# Top Shot Season 3



## snowjay (Mar 27, 2007)

Starts NOW!


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## Ment (Mar 27, 2008)

I'd be like the ladies with that S/W 500..that is one big revolver.

Why did so many peeps have trouble with the Larue OBR, it would seem anyone on Top Shot would have experience loading AR style weapons.


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## JoBeth66 (Feb 15, 2002)

Keeping my fingers crossed that this season is more about the shooting and less about the "drama".


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## snowjay (Mar 27, 2007)

Ment said:


> I'd be like the ladies with that S/W 500..that is one big revolver.
> 
> Why did so many peeps have trouble with the Larue OBR, it would seem anyone on Top Shot would have experience loading AR style weapons.


Most of their problems were just forgetting to put the magazine in. Stress can make you forget the simple things, especially if you've never practiced that exact drill.


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## snowjay (Mar 27, 2007)

JoBeth66 said:


> Keeping my fingers crossed that this season is more about the shooting and less about the "drama".


There was a lot more shooting last night it seemed and not too many scenes inside the house.


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## Mr Flippant (Jan 2, 2009)

snowjay said:


> There was a lot more shooting last night it seemed and not too many scenes inside the house.


Well they are just getting to hate each other, give it an elemination or two to sort out alliances.


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## busyba (Feb 5, 2003)

JoBeth66 said:


> Keeping my fingers crossed that this season is more about the shooting and less about the "drama".


Every episode of every season is all shooting and no drama when you have TiVo and FF.


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## RonDawg (Jan 12, 2006)

I finally watched the season premiere. It was interesting to see how they divided them up into teams. Who thought it was a great idea to put all the LOSERS from the first competition on the same team?

Speaking of which, the pairs seemed to have been chosen more along the lines of similarities of profession/age/military service than any real shooting ability.

The shooting from a stagecoach was little more than a rehash of the same competition from last season where a Humvee was used instead. It's still a hard shoot though.

I was hoping Amanda would survive the challenge though. There's something about Mark's personality that makes me think he'll eventually turn his own team against him, like Jay did last season. After Amanda said something along the lines that Mark was wound a bit tight, I nearly ROTFL'd when their instructor said the same thing


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## jeepair (Apr 22, 2004)

I'm suprised there wasn't more TEAMWORK in the team challenge. A few minutes is all that would be needed before the start. Ok, you guys on that side of the log, you guys on that side. Take the shooters by hand assist them up the log. Done. But no, you had the people just watching the shooters crawl up the log. I even saw several shooters get on the platform first and then forget about the person behind them. They could have stood near the edge and pulled the 2nd shooters up. dumb dumb dumb.

On the shooting, painful to watch for some of those guys. Too bad the challenge wasn't if you use all 10 rounds then you must completely reload the magazine (10 rounds) before you can shoot again. Maybe the wind was a big factor as it is always windy where they are.


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## snowjay (Mar 27, 2007)

RonDawg said:


> I finally watched the season premiere. It was interesting to see how they divided them up into teams. Who thought it was a great idea to put all the LOSERS from the first competition on the same team?


The producers. 

By pairing up the matches the way they did, I think they might of been trying to keep friends, service mates, etc.. from being on the same team for diversity and to keep teams equal in that respect.


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## RonDawg (Jan 12, 2006)

jeepair said:


> I'm suprised there wasn't more TEAMWORK in the team challenge. A few minutes is all that would be needed before the start. Ok, you guys on that side of the log, you guys on that side. Take the shooters by hand assist them up the log. Done. But no, you had the people just watching the shooters crawl up the log. I even saw several shooters get on the platform first and then forget about the person behind them. They could have stood near the edge and pulled the 2nd shooters up. dumb dumb dumb.


They didn't show a lot of it, but they did show the teams briefing themselves as to what to do. Mostly about who goes first, but at least one team (I think it was blue) discussed putting the log on everybody's left shoulder for simplicity's sake. The other team had half supporting the log on one shoulder and half on the other. So it looked like there was some discussion beforehand.

Now it's one thing to plan, and another to execute those plans, and under stress it's not unusual for things to not go as planned. Remember Season 2's blue team, when during one of the early competitions, Jermaine not once but TWICE ran up the hill with the rifle, forgetting to leave it place for the next guy?



> On the shooting, painful to watch for some of those guys. Too bad the challenge wasn't if you use all 10 rounds then you must completely reload the magazine (10 rounds) before you can shoot again. Maybe the wind was a big factor as it is always windy where they are.


Agreed. Considering most of these shooters have successful competitions under their belts, it's surprising how many had trouble acquiring their target early.

