Main Changes General Technical Rules; Rifle; Pistol; Shotguns and Running Targets Rules

 Summary of Approved Changes in the 2013-2016 ISSF Rules

 

 The ISSF Administrative Council has approved rule changes for the 2013-2016 ISSF Rules that are listed in this summary. Rule changes in this summary were proposed by the ISSF Section Committees, approved by the ISSF Technical Committee and given final approval by the Council in accordance with the ISSF Constitution (1.7.2.5). Detailed rules for Finals in Olympic events as well as a few additional rules will be approved by the Council in November 2012. The complete edition of the ISSF Official Statutes, Rules and Regulations, Edition 2013 will be released as soon as possible after the Council meeting.

 

GENERAL TECHNICAL RULES (apply to all disciplines):

·         Safety Flags. The use of safety flags confirming that a gun is unloaded with its action open is mandatory for all rifles, pistols and semi-automatic shotguns. The ISSF will announce specific requirements for safety flags to be used in ISSF Championships as soon as possible.

·         Range Scoreboards. In addition to the Main Scoreboard, each Qualification Range must have a Range Scoreboard for posting Start Lists and Preliminary Results.

·         Internet Service. Ranges used for ISSF Championships are required to have Internet service at the range that can be used to transmit entry, results and ISSF-TV data.

·         ISSF Dress Code. Compliance with the ISSF Dress Code is required by rule.

·         Jury Member Identification. All Jury Members are required to wear red “Jury” vests while on duty. Jury vests are available for purchase from the ISSF.

·         Shoe Sole Flexibility Testing. The requirement for shoe sole flexibility testing is adopted by rule. The Technical Committee must approve testing devices.

·         Kinesio or Medical Taping. Prohibited by rule.

·         Replacing Equipment Control Cards. There will be a EUR 10.00 fee to replace equipment control cards. This change is necessary to reduce the many requests to replace cards that cause delays in equipment control testing.

·         Retesting Shooting Clothing. There will be a EUR 20.00 fee when Equipment Control must retest shooting clothing that failed the first test at a Championship and that must be altered and retested before it can be used.

·         Sighting Shots for 10m and 50m Events. There will be a 15-minute Preparation and Sighting Time before each Qualification Round in all 10m and 50m Rifle and Pistol events. All sighting shots must be fired during this 15-minute period. No sighting shots may be fired after the competition time starts except that in the 50m 3-position rifle events, sighting shots may be fired between the prone and standing positions and between the standing and kneeling positions.

 

·          Malfunctions in 10m, 50m and 300m Events. Malfunctions in 10m, 50m and 300m Rifle and Pistol events may be repaired or a disabled gun may be replaced with Jury approval, but no extra time will be allowed to repair or replace a malfunction or disabled gun.

·         Ties for the Last Position(s) in 10m, 25m, 50m and 300m Events. Regular tie-breaking rules that use inner tens, then a series-by-series count back and then a shot-by-shot count back will be used to decide ties for the last position(s) in Rifle and Pistol Finals. Qualification shoot-offs will no longer be used because these shoot-offs made scheduling much more difficult.

RIFLE RULES

 

·         Only One Rifle. The same rifle must be used in all Elimination, Qualification and Finals Rounds of one event. The action, barrel and basic stock cannot be exchanged, but accessories attached to the action, barrel or stock may be exchanged.

·         Vibration Reduction Systems. The installation of any type of vibration reduction system in or on the rifle is prohibited.

·         Air Rifle Pistol Grip. The pistol grip may not extend more than 60mm from a plane perpendicular to the centerline of the barrel (also applies to 300m Standard Rifle).

·         Rifle Weights. Weights in the lower part of stock or the butt may not extend further from a plane perpendicular to the centerline of the barrel than the maximum extension of the cheek-piece from that plane.

·         Butt Plate Hook. The top projection of the butt plate must not extend more than 25 mm to the rear of a line that is perpendicular to the axis of the bore of the rifle, and tangent to the deepest part of the butt plate depression that normally rests against the shoulder.

·          Chest Rests. Any attachments (Brustanlagen) projecting forward from the lower portion of the butt plate are prohibited

·         Shooting Jacket and Trouser Stiffness. The new rules clarify that no stiffness test measurement below the minimum measurement of 3.00 mm may be approved. No tolerance below 3.00 mm can be approved. Clothing must comply with this minimum measurement under all conditions of use and climate.

·         Shooting Jacket and Trouser Thickness. The new rules clarify that no thickness test measurement above the maximum measurement of 2.50 mm may be approved. No tolerance above 2.50 mm can be approved. Clothing must comply with this minimum measurement under all conditions of use and climate.

·         Clothing Stiffness and Thickness Testing. Every part of the jacket or trousers must be capable of being measured with the 60 mm or 30 mm measuring cylinders. If a clothing part is too small for normal testing (no flat area 60 mm or larger for stiffness or 30 mm or larger for thickness), measuring must be done over the seams.

 

·         Shooting Shoe Sole Flexibility. The soles of athletes’ shoes must bend at least 22.5 degrees when a force of 15 Newton-Meters is applied to the heel area while the boot or shoe is clamped in the testing device.

