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25 metre center-fire pistol is one of the ISSF shooting events, and is normally a men-only event. Its origin lies in competitions with military-style service pistols, and as such its history dates back to the 19th century.

25 metre pistol (formerly called sport pistol) is essentially the women's equivalent of this event, the only difference being the smaller rimfire caliber handguns used (often the same models only chambered for the smaller caliber).

Handguns

Caliber

The name center-fire describes the type of cartridges used distinguishes this event from other ISSF events shot with handguns chambered for to small caliber rimfire cartridges.

The rules specify that matches are to be shot with handgun of any caliber between 7.62 mm (.30) and 9.65 mm (.38), but the most popular cartridge is the .32 S&W Long, because it has good performance characteristics. Many countries also have laws restricting civilian ownership of firearms chambered for cartridges also used by military forces which would not apply to the rather obscure .32 S&W Long.

Type

Using a revolver is not a disadvantage because the "rapid-fire" stage is not as demanding or fast as the true rapid-fire event of 25 metre rapid fire pistol. The most popular handgun choices however are larger caliber versions of rimfire semi-automatic pistols originally designed for 25 metre standard pistol. Many of these pistol can be changed from one caliber to the other by simply changing the barrel and magazine. Examples of such firearms are usually from companies specializing firearms for ISSF events like Pardini, Morini, Walther and Hämmerli and in include:

• Hämmerli SP20
• Pardini HP
• Morini CM32M
• Walther GSP

Course of fire

A center-fire match consists of two parts of 30 shots each, both shot at 25 m:

• A precision stage where 5 shots are to be fired during a 5 minute period.
• A rapid-fire stage where, for each shot, the shooter has 3 seconds to raise his arm from a 45 degree angle and fire.

The score zones of the targets are different for the two stages, but scores are usually similar for the two courses. In the precision stage, the target is the same as in 50 metre pistol (although at half the distance), with a 10-zone of 5 cm diameter, and in the rapid-fire stage, the target is the same as in 25 metre rapid fire pistol, with a 10-zone of 10 cm diameter.

Popularity

The event has not made it into the Olympic Games, and so gains little attention. It is part of the ISSF World Shooting Championships however, as well as the CISM World Championships. It is also notable for being the inspiration for the 25 metre pistol event, which is an Olympic event for women.

World Championships, Men

This event was held in 1947-2006.

Year	Place	Gold	Silver	Bronze
1947	Stockholm	Torsten Elis Ullman (SWE)	Mauri Kuokka (FIN)	Rodeheffer N. J. (USA)
1949	Buenos Aires	Heinrich Keller (SUI)	Eino Antton Saarnikko (FIN)	Huelet Leo Benner (USA)
1952	Oslo	Harry Wendell Reeves (USA)	Walter Rudolph Walsh (USA)	Huelet Leo Benner (USA)
1954	Caracas	Torsten Elis Ullman (SWE)	Huelet Leo Benner (USA)	William Mc Millan (USA)
1958	Moscow	William Mc Millan (USA)	Vladimir Kudrna (TCH)	Karoly Takacs (HUN)
1962	Cairo	Igor Bakalov (URS)	Efim Haydurov (URS)	William Blankenship (USA)
1966	Wiesbaden	William Blankenship (USA)	Lubomir Nacovsky (TCH)	Renart Suleimanov (URS)
1970	Phoenix	Rafael Carpio (MEX)	Seppo Makinen (FIN)	Lubomir Nacovsky (TCH)
1974	Thun	Dan Iuga (ROM)	Francis Higginson (USA)	Hynek Hromada (TCH)
1978	Seoul	Seppo Makinen (FIN)	Jong Kil Park (KOR)	Seppo Saarenpaeae (FIN)
1982	Caracas	Vladas Turla (URS)	Sergei Rysev (URS)	Jaques Cheres (FRA)
1986	Suhl	Oleg Tkachov (URS)	Afanasij Kuzmin (URS)	Igor Basinski (URS)
1990	Moscow	Sergei Pyzhianov (URS)	Miroslav Ignatiuk (URS)	Byung Taek Park (KOR)
1994	Milan	Paal Hembre (NOR)	Christian Kezel (FRA)	Oleg Tkachov (UKR)
1998	Barcelona	Byung Taek Park (KOR)	Paal Hembre (NOR)	Giovanni Bossi (AUT)
2002	Lahti	Byung Taek Park (KOR)	Mikhail Nestruev (RUS)	Sang Hak Lee (KOR)
2006	Zagreb	Yadong Liu (CHN)	Mikhail Nestruev (RUS)	Michael Hofmann (SUI)

World Championships, Men

This event was held in 1947-2006.

