Small-Bore Rifle, Prone (Any Position), 50 metres, Team, Men

In Olympic Shooting, Crossman described the results of this match as follows, “The Americans had not trained especially for the 50-meter prone team match, but they had some hopes of winning with their Stevens M414 single-shot, falling-block rifles. They soon found the sights inadequate. The rules specified the prone position for this match, with no artificial support. The officials ruled that the ground was obviously not artificial and that the shooters therefore could rest their rifles on the ground. Strangely, only the Swedish team seemed to know about this, and they took full advantage of the knowledge, resting both the left hand and forearm and the butt of the rifle on the firing line. The English raised quite a fuss about this, but lost and went on to win by shooting ability, 762 to the Swedes’ 748, with the United States four points behind, for a third out of the six teams.”

The event is listed as “Miniature Rifle, Any Position” in the 1912 Official Report, as with the individual event, but as prone is by far the most stable position, it is likely that all competitors shot in the prone position.