Walther OSP

Walther OSP
Type	25 m Rapid Fire Pistol
Place of origin	Germany
Production history
Manufacturer	Walther
Produced	????—1992[1]
Specifications
Mass	45 oz (1.3 kg)[1]
Length	11.8 in (30 cm)[1]
Barrel length	5.75 in (14.6 cm)[1]
Cartridge	.22 Short[1]
Action	Single-action
Feed system	5-round magazine
Sights	fixed front, fully adjustable rear

The Walther OSP is manufactured by Walther, it is a pistol chambered in the .22 Short caliber. The OSP was designed for the Olympic 25 m Rapid Fire Pistol event and became the perennial winner of the event. The pistol features a Morini grip, which places the bore at a lower level to reduce recoil. The barrel is weighted and ported, and felt recoil is virtually none. It comes with either a 2.2 lb (1,000 g) or 3 lb (1,400 g) trigger.^[1]

The pistol was effectively rendered obsolete by 2005 ISSF rule changes to the 25 m Rapid Fire Pistol which standardised the rules to that of the 25 m Standard Pistol, which precludes the use of the .22 Short cartridge, wrap-around grips and very light trigger pulls (weight required to pull/activate trigger).^[2] Instead of only offering the standard pistols most companies designed new specialized rapid pistols although both could be used in either competition. The new model was the Walther SSP which effectively replaced the OSP.

References

1. Peterson, Philip. Gun Digest Book of Modern Gun Values: The Shooter's Guide to Guns 1900 to Present (16th ed.). p. 260.
2. "Guidelines For Uniform Equipment Control (Pistol)" (PDF). British Pistol Club. Retrieved 12 December 2012.