For those unacquainted with this event I invite you to take a crash course on the match format.

Now that we’re all up to speed on the task at hand, let’s take a look at the equipment needed to successfully partake.

Hardware

You’ll need one of these.   Any 22 caliber semi auto that fits ISSF dimensional specifications is legal, but a pistol chambered in 22 Short is a big plus. Purpose-built guns are also ported to virtually eliminate recoil.   A Sport Pistol in 22 LR is fine for shooting the event for fun, but in serious competition is a waste of ammunition.

Major brands are as follows, roughly in order of popularity:

Walther OSP:   Variants of this pistol have been around since the mid 1960s, culminating in the OSP 2000.   While top shooters have widely used Walthers they have often been highly modified.   A popular early conversion was to shorten the barrel in order to get extra length for the grip, which was given extra rake.
The modular trigger unit is a big advantage, as a five shot practice trigger is available for dry fire.   It is difficult, however, to reproduce the feel of the normal trigger in the practice unit.

Pardini:   There are two variants of Pardini Rapid Fire Pistols, the GP and GPS (Schumann) models.   Of course, Ralf Schumann uses a Pardini and has dominated world competition for many years.   Don’t think you’ll have something as competitive as Schumann’s gun, as his has a custom fitted electronic trigger unit.   This is not so much an advantage in live firing as for dry training.   Rumor has it Pardini will make the electronic trigger commercially available sometime in 2001 – at a price !   Both Pardini and Walther use a magazine system located in front of the trigger.   This system seems to be the most reliable with most brands of ammunition.

FAS 601:   Featuring a top load system the FAS offers a less nose-heavy design that is quite popular at high level.   It is known to be quite ammunition sensitive.
An FAS shooter should be prepared to put aside some time to understand his gun and all its foibles.

Unique:   There are three models of Unique Rapid guns to my knowledge.   The latest is the 2000U, and like the FAS it is a top loader.   More reliable than the FAS but not as widely used in competition.   It has a dry fire mechanism within the gun but must be recocked after each shot.

Hammerli:   It is a few years since Hammerli produced either the 230 or the 232.   These are probably the most unreliable of the European specialist Rapid Fire guns.   This shows there is no justice, as they are probably the best made.   The fine tolerances do not work with low velocity 22 Short ammunition.   I have seen some of these pistols that work flawlessly, but these seem to be the exception rather than the rule.   They balance and perform very well while they work.

Baikal IZH34:   Neither an attractive or particularly well made pistol, but it works well and shoots very well.   It is the brother of the IZH35 Sport Pistol.
Factory grips are a little basic but it is excellent value for a starter gun.

Margolin:   These are getting hard to find nowadays.   Another Russian budget priced gun, this is the base model.   Well known to be ultra reliable.   Sights are basic and overall weight is on the light side.

Fodder

The cost of good match ammunition is the main reason this match has been in a slow decline for the past ten years.   Ironically the lack of sales has forced some manufacturers to reduce lines of target shorts, if not discontinue them entirely.

When choosing ammunition the primary concern will be reliability in your particular pistol.   Accuracy is important, but it’s more important to know that you will complete the match.   If you discover your gun is reliable with several batches and brands of match ammo, it’s time to go and buy a lottery ticket, (before your luck runs out), then test for best accuracy.

Generally speaking RWS, Fiocchi and Eley make the accepted Match ammo, while there are grades of CCI, Remington, Winchester (Australia) and RWS that are useful for training ammunition.   Bear in mind that accurate low velocity Shorts are very difficult to make.   That is why the top brands are expensive.   So training ammo might be higher velocity, meaning you might have to open up some ports on the barrel to cope with the extra pressure.   Don’t be tempted to use high velocity shorts, they are neither accurate nor are they good for match pistols.

Good RF ammo should group under 40mm at 25m.

Maintenance

Since Rapid Fire pistols are like high performance race cars it’s logical that you need to clean them more often than a Sport Pistol.   However there are no hard and fast rules.   I have seen a Hammerli 232 that would ONLY work when it had been fouled with about 100 rounds.   The original owner kept it spotlessly clean and sold it in disgust.   The next owner was a slob who cleaned it every 2-3000 rounds and had very few stoppages.   Get to know your gun.   A Rapid gun is an individual . . . two guns of successive serial numbers will act completely differently.

Should reliability be a problem, try this.   Put one drop of oil on the top round of each loaded magazine, just before inserting in the gun.   The drop should go somewhere on the top of the case, about halfway down the cartridge.   Do not under any circumstances try to understand why this should work.   It will drive you crazy, as it goes against all that is logical or accepted in firearms practice.   If it works, (it’s amazing how often it does), simply incorporate it into your loading sequence on the line.

I also found it helpful to learn some words of encouragement in the native language of your pistol.   And give it a name, preferably a girl’s name.   Those who don’t believe guns have a soul have not spent any time with a Rapid Fire pistol.

Shooting the Match

Direction   There is nothing in the rules to dictate which targets are shot in what order.   The accepted technique is for right hand shooters to move from right to left, and left handers to go left to right.   This way you don’t have to look over your arm to see the next target.

Alignment   This is a big issue.   Which target to line the body up on ?   Ultimately the decision is yours, you must decide on the basis of your flexibility and what you feel comfortable with.

The accepted thinking is the first shot is the most important.   Without an accurate, controlled and fast first shot in the 4 second series the whole string becomes a lottery.   And the 4 second series is where the match is won or lost, so you might as well come to terms with that concept from the start.

