History Channel's "Top Shot" on Sunday night

[Kaeto]

I just watched the 11 pm repeat and I found the show to be lousy. I would refuse to use a rifle I had not sighted in.

 

[Big Boy]

Yes, you have to remember as hawthorne said, we are not the target audience. Please don't nit pick every single aspect of the show, it's real guns, and real shooters, on tv. That is something good.

As far as the format, yeah, it's pretty much survivor. In fact, my dad watches survivor, and apparently the host of the show is a 2x contestant FROM survivor.

I can not believe that guy couldn't hit the 100rd pie target with irons. ...I could have done that. I realize that sometimes pressure can get to you, but that's pretty ridiculous.

 

[Hammerhead6814]

Way to much drama. Seriously, this show has so much "Survivor" in it I feel like I'm fourteen and watching the original Survivor Series.

These guys are taking shots with rifles anywhere from fifty to one-hundred years old. You don't need drama, you already have a "WOW" factor. That, and we got to watch a guy, former Marine, fail at one-hundred yards with a rifle that shoots a cartridge good enough for one-thousand. The comedic value alone could have sold us on the show. But no, they had to throw in drama.

Does history understand it's target audience? Since when did the firearms enthusiast world give a damn about whether or not a guys shoulder hurts or "this is when it hits you, that someone is going home"? BIG DEAL. He couldn't hit a target one-hundred yards away with a 1903 Springfield! We know he's going home, chances are he shouldn't have even been there in the first place.

 

[arizona_cards_11]

There's just no way the rifle was sighted in correctly.......it's a pie plate at 100yds.

 

[KBintheSLC]

I thought it reminded me of "The Biggest Loser"... with guns. It was pretty entertaining, in a game show type of way. However, I can't take it too seriously considering the first "test" was semi-rested rifle shooting at a whopping 50 and 100 yards. As far as the drama... for a gun enthusiast it could be pretty cheesy, but my wife really liked it... she realized that she is a better shot than at least one Marine.

 

[Rotnguns]

"There's just no way the rifle was sighted in correctly.......it's a pie plate at 100yds"

Seemed to be sighted in just fine for his partner at 50 yds..

 

[FLAvalanche]

I liked the show. But I did watch it and say "I should have tried out for it" numerous times.

I don't know what happened to Seeklander but I'm going to chalk it up to nerves. Shooting with buddies or shooting to teach is much different than shooting in front of millions of people.

The reason I chalk it up to nerves is because of his performance not with the rifle but with the pistol to chose who he was voting off. That confirmed it.

He damn near missed THAT target. That was a pie plate at 10 yards that even a novice can hit and several people used the same pistol and did just fine. He only had half his round on that target...

Everyone doubted the kid and he put the smack down. I hope he wins. I hope he kicks the crap out of everyone simply because they doubted his ability and he's already removed the team captain from competition.

 

[Tim the student]

It did look like that kid hit center mass of the target at 600 during their shoot off thing when they showed a replay of the hit. That was pretty impressive. Of course, it could have been creative editing for all I know.

I wonder how much Remmy ponied up for that rifle to be used and mentioned by name.

 

[Ben Stoeger]

Hey guys,

I worked on this show. You will see me next week, if you decide to keep watching. Mike has his own take on what happened, he posted it here:

http://www.shooting-performance.com/top_shot_show_98.html

I think those of you with any sense will realize that something was amiss with Mike’s rifle during the first challenge. As for the second challenge? Well… Kelly’s bread and butter is distance rifle. Mike is a pistol guy. Do the math.

 

[Hawthorne2k]

Hey Ben, thanks for the insider info. I've seen top shooters just utterly and completely Charlie-Foxtrot a stage in an USPSA Area Championship, so Mike's performance (or lack thereof) makes sense, and his feelings about the show seem to match Caleb Gidding's as well.

If you don't mind me asking, what was your role on the production?

 

[Ben Stoeger]

If you don't mind me asking, what was your role on the production?

I am the "Beretta Expert". (yeah it sounds funny to me too)

I have the same role as the Navy Seal super stud in episode one. I assist the cast preparing to shoot a Beretta pistol.

I did quite a bit more behind the scenes. The crew built a bunch of challenges, but didn’t have anyone who could shoot to test them. So, I got to shoot, a LOT. I can promise you will see some unconventional shooting tests as the series wears on.

 

[DammitBoy]

I call b.s. - the first shooter with the '03 had no trouble hitting the 50 yard target. The second shooter fired 30 times and couldn't hit it.

At the elimination voting, he damn near missed the entire target at 10 yards while most other guys were scoring bullseyes with the same pistol.

 

[Jim Watson]

"There's just no way the rifle was sighted in correctly.......it's a pie plate at 100yds"

The problem was, he was shooting at 100 yards with the sight leaf folded down, leaving only the battle sight notch, which is a compromise setting meant to hit a standing man out to 500 meters. I think the others were getting luck hits and he was aiming carefully and shooting over.

