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July 14th, 2010
The History Channel’s new Top Shot television series is half-way through its summer season run. It has attracted millions of viewers already and has been renewed for a second season. The show has been fairly controversial among the “real gun guys” who have tuned in. Some folks say that any show which portrays the shooting sports in a positive light and helps broaden interest in shooting is a good thing. Others have complained that Top Shot has too little actual shooting and too much “Survivor”-style inter-personal drama. This Editor has watched all the episodes so far. I think the last two shows, which featured AR15s and Kentucky rifles, certainly showcased the competitors’ rifle skills.
In any event, Top Shot has garnered a large-enough TV audience that it will be renewed for next year. The show’s production company, Pilgrim Films & Television, has issued a “casting call” for new cast members for Top Shot’s second season. Below is the casting announcement, with links to application forms. Note the DEADLINE: Candidates must apply on or before August 12, 2010!
History Channel Now Casting for Season 2 of Top Shot!
If you are skilled with a pistol, rifle or any other firearm, you could win $100,000 in prizes on season 2 of History Channel’s hit competition show TOP SHOT. Producers are looking for anyone with mind-blowing shooting skills and a big personality to take on exciting physical challenges with multiple guns and mystery projectile weapons.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a professionally trained shooter or a self-taught, average Joe (or Jane!). As long as you’re in good physical shape, have mastered a firearm and can adapt to new weapons and demanding physical situations, you could be America’s next “Top Shot”. Applicants must be at least 21 years of age, a resident or citizen of the United States and reasonably proficient with shooting and marksmanship.
To apply, email TopShotCasting@gmail.com with your name, city/state, phone number, a recent photo of yourself and a brief explanation of why you should be on the show.
Deadline to apply is August 12, 2010. For more info, visit www.PilgrimFilms.tv and click on “CASTING” or call 818-478-4570. You can get a head start on the casting process by downloading a casting application and eligibility requirements form below:
Download Casting Application (Hard Copy) | Download Casting Application (Editable .PDF file)
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June 26th, 2010
 Impossible Shots, a spin-off of the Shooting USA TV show, is now the most-watched series on the Outdoor Channel’s Wednesday Night line-up of gun-related broadcasts. Reflecting its growing popularity, Impossible Shots will now also air on Saturdays, at these times: 4:30 PM EST, 3:30 CST, 2:30 MT, 1:30 PT. Impossible Shots features amazing trick-shooting challenges performed by six top professionals: Pistoleros Bub Munden, Jerry Miculek, and Gil Guerra, rifleman George Sutton, and archer Byron Ferguson. There are also regular appearances by Team Winchester’s Patrick Flanigan, considered the world’s fastest shotgun shooter. In the video below, Flanigan shoots 12 shells in just 1.442 seconds!
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April 26th, 2010
On Wednesday, April 28, the Shooting USA TV show reprises its special “Old Sniper” broadcast. In this popular episode, 84-year old WWII veteran Ted Gundy, who served as a U.S. Army sniper in the Battle of the Bulge, meets with the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU) at Fort Benning. For a week, the “Old Sniper” (and his son) were honored as VIP guests of the USAMU at Fort Benning.
At the end of the show Gundy received a new replica of the 1903 Springfield A4 Sniper rifle. The rifle, complete with vintage-type scope, was presented by Val Forgett of Navy Arms. Then, shooting from a rucksack rest, Gundy proceeded to hit steel at 300 yards. CLICK HERE for Full Story with details.
 
This Shooting USA Special broadcast helps viewers remember our remaining WWII veterans, while showing the dedication and hard work of the modern-day USAMU. Broadcast times (on the Outdoor Channel) are shown below (check your local listings).
Eastern Time: 2:30 PM, 10:30 PM, 2:30 AM (Thursday); 4:30 PM (Saturday)
Central Time: 1:30 PM, 9:30 PM, 1:30 AM (Thursday); 3:30 PM (Saturday)
Mountain Time: 12:30 PM, 8:30 PM, 12:30 AM (Thursday); 2:30 PM (Saturday)
Pacific Time: 11:30 AM, 7:30 PM, 11:30 PM: 1:30 PM (Saturday)
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November 12th, 2009
We saw an interesting gizmo on Peter White’s front rest at the recent California Long-Range Championship. Peter, who won the F-Class division, has fitted a remote drive system that allows him to adjust his Sinclair windage top without moving from his shooting position.
The windage control cable (actually a McMaster-Carr flexible drive shaft) attaches to the right side of the windage top in place of the regular adjustment knob. It then circles back to the shooter, and is clamped at the end of the pedestal leg (near the vertical adjustment speed screw). A large, knurled knob is attached to the end of the flexible drive.
 With this set-up, Peter can adjust windage easily with his left hand, while keeping his right (trigger) hand in place on the rifle. In addition, he can fine-tune his vertical using the rotary knob (speed screw) on the threaded shaft for the rear-most rest “foot”. The flex-drive adjustment system places his windage control right next to his elevation fine-tune control, so both windage and elevation controls can be manipulated with the “free hand” from the shooting position.
Peter fabricated this system himself from less than $60 worth of parts. All you need is a McMaster Carr flexible drive shaft ($50-$60), an adjustment knob at the shooter’s end, and a small bracket to hold the adjustment knob securely.
Many F-Class shooters have fabricated a similar remote windage control system. If you have basic mechanical skills, you can build your own system in a couple hours (with the correct parts). Or, Leroy Johnson of Johnson’s Precision Gunsmithing, jpgrifles [at] yahoo.com, can build you a working system, if you send in your windage top. Leroy explains that “the various windage tops all have slightly different configurations, so the price depends on how much special work is required.”
Peter’s Parts List and Tips
Peter White offers some advice on building a remote windage control: “The parts were obtained from McMaster-Carr, www.mcmaster.com. The flexible drive shafts come in various lengths and diameters. When using the smallest diameters in this application the bend radius is critical as the cable wants to kink in one direction of operation. The tape you see on my rig covers a couple of stiffener rods. I have seen others using a longer cable with a larger bend radius with no need of a stiffener. Others have employed jacketed cables that have a much higher torque rating (but also much higher cost).”
Products Needed (Total = $49.31)
| Part Number |
Description |
Price |
| 3127K22 |
Panel-Mount Flexible Drive Shaft, 18″ Overall Length, 0.130″ Shaft OD |
$42.31 |
| 2577K18 |
Stainless Steel Knurled-Rim Knob W/Set Screw, 1/4″ Unthreaded Through Hole, 1″ Diameter |
$7.00 |
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