Thomas J. Knapp (September 30, 1950 – April 26, 2013) was an American exhibition

sharpshooter A sharpshooter is one who is highly proficient at firing firearms or other projectile weapons accurately. Military units composed of sharpshooters were important factors in 19th-century combat. Along with " marksman" and "expert", "sharpshooter" ...

Television and media

Knapp was featured on several television channels including

The History Channel History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney ...

Outdoor Channel Outdoor Channel is an American pay television channel focused on the outdoors, offering programming that includes hunting, fishing, Western lifestyle, off-road motorsports and adventure. The network can be viewed on multiple platforms including ...

, and Discovery Channel. He also hosted Benelli’s American Birdhunter for 8 seasons.

Records

Knapp holds three world records for

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shooting. Those records included breaking ten simultaneously tossed clays while using a semi-automatic (a Benelli M2 Field),Archived a
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shotgun in 2.2 seconds, as well as breaking eight with a

pump-action shotgun Pump action or slide action is a repeating firearm action that is operated manually by moving a sliding handguard on the gun's forestock. When shooting, the sliding forend is pulled rearward to eject any expended cartridge and typically to ...

Foreever the Showman'',

American Hunter ''American Rifleman'' is a United States-based monthly shooting and firearms interest publication, owned by the National Rifle Association (NRA). It is the 33rd-most-widely-distributed consumer magazine and the NRA's primary magazine. The magaz ...

, p. 32, August 2013. (a Benelli Nova Pump, in 2000). He also won a world record for shooting nine clay targets thrown with a

Benelli M1 Super 90 The Benelli M1 is a semi-automatic shotgun manufactured by Benelli Armi S.P.A., and the first of the "Benelli Super 90" series of semi-auto shotguns. Introduced in 1986, it is available in several versions for civilian, law enforcement and mili ...

in 1993. World Record No. 1 Knapp joined Benelli in 1993 when he set his first World record with his Benelli M1 Super 90 by throwing nine standard clay targets (using no assistance) and breaking them with individual shots in less than 2 seconds. World Record No. 2 On July 19, 2000, Knapp, with his pump shotgun in one hand, threw eight clay targets in the air with his other hand and broke every one of them with individual shots in an amazing 1.87 seconds. World Record No. 3 In Murfreesboro, Tennessee, on October 20, 2004, Knapp, while using a 12-ga. Benelli M2 Field Semi-Auto Shotgun and extended magazine tube, launched ten clay targets into the air with one hand and shot all ten with individual shots in 2.2 seconds.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knapp, Tom 1950 births 2013 deaths Marksmanship