 

[Ben Stoeger]

I call b.s. - the first shooter with the '03 had no trouble hitting the 50 yard target. The second shooter fired 30 times and couldn't hit it.

At the elimination voting, he damn near missed the entire target at 10 yards while most other guys were scoring bullseyes with the same pistol.

Carefully read his comments and watch the video he posted.

Google the guy.

Look at his accomplishments in competition.

Honestly do you think there is any way anyone could be THAT bad as to fire 37 (yeah the actual number was 37) shots and not hit that target without something being.... wrong?

 

[goon]

Still, the guy was supposedly an accomplished shooter. How many of us have shot an unfamiliar military rifle, noticed that our sights were somewhere in space, aimed at a blank spot on the berm to find out where our rounds are impacting, and adjusted our point of aim? Whether he's a good shot or not, he was too stuck in the box. Should have been able to figure out what was wrong and use his general experience with guns to get a round on target. He got eliminated and IMO, he was the one who should have gone.

FWIW, I don't like all the "Survivor" drama interjected into the show, but I guess you have to have something to draw the reality TV junkies in. If it makes one of them go down to the local sporting goods store and lay down some cash for a Mosin Nagant, I suppose I'm all for it.
But I don't like the innaccuracies with the guns and there is obviously some inexperience among the shooters. One guy crunched off a DA round and made a marginal hit on the "voting" target rather than cock the Beretta 92 - Why? Things like that show that there is too much specialization. But I guess that will eventually get those people eliminated. I think the winner will be someone who is a well rounded marksman with many types of guns.

 

[toivo]

Honestly do you think there is any way anyone could be THAT bad as to fire 37 (yeah the actual number was 37) shots and not hit that target without something being.... wrong?

Nothing wrong. The script said someone had to go home, and the producers picked him. Making it a royal screwup just added to the overall drama.

There's nothing "real" about "reality" TV. Am I cynical? Naw...

 

[Tim the student]

Look at his accomplishments in competition.

Honestly do you think there is any way anyone could be THAT bad as to fire 37 (yeah the actual number was 37) shots and not hit that target without something being.... wrong?

Let me play devils advocate here for a minute. I don't want to disparage the guy (who does seem like a pretty cool, competent guy) at all, but hear me out.

His past accomplishments are in the past. While they may be a decent indicator of his potential, they have no bearing on how well he will perform in the future. Gable's gotten beat before, and so has Bael Sanderson.

37 rounds? And he noticed the sight was loose and didn't do anything about it? Seriously? I'm not intimately familiar with 1903's, but I have at least handled some, and those sights sure seem pretty robust. Has anyone else experienced the sights going "loose" on them?

He couldn't get any idea about the zero in 7-10 rounds during familiarization? Why not?

Plenty of deer get killed in Iowa ever winter by guys (that are no match with that guy when it comes to shooting) with smooth bore shotguns with only a bead at 100yds. Just sayin.

 

[kd7nqb]

I liked the show. I am mostly watching it to root for Caleb but I think it was a cool show. However I wish they spent some more time on the guns. They never even told us what caliber the Remington 700 was in. In fact they didnt spent really any time on calibers.

 

[notbubba]

Hawthorne2k wrote

We have Wednesday Night at the Range and Personal Defense TV and everything else on Outdoors Channel and Sportsman's Channel.

:banghead: Not if they aint on your cable system:banghead:

 

[notbubba]

I wish it was an individual point system instead of the stupid Survivor format.

 

[Agostini]

Top Shot, what a ridiculous program.

 

[Col. Plink]

saw a dude shootin a Mosin on the trailer... what gives?

 

[SMMAssociates]

I got about halfway through it and shut it off....

I'm not exactly the best rifle shot in the world. (I may be the worst .) But....

And, the commentary makes me crazy.

(I can't stand watching Golf either.... )

Also, that German semi-auto may have been the first actually "in service", but the "Pedersen Device" certainly preceded it (although it is a very special purpose gun). Seems like the Garand was well into development at the beginning of US involvement, too, although the M1903 and M1917 (is that right?) were also in use for most of the war.

IAC, I just can't deal with the overly-enthusiastic commentators that many of these shows seem to produce. Or the guys who have an opinion to get across regardless of the facts like that "Naked Archaeologist" guy....

Click-R-Us....

Regards,

 

[Ditto_95]

Top Shot, what a ridiculous program.

I thought so too.

 

[Oceans]

As Pointed out, the Caliber 30 M 1903's open battle sight, which was the sight they were using, is regulated to hit at 547 yards with the 30-06 150 grain(2700 fps) cartridge, so at 100 yards its impact is going to be WAY HIGH. Now Mike should have been able to be on paper, and hit the target if he fired as many as 37 rounds. I assume he really does not have much experience with irons, and uses an optic on m4 type rifles that he trains with. Why no one could figure out how to use the peep sight is beyond me. There are plainly marked sighted bars in hundred yard increments on the ladder sight. Kudos to the kid with the Remington, his shooting at measured distances with that .308 was formidable. His wind doping was spot on. That kid is a good rifle shot. He perfomed well under pressure.