As far as making them fully reload each mag, there is also a disadvantage in partially loading them as well, since you will have to take time to remove, reload, and replace the mag again if you use them all up. That dilemma was specifically pointed out in a previous competition (I believe it was Season 2): do I take the time to have a full mag, or do I partially fill one which is quicker but know I have fewer chances before I got to reload again?


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## RonDawg (Jan 12, 2006)

snowjay said:


> The producers.
> 
> By pairing up the matches the way they did, I think they might of been trying to keep friends, service mates, etc.. from being on the same team for diversity and to keep teams equal in that respect.


I'm pretty sure the producers were behind that decision  I agree with making the teams more random (probably in the hopes of preventing last season's antics) but I would think there's a better way to do it.


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## snowjay (Mar 27, 2007)

RonDawg said:


> I'm pretty sure the producers were behind that decision  I agree with making the teams more random (probably in the hopes of preventing last season's antics) but I would think there's a better way to do it.


They could of split the winners/losers (i.e. winner 1 blue, winner 2 red, winner 3 blue...) and still had the same diversity between the teams and put them on more equal footing.


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## Amnesia (Jan 30, 2005)

ferrumpneuma said:


> The worst two from the challenge should be the ones that go to the elimination event.


Certainly one problem would be objectively determining the "worst two". Was it the person who took the most shots to get the target? What about the person who had a hard time getting up the log? And should the last few shooters get an (objective) break because their heart rates would have been higher than the first few shooters?


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## sieglinde (Aug 11, 2002)

I like this show but have mixed feelings about it. I realize it would be boring to just watch guys shoot. (I have shot archery and don't recommend being a spectator at a match) But some of these physical challenges have nothing to do with marksmanship. So we are not necessarily getting the Top Shot but a top athelete. Is that the premise?


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## snowjay (Mar 27, 2007)

sieglinde said:


> I like this show but have mixed feelings about it. I realize it would be boring to just watch guys shoot. (I have shot archery and don't recommend being a spectator at a match) But some of these physical challenges have nothing to do with marksmanship. So we are not necessarily getting the Top Shot but a top athelete. Is that the premise?


The physical challenges are used to get the heart rate and adrenaline up of the competitors and even create more stress in them. It's not really about being an athlete but who can really perform under pressure. But, the better athlete you are the better you should fair. If you are overweight and get winded walking up a flight of stairs, you aren't going to be very accurate if your chest is pounding and you are out of breath.


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## MarkofT (Jul 27, 2001)

I can understand the reasoning behind that, but it's not really looking for the best marksman. My wife could easily outshoot any of the women they have had and probably many of the men, but due to a few health issues wouldn't be able to compete on the show at all.


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## ClutchBrake (Sep 5, 2001)

Just finished the first episode. Enjoyed it, but should the woman that got eliminated really have been on the show in the first place? Her hit percentage was 10%. Seems like she was more of a token female than a legit competitor. Or the talent pool they had to choose from was REALLY shallow. I'd rather see the 16 best competitors regardless of the male/female ratio.


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## MikeMar (Jan 7, 2005)

Does Mark remind anyone else of the Christian guy from season 2 of True Blood?

Michael McMillian

http://www.imdb.com/media/rm3115878656/nm0573354


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## snowjay (Mar 27, 2007)

MarkofT said:


> I can understand the reasoning behind that, but it's not really looking for the best marksman. My wife could easily outshoot any of the women they have had and probably many of the men, but due to a few health issues wouldn't be able to compete on the show at all.


Not all the competitions in the past have had a physical aspect to it but many do. A lot of regular shooting competitions have stages that you need to run in or at least move about. Bullseye matches would be terrible to watch on TV.


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## RonDawg (Jan 12, 2006)

MarkofT said:


> I can understand the reasoning behind that, but it's not really looking for the best marksman. My wife could easily outshoot any of the women they have had and probably many of the men, but due to a few health issues wouldn't be able to compete on the show at all.


A show that is purely about marksmanship with nothing else would get boring after a while to anyone except the most avid gun enthusiast.

I wish the shoot quals at work incorporated more physical activities in them. When I was in the academy, I remember quite well one scenario we did where we ran around the range in full uniform with boots and gun belt on , then had to engage targets. All while wearing a gas mask 

Nowadays we are lucky if we do anything more strenuous than run 10 yards.


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## RonDawg (Jan 12, 2006)

snowjay said:


> The physical challenges are used to get the heart rate and adrenaline up of the competitors and even create more stress in them. It's not really about being an athlete but who can really perform under pressure. But, the better athlete you are the better you should fair. If you are overweight and get winded walking up a flight of stairs, you aren't going to be very accurate if your chest is pounding and you are out of breath.


This.


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## RonDawg (Jan 12, 2006)

Well that was interesting to see the "self-taught" guy beat out a former SWAT team member in the elimination challenge. What he lacked in experience, he made up for in discipline. You could see it in practice...Dustin was much more accurate in practice than Sara was, despite her having far more experience with the M&P as it's her duty weapon.

