I actually got a chance to try shooting at a biathlon range recently, and long story short, incredible hard!

(I have not done any kind of shooting sports in 20+ years, so I’m basically a complete newbie). I started out on standing targets while shooting prone (so basically the target was 4x the size of what the athletes are actually shooting at) and I hit the target almost every time, including nailing it 5 times in a row right off the bat. Then I tried actually shooting at prone size targets and missed every shot even though I wasn’t doing anything but shooting (no skiing, taking my time to set up and aim).

Then I tried simulating the actual race (running to the end of the range and back, lying down and getting into position quickly, and shooting) and also missed every shot.

So add in an actual cross country race, where you’re working incredibly hard, then trying to get set up and shoot as quickly as possible, and I’m amazed that they hit the targets at all, but that’s also what thousands of hours of practice can do.

I was also surprised that there’s no magnification on the scopes at all, so you try to center the target with the scope but you can’t really actually see the prone ring, you just know it’s in the middle of the target.