O/T: Top Shot - "Longest Shot" episode bummer
- Thread starter Jay Christopherson
- Start date
Erik Cortina
Team Lapua Brux Borden Captain
What!? Some of you don't like the show? Where else can you see so many world class shooters choke? ;D
CJ6
Silver $$ Contributor
It's turned shooting into a GAME SHOW.They have/had a GOLDEN opportunity to show competitive shooting sports on/in Prime Time and they're loosing the people that would like to see the sports in a professional manner...... I would like to see/watch a series on all the shooting sports. The differrent pistol Comps , short and long range BR, Palma etc. Kurt Goudy (RIP) would have been an excellent host. Interviews with Manufactureres, Shooters,stories on the history of each discipline and ranges.
snowedin
Check out a few bios from this year's show. From History.com:
William Bethards
Age: 47
Hometown: Fredericksburg, VA
Occupation: FBI Law Enforcement Specialist
William Bethards has done so much in his life that it's hard to keep track. A former Marine and ex-Virginia state trooper with national and state 3-gun championships under his belt, he now serves as a firearms instructor for the FBI. This smiling sharpshooter also works as a real estate agent, is a deacon in his church and rebuilds classic Corvettes on the side. William spent 11 years on the Marine Corps Shooting Team, where he also coached for awhile. In 1994 he won the coveted Gold Lauchheimer Trophy, awarded each year to the top rifle and pistol shooter in the entire Corps. He is currently the FBI shooting team national record holder in 3-gun. To top it all off, he also shoots Olympic-style compound bows--but he just does it for fun in what little spare time he has.
Craig Buckland
Age: 47
Hometown: Sandisfield, MA
Occupation: Chemist
When it comes to competitive shooting, Craig Buckland knows how to win. As a member of a major manufacturer's shooting team, Craig has won at least one national championship title every year since 2007, amassing more than any of the other contestants. He has shot competitively for the last 10 years, traveling throughout the United States and Europe to participate in a variety of action shooting events. He now holds three world and four national titles. Craig is an IDPA 5-Gun Master and one of only three people worldwide who can call themselves a "Stock Service Revolver Distinguished Master." For his day job, Craig works as a chemist for a major consumer products company, and he's noticed many parallels between chemistry and marksmanship. "Being a scientist and being a marksman are one and the same," he notes. "My chosen professional field is analytical chemistry, where accuracy and precision and speed are very, very important. The same is true of a marksman."
Forrest McCord
Age: 21
Hometown: Houston, TX
Occupation: Kinesiology Student
At 21, world champion pistol shooter Forrest McCord has accomplished more than most marksmen hope to achieve in a lifetime. He’s been racking up wins ever since his mom took him to the range for the first time at age 13. In 2008, Forrest represented the United States on the junior team in Bali during the IPSC World Shoot and earned a gold medal. Now, as a USPSA shooter, he competes monthly and shoots twice a week despite his hectic school schedule. Forrest hates to lose, and that’s what drives him to stay on top. While he's had numerous instructors--including Top Shot’s Athena Lee--he admits that he can be "bullheaded" when it comes to taking advice from others. "Competition and winning is what fuels me," he says. "I will not stop until I have achieved my goal."
Gabby Franco
Age: 30
Hometown: Doral, FL
Occupation: Firearms Instructor/Business Owner
Gabby Franco doesn’t like losing, but luckily she's got the skills to lead her to victory. At the age of 19, she was the first female to make the Venezuelan Olympic Shooting Team and represent her country at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. She took silver at the Pan American Games in 1999 and the gold at the South American Games in 2000. In her last international competition, the 2002 South American Games, she took three gold medals. After moving to the United States, Gabby began competing in tactical and IPSC competitions. When she's not on the firing line, Gabby loves meringue, salsa and flamenco dancing.
Now for my own random observations and opinions, for what it's worth:
The 1500yd contest was apparently meant to simulate sniping skills, where time is as equally critical as accuracy. Thus, no fiddling with dials. I'm assuming the scope was mildot, in which case they would hold off and correct as necessary for the follow ups. The modern LR sniper is not held to the "One shot, one kill" standard as the likelihood of their position being immediately compromised is far less than has been in the past, or as it would be from closer distances.
I don't believe the host has been dogging the contestants as they shoot. If you'll notice, his running commentary is always shown with a close up on him alone, until he throws up his arms and cries out, "Time Up!", at which point the shooter is also shown. This indicates to me the running commentary was taped later, and edited in during post production.
Watching most types of "serious" shooting competitions is about the last thing I want to do. I used to compete in American and International Trap at a high level. I can't even watch THAT unless it is a shoot off. Benchrest is even worse. In my opinion, no sane person wants to watch that stuff.
