I was just watching some biathalon (cross country skiing x shooting) on television and was perplexed at the set up of the intricate rifles they use. Many of them had features I've never seen on a gun.

Has anyone here ever done biathalon? What is the deal with the gun? I assume a lot of the features are for increased accuracy, but I've never seen many of them on other guns used to shoot targets.

It would appear the term "purpose built" is a staggering understatement---and that's as far as I can go. I can understand the term "purpose", as at least one (already stated) is to hit your intended target; and another pretty much has to be minimal weight; but the term "wretched excess" comes to mind with these examples. Then again, there's another old saying-----"Some's good, more's better, and too much is just right."

It would be interesting to see examples of those that came before.

Ralph Tremaine

The ones I'm familiar with have a snow guard over the muzzle. They have magazine cut outs in the stock for ease of loading. Most have a blinder for the non-shooting eye, adjustable stock comb and are straight pull back actions, rather than traditional bolt actions. I'm sure the light weight helps with the x country skiing part of the course, but I suspect that a rifle that is too light wouldn't aid in stability of the shooting platform. It is a fun sport to watch. The USA has a history of not fielding competitive biathlon athletes.

Biathlon is a fascinating sport. I was amazed Dorothea’s shooting speed. Dorothea Wierer fastest shooting 2020 - YouTube

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Dave
Regulators mount up!

Biathlon is a crazy expensive sport, but huge fun.

I sold my 1827s and bought a 1727. I threw a scope on top, SBR'ed it and put a can on the end. Lots of fun to shoot.

I should have bought it with the traditional walnut stock instead of the GRS laminate.

I used to love to watch biathlon events every 4 years but I don't watch the Olympics anymore. Anyway, bear in mind that these athletes are running or skiing and then shooting, and controlling a rifle when you're breathing hard is difficult so the rifle has to be as lightweight as possible.

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Come and take it!!

Dorthea's bolt work and trigger coordination is amazing

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Kind regards, Heinz

Watching the athletes in this sport, with balance of strength and endurance, and yet the ability to do the precision rifle work on demand, makes your average professional ball player look to be lacking.

I always thought those were air rifles. Are they .22s ?

This probably isn't the best forum to learn about biathlon.
I'd like to suggest a search for the TargetTalk forum.
They have a dedicated category for biathlon with tons of great info....
More than enough to answer any questions posted here.

… not to mention the rigorous sport of curling.

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213th FBINA

I ref'd summer biathlon for 6 years in the late 90's and early 00's. Almost all used German Anschutz though the Russian Izmash? [spelling] was rumored to be close for a fun shooter. Savage and Mossberg donated rifles and we had them for runners that didn't have their own.

The main difference is trigger and personal fit. The toggle action is a lot of fun to shoot. The regimen is so different in that instead of planting your chest on the ground in prone, you raise it up to get your beating heart off the ground. Federal Match 22 were our sponsor also and they were closely watched, though the practice ammo issued from Federal was nearly as accurate.

Summer Biathlon rifles were almost always wood stocked then as temperature changes were not common.
Met some interesting people doing that. Location was in MT and we had several people on the Winter Olympic team or alternates come and shoot. They put on a technique demonstration afterwards, something I doubt would happen in many other disciplines. In essence, here is how to beat me if your genetics and training could let you come close.

At the first few matches, you were assigned a time penalty for misses. Later you had to run a lap for a miss. Setting was a forest loop and a temporary range, they got permission to level somewhat.

Army and Marines had a couple of shooters that went to every match in the west they could. Several older wealthy individuals who could trace their ancestry through losses in WW II camps and gas chambers were very interested in the running and shooting discipline. The person who had the station next to mine was German and his wife was a Medal winner in two Olympic Games. She loved to CC ski but said she had no interest in running. In Europe, Biathletes are as well known as movie stars and professional athletes are here.

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Front sight and squeeze

The shooting sports and competitors are highly regarded in a lot of countries. It seems to me that the press in the U.S. are the ones to keep competitive shooting in the shadows. Just goes to show how much influence they have on our culture.

It's also pounding heart rate. When I am prone and using a scope or peep sight, it is crazy to watch the target raising and lowering as my chest expands and deflates, and I'm not moving a muscle. Gotta wait for the pause between breaths.

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NRA RSO

I'd love to watch action shooting sports on TV. Especially cowboy action in costume.

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NRA RSO

I friend is into biathlon. He brought his rifle out to the gun club and let me take a few shots. The rifle made even me look good. Well, sorta...

It handled spectacularly off-hand. The Fortner action took a while to get used to. Operation required odd motions for one used to levers and bolt actions. It was very quick after I got the hang of it. A straight pull "snick snick" and it was loaded again. Very cool and very out of my price range!

There was a time, not too long ago, where shows like Top Shot were fairly common. Nowadays, the face of shooting is of the criminal element and mass shooters. There are plenty of images on the news.

I asked my friend, the biathlete, how he dealt with a high heart rate. For me, it's tough enough to try to time a shot between heartbeats at a resting rate. What about such a high rate? How do you time between rapid beats?

Interestingly, his coach told him not to wait for his heart rate to drop; or to try and calm it. Apart from wasting precious time, you're better off shooting with the vibration (high rate) than bumps (slower). Evidently it's like driving on a dirt road. Go faster and it feels smoother. Go slower and you feel every bump and rock. Counter-intuitive to me, but then athletics for me is more like yardwork and beer runs.

That’s interesting. Makes sense, to me!

Biathlon rifles and the related shooting equipment, like the slings, for example, were always fascinating to me. I’ve watched from afar as they have evolved over the years. I always wanted to try the sport but never pursued it when I was younger. At my age now, all I can do is admire the athletes. A real sport, IMO, as opposed to those “sports” that interest most Americans.

Missing shots and having to ski penalty laps would ruin your concentration.Some of the lady biathlon athletes in the olympics over the years are amazing in many ways.