Does age effect shooting ability, if so how long can a person expect to shoot well?

[chubbmann]

Oscar Gomer Swahn (October 20, 1847 – May 1, 1927) was a Swedish shooter who competed at three olympic games, and won several medals.

At the 1908 Summer Olympics, Oscar Swahn won two gold medals in the running deer, single shot events (individual and team), and a bronze medal in the running deer double shot individual event. He was 60 years old, only a year younger than Joshua Millner, the oldest golden medalist ever at that time.

When the 1912 Summer Olympics came to his native country Sweden, he was a member of the single shot running deer team, which again won the gold medal. He also won bronze again at the individual double shot running deer event, but he came fifth in the individual single shot event, which was won by his son Alfred Swahn. At 64 years, he became the oldest golden medalist ever, which he still remains up to today.

At the age of 72, he was the oldest sporter to compete in the 1920 Summer Olympics. His best results were in the team competitions: a fourth place in the single shot running deer event, and a second place in the double shot running deer contest. With this silver medal, he is also the oldest medalist of any colour of all time (not counting the art competitions).

Oscar did not compete in the 1924 Games because of illness.

In all of the team competitions that Oscar Swahn entered at the three Olympic games of 1908, 1912, and 1920, he was accompanied by his son Alfred Swahn, who also won one bronze, one silver and two gold medals on individual events.

 

[Howard Roark]

There are several older hard holders out there.

Mid Thompkins still shoots good. Baker DelCotto turns out good scores. There is a female pistol shooter on the Olympic team that is 56.

As long as the vistion is correctable and one is in good shape we can have a long shooting career.

 

[Claude Clay]

vistion is important sadly with age shooting may affect the earrings

age brings change and one modifies how a task is accomplished. i guess i will keep shooting till i run out of modifiers.

 

[The Tourist]

Other than ping-pong and certain upper body competitions, the older guy will be the better competitor. I say this in observations both as a younger man, and now being older.

Most functions depend upon hand-eye coordination based on developing a skill set. In other words, talent coupled with practice. Even most body builders don't fill out, achieve symmetry or poise until they are near/past forty years of age.

Now granted, swimming in a straight line might be something that a younger man can handle, but I cannot tell you all of the times I was bested by an older guy who had "seen the elephant."

And now with practiced strength and maturity, I apply those same techniques, including the finer points of debate, against younger folks who simply thrash around.

 

[eflatminor]

Some of the best IPSC shooters here in SoCal are in their 50's and 60's for what it's worth.

 

[ZeSpectre]

When I was younger I could see the bullet leave the barrel and impact the target (at least from pistols). Seriously I really could! Not anymore though, those days are long past <sigh>. And yet, all those years of watching the "ballistic curve" in action seem to have ingrained it into my head and reflexes because even when I can't actually see the round I have a pretty good idea where it's actually going to go.

So yes, age can seriously affect but long term experience can also compensate to an astounding degree.

 

[brighamr]

My grandpa was the most accurate shot i've ever scene first hand. He shot well up until cancer spread and he couldn't shoot at all.

I think physical health is more of a factor than age.

 

[earplug]

I just change my sport. Less action shooting, more target shooting such as Bullseye which allows optics.
I have gotten slower, and blinder.
I wish there was a Airpistol event that allowed red dots.

 

[XDKingslayer]

I think physical health is more of a factor than age.

Bingo.

I watch my father, who taught me how to shoot and also a former Marine go from throwing constant bullseyes to utter frustration. His eyesight has gone in the crapper and he shakes tremendously due to medication. It's hard for him to gas up his truck let alone shoot accurately.

I have a buddy who went from shooting competitively to now not being able to shoot at all in 3 short years due to macular degeneration. The kind you can't fix...

 

[Toten Kopf]

At almost 60, I have gone from NRA High Master (High Power) to mostly point and shoot or P-Dog shooting with a high powered scope.

My eyes are the thing that caused most of my problems and with getting a new prescription every year or so, it get's expensive.

I will be trying an Appleseed shoot in Sept but don't expect to much. It does get frustrating to know what you have done compared to what you can do. The knowledge is still there but the body won't cooperate.

 

[cdrt]

I may have mentioned this before in another post, but at 50 I thought my shooting days were over. I was having real problems with my eyes. It took the eye doctor several exams, but he found I had a clear cataract in my dominant eye that was causing double vision. After the surgery (in both eyes) I can go hunting without glasses, but need glasses to focus on the front sight when I shoot Bullseye and Highpower.