I would have preferred to not see all of the women eliminated in a "one-two" punch but both were surprisingly weak shooters, given their experience.

So far, no sign of the "alliances" that kinda ruined Season 2. Blue Team has more wins under their belt, but self-appointed leader Jake is probably going to turn his team against him, like Jay Lim did last year. But Jay didn't realize he was pissing people off; Jake is well aware that folks on both teams, along with at least one instructor so far, don't care for his style.


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## snowjay (Mar 27, 2007)

I was so happy when Jake got owned on the challenge, honestly I think he should of been sent to elimination just because of his attitude. I really wanted Sara to win the elimination challenge but oh well. 

And whats up with Jake's body scars? They look like he had tats and burned them off or just burned designs into himself.


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## snowjay (Mar 27, 2007)

Oh, and what was the point of practicing with make believe logs and guns for a challenge they had already competed in and won? Team building? I could think of a lot better group activities to do that.


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## ClutchBrake (Sep 5, 2001)

RonDawg said:


> I would have preferred to not see all of the women eliminated in a "one-two" punch but both were surprisingly weak shooters, given their experience.


Again, that is my frustration with the show. The two women this year were REALLY weak. I have a hard time believing there weren't other candidates that were more qualified that were left out simply because they didn't have breasts. Or perhaps weren't attractive enough.

Like you I was stunned at how poor she did in the elimination challenge. Her credentials were impeccable. To be demolished like that by a self taught shooter is pretty bad. Her comment about performing poorly because she'd never had someone shooting beside her was a little worrying. Credentials aside, not sure I'd want her by my side in the heat of battle.


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## RonDawg (Jan 12, 2006)

snowjay said:


> Oh, and what was the point of practicing with make believe logs and guns for a challenge they had already competed in and won? Team building? I could think of a lot better group activities to do that.


That was Jake and his "leadership." It did them absolutely no good in the team challenge.



ClutchBrake said:


> Her comment about performing poorly because she'd never had someone shooting beside her was a little worrying. Credentials aside, not sure I'd want her by my side in the heat of battle.


That part made me wonder as well. Did she get her own range time at the academy? Normally, you'll be shooting alongside your classmates.

And if she was in SWAT, she should already be familiar with friend/foe shooting. Her teammates alongside her may have to engage targets, if not engaging them herself.


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## snowjay (Mar 27, 2007)

ClutchBrake said:


> Her comment about performing poorly because she'd never had someone shooting beside her was a little worrying. Credentials aside, not sure I'd want her by my side in the heat of battle.


I took that to mean beside her competition style. For training and quals you usually have someone on each side of you. No way are you going to only have on person on the range at once.

But we've seen it in the past, competition rattles some of the best shooters.


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## Unbeliever (Feb 3, 2001)

I want that rig for my back yard!!!! I also want a back yard suitable for that target, but I want that gate/ramp rig!

I was wondering why they used the SAI ported slide. Then they showed the elimination. Drew's Glock was smoking towards the end. 

--Carlos V.


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## RonDawg (Jan 12, 2006)

In viewing the stats from the team challenge, I am curious why Chris (Red) only got 14 rounds off? Everybody except the last team member should have fired a total number of rounds in multiples of 5; Gary only got off 13 rounds but then he was on the line when Blue won the challenge. Did Chris drop or otherwise fail to load a 5th round?

Lots of surprises in this episode.

Michael (Red) was a big surprise. He kicked azz in practice as he was expected to since he was the most familiar with this weapon...WTF happened out there? He also was just as guilty of what he accused his other teammates of doing, and that is not "manning-up" about poor performance...he claims "5 out of 10" but the stats show much worse than that...4 out of 15. His performance is even more embarrassing given how he performed at practice.

I absolutely disagree with Red's team decision to send Drew. For all of his supposedly random shooting, his accuracy was almost twice that of Michael's. Michael should have been the one to go.

Cliff was the biggest surprise of all. I agreed with Red sending him to elimination. But just like Justin did last week, he surprised the hell out of everybody. And he was worried all that time about losing to Drew simply because he was a "revolver shooter"


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## snowjay (Mar 27, 2007)

I agree, Michael was terrible out there and should of been one of the ones at elimination. For a competition shotgun shooter he performed terribly.

Cliff just smoked that course. It was pretty impressive shooting.


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## Amnesia (Jan 30, 2005)

I don't understand why the elimination challenges don't use the same (or similar) type of weapon as the team challenges?

After all, the competitors for the elimination challenges are (usually) chosen on the basis of poor performance in the team challenge---that is, with a particular type of weapon. It would make sense to me that they should also be eliminated using a similar weapon...


