4th Pan American Games

U.S. Shooting squad tops 14 nations at Sao Paulo, Brazil
By Maj. Fred R. Rakow, USAF

The 4th Pan American Games were latest, and among the most successful, International competitions that U.S. shooters have attended. The Games were held Apr. 20 to May 5 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and the shooting matches were fired on Apr. 22 - 29. United States entered teams in all 7 shooting events - 50-meter Prone Rifle; 50-meter 3-Position Rifle; 300-meter Free-Rifle; 50-meter Free-Pistol; 25-meter Center-Fire Pistol; 25-meter Silhouette Pistol; and Skeet.

Fifteen nations were represented in the shooting events and 155 individuals participated. The U.S. won all team events; all individual events but one; exceeded 2 world records; and established or exceeded 6 Pan American shooting records.

The Olympic Shooting Committee approved by the NRA developed plan for team selection and organization after which the NRA proceeded with carrying out the arrangements.

The U.S. Olympic Committee approved the selection of the 24-man shooting squad from 106 to the nation's best rifle, pistol, and skeet shooters in tryouts conducted at the U.S. Air Force Marksmanship School, Lackland Air Force Base, Tex., late in January. The squad consisted of 8 riflemen, 12 pistol shooters, and 4 shotgunners, the maximum number of shooters eligible to participate.

Intense practice at Lackland on Apr. 8 - 14, except for 2 half days when strong wind made shooting impractical, was invaluable in molding the squad into a cohesive unit.

Team Housing

At Sao Paulo the team was housed in the Pan American Games Village which consisted of an enclosed area of administrative buildings, recreation hall, dining hall, 6 dormitories, and an athletic warm-up field. Immediately after the Games it was planned that the Village would become the main dormitory area of the University of Sao Paulo.

Each firing team was composed of 4 shooters, only 2 of whom were eligible to compete for individual awards. The firing team members, and the 2 shooters who would participate for individual awards, had to be named at least 48 hours in advance of the event.

Rifle and pistol matches at Sao Paulo were fired on the range located at the site of the Training Station of the Forca Publica, about 30 minutes' drive north from the center of the city. The skeet matches were fired at the Caca de Tiro Club, also north of the city.

Due to reasons beyond the control of the Shooting Federation of Brazil and the Organizing Committee of the 4th Pan American Games, very little could be done in preparation for the Games until about 2 months before they were scheduled to be held. In fact, each range was not finally completed until 2 days before events scheduled for it commenced. By hard work and the elimination of all frills, and specifically through the exceptional efforts of Dr. Luiz Novais, Technical Delegate to the Organizing Committee from the Brazilian Shooting Federation, the shooting events were conducted without difficulty and largely on schedule.

The 50- and 300-meter range shooting house provided complete overhead cover and was enclosed at the rear to act as a windbreak. Thirty-two firing points were available.

Range personnel was furnished principally by the Forca Publica, a statewide public service organization roughly equivalent to a combination police and fire department but organized more along military lines. Though these people had little training, they did an outstanding job and contributed greatly to the success of the matches. Most administrative personnel were volunteers from the local shooting organizations.

The precision stage of the center-fire pistol matches were fired on a separate range which consisted of a covered firing house with booths for each shooter. The targets were changed by a range detail after each series of 5 shots.

The rapid-fire pistol range, immediately adjacent to the precision range, consisted of 3 banks of 5 silhouettes operated by compressed air and timed electrically. Three large individual portable booths were used for the rapid-fire match. Three larger booths, each with 5 stalls, were placed on the concrete firing line for the rapid-fire stage of the center-fire match. Fifteen shooters fired the rapid-fire stage simultaneously.

The skeet range was located at the Caca de Tiro Club where an excellent club house was also available. Only a single range was available but this was adequate for the course of fire used.

Match winners

The 50-meter prone rifle match, fired on Apr. 22, was won by Enrico Forcella of Venezuella with a score of 590, below the Pan American record of 592. The U.S. team of Edward E. Caygle, Jr., Lones W. Wigger, Jr., William E. Krilling, and Gary L. Anderson won the team match with a score of 2349, raising the previous Pan American record one point.

Franklin C. Green won the free-pistol event the next day with a score of 547, two points lower than the present Pan American record held by Vasquez of Peru and Benner of the U.S. The U.S. team score of 2170 fired by Green, Robert C. Meagher, Alvin R. Merx, and Paul J. Shank, Jr., will automatically be a 4-man team record. The previous record was a 5-man team score of 2683.

On Ap. 24, Anderson raised the record in the small bore 3-postion event by 22 points, establishing a new record of 1147 for the Games. The previous record was held by Arthur C. Jackson of the U.S. As in free-pistol, the previous team record was for 5 men. Anderson, Krilling, David I. Boyd, II, and Verle F. Wright, Jr., established a 4-man team record of 4529, which is 7 points higher than the U.S. score fired at Cairo.

The rapid-fire silhouette individual and team records continue to stand. Cecil L. Wallis won the event with a 585 and with teammates Laurence K. Mosely, Richard M. Stineman, and Aubrey E. Smith won the team match with a 2312. Valiente of Argentina holds the Pan American individual record with 589 and the U.S. holds the team record with 2328.

The center-fire pistol match provided one of the real highlights of the shooting events. Not one but 2 U.S. team members bettered the existing world record in this event. William B. Blankenship, Jr., raised the old record of 591, held by Kudrna of Czechoslovakia, by 3 points, but was somewhat overshadowed by Thomas D. Smith, III, who put together an excellent score of 597. Though this score will not be considered a new record until approved by the International Shooting Union (ISU). The U.S. team of T. D. Smith, Blankenship, William W. McMillan, Jr., and William H. Mellon fired a score of 2343 to establish a new Pan American record.

The U.S. skeet team won the team match with a 586, beating Venezuela by 6 points. One hundred and fifty clay targets were fired at by each member, instead of the usual 200. Because the timer delay refused to work and birds were instantaneous, this event cannot be considered for record purposes. Kenneth W. Sedlecky won the individual won the individual honors with a creditable 150, with Garcia of Venezuela second with 149.

A second world record was surpassed when the U.S. free-rifle team of Anderson, Wright, John T. Bertva, and Martin I. Gunnarsson amassed 4557 points, 24 more than the present record of 4553 held by Russia. This record also has to be approved by the ISU before it can be recognized as such. The previous Pan American record was a 5-man team score. Anderson fired an individual score of 1146, one point behind the present Pan American and world record held by U.S. shooter Daniel B. Puckel.

American Rifleman, Vol. 111, No. 7, July 1963

U.S. Shooting Team

Rifle Members

Gary L. Anderson, John T. Bertva, David I. Boyd, II, Edward E. Caygle, Jr.
Martin I. Gunnarson, Gordon D. Horner, William E. Krilling,
Lones W. Wigger, Jr., and Verle F. Wright, Jr.

Alternate: Charles D. Davis (Not Shown)

Pistol Members

William B. Blankenship, Jr., Franklin C. Green, William W. McMillan, Jr., Robert C. Meagher
William H. Mellon, Alvin R. Merx, Lawrence K. Mosely, Paul J. Shank, Aubrey E. Smith
Thomas D. Smith, III, Richard M. Stineman and Cecil L. Wallis

Alternates: James A. Getchell, Henry Weinbrecht and Robert E. Wilford (Not Shown)

Skeet Members

Kenneth W. Sedlecky and Henry H. Shaw

Alternate: David G. Bywater

Team Management & Support

Peter W. Angell (Team Captain), Fred R. Rakow (Team Adjutant) and Louis J. Willing (Armorer)