COMPETITIONS
SAFETY
Safety in any sport is extremely important but in a shooting sport it becomes more than just important. Subsequently all new members are required to attend two safety courses (one is club based and consists of a 4 hour course and the second is police based and is an 8 hour course) so that they may be shown the correct and safe way to handle firearms and become familiar with the range procedures.
On arrival at the range, the attendance book must be signed by the member and visitors. This is required for insurance purposes. On Saturdays and Sundays the book is in the clubhouse, any other time it will be on each Range.
When two or more shooters are using a range, one member is to act as “RANGE OFFICER”, and assume responsibility for the safe conduct of all shooters and shooting on that range.
Do not place firearms on the bench without the approval of the range officer. If in doubt as to whom the Range Officer is “ASK”.
When not in use all firearms must remain on the shooting benches with the muzzle pointing down range. The slide on semi-automatic pistols must be left open with the magazine removed and the follower (open end of magazine) facing the shooter. Revolvers must be left with the cylinder open (on double action revolvers), or the loading gate open (on single action revolvers). All handguns MUST have a “Safety Flag” inserted. Long arms must be left in a condition that it is obvious that the firearm is unloaded. Needless to say, while in use, a firearm may never under any circumstances be pointed in any other direction than towards the target area, regardless of it being loaded or empty.
Never remove a firearm from the bench without having it checked and declared "CLEAR TO REMOVE".
You may only have one firearm on the bench at any time, and you must occupy only one bench at any time.
When there are people forward of the firing line NEVER ENTER THE BAYS OR HANDLE FIREARMS IN THE BAYS OR BEHIND THE FIRING LINE. This also holds true when a cease fire or unload command is given.
A cease-fire call may be given by ANY PERSON who considers a dangerous situation exists. In all cases when a cease fire is called, all shooting must cease immediately, firearms unloaded and made safe and shooters step out of the bays.
NEVER LOAD YOUR FIREARM UNTIL INSTRUCTED TO DO SO BY THE RANGE OFFICER.
You are only permitted to load 5 rounds in a handgun for ISSF matches and 6 rounds for Service Pistol and WA1500 matches.
No firing is allowed before the range officer gives the appropriate signal or command.
Do not disturb other shooters while they are on the firing line, wait until they are finished. Also while observing other shooters you must be quiet so as not to disturb them and cause a possible dangerous situation.
Do not be afraid to ask others for assistance or advice, most shooters will be all to glad to give a helping hand with problems or questions about various firearms.
If you go onto a range and shooters are there but not shooting, do not assume that the range is clear and walk forward of the firing line, ASK FIRST.
All clubs have range rules that are formulated to protect members, visitors, and people who just wander onto the range. You must know these rules; someone’s life may depend on it.
PISTOL SHOOTING MATCHES
Normal weekly competition is based on a handicap and “Off Gun” system so that all members have a chance of winning. There are also annual handicap trophies presented at the end of year break-up.
50 Metre Pistol (previously called Free Pistol):
A precision match consisting of 60 shots in 1 hour 30 minutes. The handguns normally used are long-barrelled 0·22 Long Rifle single-shot handguns, but there is nothing to stop you from using any 0·22 Long Rifle handgun. 50 Metre Pistol shooting is an excellent way of learning how to shoot handguns, as there is no time pressure to hurry through the match.
Standard Pistol:
The Standard Pistol match is shot at 25 metres with a 0·22 Long Rifle semi-automatic. The match is divided into;
Four series of 5 shots, in 150 seconds,
Four series of 5 shots in 20 seconds and,
Four series of 5 shots in 10 seconds.The 20 and 10 second series start with the shooter’s arm at 45 degrees to the horizontal. The handgun used in this event must have a barrel no longer than 150mm and a trigger pull no lighter than 1000gm. Recoil handling characteristics are important in a Standard Pistol, especially in the 10 seconds series.
Centre Fire:
The Match consists of two separate 30 shot stages of fire. One is the “precision” stage with five minutes allowed for each 5 shot series. The other is the “rapid fire” stage that is shot on turning targets. One shot is fired with each exposure of the target as it turns toward the shooter for 3 seconds and away for 7 seconds, with the shooter lowering his arm to 45 degrees between each exposure of the target.