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## snowjay (Mar 27, 2007)

Amnesia said:


> I don't understand why the elimination challenges don't use the same (or similar) type of weapon as the team challenges?
> 
> After all, the competitors for the elimination challenges are (usually) chosen on the basis of poor performance in the team challenge---that is, with a particular type of weapon. It would make sense to me that they should also be eliminated using a similar weapon...


I'd guess it's so they don't stack the deck. If you knew ahead of time what weapon platform was in the elimination challenge then if you really wanted to eliminate someone you you could potentially put the best of that platform up against the person you want to get rid of. Now as we've seen in the past that doesn't always hold true and lesser individuals have won but this adds some surprise to the elimination challenge.


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## busyba (Feb 5, 2003)

The gatling was pretty cool. As soon as they unveiled it, I said "that's so steampunk" and then 20 seconds later Michael said the same thing. 


"Then I heard Colby shouting 'Michael!' and it was the most wonderful sound I ever heard." Okay... I'm guessing he's never even kissed a girl.


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## ClutchBrake (Sep 5, 2001)

I don't watch the house portions of the show. Why did the non redheaded guy get sent to elimination? He shot well if I remember correctly. Then Colby made the comment about telling his team goodbye, if he wanted to.


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## busyba (Feb 5, 2003)

ClutchBrake said:


> I don't watch the house portions of the show. Why did the non redheaded guy get sent to elimination? He shot well if I remember correctly. Then Colby made the comment about telling his team goodbye, if he wanted to.


I don't watch it either, but as I was skipping through I did catch one of the other red team guys saying to the redhead "just make sure you beat him" or something like that, so my wild-ass-guess is that maybe the team was conspiring to get the other guy gone and they picked the redhead to go against him because they felt he had the best shot of winning?


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## kdelande (Dec 17, 2001)

ClutchBrake said:


> I don't watch the house portions of the show. Why did the non redheaded guy get sent to elimination? He shot well if I remember correctly. Then Colby made the comment about telling his team goodbye, if he wanted to.


They didn't really go into anything in this episode but previously, it has seemed that he has been sort of an odd duck compared to the group. So I assume during some unaired moments, it became obvious to Colby that he didn't fit in and wasn't a super tight member of the Red team.

KD


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## ClutchBrake (Sep 5, 2001)

Thanks for the recap.


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## gschrock (Dec 28, 2001)

Bah, completely forgot to watch for this show to start back up. I'll have to see if I can find some back episodes, or just wait till they almost certainly marathon off the episodes like they did for season 2 (which is how I started watching in the first place).


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## ClutchBrake (Sep 5, 2001)

gschrock said:


> Bah, completely forgot to watch for this show to start back up. I'll have to see if I can find some back episodes, or just wait till they almost certainly marathon off the episodes like they did for season 2 (which is how I started watching in the first place).


If you have DirecTV see if they have them available on demand.


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## JLucPicard (Jul 8, 2004)

The excuse the red-headed guy gave was that even though the other guy wasn't the worst shooter in that challenge, he was the worst overall and the team would be better off in the long run if he were eliminated right away.

After the elimination selection round when they got back to the house, the non-red-headed guy was given a blue shirt, which he put on while cooking. That's what prompted the other guy to tell red that he had to beat the guy.

I'm really not sure why he was the odd man out with the others.

What I find interesting is that they always mention that they decided the elimination voting would be strictly performance based, then red always turns it to something else (because he has been consistently one of the worst challenge performers).


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## mike_k (Sep 20, 2005)

Yeah - Red (Michael) is very high on himself but hasn't really backed it up at all. I'm not sure why the other guys on the red team would want him around. He totally choked on the weapon that he has the most expertise on, why would they think he's going to do well with anything else? 

I liked how on the dice challenge the guys that the teams picked for the most critical stage had both been nominated for elimination in earlier rounds. 

The Gatling gun was cool, but the challenge was sorta lame. I could have done what those guys did - there didn't seem to be much marksmanship involved at all.

Oh, and Colby's teeth are like 10 shades too white. He's starting to get annoying.


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## busyba (Feb 5, 2003)

_Starting_ to???


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## gschrock (Dec 28, 2001)

ClutchBrake said:


> If you have DirecTV see if they have them available on demand.


Hadn't even thought of that, but sure enough, the episodes are there. So I'll have to do some catching up this weekend.


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## mike_k (Sep 20, 2005)

busyba said:


> _Starting_ to???


 lol - well, I guess I should have said starting to annoy me to the level where I'm not sure how much longer I'm going to be able to listen to him...


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## RonDawg (Jan 12, 2006)

I thought the challenge with the dice was too slow-paced. And if Blue got a significant enough lead over Red very early on, you could theoretically eliminate the very last set of targets. I think it would have been better to leave out the blocking gate, and do like other challenges: your team doesn't get to move to the next target until the teammate on the line successfully shoots out all of his targets.

