The National Rifle Association’s Annual Meetings and Exhibits in Pittsburgh, PA wrapped up yesterday. The day’s special events started with the annual Prayer Breakfast, and concluded with a rousing seminar featuring Ted Nugent. Mid-day Seminars included: Women’s Pistol Instructor Training, Advanced Handloading Techniques, and a seminar on 100 Years of the Model 1911 pistol. As on Friday and Saturday, hundreds of exhibitors displayed firearms products, plus hunting and outdoor gear. This slide-show from the NRA Blog features some famous faces and other highlights from the NRA’s 3-day meeting in Pittsburgh. The next NRA Annual Meeting will be held April 13-15, 2012 in St. Louis, Missouri.
At the Glock booth, Top Shot Champs Chris Reed (Season 2) and Iain Harrison (Season 1) were on hand to meet the public, along with Gunny R. Lee Ermey. The appearance of “simple country boy” Reed drew much attention, as many booth visitors had watched the soft-spoken Reed capture his title only days before on the dramatic final episode of Top Shot Season 2. With two million+ viewers per week, Top Shot is a big hit. Top Shot Season 3 is in production and the show’s producers are now interviewing contestants for Season 4.
If you missed this week’s “Shakedown” episode of Top Shot, you can now watch the full episode on the History Channel website. We think this is one of the best Top Shot shows so far, because there is plenty of shooting, with modern guns, over interesting courses of fire — the kind you’d see at a multi-gun match. And the elimination round was a true skills test. This week’s “expert” is none other than Iain Harrison, the Top Shot Champion from Season One. Iain selected four firearms for this week, and they are good ones: Sig p228 (9mm), Browning High Power (9mm), AR15 (5.56×45), and FN-FAL (7.62×51).
Competitors shoot all four weapons in sequence, off-hand, over a timed course. To add challenge, each shooting station offers an unstable platform — with wood planks that swing, wobble, or bounce. At left you can see the AR15 station — a wood platform suspended by ropes. You’ll be surprised with the performance of some of the favored shooters (including Gunny Zins), and you’ll see why it may be a good thing that the U.S. Military switched from the 7.62 NATO cartridge to the 5.56 round. Most of the shooters had big problems with the heavier-recoiling 7.62×51 “battle rifle” at 100 yards.
The second season of the History Channel’s hit TV series Top Shot debuts tonight (2/8/2011) at 10:00 pm (9:00 Central). The second year’s package of shows, aka “Top Shot Reloaded”, will follow the first year’s format for the most part, with team and individual challenges involving a variety of weapons, both historical and modern. Sixteen new contestants, including our friend and 3-Gun Ace, Maggie Reese, will compete for a $100,000 prize. View the Top Shot Season 2 Sneak Peak Video below:
New Guns, New Challenges, and a “Whole Lot of Explosions”
Producers say that the new show will have “more action, less talking”, more pyrotechnics, and some startling new challenges. Top Shot Host Colby Donaldson says: “In the first five minutes of Episode One [Season 2], everyone’s going to see that this is a very different season. We had to go above and beyond to create challenges that would actually take [competitors] out of their comfort zone”. There are new weapons (including Thompson machine guns and Barrett 50s), and a “whole lot of explosions”. But don’t expect the show to depart too far from its Survivor-style “reality-TV” origins. Remember this is ratings-driven Hollywood fare; the interpersonal conflicts and shifting alliances appeal to mainstream TV viewers. Nonetheless, if you enjoyed watching TOP Shot Season One you should definitely tune in for Top Shot Reloaded (Season Two) tonight at 10.
The popular TOP SHOT TV show was a hit in its first season, so the producers immediately started working on Season 2, which will run later this year. Since Hollywood can’t have too much of a good thing, the History Channel is now seeking seeking skilled marksmen for the third season of the “Survival”-style TV series. If you missed the show last summer, it features teams of shooters competing in weapons skill scenarios. One cast member is eliminated in each round. Near the end, the show shifts to one-on-one competition, with the “last man standing” earning a $100,000 cash prize.
