Learn › Track 01 · Foundations
Anatomy of a match air pistol
Pick up a match air pistol and it feels odd at first. The grip wraps around your hand, the barrel sticks far out in front, and there is a metal cylinder slung under it. Every part is there for a reason, and most of them are adjustable. Start with the number that limits all of them.
Think first: How heavy is a match air pistol allowed to be, with every weight and accessory fitted?
Twelve parts, three jobs
You can sort the parts of a match pistol into three groups. Some make the shot (cylinder, regulator, barrel, compensator). Some let you aim it (front and rear sight). The rest let you hold and release it the same way every time (grip, palm shelf, trigger, lever, weights). Tap a number to read what each one does.
The shot: cylinder to muzzle
The cylinder stores air at 200 bar. The regulator lets out the same small charge for every shot, so the pellet leaves at the same speed whether the cylinder is full or half empty. A valve, knocked open by a hammer when the trigger breaks, sends that charge into the barrel. At the muzzle, a compensator vents the air blast so the muzzle moves less as the pellet leaves.
You will see how the regulator works, and what happens when it runs out of pressure, in Air pressure and the shot.
The aim: two sights, nothing else
The sights are as simple as they look: a rectangular blade at the front and a square notch at the back. You line up the top of the blade with the top of the notch, with equal light on each side. The rules keep it that simple on purpose.
Think first: Which front sight could you use in competition?
- A blade with a fibre-optic insert that glows in the light
- A plain black rectangular blade
- A small red-dot sight, like on a sporting pistol
Open sights only. No fibre-optic or light-enhancing sights, no optical, dot, laser or mirror sights, and no device that tells you when to fire.
The control: grip, trigger, balance
The grip is shaped for one hand and comes in left- and right-hand versions. Your middle and ring fingers do most of the holding. The palm shelf under the heel of your hand sets how high the pistol sits in your hand. The trigger has two stages, a light take-up and then a crisp break, and you can adjust its blade for position, length and angle. Barrel weights change the balance. More weight at the front slows the wobble, but your arm tires sooner.
You will fit each of these to your own hand later, in Grips & fitting and The trigger & the 500 g test.
Three numbers you must stay inside
The rules don’t limit barrel length or the distance between the sights directly. Instead, the whole pistol has to fit inside a box, weigh no more than a set amount, and have a trigger that is not too light.
Think first: Your pistol weighs 1,480 g with everything fitted. You want to add two 15 g barrel weights. Can you?
- Yes — barrel weights don’t count toward the limit
- Yes — 10 g over is close enough
- No — that makes 1,510 g, over the limit
The trigger rule is the one that catches people. A light trigger feels cleaner, and it is tempting to set it as light as you can.
Think first: You set your trigger to 480 g because it breaks more cleanly. After qualification you are picked for a random trigger check. What happens?
- Nothing — 500 g is only a guideline
- A 2-point deduction
- Disqualification
Random trigger checks after qualification cover at least one athlete per eight firing points. Failing or refusing the test means disqualification.
Electronic triggers follow the same 500 g rule. Their parts must sit inside the frame or grip, the shot must follow within 0.02 s, and nothing may be connected to the pistol during competition except a charger.
- The air path is cylinder → regulator → valve → barrel → compensator. The regulator keeps every shot the same.
- Open sights only: a plain blade and a notch. No fibre optics, dots or lenses.
- Grip, palm shelf, trigger blade and weights are all adjusted to fit you.
- Limits: 1500 g including weights, a mm box, and a trigger of at least 500 g. A failed trigger check means disqualification.