October 20th 2023Would you like to try smallbore shooting? Here are some tips by Olympian Matt Emmons, one of the world’s best 3P shooters. Matt Emmons competed at the Rio Olympics in the Three-Position event, his fourth Olympic appearance. Matt Emmons has been a member of the U.S. National Team for over 20 years. He has won three Olympic medals: Gold in 2004 Men’s Prone, Silver in 2008 Men’s Prone and Bronze in 2012. Emmons is a specialist in 3-Position Rifle, but his Olympic Gold and World Championship are in 50m Prone. He uses an Anschutz or Bleiker 22LR rifle with Eley Tenex ammunition.
Matt’s 2004 Gold Medal is a fascinating tale. He won it with a “loaner rifle”. Emmons discovered that his rifle was severely sabotaged at the United States Olympic Training Center in April 2004, just before the Olympic Team Trials. The barrel and action, which were precisely tuned, were severely damaged. “I opened my gun and noticed that something was wrong,” Emmons said. “Sure enough, someone had done something with it. I shot it but I couldn’t remove the shell. Emmons insisted that it was not an accident. “Oh no, No,” Emmons stated. Emmons used a rifle that belonged to Amber Darland, a former teammate from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. He won the Gold Medal at 50m prone with that borrowed rifle. Emmons did not find out who the saboteur is, but he said, “I would like to know so that I could shake their hands and say thank you.” Here are some shooting tips from Matt courtesy of Anschutz. Click the image below to open a PDF file in full screen.
Three sets of hardware for three positions
Matt brings three complete sets of rifle components to important matches. These include three buttplates and cheekpieces as well as three Centra sights that have adjustable irises. Matt told Shooting Sports USA he travels “three sets for the three positions.” Matt’s final is so fast, I need three sets to be able to change positions quickly. He carries his gear with him in an Anschutz sport bag. “It looks like the big Ogio wheels duffels but it’s lighter.” I’ve been working with AHG/Anschutz since many years, and I like their bag as all of my junk can fit in it.
Similar Posts:Tags: 3-position, 3P Training, Marksmanhip training, Matt Emmons, Position Shooting, Smallbore
