Most people have never heard of precision pistol shooting. Those who have often picture something from an action movie, or the all-famous “Turkish Guy” Yusuf Dikeç from the 2024 Paris Olympics. The reality of competitive pistol shooting, however, is far more complex than fast draws, dramatic shootouts, or the dreadful sidewise pistol. It involves standing as still as humanly possible, extending a two-pound pistol with one arm, and hoping to hit the center of a target (which is sometimes smaller than a dime) from ten to fifty meters away. Sixty times in a row.

I’ve been competing in precision air pistol for a little over four years now, and last June I became the U18 Women’s National Sport Pistol Champion at the Pistol National Championships. But getting there required understanding a sport that is twenty percent technical and eighty percent mental.

Understanding Precision Air Pistol

stance for so long - can push a shot from a score of 10 to an 8.

A single match consists of 60 shots taken over 75 minutes (a deceptively long time, but, trust me, it goes by fast), with an additional 15 minutes of “sighting time” beforehand where shooters can take practice shots that don’t count toward their score.

Every shot is scored out of 10 points, with a perfect score being 600 points, but no one in Olympic history has ever achieved this in competition. Elite shooters typically score in the mid- to high 500s. My personal best is 555 (20 points above my average), which I shot at a home match. The reigning Women’s Air Pistol Champion, for reference, shoots in the 570s at the national competitions I compete at.

Some National Competitions

There are three major national competitions that I compete at, all of which count toward the USA Olympic quota (something that needs to be high for Team USA to be eligible for the Olympics). Note that while Air Pistol is shot at all of these, Sport Pistol is only at Junior Olympics and Pistol National Championships.

Winter Air Gun Championships (WAG), held in December at the Olympic and Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, is the first major competition of the season. Anyone can register and compete regardless of skill level.

Junior Olympics, typically held in April, is a qualifier-only event. To earn an automatic invitation, shooters must score 540 or higher in a state championship match or win their state title. However, depending on available lanes, the cutoff can drop as low as 476. Only competitors under 21 and as young as 9 can participate. (It made my day when I got to watch my ten-year-old brother shoot next to and outscore a teenager that was twice his height and almost twice his age.)

The Pistol National Championships (my favorite) in June is another open competition. It tends to draw the largest field of competitors because of its wide variety of events. This year’s Nationals will be held in Hillsdale, Michigan, though the location varies. Previous championships have been held in Anniston, Alabama, and at Fort Moore (formerly Fort Benning) in Georgia.

All three competitions follow a similar format: one day of Pre-Event Training (PET), where shooters can take as many practice shots as they want to acclimate to the range, followed by two 60-shot matches over two days. Scores from both matches are combined (with a maximum possible score of 1,200), and the top eight men and women advance to finals. There are also separate finals for junior competitors (under 21) and Paralympic athletes.

Awards are distributed by age category: U15 (15 and under), U18 (18 and under), U21 (21 and under), and adult. I currently hold the U18 Silver Medal from the 2025 Winter Air Gun Championships and the U18 Gold Medal from the 2025 Pistol National Championships in Sport Pistol.

Sport Pistol: A Different Challenge

I also compete in the faster-paced Sport Pistol event, which involves .22 caliber pistols shot at 25 meters where the bullseye is approximately the size of a dime. The gun itself is significantly different from an air pistol, and can actually look like the guns from action movies, depending on the manufacturer. It also introduces a unique mental challenge through its two-part format. That said, Sport Pistol is my personal favorite. :)

The first part is slow fire, which involves shooting five shots in five minutes six times. The second part, dueling fire, is where things get interesting. You shoot when the target faces you for three seconds before it turns away for seven. It does this cycle five times, and you have to keep the pistol off the bench the whole time, creating a 45-degree angle with your arm and your body. This angle is important, as holding the gun at a wider angle can disqualify you.

The Mental Game: Lessons from Competition

As I said, shooting is 80% mental. When sights shake at the smallest of movements, when targets are mere circles in the distance, when the only support is your body, it takes a strong mind to keep pressing the trigger anyway. “Trust your process” - a phrase my coach tells me any time I get frustrated, a phrase I write down in my notes before every match, a phrase that represents a lesson I have yet to learn to master.

Sometimes I’ll have the perfect lift, the stillest hold, the smoothest trigger press, but then twitch at the last second because I doubt my abilities a millisecond before the pellet leaves the gun. Moments like these make shooting is such a mentally taxing sport but incredibly rewarding as well.

Skills from precision shooting extend far beyond the range. The management of anxiety and perfectionism required to keep your mind from sabotaging your performance can be applied to many areas of life. Early on, I would spend so much time aiming for perfection (pun intended) that my trust in my abilities wavered. I’ve learned from these moments the importance of giving myself grace. No one has ever shot a perfect score in air pistol. Perfection should never even be the goal. Consistent excellence despite imperfection is what gives the best results, and as my coaches always say, “one shot at a time.” Don’t think about the final score, don’t anticipate the next shot; focus entirely on the current shot. It’s a philosophy that applies to far more than shooting.

I still have moments where perfectionism skews my trust in my process, but I’ve gotten better at accepting that some matches will end in tears while others end with a national championship title.

For anyone interested in trying shooting sports (that includes students and teachers), many local clubs offer beginner programs and safety classes, and equipment can often be borrowed initially (I must admit, shooting can get quite expensive…). USA Shooting’s website (usashooting.org) provides information about gun safety, competitions, and how to get started. The sport welcomes athletes of all backgrounds and abilities, including  Paralympic divisions.

Precision pistol may not be as well-known as basketball or soccer, but for those willing to embrace its unique challenges, it offers lessons in focus, resilience, and mental toughness that last far beyond any competition. And it feels pretty awesome to shoot those bullseyes. :)