The Gatling Gun challenge was pretty cool though.



JLucPicard said:


> The excuse the red-headed guy gave was that even though the other guy wasn't the worst shooter in that challenge, he was the worst overall and the team would be better off in the long run if he were eliminated right away.
> 
> After the elimination selection round when they got back to the house, the non-red-headed guy was given a blue shirt, which he put on while cooking. That's what prompted the other guy to tell red that he had to beat the guy.
> 
> ...


Unlike Seasons 1 and 2, they haven't shown a lot of the "house drama" so far. But signs that Mark was the odd duck were present all the way to the first episode, when he and Amanda were selected for elimination. Not only did Amanda make comments about Mark's personality, but so did their instructor for the elimination challenge, who had not met either of them previously.

Earlier in this thread, I predicted he was going to turn his team against him. Even Colby, who does not get to see them interacting at the house (that I know of) thought Mark didn't fit in well either, and thus his comment about saying goodbye.

Viewers apparently thought the same. When they texted in their favorites, the votes were overwhelmingly in favor of Michael (63%); I don't think it's EVER been that lopsided before. Michael hasn't been a very strong shooter so far either (I said he should have been up for elimination before).

Jake's support of Mark, and having him put on a blue shirt in front of his teammates, is purely symbolic...he doesn't want Michael (whom he absolutely despises) to return to the house. But Jake had it right...while he said both guys were "head cases", in Mark's case it affects his entire team.

Michael definitely deserved to go to the challenge, but so did Mark. His only real contribution so far was that he was able to beat Amanda at the very first one.


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## ClutchBrake (Sep 5, 2001)

RonDawg said:


> Viewers apparently thought the same. When they texted in their favorites, the votes were overwhelmingly in favor of Michael (63%); I don't think it's EVER been that lopsided before.


Wasn't one of them with the women 100%?


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## RonDawg (Jan 12, 2006)

ClutchBrake said:


> Wasn't one of them with the women 100%?


I stand corrected. The Amanda vs. Mark elimination challenge (episode 1) was 100% in favor of Mark per those who texted in.


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## HIHZia (Nov 3, 2004)

Morelli once again proves his uselessness. Even when he succeeds (in sticking to the board), he fails (and doens't get a single point.)

I would've sent his [email protected]@ home the minute he screwed the pooch on shotgun.


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## ClutchBrake (Sep 5, 2001)

HIHZia said:


> Morelli once again proves his uselessness. Even when he succeeds (in sticking to the board), he fails (and doens't get a single point.)
> 
> I would've sent his [email protected]@ home the minute he screwed the pooch on shotgun.


Yeah, the redheaded guy is an annoying ass. I want the red team to lose just to get rid of him.


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## RonDawg (Jan 12, 2006)

Like with last week's episode, I thought this week's team challenge was too slow paced. I know they had to do it this way in order to be able to "call out your opponent" but I thought it would have been more interesting to pick out the order ahead of time, and let the teams progress to the next station only when you completely hit all of your present targets.

Red-haired Mike needs to be on the chopping block, but so does Jake from Blue. He didn't particularly do all that well in the last team challenge, but unlike the ones who did go to elimination, he didn't offer himself up for that. But as these two have the biggest mouths this season, the house will be awfully quiet without them


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## HIHZia (Nov 3, 2004)

Jake and Morelli are cut from the same cloth. No matter how they did, they're still great and awesome and nothing is ever their fault. I can't wait for them to go.


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## heySkippy (Jul 2, 2001)

Loved the mountain cannon!


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## kdelande (Dec 17, 2001)

ClutchBrake said:


> Yeah, the redheaded guy is an annoying ass. I want the red team to lose just to get rid of him.


This. Totally this. He is so f'in cocky and has not earned it at all.

KD


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## snowjay (Mar 27, 2007)

He's a New Yorker, what did you expect?


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## RonDawg (Jan 12, 2006)

I'm glad Jake got voted into elimination. I will give him credit though, he smoked that CornerShot gun. That thing looks incredibly awkward to use.

His winning is not going to be good for the team. Unlike others who have been voted into elimination but survived, he really has a grudge out for the 3 guys who voted him in. Ironically, 2 of those folks (Justin and Mike) themselves are elimination survivors. If his attitude hasn't been detrimental to team dynamic before, it's going to be now.

And Michael (red)...really, did you have to graffiti up the side of the house with the fake Jake "target?" Very juvenile. And he could have lost it for his team as well.


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## ClutchBrake (Sep 5, 2001)

Jake is a grade A ***hole. He can't get eliminated quickly enough.


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## Amnesia (Jan 30, 2005)

RonDawg said:


> And Michael (red)...really, did you have to graffiti up the side of the house with the fake Jake "target?" Very juvenile.


