The Benelli Kite is an air pistol manufactured by Benelli Armi SpA of Italy. It is a single shot .177inch calibre pre-charged pneumatic air pistol designed for the 10 m Air Pistol ISSF shooting event.

The Kite was used by Francesco Bruno to win a gold medal in the Italian Championship 2008. It is also used by Tanyu Kiryakov, who won gold in the 10 m Air Pistol at the Olympic Games in Seoul 1988.

Design details

Like all air pistols designed for the 10 m Air Pistol 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 with 12-twist right-hand rifling and 450mm 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 = 1mm windage (left/right adjustment) at 10 metres. 1 click = 2mm elevation (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

See also

• Benelli Kite Young - smaller version of the Kite, for junior competitors.

• Benelli Armi SpA

• 10 metre Air Pistol

• ISSF shooting events

References