TOP SHOT Season 3 Casting Call — Applications Due by February 1st, 2011
The History Channel is actively soliciting new TOP SHOT cast members right now. Deadline for submission of entries is February 1, 2011. Interestingly, for season 3, the Show’s producer, Pilgrim Films & TV, hopes to find some paired contestants (such as two co-workers, or a husband and wife). The casting call notice states:
“We are looking for anyone with unrivaled 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’. We’re also looking for MARKSMEN PAIRS: Husband/Wife, Father/Son, Co-Workers or Siblings. If you and a close friend or relative are excellent shots, we want to hear from you both.”
Detailed eligibility requirements are found in the forms linked below. You can also use these forms to apply for Season 3 of TOP SHOT. Otherwise, simply email TopShotCasting [at] gmail.com with your name, city/state, phone number, a recent photo of yourself and a brief explanation of why you should be selected. If you have questions, call the TOP SHOT casting hotline: (818) 478-4570.
The History Channel’s new TOP SHOT television show was a big success, attracting more than two million viewers each week. The show, which featured equal amounts of “Reality TV” and head-to-head competition with a variety of weapons, had a winning formula that captured a large audience. The competitors in this gun-friendly series became instant celebrities of sorts, none more so than Iain Harrison, the ex-pat British Army officer who was “the last man standing” on the show’s final episode. Iain was a fast learner who had no real weaknesses with any weapons — from throwing knives to AR15s. He was a popular and deserving champion who came away with the show’s $100,000 prize and bragging rights to the title of “Top Shot”.
Iain Harrison was recently interviewed by the NRA’s American Hunter magazine. In his interview, Iain gave away a few TOP SHOT secrets — including “behind the scenes shenanigans”. To read the complete interview with Iain, visit AmericanHunter.com. In his closing comments, Iain had this to say about the overall experience:
If you ever get the chance to participate in one of these shows, my advice is to go for it. So long as you and your family can handle the separation, it will present a great opportunity to see behind the scenes of a TV show, shoot a few unusual guns and make some lasting friendships. Just remember that the show’s audience is comprised of mostly non-shooters, and whether you like it or not, you are acting as an ambassador for the sport we all love. Your behavior reflects on all gun owners. Don’t screw it up.
If you missed the final episode of Top Shot on the History Channel, you can watch it, via streaming video, on Hulu.com. The field is down to four shooters in this season finale. We were sad to see AccurateShooter.com contributor Kelly Bachand eliminated in the previous episode, but he’s shooting right now at Camp Perry. Watch the show and find out who wins the $100,000 prize and title of Season One’s “Top Shot”. No spoilers guys — you’ll have to watch to see who wins. But we can tell you this much — the final man-on-man challenge is a multi-stage event that tested the last two remaining competitors’ skills to the max.
Kelly Bachand, the youngest competitor on the Top Shot TV series, is a regular contributor to AccurateShooter.com. Currently an electrical engineering major at the Univ. of Washington, Kelly is a talented Palma rifle shooter who has managed to hold his own in other shooting disciplines. Kelly is the real deal — a genuine marksman, and we know many readers have been pulling for him through the grueling Top Shot elimination process.
There’s a fascinating full-page interview with Kelly in the Cheaper Than Dirt Blog. The first half of the interview covers Kelly’s background and marksmanship training. In the second half, Kelly discusses his Top Shot experience, revealing secrets about the show and the inter-personal rivalries which have become such a staple of the series. Kelly also explains how he managed to survive three elimination rounds.
Q:During the first elimination challenge you shot rifles and sent Mike Seeklander home. That was a pretty stunning defeat and seemed to surprise everybody. It does seem like your mental attitude has really helped you through all of the elimination challenges you’ve been through.
Kelly: I do have a certain mental ability that I’ve kind of picked up and practiced and begun to get better at over the last year, year and a half, to kind of shut other things out while I’m actually shooting. I’ll be extremely nervous up until the point I’m actually shooting, extremely nervous.
At the Beretta Xtrema [shotgun] challenge I got up to the line, and I’m way outside of my comfort zone holding this Beretta. I’ve fired it all of about 20 times now, and I got up there, I focused on what I need to do, and I make the shot. It all kind of goes away. What I do is I just repeat a mantra in my head. I just ask myself, “OK, what do I need to do to make this a perfect shot?”. Then I tell myself over and over what I need to do. If I continually force feed myself good thoughts — positive thoughts about what I need to do to make it perfect — I typically make very good shots. That’s right out of Lanny R. Bassham’s book With Winning in Mind.
