France runs its own family of shooting events under the Tir aux Armes Réglementaires banner, and the speed discipline among them, TAR 831 vitesse réglementaire, is a match ISSF shooters rarely hear about outside the country. That is a shame, because it is one of the most accessible speed events anywhere: real time pressure, a familiar target, and a rule that lets you shoot with both hands. If you have read our FFTIR TAR 830 and TAR 832 breakdown and want the third piece of the puzzle, this is it.
What is TAR 831 vitesse réglementaire?
TAR 831 is a 25-shot speed match fired at 25 metres on the ISSF rapid-fire target, organised as one sighting series plus four scoring series, two in 20 seconds and two in 10 seconds. Shooting one-handed or two-handed is allowed. The maximum score is 250 points.
The event lives inside the FFTIR's TAR program alongside precision and gong events. Where ISSF builds its disciplines around a single standard position and grip, TAR events borrow ISSF hardware and wrap French courses of fire around it. That design choice is exactly why federation targets differ from ISSF targets in the match rather than on the paper: TAR 831 is shot on a genuine ISSF rapid-fire card.
The rapid-fire target, quick orientation
The card carries five separate ring assemblies in a row, each an aiming area of its own. In classic ISSF rapid fire, one shot goes into each of the five aiming areas per series, which is what makes that event so brutal. TAR 831 asks something simpler: your five shots go into the target as one aggregate, scored in integer ring values, with a possible ten per shot.
If you have never worked with this card before, the mental picture to hold is five mini precision targets sharing one sheet. The ten ring is small at 25m, but the black aiming areas are generous compared with a single-bull C50, and that is what makes controlled speed realistic here.
The course of fire, series by series
Here is the full program as the FFTIR rules set it out:
| Series | Shots | Time | Counts for score? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sighting | 5 | 20 s | No |
| Match 1 | 5 | 20 s | Yes |
| Match 2 | 5 | 20 s | Yes |
| Match 3 | 5 | 10 s | Yes |
| Match 4 | 5 | 10 s | Yes |
A few details matter on match day:
- The sighting series is real practice. Five shots in 20 seconds before anything counts. Use it to confirm zero and feel the rhythm of the turn, not to test your fastest draw-to-fire split.
- Magazines are limited to five rounds per load. In a revolver-friendly discipline that rule is invisible; in a semi-auto it means every series starts from a deliberate, identical reload routine.
- The 20-second series reward patience. Four seconds per shot is a lot of time. Shoot them like slow fire with a clock in the background: one clean sight picture per shot, no hurrying.
- The 10-second series decide the match. Two seconds per shot sounds fast until you actually run it. The shooters who score well treat the clock as a pacing signal, not an alarm.
One structural note worth knowing: unlike TAR 830, where gong stages come with no sighting series at all, TAR 831 gives you that warm-up. Be ready anyway. Your first scoring series follows immediately.
One hand or two? The rule that shapes the event
ISSF rapid fire pistol is strictly one-handed, and that rule alone excludes a huge share of shooters from ever trying a speed event. TAR 831 permits either grip, at the shooter's choice, and this single line in the rulebook changes the character of the whole match.
Two-handed shooting shrinks the wobble zone, tames recoil recovery, and lets older shooters or anyone with a weaker dominant arm stay in the game. One-handed shooting scores identically but demands far more from your grip and trigger discipline. Nobody is penalised for the comfortable choice, so pick honestly: if your goal is a score you can improve season over season, two hands is the sensible default.
If you come from the ISSF side and want the full contrast, our ISSF rapid fire pistol guide covers the one-handed discipline this event borrows its target from.
How scoring works
Every ring on the card has an integer value, and your 25 scoring shots simply add up. Maximum 250, one shot at a time. Close shots follow the same edge-to-edge logic all card scoring uses: if the shot hole touches the ring line, you get the higher value, and a gauge settles anything the eye can't. Our explainer on how shot gauges and plug scoring work covers that mechanics side in detail.
What does a good total look like? Departmental results vary enough that quoting a national benchmark would mislead you. Ask your club what the podium shot at last season's départementales and use that. A cleaner question for your own log is the 20-second versus 10-second split: if your two fast series score well below your two slow ones, your problem is pacing, not accuracy, and that diagnosis tells you exactly what to train.
Training for the vitesse timings
Speed matches are trained slowly first. A rough progression that works for club shooters:
- Slow fire the target. One shot per aim, no clock, until your group on one aiming area satisfies you. Speed on top of a bad hold just produces fast misses.
- Add the 20-second rhythm. Five shots, 20 seconds, one aiming area. Learn what four seconds per shot feels like in your body, then repeat until the pace is boring.
- Compress to 10 seconds. Same five shots, half the time. Film yourself or use a shot timer app; most shooters discover they were faster than they needed to be and start throwing shots. Slow back down until every shot breaks on an acceptable sight picture.
- Train the reload between series. The five-round limit means four scoring reloads. A fumbled magazine change eats seconds you do not have in the 10-second pair.
- Score your practice cards. Paper plus a phone: photograph the target, let TargetLog score the rings, and keep the per-series breakdown in your diary so the 20/10 split is visible over weeks.
For structured speed work that transfers directly, the drill progression in our rapid fire training piece maps onto these timings almost one to one.
Where TAR 831 sits in the federation landscape
The FFTIR keeps TAR as its bridge between recreational shooting and competition, and vitesse is the speed doorway of that bridge. The gear bar is low, the grip rule is forgiving, and the departmental championships are explicitly pitched as the learning ground: relaxed atmosphere, teaching-level officiating, and a place to absorb equipment control and match commands before anything is at stake. If TAR 830 precision is your entry event, adding 831 in the same season costs you nothing but a timer and a few evenings of paced practice.
faq
Is TAR 831 the same as ISSF rapid fire pistol?
No. Same target, different match. ISSF rapid fire is one-handed, fires 60 shots across series of 8, 6, and 4 seconds with one shot per aiming area, and uses its own pistol specifications. TAR 831 fires 25 shots in 20 and 10 second series, allows two hands, and runs under FFTIR rules on standard service-style guns.
What distance is TAR 831 shot at?
25 metres, on the ISSF rapid-fire target card.
Do you get sighting shots in TAR 831?
Yes, one full series of five shots in 20 seconds before the match series begin. It does not count for score.
Can I shoot TAR 831 with a revolver?
Yes. The five-round series structure suits revolvers well, and the five-round loading limit matches a full cylinder. Many French club shooters run revolvers in vitesse events.
How do I start competing in TAR 831?
Talk to your club about the next departmental championship, since that is the FFTIR's designated entry level. You will need a valid licence, a service-type pistol or revolver in an eligible calibre, and enough practice sessions to shoot clean 10-second series. Our walk-through of entering your first sanctioned competition covers the licence and registration mechanics common to federated shooting.
