Shooting competitions for factory and service firearms

Shooting competitions for factory and service firearms refer to a set of shooting disciplines, usually called service rifle, service pistol, production,[1][2][3] factory or stock, where the types of permitted firearms are subject to type approval with few aftermarket modifications permitted. The terms often refer to the restrictions on permitted equipment and modifications rather than the type of match format. The names Service Rifle and Service Pistol stem from that the equipment permitted for these types of competitions traditionally were based on standard issue firearms used by one or several armed forces and civilian versions of these, while the terms production, factory and stock[4] often are applied to more modern disciplines with similar restrictions on equipment classes.

Shooting competitions for factory and service firearms

Service rifle shooting in the standing position at 500 yards (457.2 meters) at a competition in 2006 U.S. soldiers and civilians competed in team and individual divisions during an annual marksmanship competition.
Nicknames	Service rifle, Service pistol, Production, Factory, Stock
Characteristics
Mixed gender	Yes or no, depending on competition format
Type	Shooting sport
Equipment	Handgun or rifle
Venue	Shooting range
Presence
Olympic	No
World Championships	No
Paralympic	No

Service firearm competitions can refer to whole disciplines like NRA Service Rifle by NRA in the U.S. and the Tir aux Armes Règlementaires competitions by the French Shooting Federation, or it can refer to a subset of equipment classes within one shooting discipline, such as the Production division in practical shooting, F-Class F/TR (Standard) in F-Class and several national disciplines within bullseye and field shooting. The types of handguns or rifles permitted for these types of competitions are often rugged, versatile and affordable compared to custom competition firearms used in separate equipment classes within the same type of shooting disciplines.

Equipment classes for factory or service firearms are usually restrictive in nature in that most modifications generally are prohibited, and upgrade and replacement parts usually must have been produced by the original equipment manufacturer (OEM). In comparison, other more open equipment classes usually are permissive in nature, permitting most equipment and modifications as long as the firearm still functions safely, while also satisfying some minimum requirements like for instance a weight limit, size restriction or a type of sights (i.e. any iron sights, red dot or scope sight).