So the ideal means of alignment is to line the body up on the first target, (the target on the right for a right handed shooter).   This means with both eyes closed when you raise the pistol it will naturally come up in line with this target.    Provided the grip is correctly fitted it should also be pointing like an extension of your arm – ie:   When you open your eyes the sights are in alignment and in the center of your first target.

This will make it easier to produce a successful first shot, especially in the 4 second series.   It also makes the rest of the string a little harder.   The further you swing your body, as you get to the fourth and fifth targets, you will be further out of your natural alignment.   If you are not flexible enough to swivel on your hips and retain the ability to track the pistol in a level line, (remember that you swing the upper torso, NOT your arm), you may be naturally awkward like I am.
I find that by target four my arm is dropping, and the last two shots invariably fall low and left.   In this case the body is resisting the swing the further it gets from a “natural” point, and the arm finds itself having to swing to make the last targets.

The second method is to line the body up on the middle target.   By doing so the torso has to be wound to the right in preparation for the countdown and the first shot.   This makes the first shot more difficult to perform but the string gets easier through the middle and should not cause any extreme resistance on any target.

I have seen shooters who line themselves up on the final target and wind themselves backwards like a spring for the first target.   Admittedly they just have to “let themselves go” to swing through the targets, but getting the first shot right is extremely hard.

While deciding which of these approaches to adopt, never lose sight of the fact that the first shot is critical.   If you can get an accurate and well controlled shot in 1.2 to 1.5 seconds the rest of a 4 second series is not rushed.

Preparation Time

Remember that you only have three minutes to set up your gear, get comfortable on the line and prepare yourself for the match.   Take plenty of ammunition, take a backup box (maybe another brand) in case your gun should become hateful, and have all the tools you might need for a rapid repair, (no pun intended).

With the range officer’s permission you may set your gear up, including pistol, and dry fire for as long as you like before prep time, (subject to the range timetable).   Not many range officers appreciate that, but it is in rule 6.6.8:

     6.6.8   Shooters should report at their Range Section, but wait to be called forward to the firing points.   Time permitting, before the commencement of the preparation time, the shooters will be called to the firing points where they may set up their equipment providing any preceding relay has finished.   During this time equipment control checks will be carried out by the Range Officials.   Then, they will be given the command "PREPARATION BEGINS NOW".   During the Preparation Period the targets will be visible, facing the shooters.   Before and during the Preparation Period the shooters may handle their pistols, dry fire and carry out holding and aiming exercises on the firing line, with the Chief Range Officers' permission.   After the Preparation Period has expired, the Chief Range Officer will give the command or signal to "LOAD" or "START".

When the Command to Load is Given

The rules state that up to a minute will be given before the countdown is started.   This is at the discretion of the range officer, and can vary dramatically.   So when you devise a sequence to get yourself set up, be flexible.   Don’t rely on a full minute as you may not get it in regional or interclub matches.   Also, the rules state that your arm must be back at the 45 degree position by the time the countdown reaches “1”.   An officious referee will give a warning if he detects some movement at or after this point, so don’t leave it until the last possible moment to drop into position.   It just isn’t worth the aggravation.

Just another point on the ‘minute rule ...

     6.7.7.1 When one minute has expired, the Range Officer will give the commands Attention...etc.

It is always good to ‘practice your preparation’ so you know when a minute is due.   A good shooter would have it to within 2 or 3 seconds without a stop watch, just by his routine.

Training

The ideal way to learn how to shoot Rapid Fire is not to shoot a lot of matches.   Start by learning to shoot a ten.   In other words, learn how to make a successful first shot.   Take as long as necessary, day, weeks, months, it doesn’t matter.   As soon as you can raise up to the target and fire a clean and controlled first shot every time, you should start to learn to fire two shots.   This is the most difficult stage, because it involves a change in direction.

From two shots you can accelerate the program to full strings.   Then, and only then, should you start strings of timed series.

Try not to take too long for the first shot in the slower series.   You can get too particular and throw out the whole series.   Plenty of shooters can shoot 8 seconds well.   If your technique is designed to shoot well in 4 seconds, you might slow down to 6 seconds to be a little more careful, but taking the full 8 seconds will encourage you to try too hard for central tens.   Errors will creep in for sure.

Try to make the trigger release a smooth but deliberate “stroking”.   You must also remember to stop the pistol for each shot.   As stated before, provided the first shot breaks sweetly there is plenty of time even in the 4 second series.

Follow through for Rapid Fire could involve swinging to an imaginary sixth target.   Whether you dry fire on it or not is up to you.   It depends whether your pistol is designed to dry fire without damage.

Other shooters make a point of following through on each target, and finally on the fifth target.   This might be a bit hard in four seconds on the first four cards, but not on the fifth.

I mentioned before the importance of turning the upper body when moving across the targets.   There is an excellent reason for this.   Imagine if all that you moved was your arm.   Because of the change in angle between the pistol and your eye, for each shot you would have to reposition your wrist to realign the sights. By swiveling the hips it is possible to maintain the same line between head and arm, so the wrist and elbow remain locked throughout the series.

It is simple to set up a useful dry fire range at home.   You will find full instructions on how to do so on the Dry Fire page.   Again, if your pistol is not dry fire friendly be sure to use a plug to avoid damage.

Dedicated to Richard Jameson, who knows full well just how qualified I am to write on this subject.   I’d also like to thank Bruce Favell for his invaluable input.