Meeting Bogdanov Face to Face

The USSR (Soviet Union) shooters were the world powerhouse in rifle shooting until 1962, thanks in large part to Col. Anatoli Ivanovich Bogdanov.      Bogdanov and his teammates outshot the world in three straight Olympics and World Championships.     Bogdanov was the world's greatest rifle shooter during the 1950s.

Gary Anderson was inspired by Bogdanov (see "No Coach, No Team, No Money") and knew by the age of 17 (in 1956) that he wanted to beat Bogdanov at his own game and went to work using Bogdanov's training methods that he learned from studying a Russian article translated for The American Rifleman (see "The Article from the Archives"). 

Bogdanov's last international competition was the 1959 European Championship.  He ended his career with two Olympic gold medals and six individual world championships.  Gary's breakthrough international competition was the 1962 World Championship in Cairo.  It became his goal to equal Bogdanov's record and become the world's greatest rifle shooter during his decade, the 1960s.  From 1962 through 1966 Gary had won one Olympic gold medal and seven world championships.  He was looking for gold medal number two in 1968 in Mexico City.

The leather mitten rejected by Anatoli Bogdanov who worked as a judge in Mexico City

During the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, Anatoli Bogdanov was on the ISSF Rifle Jury.  Gary first met Bogdanov in person when he brought his rifle and equipment to the Jury for checking before the competition.  Instead of using a commercial shooting glove, Gary always used a plain leather mitten with a hand-knitted liner.  When he presented this unconventional glove to the Jury, Bogdanov rejected it because it was in two pieces, even though it was much thinner than the allowed maximum.  Gary viewed this a Soviet harassment and was disappointed that it came from Bogdanov.    Gary then dropped out of line, went back to his friend Ralph Rodriquez from Puerto Rico who was standing in the inspection line behind him.  He asked Ralph to take the glove through inspection to see what would happen.     Ralph agreed and the glove was approved without any questions!  Ironically, Rodriquez is right handed and Gary Anderson is left handed!

 During the standing competition, the USSR team leader complained to the Rifle July Chairman, Otto Horber, that Gary's shooting jacket was illegal.    At the time, international rules required  jackets to hang loosely and not provide "undue support."    The jackets could not be more than five millimeters thick in the body, six millimeters thick in the padded areas.    Horber brought out the calipers and measured the jacket during the match while Gary was shooting in the standing position.     Horber determined that the jacket was legal and told Gary to continue firing.  

Gary in standing position with the leather mitten.

Bogdanov and the Russians may have gotten some satisfaction from this attempt to break Gary's concentration, but the Russians did not know that Gary had mentally rehearsed every possible scenario that could go wrong during the Olympic competition, including Soviet intimidation.   This EXACT scenario was rehearsed in Gary's mind before the competition, including this intervention by the very man who was Chairman of the Rifle Jury, Otto Horber.    Gary won his second Olympic Gold Medal in spite of the Russian harassment.

There was another face to face meeting with Bogdanov.  During the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow (the Games  President Carter boycotted),  Gary was in Moscow now as a Jury Member.  Bogdanov invited him to dinner.     Bogdanov's sister also came to dinner.      She spoke German; Gary spoke some German, and between the three of them, they enjoy a great conversation and evening together.  They met as friends who truly respected each others' accomplishments and the 1968 incidents never came up.  Gary always felt that when Bogdanov was on the 1968 Jury, he was doing what he was told to do and that his actions were never personal.

Gary Anderson and Anatoli Bogdanov meet in 1980.

That was the last time Gary saw Bogdanov.      In the end Gary out-Bogdanoved him.    The world's greatest marksman in 1952 had two Olympic Gold Medals and six World Championships.     Before Gary retired from international competition in 1967, he had two Olympic Gold Medals, seven Individual World Championships, six Individual World Records, 2 Pan American Games Gold Medals and 16 National Championships.

And he still has the leather mitten.   The wool liner was knitted by Ruth Ann.

Gold Medal Diary Entries

 Gary believes he was the first person in the USA to keep a shooting diary.  

The first diary he kept is in a small six ring binder;  it is mostly a log of scores and rarely includes commentary.   He titles it "Training Day Book" because that's what Bogdanov called his (see "An Article from the Archives").      Gary's first entry is May 25, 1957.  On that day, Gary received a Remington Model 40-X.    His dad gave him his first target rifle as a high school graduation gift.  Gary still has the Remington today, but it is well worn and "severely modified."

There are five more successive diaries in the same style binder, but a bit larger.   Gary calls the first one "Shooting Book-Daily Practice and Match Results."    These diaries are fully extended to include commentary on lessons learned in training and match conditions including wind, light, temperature, and mirage.    He mentions nervousness and endurance and tactics during all matches, including Pan American Games, Olympics and World Championships.

Tokyo Olympics 1964 Gold Medal diary entry:  

Mexico City 1968 Gold Medal diary entry:

The story of the Russian "harassment campaign" will be in an upcoming blog.      


The last entry in this style of diary is 19 September 1969 from Barcelona, Spain, where Gary fired an 1182 in an international competition with shooters from Spain, Mexico, and Portugal.     After this spectacular score, he retired from international competition.     The 1182 remained the highest score in the world until 1986.   The targets from this match are on display in our home.

In March 1963, Gary wrote an extensive treatise for the American Rifleman entitled "The Training of the Target Shot" which includes a reference to keeping a shooter's diary:


Keep a Shooter's Diary
     An invaluable aid in making my marksmanship evaluations has been keeping a shooter's diary.  By keeping this notebook I am able to record my daily results, my experiments and their results, and the sensations and feelings I have experienced in making my scores.  In this way I have been able to keep a running record of all my marksmanship experiences.  Now, whenever problems arise which I have faced before, I am able to refer to their solution.  Keeping a shooting diary is a distinct help.
     I keep careful records of the effects of atmospheric conditions and other influences which may direct the formation of my shooting tactics.   The shooter must be able to recognize the type of wind condition which requires sight changing and the type which requires the selection of one wind velocity to do his firing in.  The shooter must know what changing cloud and light conditions will do to the bullet's point of impact.   He must know what effect increasing temperatures will have on mirage and his own endurance; this may indicate a particular sequence for the positions.  He must know if wind will come into the booth and disturb the stranding position's stability during a certain time of day.  He must know how nervousness and endurance will affect the order in which to fire the 3 positions.  He but know whether on a certain range or in certain conditions it is advantageous to fire slowly or quickly.  He but know if and when he must take breaks in each position.  All enter into the development of the shooter's tactics and are things which must be learned during training.  Since I shun the use of a scorebook during actual firing, my observation of these factors becomes doubly important.  Once more the value of careful thought is clearly shown.