The Benelli Kite is a single shot .177 inch calibre pre-charged pneumatic

air pistol The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

designed for the

10 m Air Pistol The 10 meter air pistol is an Olympic shooting event governed by the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF). It is similar to 10 meter air rifle in that it is shot with 4.5 mm (or .177) caliber air guns at a distance of 10 m ...

ISSF shooting event The International Shooting Sport Federation recognizes several shooting events, some of which have Olympic Games, Olympic status. They are divided into four disciplines: rifle, pistol, Clay pigeon shooting, shotgun and Running target shooting, run ...

. It is manufactured by

Benelli Armi SpA Benelli Armi SpA is an Italian firearm manufacturer best known for shotguns used by military, law enforcement and civilians, located in Urbino, Marche. Founded in 1967 as an offshoot of the Benelli motorcycle factory that sold motorcycles throu ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. The Kite was used by

Francesco Bruno Francesco Bruno (born 15 June 1978) is an Italian sport shooter. He won a gold medal at the 2005 Mediterranean Games, and competed in three consecutive Summer Olympics for his native country, starting in 2004. He was born in Foggia. He s ...

to win a gold medal in the Italian Championship 2008. It is also used by

Tanyu Kiryakov Tanyu Kiryakov ( bg, Таню Киряков, born 2 March 1963) is a Bulgarian pistol shooter, the first shooter to have won Olympic gold medals in both the 50 metre pistol event and the 10 metre air pistol event, in which he was also the first ...

, who won gold in the

at the Olympic Games in Seoul 1988.

Design details

Like all air pistols designed for the

event, it has fully adjustable sights, a mechanically adjustable trigger (for stroke and weight of 1st and 2nd phase and trigger stop) and an anatomically adjustable grip available in three sizes and for left and right-handed shooters. The model pictured here is fitted with a stabilising balance weight, designed to further improve stability of the pistol during firing and to minimize recoil. The barrel is manufactured by

Lothar Walther Lothar is a Danish, Finnish, German, Norwegian, and Swedish masculine given name, while Lotár is a Hungarian masculine given name. Both names are modern forms of the Germanic Chlothar (which is a blended form of ''Hlūdaz'', meaning "fame", a ...

with 12-twist right-hand rifling and 450 mm pitch. Air power is supplied from an under-barrel cylinder, available in four different capacities: long (300 shots), intermediate (230 shots), medium (180 shots) and short (80 shots). It uses atmospheric air compressed to . A pressure gauge on the end of the cylinder allows for constant monitoring of the pressure. The Benelli Kite features micrometric rear sight adjustment with four settings: 1 click = 1 mm

windage Windage is a term used in aerodynamics, firearms ballistics, and automobiles. Usage Aerodynamics Windage is a force created on an object by friction when there is relative movement between air and the object. Windage loss is the reduction in ...

(left/right adjustment) at 10 metres. 1 click = 2 mm

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § ...

(up/down adjustment) at 10 metres. The sight aperture is adjustable by lever and screw.

Performance

The following tables show the results achieved by competitive shooters using the Benelli Kite in major competitions:

Gold medals

Silver medals

Bronze medals

Picture gallery

Image:Benelli Kite Vents.jpg, The four vent holes drilled on the barrel increase arm stability and reduce vibration to a minimum when the pellet is fired. Image:Benelli Kite Trigger.jpg, The trigger can be adjusted in terms of inclination, rotation and distance from the grip. Image:Benelli Kite Compensator.jpg, The 22-opening compensator applied to the barrel's muzzle ensures stability of the pellet's trajectory and limits the dispersion of the shot pattern. Image:Benelli Kite Cylinders.jpg, Power is supplied by an interchangeable, pre-charged compressed air cylinder, available in four capacities (of varying length). An integral pressure gauge enables the pressure in the cylinder to be constantly monitored. Image:Benelli Kite Chamber.jpg, Chambering of the pellet is facilitated by an extended guide channel. Once in the guide channel, the pellet is automatically chambered by the sliding probe. Image:Benelli Kite Back Sight.jpg, The adjustable rear sight allows adjustment of elevation and windage without the need for tools. The blade allows variation in the target window range (between 2.2 and 4.2 mm) and elevation (between 1.4 and 2.5 mm).

References

{{Benelli Armi SpA Air pistols