Thomas J. Knapp (September 30, 1950 – April 26, 2013) was an American exhibition sharpshooter. [1] [2]
Knapp was featured on several television channels including The History Channel, Outdoor Channel, and Discovery Channel. [3] He also hosted Benelli’s American Birdhunter for 8 seasons. [2]
Knapp holds three world records for clay shooting. Those records included breaking ten simultaneously tossed clays while using a semi-automatic (a Benelli M2 Field), [4] [5] shotgun in 2.2 seconds, as well as breaking eight with a pump-action shotgun [1] (a Benelli Nova Pump, in 2000). [6] He also won a world record for shooting nine clay targets thrown with a Benelli M1 Super 90 in 1993. [6]
World Record No. 1 Knapp joined Benelli in 1993 when he set his first World record with his Benelli M1 Super 90 by throwing nine standard clay targets (using no assistance) and breaking them with individual shots in less than 2 seconds.
World Record No. 2 On July 19, 2000, Knapp, with his pump shotgun in one hand, threw eight clay targets in the air with his other hand and broke every one of them with individual shots in 1.87 seconds.
World Record No. 3 In Murfreesboro, Tennessee, on October 20, 2004, Knapp, while using a 12-ga. Benelli M2 Field [4] [5] Semi-Auto Shotgun and extended magazine tube, launched ten clay targets into the air with one hand and shot all ten with individual shots in 2.2 seconds.
A double-barreled shotgun is a break-action shotgun with two parallel barrels, allowing two single shots to be fired in quick succession or simultaneously.
A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting, with a barrel that has a helical pattern of grooves (rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles are typically designed to be held with both hands and braced firmly against the shooter's shoulder via a buttstock for stability during shooting. Rifles are used extensively in warfare, law enforcement, hunting, shooting sports, and crime.
A shotgun is a long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge known as a shotshell, which usually discharges numerous small pellet-like spherical sub-projectiles called shot, or sometimes a single solid projectile called a slug. Shotguns are most commonly smoothbore firearms, meaning that their gun barrels have no rifling on the inner wall, but rifled barrels for shooting slugs are also available.
Shooting sports is a group of competitive and recreational sporting activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in shooting — the art of using ranged weapons, mainly small arms and bows/crossbows.
Skeet shooting is a recreational and competitive activity where participants use shotguns to attempt to break clay targets which two fixed stations mechanically fling into the air at high speed and at a variety of angles.
The International Shooting Sport Federation recognizes several shooting events, some of which have Olympic status. They are divided into four disciplines: rifle, pistol, shotgun and running target.
25 meter center-fire pistol is one of the ISSF shooting events, and is normally a men-only event. Its origin lies in competitions with military-style service pistols, and as such its history dates back to the 19th century.
The Benelli M4 is a semi-automatic shotgun produced by Italian firearm manufacturer Benelli Armi SpA, and the last of the "Benelli Super 90" series of semi-automatic shotguns. The M4 uses a proprietary action design called the "auto-regulating gas-operated" (ARGO) system, which was created specifically for the weapon. The weapon was designed in 1998, and was adopted by the armed forces of Italy, the United States, United Kingdom, among others, and has been used in a variety of conflicts, leading up to the present day.
A combat shotgun is a shotgun issued by militaries for warfare. The earliest shotguns specifically designed for combat were the trench guns or trench shotguns issued in World War I. While limited in range, the multiple projectiles typically used in a shotgun shell provide increased hit probability unmatched by other small arms.
Trap shooting, or trapshooting in North America, is one of the three major disciplines of competitive clay pigeon shooting, which is shooting shotguns at clay targets. The other disciplines are skeet shooting and sporting clays.
A riot shotgun is a shotgun designed or modified for use as a primarily defensive weapon, by the use of a short barrel and sometimes a larger magazine capacity than shotguns marketed for hunting. The riot shotgun is used by military personnel for guard duty and was at one time used for riot control, and is commonly used as a door breaching and patrol weapon by law enforcement personnel, as well as a home defense weapon by civilians. Guns of this type are often labeled as breaching shotguns, tactical shotguns or special-purpose shotguns to denote the larger scope of their use; however, these are largely marketing terms.
Jerry Charles Miculek Jr. is an American professional speed and competition shooter. Miculek has emptied a five-shot revolver in 0.57 seconds in a group the size of a playing card, thus being dubbed "The Greatest Shooter of all Time". Miculek holds five officially sanctioned world records in revolver shooting and over 15 unsanctioned records with firearms ranging from rapid firing pistols to the Barrett M107 .50 BMG rifle. Additional accomplishments include six shots in .98 seconds with a Barrett M107 .50 BMG rifle and a 1000-yard shot off hand with his 9mm Smith & Wesson revolver.
The International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC) is the world's largest shooting sport association, and the largest and oldest within practical shooting. Founded in 1976, the IPSC nowadays affiliates over 100 regions from Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Oceania. Competitions are held with pistol, revolver, rifle, and shotgun, and the competitors are divided into different divisions based on firearm and equipment features. While everyone in a division competes in the Overall category, there are also separate awards for the categories Lady, Super Junior, Junior, Senior, and Super Senior.
Clay pigeon shooting, also known as clay target shooting, is a shooting sport involving shooting a firearm at special flying targets known as clay pigeons, or clay targets.
The Benelli M3 is a dual-mode shotgun designed and manufactured by Italian firearms manufacturer Benelli Armi SpA, and one of the "Benelli Super 90" series of semi-auto shotguns. The M3 holds a maximum of seven rounds and uses Benelli's proprietary Inertia-driven action system first showcased in the M1. The M3 is notable for allowing the user to choose between semi-automatic or pump-action operation.
Benelli Armi SpA is an Italian firearm manufacturer best known for shotguns used by military, law enforcement and civilians, located in Urbino, Marche. Founded in 1967 as an offshoot of the Benelli motorcycle factory that sold motorcycles through Montgomery Ward, Benelli produces the 12-gauge Benelli M3 used by American SWAT teams. Benelli and Benelli USA have been owned by Pietro Beretta SpA since 2000.
Exhibition shooting or trick shooting is a sport in which a marksman performs various feats of skill, frequently using non-traditional targets. Exhibition shooting tends to stress both speed and accuracy, often with elements of danger added.
The Benelli Supernova is a pump action shotgun used for hunting, self-defense and law enforcement, made by Italian firearm manufacturer Benelli Armi SpA. The Supernova features a recoil reducer, which is attached to the interior of the stock, and raises the length of time that the shot's impulse is spread across, thus lowering felt recoil.
The Benelli M2 is a semi-automatic shotgun manufactured by Benelli Armi SpA, and one of the "Benelli Super 90" series of semi-auto shotguns. It is an updated version of the Benelli M1. Like its predecessor, it is available in several versions for civilian, law enforcement and military use. It features the proprietary Benelli inertia system of operation.
Cowboy action shooting is a competitive shooting sport that originated in Southern California in the early 1980s, at the Coto de Caza Shooting Range in Orange County, California. Cowboy action shooting is now practiced in many places with several sanctioning organizations including the Single Action Shooting Society (SASS), Western Action Shootists Association (WASA), and National Congress of Old West Shooters (NCOWS), Single Action Shooting Australia (SASA), Western 3-Gun as well as others in the U.S. and other countries.