WThe 10 meter air pistol is an Olympic shooting event governed by the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF). It is similar to 10 meter air rifle in that it is shot with 4.5 mm caliber air guns at a distance of 10 metres (11 yards), and that the match consists of a qualification round of 60 competition shots within 75 minutes. If an Electronic Scoring System (EST) is not available, 15 minutes are added to the time limit. Competitors are allowed to shoot an unlimited amount of shots during the 15 minutes preparation and sighting time. Along with the 50 meter pistol, it is considered a precision shooting event. Thus, numerous shooters compete in both events.
WThe 50 meter pistol, formerly and unofficially still often called free pistol, is one of the ISSF shooting events. It provides the purest precision shooting among the pistol events, and is one of the oldest shooting disciplines, dating back to the 19th century and only having seen marginal rule changes since 1936. Most of the changes concern distance, caliber, type of pistol, time allowed, and most recently, format of the finals. The target of this event has not changed since 1900, and the 50m distance has remained the standard since 1912. Competitors have been using the small-bore, rim-fire cartridge since 1908. The sport traced back to the beginning of indoor Flobert pistol parlor shooting in Europe during the 1870s, which in turn traced back to 18th century pistol dueling.
WThe Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) is a U.S. government-chartered program that promotes firearm safety training and rifle practice for all qualified U.S. citizens with special emphasis on youth. Participation in the Program is not mandatory or compulsory, but any U.S. citizen who is not legally prohibited from owning a firearm may purchase a military surplus rifle from the CMP, provided they are a member of a CMP affiliated club. The CMP operates, not as a government entity, but through a network of affiliated private organizations, shooting clubs, and state associations that cover every state in the U.S. The organizations, clubs, and associations offer firearms safety training and marksmanship courses as well as the opportunity for continued practice and competition.
WThe International Metallic Silhouette Shooting Union (IMSSU) is the international organization for metallic silhouette shooting, which was founded in 1992 in response to the fact that rules for metallic silhouette shooting started to diverge around the world.
WThe International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC) is the world's largest shooting sport association and the largest and oldest within practical shooting. Founded in 1976, the IPSC nowadays affiliates over 100 regions from Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania. Competitions are held with pistol, revolver, rifle, and shotgun, and the competitors are divided into different divisions based on firearm and equipment features. While everyone in a division competes in the Overall category, there are also own separate awards for the categories Lady, Super Junior, Junior, Senior and Super Senior.
WThe International Range Officers Association (IROA) is a part of International Practical Shooting Confederation with the responsibility to train and certify their own dedicated range officials (referees), who are responsible for conducting matches safely, fair and according to the rules. In addition, each IPSC region have their own National Range Officers Institute (NROI) under the IROA.
WThe NRA Bianchi Cup is the National Action Pistol Championship, the most prestigious event in Action Shooting. Since its inception in 1979, the match has been utilized as a proving ground for high-tech, cutting-edge firearm technology that competitors are encouraged to exploit due to the relatively unrestricted equipment rules in hopes that insights gained can be practically applied to law enforcement applications. It is the richest handgun shooting tournament in the world, drawing skilled pistol shooters from all over the globe. They come for glory, and the prize money. In 2014, there was $500,000 worth of cash and prizes up for grabs.
WNRA Precision Pistol, formerly known as NRA Conventional Pistol, is a national bullseye shooting discipline organized in the United States by NRA. Emphasis is on accuracy and precision, and participants shoot handguns at paper targets at fixed distances and time limits. Other organizations in the United States and Canada have established rules and keep records of similar disciplines, including the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) in the United States,.
WThe Steel Challenge is a speed shooting competition governed by the Steel Challenge Shooting Association (SCSA) that consists of eight standardized stages with steel targets in three sizes; small circular, large circular and square targets. Competitors are scored solely by the time it takes them to complete each stage, and the match winner is the competitor with the lowest overall time.
WThe United States Practical Shooting Association (USPSA) is the national governing body of practical shooting in the United States under the International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC). Its over 35,000 active members and over 500 affiliated clubs make USPSA the largest practical shooting organization in the United States and the second largest region within IPSC after the Russian Federation of Practical Shooting. USPSA publishes a member magazine called USPSA Magazine six times a year.
WThe USPSA Handgun Championships are yearly championships held by the United States Practical Shooting Association (USPSA) run under USPSA-rules. Sometimes, all of the pistol nationals are held at the same time, other years, they have been broken up between different ranges. In order to attend one of the pistol nationals, a competitor usually has to win a "slot", usually by placing well enough at various regional and Area Championship matches held throughout the year.
WThe USPSA Multigun Championship, formerly called the 3-Gun Nationals, are yearly multigun championships held by the United States Practical Shooting Association (USPSA). The Multigun Championship is always held at a separate range and date from the pistol nationals USPSA Handgun Championship and IPSC US Handgun Championship. Currently, anyone can participate in the Multigun Championship on a first-come, first-served basis.