50 m Pistol (formerly called Free Pistol) is one of the ISSF shooting events. It provides the purest precision shooting among the pistol events, and is one of the oldest shooting types, dating back to the 19th century and only having seen marginal rule changes since the 1930s. The International Shooting Sport Federation recognizes several shooting events, some of which have Olympic status. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... // Events and trends The 1930s were spent struggling for a solution to the global depression. ...

The pistol used must be in caliber .22, and may only be loaded with one round at a time. It must also be operated by one hand and not supported by any other part of the shooter's body. Apart from that, there are practically no rules for the gun, explaining the former name of the event. Trigger force may be as low as the shooter pleases, the grip may be designed in any way and there are no restrictions on size and weight. The word caliber (American English) or calibre (British English) designates the interior diameter of a tube or the exterior diameter of a wire or rod. ...

The course of fire is 60 shots within a maximum time of two hours. The target is the same as in 25 m Standard Pistol, and with double the distance this explains the lower result level. 570 out of the maximum 600 is considered a world-class result. The current world record, 581, was achieved already in the Moscow Olympics in 1980 by USSR's own Alexander Melentiev. 25 m Standard Pistol is one of the ISSF shooting events, introduced at the World Championship level in 1970. ... The Games of the XXII Olympiad were held in 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union. ... 1980 is a leap year starting on Tuesday. ...

Most shooters excelling in 50 m Pistol also compete at the same level in 10 m Air Pistol, a similar precision event.