Anybody shooting ISSF men's rapid pistol?

Would be interesting to know if anybody tried rapid pistol? And what do you think about it?

If I had an accessible able range that was more suited to the discipline, I would probably try. Most ranges around me have shooting positions with only one target per point.

I've shot a few rounds of it.

It takes a lot of training. It has crossover skills with bullseye, but it's not a direct translation. Sanderson clearly shoots both well. There have been others who have excelled in both, yet I've also seen some really good bullseye shooters struggle in International Rapid Fire.

I won't name any names, and in turn I hope those shooters won't mock my Free Pistol skills  

I have shot it, was decent but not great at it (PB574 with .22short, 565-isch with standard pistol, now I´d be happy to break 530...).
It´s a discipline that (at least here in Sweden) mainly attracts those that want to compete and do well, and that (somewhat elitist) attitude does seem to turn away more casual shooters...
As John says it requires a lot of effort to be really good (and most would definitely benefit from some coaching in the early stages of development).
I also shot centre fire, standard and free pistol.

A german gentleman in his 80´s remarked on crossing over between free and rapid: "It´s impossible, you can´t be both introspective and choleric" (his words translated to english...)

I like it because its a discipline where you have to go when the targets turn or lights go on, you can´t abort...

/Anders

I've shot it as well - 72 seconds of shooting spread out over a couple hours.

Actually, now that bullseye shooters are being spread out on the ranges, multiple targets might be available, but the 4 foot spacing isn't correct for Rapid Fire.  I have shot on ranges where special brackets had been fabricated to place all the targets at the correct spacing.

I've also shot Free and Air.  They do differ a bit from Rapid.  They use the two hours in a more leisurely fashion.

It was fun and another opportunity for adventure, but alas, the competitions are rare.

I have an acquaintance who is trying to become good at it.  Most of the training I've seen him try is on an indoor range where he has to use reduced targets at about 7-10 yds because of the lane spacing.  He still manages to put an occasional hole in a neighbor's target because of the overlap.  It is a difficult discipline and doubly so with this training facility limitation.

Yep. I shot it back in grad school. The UT-Austin pistol coach would hold some Rapid Fire matches...I'd show up and shoot with my Pardini. Fun times. I'd love to shoot it again, but it's virtually impossible to find any place that'll run a match.

I agree, I didn't see a single advertisement for a rapid fire match. It is a lot of action and adrenaline compare to the free pistol  and it is still cheap to shoot.

I loved it but too much waiting, too little shooting and required special range equipment. At least the move to 22LR got rid of the specialty short that no one had

USAS Nationals used to take 10 days in Georgia, shooting only at 9-11 am each day. I got that fixed.

I have been shooting this when it was with .22 short and I used a Walther OSP. Loved the match but gave up when it changed to l.22lr. I still have my rapid fire pistols and a load of .22 short ammo and do shoot the course just for fun.
I have also plugged the holes in the barrel and use this to train for Standard Pistol with a 1000 gm trigger.

I have wanted to give it a try. I can't seem to find any locations holding matches or anyone teaching it.

I used to shoot Rapid Fire regularly about 20 yrs ago. We had a nice target turning rig powered by compressed air and an electronic timer. It took up half of our 8 point indoor range.
For matches, it's slow since each competitor shot one after another. But, for training it was great! I could show up on off-hours, set up, and practice to my heart's content.
I used a Walther OSP (22 short), which, if you don't know, has a great 250 gr trigger.
Finding matches was/is very difficult.
When they dropped the 22 short and forced everyone to use 22 lr, it really upset folks. In some countries where getting a pistol permit was tied into specific guns for specific disciplines, some guys found their investment suddenly become worthless. Many just quit.

The nice thing about shooting multiple disciplines in UIT (I guess it's ISSF now) is the wide range of skills it demands. It's not just shooting the same course of fire with three guns.
Free, Standard, and Rapid are real contrasts. Some people choose to specialize, some choose to shoot multiple disciplines to become better all-around pistol shots. Throw in a service pistol style match or black powder, and you'll be quite busy!

bruce martindale wrote:USAS Nationals used to take 10 days in Georgia, shooting only at 9-11 am each day. I got that fixed.

Other than Nationals, are you aware of anyone running competitions?