One of skeet shooting's top stars lets the NRA peek in his bag

Fairfax, Virginia - Four years ago US Army sergeant Vincent Hancock won Olympic gold in Beijing at the age of 19. This past summer he took home another gold and became the first skeet shooter to win consecutive Olympic titles. Now 23, Hancock is still substantially younger than the average medal-round qualifier and looks to have a bright future ahead of him.

Barbara Baird of Women's Outdoor News recently caught up with Vincent to ask a very important question for this month's issue of Shooting Sports USA: What's in your range bag?

Vincent Hancock is the first skeet shooter to win consecutive gold medals in the Olympics, winning in Beijing in 2008 and London this year. Hancock, also a sergeant in the United States Army and a member of the Army Marksmanship Unit at Fort Benning, GA, packs a very small range bag. He keeps spare parts for his Beretta DT10 Trident shotgun in his gun case. He says he has been shooting this Beretta for 10 years and has never had any problems with it. He is so trusting of this gun that he does not even carry a back-up gun to competitions.

When he competes, he packs these items in a range bag:

• Rain gear
• Glasses
• Vest
• Earplugs
• Snacks (to keep my energy up throughout the day)

As for future plans, Vincent said, “I will be getting out of the military this December and moving back near Eatonton, GA, to run my shooting academy, Hancock Shooting Academy.”

And of course, we had to ask if he planned on visiting Disney World soon, since he just won the Gold. He said, “Maybe after my next Gold Medal in 2016, I’ll take my girls to Disney World.” Vincent and his wife are the proud parents of two daughters.