The men's individual revolver and pistol competition was one of 15 shooting sports events on the shooting at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme. The competition was held on Friday, 10 July 1908. Each nation could enter up to 12 shooters. Forty-three sport shooters from seven nations competed. Nations were limited to 12 shooters each. The event was won by Paul Van Asbroeck of Belgium, with his countryman Réginald Storms taking silver. They were the first medals for Belgian shooters in the free pistol. American James Gorman finished with the bronze medal after an unsuccessful protest, claiming he had put one bullet through a previous hole.

The men's individual competition with free revolver event was one of the competitions in the Shooting at the 1900 Summer Olympics events in Paris. It was held on 1 August 1900. 20 shooters from 4 nations competed, with five shooters per nation. Medals were given for individual high scores, and the scores of the five shooters were summed to give a team score for the team event. The target designed for this competition is still being used today. The event was won by Karl Röderer of Switzerland, with his countryman Konrad Stäheli taking bronze. Between them was Achille Paroche of France with silver.