·         Special Shooting Shoes/Boots. Special shooting shoes are permitted only in 10 Air Rifle and 50m Three-Position events. Special shooting shoes may not be worn in prone only events.

·         Inner Soles or Inserts. Athletes may use removable inner soles or inserts in their shoes, but these inserts must be flexible at the ball of the foot.

·         Normal Walking Test. To demonstrate that their shoe soles are flexible, athletes must walk normally at all times while on the field of play. Repeated violations can result in a 2-point penalty or even disqualification.

·         Shoe Sole Contour. The sole must follow the external curvature of the shoe and may not extend more than 5.0 mm beyond the external dimensions of the shoe at any point. Toe extensions or heels that are cut square or flat are not permitted.

·         Shooting Jacket Left Side Panel (right handed shooter). The construction of the side panel of the jacket may not have any seam that lies under the support arm in the standing position.

·         Shooting Jacket Sleeves. The athlete must be capable of fully extending both arms (to straighten sleeves) while wearing the jacket.

·         Shooting Trouser Belt Loops. There can be a maximum of seven belt loops that are not more than 20mm in width, with a space of at least 80mm between belt loops.

·         Shooting Trouser Pads. Reinforcements or pads may be added to both knees as before, but seat patches or pads are no longer allowed on shooting trousers.

·         No Shooting Trousers in Prone Events. Shooting trousers may not be worn in prone rifle events, but they may be worn in the prone stages of three-position events.

·          Kneeling Heel Pad. A separate piece of flexible, compressible material with maximum dimensions of 20 x 20 cm may be placed on the heel in the kneeling position. Heel pads may be no thicker than 10mm when compressed with the measuring device used to measure rifle clothing thickness.

·         Rifle Rests. No part of a rifle rest or stand that is used for resting the rifle between shots may be higher than the athletes shoulders when standing.

·         Time Limits. Time limits are reduced as follows. These time reductions take into account that sighting shots will now be fired during a separate Preparation and Sighting time. Times listed here are for ranges with electronic targets.

o 10m Air Rifle Men: From 105 to 75 minutes

o 10m Air Rifle Women: From 75 to 50 minutes

o 50m 3 x 40 Rifle: Will be fired in block time with shooters changing positions on their own. The total time limit will be 2 hours, 45 minutes

o 50m 3 x 20 Rifle: From 135 to 105 minutes

o 50m Prone Rifle: From 75 to 50 minutes

o 300m Rifle time limits are reduced 15 minutes for each even

 

PISTOL RULES

·         Changing 25m Backing Targets and Control Sheets. Backing targets and control sheets must be changed after the sighting series and every 15 competition shots (previously after every 5 competition shots).

·         Vibration Reduction Systems. The installation of any type of vibration reduction system in or on the pistol is prohibited.

·         Trigger Pull Weight Measurements. Only trigger weights with metal or rubber knife-edges may be used. Trigger weights with round trigger contact ends may no longer be used.

·         Rapid Fire Pistol Velocity Testing. The requirement that cartridges must have 2.53g or heavier bullets and produce an average muzzle velocity of 250.0 m/sec or greater is retained, but testing procedures are clarified. A minimum of three cartridges must be checked.

·         Shooting Shoe Sole Flexibility. If special shooting shoes are worn, the soles of athletes’ shoes must bend at least 22.5 degrees when a force of 15 Newton-Meters is applied to the heel area while the boot or shoe is clamped in the testing device.

·         Normal Walking Test. To demonstrate that their shoe soles are flexible, athletes must walk normally at all times while on the field of play. Repeated violations can result in a 2-point penalty or even disqualification.

·         25m Pistol Grips. The configuration of the top part of the grip is clarified. The point where the grip first touches the top of the hand may not be more that 30mm from the deepest part of the grip.

·         Time Limits. Time limits are reduced as follows. These events will have a separate 15-minute Preparation and Sighting times that are not included in these times.

o 10m Air Pistol Men: From 105 to 75 minutes

o 10m Air Pistol Women: From 75 to 50 minutes

o 50m Pistol Men: From 120 to 90 minutes

 

SHOTGUN RULES
 

·         Skeet Target Throwing Distance. The distance Skeet targets must travel is increased by 2.00 m from 66.00 m +/1.00 m to 68.00 m +/- 1.00 m.

·         Skeet Course of Fire. Possible changes in the order that the Skeet stations are fired are still under consideration and will be decided as soon as possible.

·         Double Trap. The course of fire will use random A, B and C schemes in each round instead of the present fixed schemes. The double schemes are thrown randomly, but during each round of 15 doubles each athlete will receive the same number of pairs from each scheme at each station. The complete event consists of 5 rounds of 30 targets and 150 targets total. The delayed release is eliminated.

·         Eye Protection. Competitors and officials on the field of play in Skeet events are required to wear eye protection.

·         Coaching. Non-verbal coaching is permitted during Shotgun competitions only.

·         Plated Shot. Because of environmental concerns, plated pellets will be prohibited as of 1 January 2014.

·         Side Blinders. As an added safety protection, side blinders for Shotgun only may be up to 60mm in depth.

 

RUNNING TARGET RULES

 

·         Medal Match Scoring. The winner must score six or more points with a difference of two points.

Posted by Thom Erik Syrdahl - ISSF Judge A 423
Sources:  ISSF  Webs