What kind of gun do they use in biathlon? A closer look at the cross-sport event

What guns do they use in biathlon?

Athletes use .22-caliber long rifles, which the National Rifle Association calls the “most versatile and widely used firearms in the world.”

Rifles can be custom fit per Olympian, resulting in them varying in look and style. Even so, there are requirements all athletes must follow.

These rifles must sit at minimum 8 lbs. and are worn on the athletes backs while they ski a multi-mile slope. The rifles can only shoot rim fire ammunition, according to NBC Olympics.

The rifles also must not be automatic or semi-automatic, meaning they must manually loaded/unloaded by the athlete. Olympians do have some say in what rifle they use, but it must remain in one of the four following categories:

• Common bolt system
• Pistol grip cocking
• Straight pull action
• Straight pull action with ball-bearing locking