2024 Olympic Shooting Events

[Patrick L]

Yeah, you just gotta love Yusuf!!

USA took Gold and Silver in men's skeet, also Bronze in Women's skeet.

 

[BE Mike]

Interesting array of shooting glasses in that video. I wonder how accurate they could be with a larger caliber handgun. Thanks for posting.

Keith Sanderson is extremely accurate with the 1911 in .45 ACP. I met him a long time ago at Camp Perry. He's a modest and nice fellow. He is shooting International Rapid Fire Pistol this year in Paris.

 

[BE Mike]

Good points. All these matches mentioned are very tough.
Unfortunately, American Bullseye is almost exclusively shot with Red Dot sights these days. Most of the American bullseye shooters have never even attempted to use iron sights competitively.
That’s a HUGE part of the skill set.

Aside from that, have you compared the 50 Meter free pistol target to the American 50 yard target? Besides the extra distance, the American 10 ring is roughly comparable to the Int’l 9 ring.
As long as your shot even hits the target, the least you can score in American Bullseye is a 5. On the International target, the outer score ring is a 1! Little mistakes with International are much more costly point-wise.

But, it must be said that Americans like Bill Blankenship, Bill MacMillan, or Joe Huelet Benner, having mastered the 1911 “service pistol” (not wadcutter shooting optics equipped 1911) transitioned very well to International. Joe won the ONLY Gold ever win by an American in Free Pistol. That was 1956!
We haven’t seen the likes of those guys in 50 years!

In the last World Cup, in 2023, the American shooters came in 2nd and 3rd LAST PLACE in 50 Meter Free Pistol!
Towards the end of the match they couldn’t even keep’em in the black! Their scores were 492 and 493 out of 600. 20+ years ago, I coached a junior International pistol program. Several of our kids did much better than that, with many earning collegiate athletic scholarships in pistol.
What’s happened??
The richest nation in the world, with the largest percentage of hangun owners, was humiliated by third world countries that still use donkey carts as a regular mode of transportation!

Actually, many recent top shooters can shoot pistols with iron sights exceptionally well. Shooters like Brian Zins have proven it by shooting excellent scores in Service Pistol matches where iron sights are still required. Gunny Zins was 12 times national pistol champion at Camp Perry. Non of the shooters you mention (Bill Blankenship was my idol) achieved anywhere near the level that Zins did.

 

[6string]

Actually, many recent top shooters can shoot pistols with iron sights exceptionally well. Shooters like Brian Zins have proven it by shooting excellent scores in Service Pistol matches where iron sights are still required. Gunny Zins was 12 times national pistol champion at Camp Perry. Non of the shooters you mention (Bill Blankenship was my idol) achieved anywhere near the level that Zins did.

Well, both Joe Benner and Bill MacMillan did win Olympic Gold medals in Free Pistol and Rapid Fire Pistol respectively. Is that not a high level of achievement?
That was over 60 years ago and the USA hasn’t won a single Gold in any pistol event since.

And, Bill Blankenship won a number of World Cup and PanAm Games using his S&W M52 in Int’l Centerfire Pistol. Other notable American Pistol shooters from the same era who did well in Olympics and other Int’l events include Franklin Green (with his own designed electronic trigger free pistol), Bob Chow, and Harry Reeves.

Comparing the National Matches (and, let’s be honest….usually won by taxpayer-funded government employees) with major International Events is an “Apples vs Oranges” comparison.

 

[BE Mike]

Well, both Joe Benner and Bill MacMillan did win Olympic Gold medals in Free Pistol and Rapid Fire Pistol respectively. Is that not a high level of achievement?
That was over 60 years ago and the USA hasn’t won a single Gold in any pistol event since.

And, Bill Blankenship won a number of World Cup and PanAm Games using his S&W M52 in Int’l Centerfire Pistol. Other notable American Pistol shooters from the same era who did well in Olympics and other Int’l events include Franklin Green (with his own designed electronic trigger free pistol), Bob Chow, and Harry Reeves.

