The men's individual revolver and pistol competition was one of 15
shooting sport
Shooting sports is a group of competitive and recreational sporting activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in shooting — the art of using ranged weapons, mainly small arms (firearms and airguns, in forms such ...
s events on the
shooting at the 1908 Summer Olympics
Shooting at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London saw fifteen shooting events. Most of the events were held at Bisley, Surrey while the trap shooting events were held at Uxendon.
Competition schedule
Medal summary
A total of 45 medals were w ...
programme.
The competition was held on Friday, 10 July 1908. Each nation could enter up to 12 shooters.
[Official Report, p. 38.] Forty-three sport shooters from seven nations competed. Nations were limited to 12 shooters each.
[Official Report, p. 535.] The event was won by
Paul Van Asbroeck
Paul Van Asbroeck (1 May 1874 – 20 April 1959) was a Belgian sport shooter who competed in the early 20th century in rifle and pistol shooting. He competed at the 1900 Olympics in Paris and won a bronze medal in the military rifle 3 positions ...
of Belgium, with his countryman
Réginald Storms
Réginald Storms (13 September 1880 – 24 February 1948) was a Belgian sport shooter who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics
The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an int ...
taking silver. They were the first medals for Belgian shooters in the free pistol. American
James Gorman finished with the bronze medal after an unsuccessful protest, claiming he had put one bullet through a previous hole.
[
]
Background
This was the third appearance of what would become standardised as the men's ISSF 50 meter pistol
50 meter pistol, formerly and unofficially still often called Free Pistol, is one of the ISSF shooting events. It is one of the oldest shooting disciplines, dating back to the 19th century and only having seen marginal rule changes since 1936. ...
event. The event was held at every Summer Olympics from 1896 to 1920 (except 1904, when no shooting events were held) and from 1936 to 2016; it was open to women from 1968 to 1980. 1896 and 1908 were the only Games in which the distance was not 50 metres; the former used 30 metres and the latter 50 yards.
Competition format
The competition had each shooter fire 60 shots, in 10 series of 6 shots each, at a distance of 50 yards. The target was round, 50 centimetres in diameter, with 10 scoring rings. Scoring for each shot was up to 10 points, in increments of 1 point. The maximum score possible was 600 points. Any revolver or pistol could be used; only open sights were allowed. Any ammunition with a metal cartridge case could be used.[
]
Records
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
Schedule
Results
Sixty shots were fired at a distance of 50 yards. Each hit counted between 1 and 10 points, for a total maximum score of 600.
References
Sources
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shooting At The 1908 Summer Olympics - Men's 50 Yard Free Pistol
Men's pistol individual free
Men's 1908