Standard Pistol was one of the “new” matches introduced by the ISU (now ISSF) in the early 1970s, along with Air Pistol. It has never been an Olympic sport but has been very popular in many countries as it gave an excellent excuse for owning a 22LR semi auto pistol. This may not have been be so relevant in the United States, but in places where pistol ownership was and is tightly regulated it made it possible for the guys to own a whole range of new toys (since the gals could already shoot them in Sport Pistol).
Of course on the International shooting circuit it has no real importance, relegated to the “side show” status of Center Fire and only shot at selected competitions and the World Championships once every four years. For all that it is an excellent match, combining precision with aspects of rapid fire – and leaving the fast series until the end makes a real pressure cooker, especially if the slower series went well.
No introduction to Standard Pistol would be complete without a Rough Guide to the Game. We also would like to give some assessment of the Standard and Sport Pistols you might consider.
150 Seconds Two and a half minutes may seem a long time to fire five shots, but it’s really neither one thing nor the other. It’s too short a time to be comfortable to take a slow fire (Free or Air) mentality. With a couple of cancelled shots there can be pressure to make the time limit.
Consequently most shooters will take five individual shots without wasting any time between them. This is the most popular technique, it would allow for maybe three or four cancelled shot attempts. But in the event of a malfunction this could cause a time problem, leading to the shooter opting for a reshoot. And taking the five lowest scoring shots out of eight or nine shots may be better than losing ten points, or even risking a rushed final shot or two, but really this is a no-win situation.
This was the first of the reasons I adopted different tactics for this series. The second reason being the common practice of shooting higher scores in 20 seconds than in the slow fire series. It led me to wonder why this should happen. Could it be that in the 20 second series we have enough time to comfortably release five shots smoothly but not enough time to get TOO fussy about trying to fire five perfect shots (ie trying to pin the sights to a point on the target)?
My third reason was to keep it as simple as possible. Instead of having to adapt from single firing precision shots to a medium tempo five shot string and again to a fast five shot string – two fairly major changes of technique – what if I used the same tempo for the first forty shots? With the added luxury of being able to halt the string anytime during the first four series if everything wasn’t going just right?
So to sum up, I recommend taking multiple shots during the 150 second series, anything from one to five shots at a time, but most importantly using the same tempo as for 20 seconds. It means that should there be a malfunction you would have ample time to clear it and finish the series with no stress. It also encourages a smooth and efficient trigger release throughout the entire match, leaving little opportunity for the stop-start slow fire habits that destroy slow fire scores in this match.
20 Seconds There is a lot of time in this series, so much that it’s possible to lose the plot. Ideally you need to make sure of a good clean release on the first shot, then follow up with four smooth and unhurried shots. The danger of having “too much” time stems from trying to get too perfect a first shot thereby rushing the next four, to trying to hold sight alignment for almost 20 seconds and thereby losing focus or looking through the sights at the target.
10 Seconds Contrary to popular belief, there is enough time to shoot five well controlled shots in each series. There is not a lot of time to mess about, but there is certainly enough to hold a good sight formation and release the trigger without upsetting it five times. A high scoring series may not look great from the shooter’s perspective, but if the fundamentals have been followed, the sights have been held in good alignment and focus and the trigger pushed through cleanly, there will be a remarkably small group in the center of the target.
I'd like to clarify a couple of parts of that final statement, as this is where I think too many people try for the unattainable. In saying sights are being held in "good alignment and focus" it can't be stressed enough that the formation of the sights, not the placing of the sights on the target, is of importance here. If you try to nail the sights to "the" perfect point in the center of the aiming area you will fail miserably, as there is not the time to do so, and even in slow fire this technique leads to looking through the sights at the target and conscious firing when the sights "look" right. So a tight sight formation anywhere in the aiming area is what you should try to accomplish. No more, no less.
Also, the term I used for firing the pistol was having the "trigger pushed through cleanly". Having a clear idea of a smooth release is necessary for successful timed fire shooting. You may have a mental image of pulling the front sight with a piece of string tied around your trigger finger, so it pulls the front sight directly back through the gap of the rear sight. However it happens, it should be a positive prompt that encourages positive and smooth movement of the trigger until a clean shot breaks.