I legged out for Distinguished Pistol last year just before my 59th birthday and actually feel I'm shooting the .45 better than I did back in the 70s and 80s. My goal now is to Leg out for Distinguished Rifle. Matches are few here in northwest Texas, but I think it's doable.

 

[lazyeye]

Most of the action pistol shooters I've met were twice my age or more, and shot better than I do.

 

[onebigelf]

I shot competition handgun as a youth (I was VERY good, we shot Rolaids for practice). My 68yr old grandfather was better than me. I'm not as good as I was then, my vision isn't as sharp. I guess that means there's no hard and fast rule.

John

 

[4sooth]

Age--Shooting Skill

At 61 I still occasionally win a stage or finish in the top five on a stage at local IPSC matches.

I only shoot every few months due to finances--but have shot extensively for 25 years so experience is helping me a lot.My eye sight gives me problems past 15 yards or so.

 

[VegasOPM]

How old is Jerry Miculek? I would imagine he is in his mid to late 50's and he is still one of the top shooters out there.

 

[Navy joe]

For a long time the treachery and experience of old age can beat youth. There is a limit though, our muscle mass, coordination, endurance, etc. all peak sometime in the 40s. How much you can maintain is a function of dedication to practice and prior conditioning. Rob Leatham still seems to be stomping the much more younger and agile. I get beat by 60 year old masters with regularity.

 

[cavman]

In this months NRA Shooting Sports magazine, There is an article on the Bianchi Cup, and it begins with 61 year old Vera Koo who won this year's Top placed woman.

(It also goes on to say that she is a 7-time champion. So she brought some skills to the table with her)

 

[scrat]

I remember when i was a kid one day i was shooting iron sites with my father free style standing no bench. We were shooting steel at various ranges out to 100 maybe some further. I remember because that day i was shooting better than my father.


30 years later. My 15 year old son can shoot steel at 200 yards. Standing up iron sites no problem at all. All i keep thinking about is that day with my father. Its not that he is better in one way. His eyes are. I wear glasses. Still my eyes are not the best as they were. I did a lot of welding when i was younger that i wish i didnt. I can still kick his butt on a bench. but he has got me when it comes to standing. So ya my guess is most of these guys who can do this that are older are doing it on bench. on bench im still pretty good. Freestyle at distance forget it. I still try and have fun at it. But im not as good as i was when i was 15.

 

[Loomis]

This is a difficult thing to analyze.

Bone mass peaks about age 30. Muscle mass peaks about age 40. Flexibility probably peaks somewhere in your early 20s(for males). Vision starts going down hill probably in your teens or earlier. Muscle control probably continues to improve well into senior citizenship. Your ability to heal from wounds and recovery time from total exhaustion or excessive exertion starts to slip in mid twenties.

THere is a point where the deterioration of your body will affect your performance. But a human being is very resourceful at compensating for certain small weaknesses.

There are two things that eventually happen to MOST elderly people...their eyesight goes to crap. They lose their steady hand.

These are not things you can easily compensate for in a shooting match.

My dad was always a very impressive shooter. Especially with a revolver. Now into his 70s, cataracts and a very mild tremor in the hands has taken that away from him. He can still do fairly good for the first 3 or 4 shots by pure determination, but then he's played out from the mental exertion.

 

[jnyork]

In Yuma I shoot with about 30 other geezers, all of us well North of age 60 and several late 70's. We shoot metallic silhouette on the Leveraction course which is all offhand. We do pretty good, most of us can outshoot the occasional younger person who comes in to "try it out" and never comes back. Several of our members compete at the State and National Champion Level, and win!! Even those among us with serious defirmaties and health problems still enjoy the shooting and the comraderie. It is not so much the winning as the participation that counts for most of us.

Shooting is a great sport, one that can be indulged in even from a wheelchair. The fact that you are getting older should not deter you from a trip to the range. I myself am not as good as I used to be and recently got informed that I never was!!

 

[NVMM]

I forgot where I saw it, but one of the members signature is,
"The older I get the better I was."
Illness' aside, I believe this is true.
I also think as we age (especially in this sport) our eyesight makes us less competitive.

 

[rcmodel]

My Center of Gravity is way lower then it was when I shot high level competition 40 years ago.

That should help a lot!
But I don't think it nearly makes up for the eyesight & muscle tone I had at age 25!

rcmodel

 

[Claymore1500]

To old guys come to mind, Col. Jeff Cooper and Elmer Keith.

Both (as far as I know) were very good until the day they just couldn't do it any more.


R.I.P.