I know---that's right up there with that guy from last season complaining about...what was it..."rats"?


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## snowjay (Mar 27, 2007)

Won't it be funny if it ends up being Michael and Jake in the finale.


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## ClutchBrake (Sep 5, 2001)

snowjay said:


> Won't it be funny if it ends up being Michael and Jake in the finale.


That would be unfortunately hilarious.


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## Ment (Mar 27, 2008)

Ah now we are getting into the reality show drama. Would love a showdown with Michael and Jake but Michael does not have the clutch to last that long.

Forgive my gun ignorance but why did they have such trouble locating shots from the Vltor that Red team resorted to shooting dirt.


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## JoBeth66 (Feb 15, 2002)

I really wanted Jake to lose that challenge, I can't stand his attitude. And yeah, since others there are elimination survivors - that I believe Jake voted to go to elimination - I don't get his whole demeanor. He's a poor winner and a poor loser, and that's just not a good combination.


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## Unbeliever (Feb 3, 2001)

Ment said:


> Forgive my gun ignorance but why did they have such trouble locating shots from the Vltor that Red team resorted to shooting dirt.


The binocs they had weren't high enough power to see the holes in the target. Either that was a bad "Shoot-n-C" target or bad binocs.

Skip if you already know what Shoot-n-C targets are:

Shoot-n-C (and the competitor "Dirty Bird") targets are targets printed on hi-vis colored paper. The paper is covered in flakey, not very well stuck-on ink. When a round hits the paper, the ink around the impact cracks and flakes off, while the paper underneath tears. What's left is a hole, surrounded by a high contrast ring as the paper underneath is exposed. That makes it easier to see where the shot hit. It really helps when you're shooting .22 at more than 50 yards out, even with a spotting scope. Them holes are tiny.

Edit: Now the product placement is getting especially obvious. How many different AR-15 platform rifles are we going to see this season?

--Carlos V.


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## RonDawg (Jan 12, 2006)

JoBeth66 said:


> I don't get his whole demeanor. He's a poor winner and a poor loser, and that's just not a good combination.


I "get" his demeanor. It's that of an immature person who is used to getting his way, bullying his way around to ensure he does, and pouts and complains when he doesn't.

I find it very hard to believe that man attended Annapolis and was a Navy SEAL. It's too bad there's no George Rheinas around to call BS to his credentials the way he did to Jamie Franks (unfairly IMHO) in Season 2.



Spoiler



Previews for the next episode show Jake sleeping out on the porch. I'm not a fan of the drama in this series, but this I can hardly wait to see. Supposedly one member voluntarily decides to leave on his own, and I am *SO* hoping it's him.


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## RonDawg (Jan 12, 2006)

Unbeliever said:


> Now the product placement is getting especially obvious.


Yeah, the Bass Pro Shop logos on their clothing, and the gift cards presented to the winner of the elimination challenges, was a lot more subtle form of advertising


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## snowjay (Mar 27, 2007)

RonDawg said:


> I "get" his demeanor. It's that of an immature person who is used to getting his way, bullying his way around to ensure he does, and pouts and complains when he doesn't.
> 
> I find it very hard to believe that man attended Annapolis and was a Navy SEAL. It's too bad there's no George Rheinas around to call BS to his credentials the way he did to Jamie Franks (unfairly IMHO) in Season 2.
> 
> ...


You what really turns me off about him (more than his attitude) is that every chance he gets he says something about him and the SEALs. It's almost like he's trying to over compensate thinking the more he says it the more people will believe it.


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## RonDawg (Jan 12, 2006)

snowjay said:


> You what really turns me off about him (more than his attitude) is that every chance he gets he says something about him and the SEALs. It's almost like he's trying to over compensate thinking the more he says it the more people will believe it.


Which is why I wished Jake and George Reinas were on the same season. George used to attack Jamie's credentials, even though Jamie never said he was a SEAL. He said he had unsuccessfully tried out for the SEALs, and for some duties, he was attached to a SEAL team, but never claimed to be a SEAL himself. It was the producers of _Top Shot_ that would put the "Former SEAL" label below his name.

I always thought that real ex-SEALs never divulged that status? Or have things changed lately?


----------



## snowjay (Mar 27, 2007)

RonDawg said:


> I always thought that real ex-SEALs never divulged that status? Or have things changed lately?


They almost certainly won't tell while they are active, at least not in mixed company, and unless their former involvement is classified I don't think they aren't allowed to once out, but most would again do it discreetly or just say they were in the Navy. Those guys don't need to show off for anyone. Unfortunately Jake takes that to a whole new level.


----------



## RonDawg (Jan 12, 2006)

I had to LOL when Jake came back to the house and was demanding "immunity" from his teammates. Dude, you signed up for the wrong show!

