The Drulov Olympic 50 meter “Free Pistol” match handguns were a low cost but well made and accurate target handgun that were common in ISSF style pistol clubs during the 1960’s and 1970’s. The Drulov were a remarkably competitive yet low cost pistol.
Fast Facts
- The Drulov target pistols for the Olympic 50 meter “Free Pistol” match were very often the first pistols that new shooters to the match did their training on.
- This series of models comprised the Models 65, 70, 75 and 90.
- The Models 65 and 70 had a barrel length of 248 mm, overall length 376 mm, weight 1,335 kg.
- The later Models 75 and 90 can be found with varying barrel lengths and some were fitted with Weaver bases for the fitting of optical sights.
- All were chambered for the 22lr cartridge.
When I started pistol shooting I was living and working in an outback mining town in Australia. At the local pistol club the beginners were first introduced to was the Drulov Model 65 – a bolt-action single-shot chambered for the 22 long rifle cartridge.
The pistol shooting match beginners were started on was the Olympic 50 meter “Free Pistol” event, and at the club I started with that match was shot on the weekend on the 50 meter range using the standard ISSF 50 meter target, and on a weeknight in the club’s 15 meter indoor range using scaled down targets.
The Olympic 50 meter Free Pistol match is nowadays regarded as one of the most challenging pistol events one could possibly try but back in early 1970’s Australia the philosophy was that to learn how to swim you needed to be thrown into the deep end of the swimming pool, and thus to learn how to shoot you needed to be presented with the greatest challenge – because in overcoming the challenge you would learn the foundations of pistol marksmanship in a highly effective way.
The first time I shot the Free Pistol event I managed to actually hit that 50 meter target exactly twice out of 60 rounds. But with persistent practice and coaching I’d made it into “B Grade” about a year later and was getting all the shots on the target and a decent percentage of them into the black.
I’d learned a lot about stance, trigger control, sight picture, dealing with wind and weather, and single-minded focus on the target: and the pistol that took me on that journey was the humble Drulov Model 65.
The Drulov was a simple, unpretentious pistol. It had a free floating barrel, rear-locking bolt action, simple open sights, and the ones I used had a rather effective set trigger. It was a surprisingly accurate target pistol.
The set trigger took the form of a button-trigger which had to be set by pressing the trigger that was mounted below it down until it clicked into place. Once that lower trigger was set the button was activated as a “hair-trigger” enabling a very light release.
The Model 65 was also made with a conventional single-stage trigger.
Operating the action of the Drulov was done using the round flat knob on the rear of the bolt. To open the action the knob was rotated anti-clockwise which would unlock it and allow the bolt to be pulled rearwards. With the bolt open a fresh cartridge could be inserted into the breech, then the bolt pushed closed, and then the bolt-knob rotated clockwise to lock the action, which was cock on closing.
The Drulov pistols were made in Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic) by Lidové Družstvo Puškařů v Litomyšli (People’s Rifle Cooperative in Litomysl). The quality control was good with good fit and finish and reliable function.
The Model 65 was superseded by the Model 70. This new model replaced the round and flat cocking and locking knob at the rear of the bolt with a stylish bolt extension that, I think, was an attempt at aesthetic styling.
I must confess that when I had the opportunity to try the Model 70 I found the stylish new bolt-knob to be rather less convenient to use – perhaps because I was so used to the older style one.
Other than the change in the styling of the bolt-knob the Model 70 was given a more “modern” looking trigger-guard. The trigger-guards of both the Model 65 and Model 70 were simple pressed steel. The Model 65 trigger-guard was gracefully curved while the Model 70 was given a squared, angular trigger-guard which was, I think, an effort to make it “space age” 1970’s modern looking.
This was the era in which such car designers as Giorgetto Giugiaro were creating cars with sharp, angular lines – Giugiaro’s Maserati Boomerang being an example. So perhaps the effort was to make the Drulov target pistol more “space-age”.
Functionally the Model 70 was the same as the Model 65 and was offered with either the set-trigger or a single-stage trigger.
Following on from the Model 70 Drulov introduced the Model 75.
The Drulov Model 75 featured a number of significant changes. The grip angle was changed to enable to shooter to maintain a near straight line from the top of the arm, wrist and hand. This angle is preferred in Free Pistols and is much more ergonomic, and thus much more comfortable.
The grip was also given an improved palm fit, and more substantial thumb rest. In all this set of changes were significant improvements.
But the improvements did not stop there. The Model 75 was fitted with a substantial adjustable rear sight and a much larger blade front sight. This made the fine-tuning of the pistol much easier than having to tweak the horizontally opposing screws of the older models’ rear-sight or the elevation adjustment done by the front-sight.
The set-trigger was also improved by relocating the lever that sets the trigger to the left side of the trigger-guard. All in all the Model 75 Drulov was a very much improved pistol.
The last variant of this series of Drulov pistols (That I am aware of) was the Model 90.
The Model 90 represented a significant step by Drulov to make the ultimate Olympic 50 meter Free Pistol, a pistol that might have some hope of competing against the Russian TOZ and perhaps even the Swiss Hammerli.
The Drulov Model 90’s stock was improved over the Model 75 and was given an adjustable palm rest. The stock also incorporated a fore-end, which was a first for this series of Drulov pistols.
Other than the significant improvements in the stock the Model 90 was very much a Model 75 in terms of design.
While Drulov pistols were originally made for the Olympic 50 meter Free Pistol match they have also been adapted to becoming small game sporting pistols. Both the Model 75 and Model 90 can be found fitted with Weaver bases for mounting of optical sights.
The Drulov single-shot target pistols were a mainstay for ISSF Olympic style shooting sports all over the world, and were very often the first pistol that new shooters were introduced to.
These were simple, yet very intelligently thought through pistols that enabled someone who was willing to invest the effort in training to achieve remarkably good results, and they did that for not a lot of money.
Picture Credits: Feature image at the head of this post courtesy Edelweiss Arms. All other pictures as individually credited.
Jon Branch is the founder and senior editor of Revivaler and has written a significant number of articles for various publications including official Buying Guides for eBay, classic car articles for Hagerty, magazine articles for both the Australian Shooters Journal and the Australian Shooter, and he’s a long time contributor to Silodrome.
Jon has done radio, television, magazine and newspaper interviews on various issues, and has traveled extensively, having lived in Britain, Australia, China and Hong Kong. His travels have taken him to Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan and a number of other countries. He has studied the Japanese sword arts and has a long history of involvement in the shooting sports, which has included authoring submissions to government on various firearms related issues and assisting in the design and establishment of shooting ranges.
