Post by adr on Feb 5, 2018 9:41:43 GMT -7
The Winter Olympics kick off later this week in Korea and the one medal sport of interest to Cheyenne Shooters is the sport of Biathlon which is a combination of cross country skiing and precision rifle shooting on the clock. Very popular in Europe and World Cup events draw huge TV ratings. Rifles used are highly specialized .22LR--most have straight pull actions and Diopter Sights.
Biathlon events involve cross country skiing over a groomed track and two shooting stations. There is a bank of steel targets for the Standing position and then there is a bank of steel targets for the prone position. All shooting is done at 50 meters. The targets are small: For prone position the target is only 1.77 inches in diameter. For standing position the target is only 4.52 inches.
Penalty for missing is stiff: for each miss the competitor must ski a penalty lap usually 100-150 meters before going back on the course.
Used to be if one was a good skier a miss wouldn't hurt too bad and could be made up on the course. Now to get a medal one must ski fast and shoot clean to have a shot at a medal.
Locally here in Wyoming there is a Biathlon course and range in Casper:
More info about Biathlon:
telemarkbiathlon.com/programs/what-is-biathlon/
Biathlon events involve cross country skiing over a groomed track and two shooting stations. There is a bank of steel targets for the Standing position and then there is a bank of steel targets for the prone position. All shooting is done at 50 meters. The targets are small: For prone position the target is only 1.77 inches in diameter. For standing position the target is only 4.52 inches.
Penalty for missing is stiff: for each miss the competitor must ski a penalty lap usually 100-150 meters before going back on the course.
Used to be if one was a good skier a miss wouldn't hurt too bad and could be made up on the course. Now to get a medal one must ski fast and shoot clean to have a shot at a medal.
Locally here in Wyoming there is a Biathlon course and range in Casper:
More info about Biathlon:
telemarkbiathlon.com/programs/what-is-biathlon/
