Rapid-Fire Pistol (25 metres), Men

A new format was used in this event, replacing the 1932-1936 style of shooting. Each shooter took 60 shots from 25 metres, in two courses of 30. Each course consisted of six series of five shots fired while the target was in view. There were two series with the target in view for eight seconds, two series with it in view for six seconds, and two series with it in view for four seconds. Scoring was first by number of targets hit, and then by score. The target was a silhouette figure of a man, 160 cm in height and 45 cm wide, with 10 scoring rings. The pistol or revolver had to be of .22 caliber. Most shooters used the Walther Olympia as in 1936, but the Italian Beretta was also popular.

The top 22 shooters succeeded in hitting all targets, so the competition came down to points scored. The event was won by Károly Takács of Hungary, who scored 580 points. In second was Carlos Enrique Díaz Sáenz Valiente of Argentina, who was the reigning World champion, and used a Colt Woodsman pistol equipped with a compensator to reduce recoil and muzzle flip.

Takács had been a top shooter before the War, and was a member of the Hungarian team that won the World team title at Luzern in 1939. He was on the national team from 1929 thru 1938 as a right-handed shooter. However, in September 1938, during Army maneuvers, a grenade blew off his right hand. He taught himself to shoot left-handed and was good enough by 1939 to re-make the national team.