Paine entered all three of the pistol events at the 1896 Games, but actually competed in only one. He, along with his brother Sumner Paine, was disqualified from the rapid fire pistol event for not having the appropriate caliber pistol. Both of the Paines used Colt revolvers, firearms that were far superior to those used by their opponents in the 25 metre military pistol event, John won the event easily, scoring 442 points on 25 hits out of 30 shots, Sumner was not far behind, at 380 points on 23 hits; the third-place finisher, the Greek Nikolaos Morakis, scored only 205 points.