconds for the rest is 4 seconds).  Some people shoot the first shot faster or slower, then adjust timing on the others.