Any centre fire calibre from 0·32 to 0·38 can be used in a revolver or semi-automatic, with a barrel no longer than 150mm and a trigger pull no lighter than 1000 gms. Many target grade handguns are available for this match, mainly in 0·32, 0·38 Special and 0.357 Magnum.
25 Metre Pistol:
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(previously called Sport Pistol and Junior Sport Pistol)
This match is identical to the Centre Fire match except that the handguns are 0·22 Long Rifle semi-automatics that comply with the Standard Pistol specifications. Some manufacturers make special lightweight versions of their Standard Pistols for these matches.
Air Pistol:
The Air Pistol match is a slow fire match demanding similar levels of precision to 50 Metre Pistol except that it is shot at 10 metres on a target with a 12mm ten-ring. The match consists of 60 shots in the Men’s and Junior Men’s, Ladies and Junior Ladies.
Air Pistol is a great teacher of handgun shooting fundamentals, as the highly accurate handguns, with their minimum allowable trigger weight of 500 grams are easy to control and have no recoil. They are also very economical to shoot and are noiseless compared to cartridge firearms. Most Air Pistol ranges are indoors, and this offers shooters the advantage of shooting of an evening and getting plenty of low cost practice.
Rapid Fire:
The match is shot on five turning targets, spaced 75cm apart. It consists of four series of five shots each in 8 seconds, 6 seconds and 4 seconds. The course of fire is in two 30 shot stages of two series in each time sequence.
The shooter must wait with the shooting arm at 45 degrees to horizontal until the targets start to turn. Rapid fire handguns must comply with the same specifications as the Standard Pistol.
Service Pistol:
The course of fire is shot at ranges from 50 yards down to 7 yards and consists of 90 scoring shots. Shooting is done on turning targets and throughout the course of fire competitors are required to shoot prone, sitting, standing from a barricade position with both right and left hand, left and right hand only, and from the “unsighted” position where the handgun must be held below shoulder level.
Time sequences are as short as 4 seconds and several stages require reloading during the time allowed. As all series are in 6 round sequences, revolvers are equally well suited to the match as semi-auto’s. The Service Pistol match is split into Service Pistol and Service Pistol Unrestricted categories.
The course of fire is identical with the main differences being that the Service Pistol course requires that the match be shot from the holster rather than from the 45 degree “ready” position, and that the ammunition used is of a minimum power determined by multiplying the bullet weight in grains and the velocity in feet per second.
This “Power Factor” must be no less than 120,000. Semi-automatics and double action revolvers are very popular for this match, which combines precision, control, speed and timing. Service Pistol is limited to calibres from .356” to .380” where Service Unrestricted is from .30” to .380 calibres”
Service Pistol 25 Yards:
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(previously called Short Barrel Match)
Is similar to the Service Pistol Unrestricted match, but is only shot at 25, 10 and 7 yards. Barrels are restricted to 105mm maximum for a revolver and 125mm maximum for a semi-automatic. The match was started in Victoria in 1992 and has grown in popularity throughout Australia.
WA1500:
This match consists of 150 shots at distances up to 50 Yards. It is derived from the National Rifle Association of America P.P.C. rules and is very similar to the Pistol Australia Service Match. The match has been adopted in a number of countries and is governed by the World Association 1500; this provides for International competitions and a World Championship.
There are many divisions in the WA1500 matches, Melton Pistol Club offers the main three including the 150 shot match for Revolvers, the 150 shot match for Pistols and the 48 shot match for both Revolvers and Pistols.
PISTOL AUSTRALIA RANGE GUIDES
For information about each of the matches we shoot at the Melton Pistol Club, please click on the links below:
ISSF Paper Targets:
ISSF Supported Rest Shooting:
Service Match & WA1500:
COMPETITION DAYS
Melton Pistol Club has matches on the following days:
Saturday – 10.00 am till 4.00 pm.
Sunday - 10.00 am till 4.00 pm.
Tuesday - 3.45 pm till 5.00 pm.
Club members who own their own handguns and have a Committee issued range key can shoot any day of the week between 10.00am to 5.00pm however for safety reasons you must be accompanied on the range by another adult or person over the age of 12.
