The Olympic biathlon competition in 1964 was following almost the same rules as in 1960. The competition contested over 20 km with 20 shots fired over four different ranges: 200m, 250m, 150m and 100m. The first three series were fired from a prone position, the last standing. But the target was changed from 1960. A hit in the inner circle gave no penalty, a hit in the outer ring gave one minute penalty, and a hit outside the target gave two minutes penalty. The weapon was different from the small board rifle in use nowadays. The biathletes at that time used a high-power center fire rifle, normally caliber 7,62 mm. The start interval was two minutes.