This is a sport I never have covered. There aren’t many left I can say that about (hmm, maybe judo?). And I will rectify my no-shooting record in a few minutes when the women’s 10-meter Air Pistol event begins.

Among the two Americans in the competition is Brenda Shinn, a lieutenant in the Riverside County Sheriffs Department. She is 46 and had been out of global-stage competition for 20 years before making a comeback and making the Olympic team at age 46.

Anyway, the shooting venues seem always to be on the periphery of the Olympics. As if the IOC is vaguely embarrassed of it. I’ve been to seven Summer Games now, and I can’t think of one that had shooting anywhere near the center of things.

This shooting venue, known as the Beijing Shooting Range Hall, is about a half-hour drive from the Main Press Center, out on the western edge of the city. In a hilly area not far from someplace known as Fragrant Hills.

It is raining this morning. The first actual rain after most of a week of it just threatening to rain. The clouds are still the same leaden gray they have been every day except Saturday … but this time it might actual be rain clouds as much as Beijing’s legendary pollution.

Anyway, my first surprise at the shooting venue?

It is indoors.

You think “shooting” … you think “outside … where stray bullets won’t hit anyone.”

Nope. This in indoors, and we have a fairly close vantage point to watch the shooting — as we stay out of the rain.

Very comfy.

This is sort of the flip side of another Olympic event I covered 24 years ago. A skiing event at Sarajevo 1984.

I was convinced — and this was a mental picture only; no one had told me this — that media covered skiing from inside a lodge of some sort. Inside, looking out a big window, perhaps. Watching guys come down the hill.

The reality? Media stands out in a holding pen in the snow, waiting for skiers to finish their runs and walk by the “mixed zone” where they may speak to media. Or not.

This time, I expected (until a few days ago) to be outside, sitting in the sun. I even planned to wear short pants to deal with the heat.

But here we are, in an air-conditioned building that seats something like 6,000 spectators. Quite comfortable.

This surprise is much more pleasant than the Sarajevo surprise. This is quite nice; back then, I had only tennis shoes and a couple pairs of socks, and after standing in the snow for an hour I lost the feeling in a couple of my toes for several days.

Should be able to concentrate on the competition much better, here.