# Shooting at the 1908 Summer Olympics – Men's 50 yard pistol

The men's individual revolver and pistol competition was one of 15 shooting sports events on the shooting at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme. The competition was held on Friday, 10 July 1908. Each nation could enter up to 12 shooters. Forty-three sport shooters from seven nations competed. Nations were limited to 12 shooters each. The event was won by Paul Van Asbroeck of Belgium, with his countryman Réginald Storms 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 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.
Great Britain and Sweden each made their debut in the event. Belgium, France, Greece, the Netherlands, and the United States each made their second appearance, tied for most of any nation.
Van Asbroeck used a Sauveur HS-6.

## 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.
| World record | | | | |
| Olympic record | Karl Röderer (SUI) | 503 | Paris, France | 1 August 1900 |

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Round |
| Friday, 10 July 1908 | | Final |

## 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.
| Rank | Shooter | Nation | Score |
| | Paul Van Asbroeck | Belgium | 490 |
| | Réginald Storms | Belgium | 487 |
| | James Gorman | United States | 485 |
| 4 | Charles Axtell | United States | 480 |
| 5 | Jesse Wallingford | Great Britain | 467 |
| 6 | André Barbillat | France | 466 |
| 7 | William Ellicott | Great Britain | 458 |
| 8 | Irving Calkins | United States | 457 |
| 9 | John Dietz | United States | 455 |
| 10 | André Regaud | France | 451 |
| 11 | Geoffrey Coles | Great Britain | 449 |
| 12 | Jacob van der Kop | Netherlands | 447 |
| 13 | Henry Lynch-Staunton | Great Britain | 443 |
| 14 | William Russell Lane-Joynt | Great Britain | 442 |
| 15 | René Englebert | Belgium | 441 |
| 16 | William Newton | Great Britain | 440 |
| 17 | Léon Moreaux | France | 438 |
| 18 | Franz-Albert Schartau | Sweden | 436 |
| 19 | Thomas LeBoutillier | United States | 436 |
| 20 | Vilhelm Carlberg | Sweden | 432 |
| 21 | Reginald Sayre | United States | 430 |
| 22 | Jean Depassio | France | 427 |
| 23 | Charles Wirgman | Great Britain | 425 |
| 24 | Piet ten Bruggen Cate | Netherlands | 421 |
| 25 | Frangiskos Mavrommatis | Greece | 419 |
| 26 | Alexandros Theofilakis | Greece | 409 |
| 27 | Johan Hübner von Holst | Sweden | 408 |
| 28 | Peter Jones | Great Britain | 407 |
| 29 | Ioannis Theofilakis | Greece | 406 |
| 30 | Léon Lécuyer | France | 401 |
| 31 | J. Nelson Fevre | Great Britain | 399 |
| 32 | Defkalion Rediadis | Greece | 397 |
| 33 | Eric Carlberg | Sweden | 396 |
| 34 | Maurice Robion du Pont | France | 391 |
| 35 | Otto von Rosen | Sweden | 386 |
| 36 | Jan de Blécourt | Netherlands | 381 |
| 37 | Jacques Pinchart | Belgium | 372 |
| 38 | Walter W. Winans | United States | 368 |
| 39 | Henry Munday | Great Britain | 358 |
| 40 | Gerard van den Bergh | Netherlands | 343 |
| 41 | Christiaan Brosch | Netherlands | 337 |
| 42 | John Bashford | Great Britain | 329 |
| 43 | Antonie de Gee | Netherlands | 226 |