what caliber do they shoot in the olympics

Most Olympic rifle and pistol events use very small calibers designed for precision, not power.

Quick Scoop

• Rifle events (50 m “smallbore”) :
  • Caliber: .22 Long Rifle (.22 LR) , also listed as 5.6 mm.

• 10 m air rifle & 10 m air pistol:
  • Caliber: .177 air (4.5 mm pellet).

• 25 m pistol (rapid fire / sport pistol) :
  • Caliber: .22 pistol , again 5.6 mm (.22 LR‑class).

• Shotgun events (trap, skeet) :
  • Gauge: 12‑gauge shotguns with strictly limited shot load (about 24 g of pellets), so not a single bullet “caliber” like rifles.

So if you’re thinking “what caliber do they shoot in the Olympics?” the short version is:

• Most cartridge events : tiny .22 caliber (5.6 mm).
• Air events : .177 (4.5 mm) pellets.
• Shotgun events : 12‑gauge with light target loads.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.