300 m rifle three positions (formerly known as one of four free rifle disciplines) is an ISSF shooting event, involving shooting 40 shots each from the prone, the standing and the kneeling positions. Men and women both shoot the same number of shots, though previously women only shot half the course – or 20 shots in each position.
Originally there had been champions declared in each position based on the results of the 40 shots in the three position match. A special 300 metre rifle prone match was added in 1982 however, after a pattern from the so-called English Match. After 1990, no World Championship medals have been awarded in the standing or kneeling position.
History 300 m rifle has been a declining event for many decades because of the considerable cost for competing in the event and the difficulty of creating ranges for it. The Olympic status was dropped in the 1970s, making 50 metre rifle the only rifle event on the program (10 metre air rifle was later added), it was in the Olympic program from 1900 to 1972. 300 m Rifle is still on the World and regional championships program, though.
Both men and women use the same rifle in this event, which has a weight limit of 8.0 kg. This rifle is not the same as the one used in the standard rifle 300m event, which has a lower weight limit of 5.5 kg, a minimum trigger pull of 1500g, and other restrictions regarding barrel length, and allowed accessories such as palm rests. The maximum caliber of ammunition is 8 mm, though the 6mm BR is most commonly used.
The 300 m rifle three positions event is part of the European Shooting Championships. The most recent was held in September 2019 in Tolmezzo, Italy.
World Championships, Men YearVenueGoldSilverBronze1897 Lyon1898 Turin1899 Loosduinen1900 Paris1901 Luzern1902 Rome1903 Buenos Aires1904 Lyon1905 Brussels1906 Milan1907 Zurich1908 Vienna1909 Hamburg1910 Loosduinen1911 Rome1912 Bayonne, Biarritz1913 Camp Perry1914 Viborg1921 Lyon1922 Milan1923 Camp Perry1924 Reims1925 St. Gallen1927 Rome1928 Loosduinen1929 Stockholm1930 Antwerp1931 Lvov1933 Granada1935 Rome1937 Helsinki1939 Luzern1947 Stockholm1949 Buenos Aires1952 Oslo1954 Caracas1958 Moscow1962 Cairo1966 Wiesbaden1970 Phoenix1974 Thun1978 Seoul1982 Caracas1986 Skövde1990 Moscow1994 Tolmezzo1998 Zaragoza2002 Lahti2006 Zagreb2010 Munich2014 Granada2018 Changwon2022 New Administrative Capital
World Championships, Men Team