Year	Place	Gold	Silver	Bronze
1947	Stockholm	Finland Kallio M. Mauri Kuokka Jaakko Eliel Rintanen Vaeinoe Villiam Skarp	Sweden Helmisalo A. Holmberg E. Sven Lundquist Torsten Elis Ullman	Great Britain Bennett R. Staton B. Henry Albert Steele Willott B.
1949	Buenos Aires	United States of America Huelet Leo Benner Hancock W. Logie C. Harry Wendell Reeves	Switzerland Heinz Ambuehl Gaemperli H. Heinrich Keller Beat Rhyner	Finland Kallio M. Leonard Ravilo Jaakko Eliel Rintanen Eino Antton Saarnikko
1952	Oslo	United States of America Huelet Leo Benner William Mc Millan Harry Wendell Reeves Walter Rudolph Walsh	Sweden Fagerholm E. Holmberg E. Roback C. Schoett G.	Mexico Rafael Bermejo Pedro Aviles Jose Reyes Carlos Rodriguez
1954	Caracas	Soviet Union Anton Jasinsky Konstantin Martazov Makhmud Umarov Lev Vainshtein	United States of America Huelet Leo Benner John Jagoda William Mc Millan Harry Wendell Reeves	Cuba Tomas Cabanas Rafael Antonio Cadalso Fernandez Dediot L. Rodriguez C.
1958	Moscow	Czechoslovakia Karel Mucha Frantisek Maxa Vladimir Kudrna Vaclav Trojan	Soviet Union Anton Jasinsky Vassili Sorokin Makhmud Umarov Lev Vainshtein	United States of America Huelet Leo Benner David Carter William Mc Millan Aubrey Smith
1962	Cairo	Soviet Union Efim Haydurov Igor Bakalov Vladimir Stolipin Albert Udachin	United States of America William Blankenship Franklin Green William Mc Millan Cecil Wallis	German Democratic Republic Joachim Fichtner Johann Garreis Lothar Jacobi Gottfried Wehle
1966	Wiesbaden	United States of America William Blankenship John Ditmore Franklin Green Emil Heugatter	Soviet Union Igor Bakalov Renart Suleimanov Vladimir Stolipin Albert Udachin	Czechoslovakia Ladislav Falta Lubomir Nacovsky Josef Svab Jaroslav Vesely
1970	Phoenix	Czechoslovakia Ladislav Falta Hynek Hromada Vladimir Hurt Lubomir Nacovsky	United States of America William Blankenship Jimmie Dorsey Elmer Hilden Francis Higginson	Soviet Union Igor Bakalov Grigori Kosych Afanasij Kuzmin Vladimir Stolipin
1974	Thun	Soviet Union Grigori Kosych Victor Torshin Georgi Zapolskich Mikhail Ziubko	United States of America Bonnie Harmon Francis Higginson Bobby Tiner Milo Vlasin	Finland Eino Kohvakka Seppo Makinen Vaino Markkanen Lassi Riitinki
1978	Seoul	Finland Olavi Johannes Heikkinen Seppo Makinen Hannu Paavola Seppo Saarenpaeae	Switzerland Marcel Ansermet Philippe Klay Reinhard Ruess Alex Tschui	Sweden Ove Gunnarsson Boo Levin Staffan Oscarsson Ragnar Skanaker
1982	Caracas	Soviet Union Afanasij Kuzmin Igor Puzirev Sergei Rysev Vladas Turla	Switzerland Marcel Ansermet Reinhard Ruess Sigisbert Schnyder Alex Tschui	Finland Seppo Makinen Hannu Paavola Paavo Palokangas Jouni Vainio
1986	Suhl	Soviet Union Igor Basinski Afanasij Kuzmin Oleg Tkachov	Switzerland Hans Buerkli Anton Kuechler Alex Tschui	Austria Dieter Aggermann Hermann Sailer Karl Pavlis
1990	Moscow	Soviet Union Miroslav Ignatiuk Afanasij Kuzmin Sergei Pyzhianov	Finland Seppo Makinen Asko Makinen Reijo Paerepalo	United States of America Don Nygord Eduardo Suarez Darius Young
1994	Milan	Russia Sergei Poliakov Sergei Pyzhianov Valentin Osipenko	Ukraine Miroslav Ignatiuk Taras Magmet Oleg Tkachov	Korea Sang Hak Lee Ki Choon Lee Byung Taek Park
1998	Barcelona	Korea Byung Taek Park Sang Hak Lee Sung Jun Kim	Russia Sergei Pyzhianov Mikhail Nestruev Sergei Alifirenko	Belarus Igor Basinski Siarhei Yurusau Kanstantsin Lukashyk
2002	Lahti	Korea Byung Taek Park Sang Hak Lee Sung Jun Kim	Norway Petter Bratli Paal Hembre Erik Baekkevold	Ukraine Oleksandr Petriv Oleg Tkachov Roman Bondaruk
2006	Zagreb	Russia Mikhail Nestruev Sergei Poliakov Sergei Alifirenko	Korea Byung Taek Park Seong Hwan Hong Sang Hak Lee	Democratic People's Republic of Korea Hyon Ung Kim Myong Yon Ryu Jong Su Kim