The History Channel is doing us a great favor by coming up with these reality based TV shows. Not only do I, and many others, find most of them entertaining, but I think they contain inherent value by creating video records of slices of American life in the year 2012. 5000 years from now people will watch these shows to study what life was like in this country; the tools we used, how we interacted with each other, what we did for recreation and work and why, etc., etc,. etc.
I can hear you say now, "Well, this show isn't an accurate representation of the REAL shooting sport of Benchrest Heavy F/TR Open Palma IPSC Varmint Speed Shooting. Not only that, just look at all the draaaaaaama!" Let me respond to that by saying this. You really need to leave the reloading bench behind for an evening and get out into the REAL WORLD. It's full of DRAMA, I promise you.
Imagine if the Egyptians had both the technology and foresight to do this 5000 years ago. Or the Mayans. Or the Anasazi.
I think the haters are just jealous, or Commies who hate the American way of life. ;D
Anybody been watching American Idol? Let's talk!
William Bethards
Age: 47
Hometown: Fredericksburg, VA
Occupation: FBI Law Enforcement Specialist
William Bethards has done so much in his life that it's hard to keep track. A former Marine and ex-Virginia state trooper with national and state 3-gun championships under his belt, he now serves as a firearms instructor for the FBI. This smiling sharpshooter also works as a real estate agent, is a deacon in his church and rebuilds classic Corvettes on the side. William spent 11 years on the Marine Corps Shooting Team, where he also coached for awhile. In 1994 he won the coveted Gold Lauchheimer Trophy, awarded each year to the top rifle and pistol shooter in the entire Corps. He is currently the FBI shooting team national record holder in 3-gun. To top it all off, he also shoots Olympic-style compound bows--but he just does it for fun in what little spare time he has.
Craig Buckland
Age: 47
Hometown: Sandisfield, MA
Occupation: Chemist
When it comes to competitive shooting, Craig Buckland knows how to win. As a member of a major manufacturer's shooting team, Craig has won at least one national championship title every year since 2007, amassing more than any of the other contestants. He has shot competitively for the last 10 years, traveling throughout the United States and Europe to participate in a variety of action shooting events. He now holds three world and four national titles. Craig is an IDPA 5-Gun Master and one of only three people worldwide who can call themselves a "Stock Service Revolver Distinguished Master." For his day job, Craig works as a chemist for a major consumer products company, and he's noticed many parallels between chemistry and marksmanship. "Being a scientist and being a marksman are one and the same," he notes. "My chosen professional field is analytical chemistry, where accuracy and precision and speed are very, very important. The same is true of a marksman."
Forrest McCord
Age: 21
Hometown: Houston, TX
Occupation: Kinesiology Student
At 21, world champion pistol shooter Forrest McCord has accomplished more than most marksmen hope to achieve in a lifetime. He’s been racking up wins ever since his mom took him to the range for the first time at age 13. In 2008, Forrest represented the United States on the junior team in Bali during the IPSC World Shoot and earned a gold medal. Now, as a USPSA shooter, he competes monthly and shoots twice a week despite his hectic school schedule. Forrest hates to lose, and that’s what drives him to stay on top. While he's had numerous instructors--including Top Shot’s Athena Lee--he admits that he can be "bullheaded" when it comes to taking advice from others. "Competition and winning is what fuels me," he says. "I will not stop until I have achieved my goal."
Gabby Franco
Age: 30
Hometown: Doral, FL
Occupation: Firearms Instructor/Business Owner
Gabby Franco doesn’t like losing, but luckily she's got the skills to lead her to victory. At the age of 19, she was the first female to make the Venezuelan Olympic Shooting Team and represent her country at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. She took silver at the Pan American Games in 1999 and the gold at the South American Games in 2000. In her last international competition, the 2002 South American Games, she took three gold medals. After moving to the United States, Gabby began competing in tactical and IPSC competitions. When she's not on the firing line, Gabby loves meringue, salsa and flamenco dancing.
Now for my own random observations and opinions, for what it's worth:
The 1500yd contest was apparently meant to simulate sniping skills, where time is as equally critical as accuracy. Thus, no fiddling with dials. I'm assuming the scope was mildot, in which case they would hold off and correct as necessary for the follow ups. The modern LR sniper is not held to the "One shot, one kill" standard as the likelihood of their position being immediately compromised is far less than has been in the past, or as it would be from closer distances.
I don't believe the host has been dogging the contestants as they shoot. If you'll notice, his running commentary is always shown with a close up on him alone, until he throws up his arms and cries out, "Time Up!", at which point the shooter is also shown. This indicates to me the running commentary was taped later, and edited in during post production.
