Learn › Track 06 · Competing
Equipment control
Your pistol passed equipment control on Monday. The match is on Wednesday. Does that mean nobody will look at it again? Start with what happens straight after qualification.
Think first: After qualification, officials test triggers at random: at least one athlete for every 8 firing points. On a 40-point range, at least how many athletes are tested?
Three moments of control
Equipment is checked before, during and after the competition. The closer you finish to the top, the more checks you face.
- Before — Equipment Control — Your pistols are inspected and registered on your Equipment Control card (up to 5, by serial number).
- After qualification — Random trigger checks — At least 1 athlete per 8 firing points. Up to 3 attempts to lift the weight. Fail or refuse: disqualification.
- After the competition — Post-competition checks — The top 10 after qualification: shoes, taping, trigger weight, dimensions and grip. Fail: disqualification.
What the pistol must meet
The pistol has to fit inside the measuring box with its sights fitted. Sights must be open sights: no optics, no fibre optics. The grip must leave the wrist visibly free. Electronic triggers must be fully self-contained inside the pistol. The details of each part are in the equipment track, and the shoe and clothing rules in shoes, dress code and equipment control.
You are also responsible for your air cylinders being within their validity date — several makers give them a 10-year life from the stamped date — and Equipment Control may check that too.
Up to 5 pistols on the Equipment Control card. Pistol at most 1500 g, trigger at least 500 g, must fit the 420 × 200 × 50 mm box (tolerance 0 to +1 mm).
The 500 g test
The test is simple. The barrel is held vertical, a dead weight with a knife edge is placed near the middle of the trigger blade, and the pistol has to lift the weight clear without the trigger releasing. Air pistols are tested charged. You get up to three attempts.
Think first: Your trigger was set to exactly 500 g at equipment control. After the match you are picked for a random check. What is the risk?
- None: 500 g is the legal minimum
- If it has drifted even slightly under 500 g it fails, and a failed check is a disqualification
- A failed check only costs 2 points
- You can adjust it on the spot and retest
Many shooters set the trigger a little above 500 g as a safety margin, and test it with their own weight before the match and again before a final.
After the match: the top 10
The strictest checks come last. Since 1 July 2026, the top 10 athletes after qualification — all the finalists plus the next two — go through a post-competition check: shoes, taping, trigger weight, pistol dimensions and grip. A fail is a disqualification.
Think first: You finish 9th in qualification, just out of the final. Are you checked after the match?
- No: only the 8 finalists are checked
- Yes: the top 10 after qualification are checked
- Only if someone protests against you
- Only your trigger, and only at random
Two items catch people out here.
Shoes: they must not cover the ankle bone, and the front of the sole must bend at least 22.5°. Stiff or high shoes fail.
Taping: kinesio or medical tape that restricts movement is banned.
Post-competition checks of shoes, taping, trigger weight, dimensions and grip for the top 10 after qualification; failure is disqualification. Shoes below the ankle bone, forefoot bending at least 22.5°. Movement-restricting taping banned.
- Up to 5 pistols on your Equipment Control card, checked before the competition.
- Random trigger checks after qualification: at least 1 per 8 firing points, 3 attempts, fail = DSQ.
- The 500 g minimum must hold all competition long; leave yourself a margin.
- Since 1 July 2026 the top 10 after qualification face post-competition checks; fail = DSQ.
- Shoes below the ankle bone and flexible; no movement-restricting tape.