Comparing the National Matches (and, let’s be honest….usually won by taxpayer-funded government employees) with major International Events is an “Apples vs Oranges” comparison.

I was responding to your statement that shooters can't shoot iron sights anymore. Most Olympic athletes are professionals, these days. Blankenship was active Army, as well as, Benner. MacMillan was a Marine. Zins won the Nationals as an active duty Marine and as a civilian. The biggest factor to the USA not placing well in Olympic pistol matches has little to do with the quality of American competitive pistol shooters. It has mostly to do with training. Pistol shooters at the Olympic Training Center aren't a top priority. The bulk of the funding and training are directed to other shooting disciplines. International pistol shooting has never been as popular in the USA as other shooting disciplines. In the rest of the world, International shooting is what they care about. In some countries, top International shooters are considered as highly regarded as any other athlete. In other words, I don't buy in to the the argument that "things were better back then"!

 

[James K]

I was amazed at the leather 'suits' the air pistol rifle shooters wore to stabilize their hold. Looked like Moto GP leathers filled with lead. The users walked like Frankenstein's monster.

 

[BE Mike]

Through the '60's Bullseye Pistol Shooting (competing at 25 yds. and 50 yds. with one hand) was THE competitive shooting sport. This was a pool where a lot of shooters for the US olympic pistol team were selected. With the participation in the sport (now called Precision Pistol) dwindling down to a small fraction of what it once was, there is no longer that pool to transition over to International Pistol Shooting. If the popularity ever climbs, which is doubtful, the USA will be competitive again. We'd need soccer moms to become precision pistol moms. I'm glad to see our shotgun and rifle shooters still competitive on the international stage.

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

Just gonna leave this here . . .

I like the picture of him with the cigarette hanging out of his mouth. The man is KING

 

[rct269]

Speaking of .45's, I had a Wilson Combat Master Grade conversion of a 1911.

Pretty much ANYBODY could and would do well with that! It was like the bullets were guided by radar!! You could eat the innards out of the 10 ring at 50 yards, and never break a sweat! Pretty much like flying an airplane on autopilot.

Ralph Tremaine

 

[Rowlf]

I was rooting for John Zurek when he was on the US International team. John is a top competitor in US Precision Pistol competition but had a hard time making a final in the ISSF World Cup competitions.

 

[Rowlf]

I...In the rest of the world, International shooting is what they care about. In some countries, top International shooters are considered as highly regarded as any other athlete.

I have mentioned top ISSF shooters in conversations overseas with good results. Some countries really track their shooters.

 

[Patrick L]

Did anyone follow the heartbreak in women's skeet? The woman from England who got silver was robbed. In the shootoff she clearly broke a target that the official called as lost. Several cameras verify that that target was broken. Unfortunately , photo review is not used in the olympics and the referee's call stood.

Granted all that the correct call would have done was prolong the shoot off, but who knows? Maybe she would have won gold.

I find it incredible that cameras are used in almost every other sport there. And the cameras were present. They just aren't used under the current rules.

 

[6string]

Here's an excerpt from the press release from USA Shooting:

"COLO SPGS, CO (Aug. 15, 2024) – The U.S. Olympic shooting team brought back five medals and made history at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Chateauroux Shooting Range in France July 26- Aug. 11."......

"Sagen Maddalena: Silver, Women’s 50m Smallbore Rifle
Vincent Hancock: Gold, Men’s Skeet
Conner Prince: Silver, Men’s Skeet
Austen Smith: Bronze, Women’s Skeet
Vincent Hancock and Austen Smith: Silver, Mixed Team Skeet"

For those unfamiliar with the organization, they invest heavily in shotgun. Less so for rifle. Very little for pistol.
Hint: If you know or have any kids, think about getting them started in air pistol. There's quite a number of excellent schools that offer collegiate athletic scholarships. Pistol offers probably the greatest opportunities to gain a good scholarship.

The 2024 Summer Olympics seems to have been successful in promoting the Int'l target shooting sports in general. I've had numerous conversations with casual shooters/gun owners/CWP carry guys in which it has been brought up.