Watching most types of "serious" shooting competitions is about the last thing I want to do. I used to compete in American and International Trap at a high level. I can't even watch THAT unless it is a shoot off. Benchrest is even worse. In my opinion, no sane person wants to watch that stuff.
The History Channel is doing us a great favor by coming up with these reality based TV shows. Not only do I, and many others, find most of them entertaining, but I think they contain inherent value by creating video records of slices of American life in the year 2012. 5000 years from now people will watch these shows to study what life was like in this country; the tools we used, how we interacted with each other, what we did for recreation and work and why, etc., etc,. etc.
I can hear you say now, "Well, this show isn't an accurate representation of the REAL shooting sport of Benchrest Heavy F/TR Open Palma IPSC Varmint Speed Shooting. Not only that, just look at all the draaaaaaama!" Let me respond to that by saying this. You really need to leave the reloading bench behind for an evening and get out into the REAL WORLD. It's full of DRAMA, I promise you.
Imagine if the Egyptians had both the technology and foresight to do this 5000 years ago. Or the Mayans. Or the Anasazi.
I think the haters are just jealous, or Commies who hate the American way of life. ;D
Anybody been watching American Idol? Let's talk!
Jay Christopherson
Not An Admin
Yeah, exactly. I believe every one of those competitors is probably a great shot in one discipline or another. Maybe multiple. But I don't think the format really bothers to display much in the way of precision shooting, rifle or not. A lot of it is just about how much lead you can dispense in a short amount of time, regardless of accuracy.
I'm not asking for actual competitive shooting, like trap, HP Rifle, Benchrest, etc... boring as hell, for sure. I mean, can you imagine 20 minutes of watching someone call out "X, 10, X, 10, X, X,..."? Thrilling stuff right there... ;-) You need to have some drama and some entertainment value in there, no doubt. All I would like is to see some thought put in to the challenges, such that the competitors can demonstrate their skills a little better.
I'm not asking for actual competitive shooting, like trap, HP Rifle, Benchrest, etc... boring as hell, for sure. I mean, can you imagine 20 minutes of watching someone call out "X, 10, X, 10, X, X,..."? Thrilling stuff right there... ;-) You need to have some drama and some entertainment value in there, no doubt. All I would like is to see some thought put in to the challenges, such that the competitors can demonstrate their skills a little better.
CJ6 said:It's not the competitors ,it's the format........OK so I'm a little twisted.
You folks complaining are crazy. The majority of people could care less about watching an actual match, or anything serious, but with the format they are using, it works and is getting people interested that would normally not be.
ANYTHING with guns on mainstream TV (that is not a news report) is a good thing.
ANYTHING with guns on mainstream TV (that is not a news report) is a good thing.
snowedin said:
And the best for last!
Dustin Ellermann
Age:28
Zavalla, TX
Occupation: Summer Camp Director
Dustin is a self taught shooter and has zero professional shooting experience. He won Top Shot season 3 and made all the "PROS" look like rookies!
Well there is one thing for sure, the challenges can't be that easy or most of the contestants would be hitting everything 100% of the time. I also think if the show gets any non shooter interested in shooting sports, that's a good thing. The show is geared for the mainstream public, not for shooters like us. There is not enough of us around to get the ratings needed to keep a show on the air and this is the 4th season I believe. Someone is doing something right to get the show renewed season after season. If I was designing a shooting show, I would also not be targeting folks like you on this board. You are already sold on the sport and probably already spend money with the sponsors like Bass Pro Shop. I would be looking to bring in people that have never stepped foot in the store and increase sales. The sponsors are paying for the show.
If my local range had some of the challenges set up like they use on the show, I would pay to shoot them because it would be a blast. I don't rush home to see the show but I do record them and watch if I have time. I do like the diversity in the challenges.
I will throw this in also; I know some on here don't watch anymore after the first season, but some that are complaining are still watching aren't they. No mater how bad you think it is, a bad episode of Top Shots is better than a good episode of most of what's on out there.
If my local range had some of the challenges set up like they use on the show, I would pay to shoot them because it would be a blast. I don't rush home to see the show but I do record them and watch if I have time. I do like the diversity in the challenges.
I will throw this in also; I know some on here don't watch anymore after the first season, but some that are complaining are still watching aren't they. No mater how bad you think it is, a bad episode of Top Shots is better than a good episode of most of what's on out there.
Hell if it has a gun, explosions and baby dolls........turn up the volume! Look at the rest of the crap on tv, plus you know the anti's are about to explode! ;Dwww.varmintsforfun.com
Try shooting anything with media cameras all over you.
I think the show does a good job of conveying the difficulty involved to the non shooting public.
I think the show does a good job of conveying the difficulty involved to the non shooting public.
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