For a select few, their names become synonymous with achievement.
Not for small things; for achieving great things in their chosen fields.
MJ or Kobe in basketball. Maris, Mantle, Musial, Aaron and Ruth in baseball. Laver in tennis. Cher in music. Salk in medicine.
They exemplify excellence at the very pinnacle of their chosen fields.
Few of us have ever had the opportunity to meet, much less interact, with giants in their fields.
Unless, of course, you’re into shooting sports.
If you are, you have probably competed with or against legendary shooters. Many times, you might not have even been aware of just how awesome they really are.
That’s because we’re blessed to have the most approachable superstars imaginable.
One of the greatest is Jerry Miculek. Jerry holds most of the world records for doing almost anything with a revolver. He’s equally fast with virtually anything other than black powder rifles -and that’s probably all the incentive he needs to look at their world records.
He was up to his usual tricks again this past weekend as part of longtime sponsor Smith & Wesson’s official opening festivities of their new HQ in Maryville, Tennessee.
When the steel stopped ringing, he’d set not one, but a pair of new world records. He already holds the record for firing eight shots from a Smith & Wesson Model 627 revolver. His time?
One second. Not per shot, for all eight shots.
He’s also fired six shots each from ten different S&W Model 64 revolvers..he loafed his way through that in 17.12 seconds.
But the record for the fastest draw from a holster and then putting six rounds on the targets on a plate rack was one he’s had his eye on for a while.
The record, 2.05 seconds, had been set by Max Michel - using a semiautomatic pistol.
So Jerry, with the cooperation of S&W, decided to go after the record.
And in typical fashion, he went after it with single-minded dedication and intricate knowledge of how he planned to break Max’s record….with a revolver.
This is where I give away the ending….he did it….on the first try. The “new” official world record is 2.0 seconds -flat. Not much faster, until you consider the fact Jerry was shooting a double-action revolver at a faster rate than a semiautomatic pistol cycled in the hands of another amazingly gifted shooter.
If you’re interested in the workup to his record-setting performance on Friday, you can begin by watching THE RECORD- A Jerry Miculek Documentary on YouTube. If you do, you’ll get an inside look at just now dedicated the outwardly easy-going Miculek is.
If you want to jump straight to the record, you can get there on Instagram. It’s worth it to see just how much fun Jerry really is. The action after the shooting is the Jerry few of us have actually seen. He was impressed with his run. And for a guy who has hit a target at 1,000 yards with a snub-nosed revolver and holds the world record for fastest consecutive shots from a Barrett .50 caliber rifle, that’s saying something.
Later this week, we’ll take a look at Smith & Wesson’s official grand opening of their new home in Maryville, Tennessee. Over the weekend, S&W invited a few friends over -and they certainly turned out.
As always, we’ll keep you posted.
— Jim Shepherd