Michael (red) made a HUGE mistake in choosing Cliff to go with him to elimination. Michael was banking on the elimination challenge not being pistol-based, which obviously it turned out to be. 

He should have chosen Chris, as he seems to be the weakest shooter left (which is why he sat out the team challenge). 

Interesting to see them using two hands for "shooting from the hip". I've done it a little in the academy and a little in qualifications, and we've always done it single-handed.


----------



## snowjay (Mar 27, 2007)

RonDawg said:


> Interesting to see them using two hands for "shooting from the hip". I've done it a little in the academy and a little in qualifications, and we've always done it single-handed.


I don't think using two hands like they did has any real world usage. It actually seemed kind of silly to me the way they did it. I would of thought they would of been shooting off the draw and not lining up before hand. And in the competition Michael wasn't anywhere close to being from the hip.

(I'm sure you do/did something similar) When we did shooting from the hip we used our support hand to strike the target (distraction), then draw and shoot keeping the support hand away from the gun (holding on to our collar/vest). But our targets were less than 3' away and it's pretty difficult to miss a B27 at that range.


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## RonDawg (Jan 12, 2006)

snowjay said:


> I don't think using two hands like they did has any real world usage. It actually seemed kind of silly to me the way they did it. I would of thought they would of been shooting off the draw and not lining up before hand. And in the competition Michael wasn't anywhere close to being from the hip.


That wasn't shooting from the hip. It was more akin to shooting from the belt buckle, or shooting from the belly button 



> (I'm sure you do/did something similar) When we did shooting from the hip we used our support hand to strike the target (distraction), then draw and shoot keeping the support hand away from the gun (holding on to our collar/vest).


Yeah it was something similar to that. We haven't done it in a while so I don't exactly remember the mechanics of it anymore.


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## Tivortex (Feb 29, 2004)

Unbeliever said:


> Edit: Now the product placement is getting especially obvious. How many different AR-15 platform rifles are we going to see this season?
> 
> --Carlos V.


And you can buy 'em all at Bass Pro Shops !


----------



## Unbeliever (Feb 3, 2001)

Bass Pro Shops, in my opinion, is not product placement. It's flat out advertising.

--Carlos V.


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## RonDawg (Jan 12, 2006)

Product placement is a form of advertising. It wasn't always subtle either...old TV and radio programs sometimes had a sponsor who was specifically mentioned.

Not so much with radio (since you can't see the product) but especially with TV you would often see the sponsor's products within the show. For example, if Ford sponsored a TV show, you'd see Ford cars on that same show.


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## snowjay (Mar 27, 2007)

Jake is full of himself tonight! No shortage of SEAL references so far and he actually called himself a commando at one point.


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## HIHZia (Nov 3, 2004)

Not only is Jake a major d**k, he's deliberatly a major d**k.

At least he's setting himself up for EVERYONE to want to take him out. The only downside is that when he's not being a d**k, he's actually good at the challenges.


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## RonDawg (Jan 12, 2006)

Some extreme examples of sportsmanship in that episode.

On the "good" side is Chris, who said it would be an honor to eliminate Cliff, but also said it would be an honor _to be eliminated by_ Cliff.

WAY OVER at the other end of the spectrum is Jake  He has managed to make George Reinas from Season 2 seem downright likable.



snowjay said:


> Jake is full of himself tonight! No shortage of SEAL references so far and he actually called himself a commando at one point.


I'm waiting for his former subordinates to go "Swiftboat" on him and publicly say he was a terrible leader and all-around *****.


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## jeepair (Apr 22, 2004)

I like Jakes command / Observation post. 

I FF through most of the house stuff but I sort of think he is playing with everyone with his attitude. I personally do not know any SEALS but they are the best of the best. Why get into a fist fight when I can take that 2x4 over there and wallop you good and quick. EX: There is no such thing as a 'fair' fight. Kick their ass no matter what. 

Anyway, he could be an ass but I hope it is just him playing a role.


----------



## RonDawg (Jan 12, 2006)

jeepair said:


> I like Jakes command / Observation post.


You mean that contraption that looked like a Jenga tower with most of the pieces already removed  It would have been funny for that thing to topple over and send him rolling down the hill.


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## snowjay (Mar 27, 2007)

Jake was all high and mighty with his shot last night until he got smoked by Dustin. 

Interesting previews for next week. It seems to indicate Jake is leaving but I'm sure that's not the case. Maybe he just doesn't want to be in the house.


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## MrGreg (May 2, 2003)

I'm liking the change this season that people who do well in the individual challenges can't be put up for elimination. That seems a lot more fair to me.


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## RonDawg (Jan 12, 2006)

At the beginning of this last episode, when they were practicing for the main competition, did anybody else notice the small fenced-off area at the base of the hill below the targets?

