10 Metre Air Rifle

10 metre air rifle is an International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) shooting event, shot over a distance of 10 metres (10.94 yards) from a standing position with a 4.5 mm (0.177 in) calibre air rifle with a maximum weight of 5.5 kg (12.13 lb). The use of specialised clothing is allowed to improve the stability of the shooting position and prevent chronic back injury which can be caused by the asymmetric offset load on the spine when the rifle is held in position. It is one of the ISSF-governed shooting events included in the Olympic games.

The course of fire is an unlimited number of sighter shots followed by 60 competition shots for men or 40 competition shots for women, all fired within 105 minutes for men or 75 minutes for women. During this initial or qualification phase a maximum of 10 points are awarded for each shot. The top eight shooters follow this with a final 10 shots – each scored to a maximum of 10.9 – with the cumulative score determining the winner. The maximum of 10.9 is derived from an additional set of 10 rings within the center 10 point circle, increasing in 0.1 point value as the rings approach the center of the target. The competition is won by the shooter who reaches the highest aggregate score (qualification + final score).

Shots are fired from the standing position only, as opposed to some other airgun shooting disciplines such as for three positions (popular in the United States) or in disabled sports.

The major competitions are the Olympic Games every four years and the ISSF World Shooting Championships every four years (the Games and the Championships are held two years apart). In addition, the event is included in the ISSF World Cup series, the ISSF World Cup Final, in continental championships, and in many other international and national competitions. It is an indoor sport. In many clubs and ranges, electronic targets are now being used instead of the traditional paper targets.

Scores in 10 metre air rifle have improved rapidly during the last few decades and today top competitors sometimes achieve maximum results (a "possible") for the initial or qualification phase (600 for men and 400 for women). The majority of these full marks were achieved at non directly ISSF supervised international and national-level matches and championships, where official ISSF recognized world records can not be set. This leads to many national records in fact being equal to the world records. The maximum achievable aggregate score (qualification + final score) is 709 for men and 509 for women. Up to 2011 no top competitor has achieved an official perfect aggregate score.