There is little to be gained by taking a new shooter and setting him the task of shooting 10 second series in the hope that he can “get the hang of it”. Making use of a set of turning targets with ISSF match timer, or even a stopwatch and whistle, can be far more productive.
Provided the shooter is competent enough to successfully perform the fundamentals in slow fire and recognize a good shot he may be ready to be introduced some time constraints.
Start by giving a six second facing for one shot. This gives an ideal start to a 20 second series, and gives the opportunity to train the lift from 45 degrees, sight acquisition and trigger release. Once the shooter can confidently hold the 9 ring in each timing sequence it will be time to move on with the next timed series:
- Ten second series for two shots, the third breaking somewhere around the edging of the target.
- Rapid Fire stage of Sport Pistol timing with the Precision target, training for the first shot in 10 seconds. This is particularly good as it’s very convenient in having five 3 second facings in one series.
- Six seconds for two (almost three) shots in 10 second timing.
- Eight seconds for four shots in 10 second timing.
By making sure the shooter is competent at each stage of difficulty is far more helpful than throwing him straight into a series that might be daunting and might even create a bunch of bad habits that are difficult to break in the long term.
I like to throw in an acronym every once in a while just to appear more professional. It's imperative to get the Natural Point of Aim correct. If your inclination is to raise the pistol slightly to the right or left of the target you have a problem - not only will you be pushing or pulling the gun towards the target, you have wasted tenths of seconds where wasted tenths of seconds seem to take ages and cause a flurry of panic to get the shots away in time. So try not to make this a self-handicap event.
To roll or not to roll - that is the question. There are basically two types of trigger, with a crisp or roll letoff. You must decide which suits your shooting style best.
Most semi autos have something of a rolling release, meaning there is movement in the second stage as the sear releases. With this type of trigger it's easier to keep increasing the pull because of the movement. Freeze and there is no movement, it's a dead giveaway. This is my personal favorite because it's easier for me to cope with a trigger that I KNOW I must keep moving (until it goes off as if by magic).
Some pistols give a crisp second stage, meaning when the second stage is reached there is no further movement until the pressure has reached letoff weight. This is typically a great slow fire setup but requires more discipline to shoot well in the fast series, especially when under pressure.
There is one critical factor, especially with the rolling release, and that is the trigger shoe is positioned correctly at the point of release. If the trigger finger cannot place force exactly rearward at the point of release, the shot will kick out to the left or right, depending on the extent of the sideways force of the trigger finger. The trigger stop can minimize this error if adjusted properly, although I have seen many good shooters who have no trigger stop - purely because they have such a good "feel" for squeezing in a straight rearward line.
The key to successful Standard Pistol shooting is the ability to keep your focus (attention as well as sight) on the sight formation throughout the entire series. Three or four shots out of five is not good enough. These guns have a relatively short sight radius, and any inattention will punish you. For this reason follow through is doubly important, for EVERY shot.
The good news is the target is pretty friendly. Keep a good sight formation and let the shot surprise you and chances are it will be a ten.
I won't bore you by repeating the trigger technique for Standard Pistol used by East European shooters, but I will make the reminder that it's described in my Hitchhikers Guide article on trigger control.
Which Standard Pistol to buy? I'd hate to enter into that discussion, there are plenty of excellent choices out there. But your choice of gun and ammunition should be 100% reliable, or as close as possible to that. Accuracy of good target ammo at 25 meters would fit comfortably within about a quarter of the x-ring (that's right, not the ten ring).
Reliability is far, far more important than trying to gain a few hundredths of a second by using the slowest ammo you can find. Hold the pistol correctly, lock your wrist and squeeze straight back and recoil is far more predictable than with a loose grip and poor trigger release. You will feel the difference when everything is done correctly, the recoil seems to transmit straight up your arm and the sights will bounce straight up and settle immediately back in the aiming area.
It's important to be able to turn your concentration level up at critical times and rest between. Most matches involve shooting a 5-shot series and then waiting five to ten minutes for scoring. If you sit down while this happens, remember to stand up at least a minute before you intend to shoot again, just to get blood circulation going properly again.
Index of the Hitch Hikers Guide to Shooting Glory
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