Whether you love the Top Shot show (for the shooting) or hate it (for the Hollywood reality-show nonsense), we recommend reading Kelly Bachand’s interview. Kelly has managed to adapt and learn quickly and that’s why he’s still “in the running” while other, more experienced competitors have been eliminated. Kelly offers many insights that can help any competitive shooter.
If you missed the first episode of Top Shot on the History Channel, you can still watch it on Hulu.com. While the show’s “Survivor”-style battle of personalities disappointed some gun enthusiasts, Top SHOT is still engaging television that brings the shooting sports to a large audience. Over 2.1 million viewers watched the debut episode of Top Shot. Click below to watch in embedded flash player, and you can click an icon to zoom to full screen. (Advert may load first — be patient.)
Top Shot is a new 10-episode TV series premiering this Sunday, June 6 at 10 pm (9 pm Central) on the History Channel. (Top Shot repeats Tuesday, June 8 at the same hour.) Sixteen experienced shooters were chosen to compete for a $100,000 cash prize. The 16 contestants are divided into two teams. Each week the teams compete against each other, then one contestant from the week’s losing team is eliminated from the show in a head to head elimination round. We’ve previewed Top Shot’s first two episodes and we can say that Top Shot makes for good television. The cinematography and editing are first-rate, even if hard-core precision marksmen might quibble about some of the equipment used. In addition to modern rifles and pistols, contestants must master antique black-powder arms as well as crossbows, throwing knives, and even tomahawks. Hey, it’s Hollywood remember?
Among the 16 competitors is Accurateshooter.com contributor Kelly Bachand, a talented young Palma shooter from Washington state. Kelly figures prominently in episode one. The History Channel has released an extended 11-minute Series Preview you can watch now on HULU.com.
Editor’s Note: The video Bios include footage from team challenges on upcoming episodes. Watching the contestant Bios gives you a “sneak peek” at much of the future action.
‘Top Shot’, a new 10-episode TV series, debuts this Sunday, June 6th, on The History Channel. The show features 16 competitors (all experienced shooters), vying for a $100,000 prize. While competitors were selected on the basis of marksmanship skills, ‘Top Shot’ is NOT just a series of multi-gun matches or target shoots. Contestants are grouped into two teams which compete in a different type of challenge each week. This requires competitors to master a wide variety of weapons, both modern and antique. One of the 16 competitors is AccurateShooter.com contributor Kelly Bachand, a promising young Palma shooter. Kelly plays a prominent role in the premier episode.
After wrapping up his filming stint with ‘Top Shot’, Kelly visited us in Southern California to do some testing with an Eliseo .308 Win tube gun (photo above). Kelly explained that, for the TV show, he and his fellow competitors had to demonstrate skills with a wide variety of historic and modern weapons. In addition to modern rifles and semi-auto pistols, competitors used black-powder revolvers, crossbows, throwing knives, and even tomahawks. In some episodes the competitors were tasked with recreating a historically significant feat of marksmanship — such as cutting a “hanging rope” with a pistol shot. Each week, contenders will face both team and individual elimination challenges until one winner remains. In the series opener (Sunday, June 6), contestants are immediately divided into two teams and then compete in a “Rifle Relay,” an obstacle course using standard-issue rifles from four different wars. In the elimination round, two contestants go head-to-head in “The Long Shot,” a long-distance sniper challenge which will send the first person home. ‘Top Shot’ will air Sundays at 10 EDT, with ten episodes slated for the upcoming season.
If you missed this week’s 
Competitors shoot all four weapons in sequence, off-hand, over a timed course. To add challenge, each shooting station offers an unstable platform — with wood planks that swing, wobble, or bounce. At left you can see the AR15 station — a wood platform suspended by ropes. You’ll be surprised with the performance of some of the favored shooters (including Gunny Zins), and you’ll see why it may be a good thing that the U.S. Military switched from the 7.62 NATO cartridge to the 5.56 round. Most of the shooters had big problems with the heavier-recoiling 7.62×51 “battle rifle” at 100 yards.
The History Channel’s new 
Kelly Bachand, the youngest competitor on the 
‘Top Shot’, a new 10-episode TV series, debuts this Sunday, June 6th, on 