World Championships, total medals

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	USSR	10	6	3	19
2	United States	6	7	7	20
3	South Korea	4	2	3	9
4	Finland	3	4	4	11
5	Russia	2	3	0	5
6	Czechoslovakia	2	2	3	7
7	Sweden	2	2	1	5
8	Switzerland	1	4	1	6
9	Norway	1	2	0	3
10	Mexico	1	0	1	2
11	China	1	0	0	1
12	Romania	1	0	0	1
13	Ukraine	0	1	2	3
14	France	0	1	1	2
15	Austria	0	0	2	2
16	Belarus	0	0	1	1
16	Cuba	0	0	1	1
16	East Germany	0	0	1	1
16	Great Britain	0	0	1	1
16	Hungary	0	0	1	1
16	North Korea	0	0	1	1
Total		34	34	34	102

Current world records

Current world records in 25 metre center-fire pistol
Men (ISSF)	Individual	594	Mikhail Nestruyev (RUS)  Aleksey Klimov (RUS)	July 17, 2007 July 25, 2009	Granada (ESP) Osijek (CRO)	edit
	Teams	1762	Soviet Union (Ignatiuk, Kuzmins, Pyzhianov)	August 15, 1990	Moscow (URS)	edit
Men (CISM)	Individual	597	Yusuf Dikeç (TUR)	2006	Rena (NOR)	edit
	Teams	1763	China (Gao, Jin, Liu)	2006	Rena (NOR)	edit

World Champions

Year	Venue	Individual	Team
1947	Stockholm	Torsten Ullman (SWE)	Finland
1949	Buenos Aires	Heinrich Keller (SUI)	United States
1952	Oslo	Harry Reeves (USA)	United States
1954	Caracas	Torsten Ullman (SWE)	Soviet Union
1958	Moscow	William McMillan (USA)	Czechoslovakia
1962	Cairo	Igor Rakalov (URS)	Soviet Union
1966	Wiesbaden	William Blankenship (USA)	United States
1970	Phoenix	Rafael Carpio (MEX)	Czechoslovakia
1974	Thun	Dan Iuga (ROU)	Soviet Union
1978	Seoul	Seppo Mäkinen (FIN)	Finland
1982	Caracas	Vladas Turla (URS)	Soviet Union
1986	Suhl	Oleg Tkachev (URS)	Soviet Union
1990	Moscow	Sergei Pyzhianov (URS)	Soviet Union
1994	Milan	Pål Hembre (NOR)	Russia
1998	Barcelona	Park Byung Taek (KOR)	South Korea
2002	Lahti	Park Byung Taek (KOR)	South Korea
2006	Zagreb	Liu Yadong (CHN)	Russia