What's with those funky Olympic Weapons?

[FfNJGTFO]

I've been watching the Rio Olympics shooting events and, except for the Shotgun events (which seem to use regular *and rather expensive* OU's), the weapons seem to have the strangest designs... nothing I've ever seen in competitions such as IDPA, USPSA, etc. I guess these are ISSF standard weapons??? See some example pics, below:

Pistol Rifle




What's with those designs??? Why not use "conventional" every day weapons?

[AFJuvat]

Perfectly balanced with counterweights to reduce or eliminate recoil, vibration, or barrel whipping.

They are customizable, or it can be tuned to an individual shooter.

They aren't really practical for anything other than match use. Drop it and it's accuracy can be comprimized.

Here is site that sells them. Pretty pricy for a 22LR.

http://www.champchoice.com/store/Mai...yBody&c=FITAFE

[FfNJGTFO]

Originally Posted by AFJuvat

Perfectly balanced with counterweights to reduce or eliminate recoil, vibration, or barrel whipping.

They are customizable, or it can be tuned to an individual shooter.

They aren't really practical for anything other than match use. Drop it and it's accuracy can be comprimized.

Here is site that sells them. Pretty pricy for a 22LR.

http://www.champchoice.com/store/Mai...yBody&c=FITAFE

Yes, and probably only affordable for Olympic or ISSF competitors... perhaps so that the "standard" for the IDPA and that class of competitions are a bit lower.

[DrHenley]

Here's the one my daughter used in Middle School and High School on the shooting team, and it was a no-frills entry level rifle ($1200 from the CMP at the time)

[Gatorade]

No excuses rifles. If you are off with one of those it is only the shooter. I would love to scatter some .22 all over that target!

[pitor]

Weird looking guns indeed. Perfectly balanced and incredibly pricey.

Did you also noticed the weird attire they use for shooting? Stiff stiff apparel to minimize stance wobble. Full of pads for prone position?

[sdmc530]

yep its crazy and with all the tech they have I still would miss gophers at 25 yards.

[RandallZ]

Might as well wonder why Formula One cars look so compared to regular cars.

I used to compete air gun and three position; even earned invitations to Olympic Team tryouts a few times. It's a whole different world of shooting at that level. The bullseye on a 10 meter air rifle target is one-half millimeter in diameter. Try hitting that consistently, in standing position, without one o0f those strange guns and stiff jackets...a "regular" gun wouldn't cut it. And. no, no extra padding for prone.

[FfNJGTFO]

Originally Posted by RandallZ

Might as well wonder why Formula One cars look so compared to regular cars.

Formula One cars, I understand. I just wasn't aware of this level of shooting, and the precision and gear required for it.

I am now.

[Horse'nround]

So if I have to take and hold the yoga pose that girl is in... you can Keep'em

I'll stick with a rolling 3 point and my 7mm RM. I can get in the black @ 600+