It kinda looks like someone's grave site, like you'd find in an Old West cemetery 



MrGreg said:


> I'm liking the change this season that people who do well in the individual challenges can't be put up for elimination. That seems a lot more fair to me.


That's actually been the case before. Last season, the top shooter in each competition (once they went to green shirts) got "immunity." I recall in Season 1 that once at green-shirt status, the shooters no longer got to vote someone into elimination, but the worst shooter at each competition got sent home.

This season seems to be a hybrid of both Season 1 and 2.


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## ClutchBrake (Sep 5, 2001)

Jake is a really crappy human being. It's hard to believe he could function as part of a unit.


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## JoBeth66 (Feb 15, 2002)

ClutchBrake said:


> Jake is a really crappy human being. It's hard to believe he could function as part of a unit.


Let alone as any sort of leader.

And everyone else wants to shoot against the best of them - because you're not really proving you're the best unless you can BEAT the best. Not Jake. He wants the best to go to elimination so he can face the /weakest/ shooter.

It's not about proving he's the best - it's all about winning with him. And at first I wanted to think it was just how the show was edited - they always like to make someone out to be the bad guy when they're really not - but in this case? I don't think so. I think he actually is a d-bag.


----------



## RonDawg (Jan 12, 2006)

JoBeth66 said:


> It's not about proving he's the best - it's all about winning with him. And at first I wanted to think it was just how the show was edited - they always like to make someone out to be the bad guy when they're really not - but in this case? I don't think so. I think he actually is a d-bag.


I was listening to a stream of Gun Nuts Radio (hosted by Season 1 participant Caleb Giddings), specifically the episode where they interview Mike (red) after he was eliminated.

Not surprisingly, he had NOTHING nice to say about Jake. He did say that Jake was an "a**hole" to everybody from the moment they walked into the house. Although not captured on camera, Jake was supposedly quite harsh with Sara.

Sara Ahrens also had an earlier interview on Gun Nuts Radio. I'll have to listen to that to see what she said.


----------



## busyba (Feb 5, 2003)

JoBeth66 said:


> And everyone else wants to shoot against the best of them - because you're not really proving you're the best unless you can BEAT the best. Not Jake. He wants the best to go to elimination so he can face the /weakest/ shooter.
> 
> It's not about proving he's the best - it's all about winning with him.


To be fair, he's a trained soldier, for whom it _should_ be all about winning, because not winning usually means getting killed.

His problem seems to be that he can't to switch that instinct off.


----------



## Amnesia (Jan 30, 2005)

I wonder if his attitude has been affected by the whole "winners vs. losers" set-up for this season? Would he have acted this way (or as strongly) if people were assigned to teams a different way?


----------



## snowjay (Mar 27, 2007)

ClutchBrake said:


> Jake is a really crappy human being. It's hard to believe he could function as part of a unit.


I did a little research and what is interesting is he was only a SEAL for 3 years and really didn't have anything good to say about it. I don't want to spread rumors but it seems as if his time there was less than ideal. Funny how he boasts about it now.


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## gschrock (Dec 28, 2001)

I don't know that I necessarily disagree with how Jake wants to get the good shooters eliminated early to make it easier to win in the end. Heck, it's a competition, the goal is to win, and if you can make it easier to get to the end by getting rid of good people early, all the better for you.

Now, the attitude he has about how to do that, and the way he carries himself? That definitely doesn't get a pass from me. I've only seen seasons 2 and 3, but I'm a little disappointed in the people they get that are ex-military, they've really been coming across as asses.


----------



## snowjay (Mar 27, 2007)

:-o

What a whiny little sore loser Jake is. When the going gets tough he QUITS! What a show of great sportsmanship for the football team he supposedly coaches. Talk about classless.

Good riddance.


----------



## tripmac (Oct 4, 2004)

snowjay said:


> :-o
> 
> What a whiny little sore loser Jake is. When the going gets tough he QUITS! What a show of great sportsmanship for the football team he supposedly coaches. Talk about classless.
> 
> Good riddance.


Amen. I can't say I was surprised, but I really did not expect him to just quit. What a sore loser.


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## nmiller855 (Sep 26, 2000)

Jake displayed horrible sportsmanship. I would not let him coach any age kids. What does he do to his team if they lose? I hope when his team sees this, they walk off instead of letting him treat them poorly. I feel that as long as his team wins, he MAY be able to control himself.


----------



## Unbeliever (Feb 3, 2001)

Odd editing on Jake's run. He had a FTF and the editing made it look like it fired out of battery. He took a shot, the slide didn't close completely, he starts squeezing the trigger then the camera angle switches to behind him and the firearm does a normal "bang".

--Carlos V.


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## RonDawg (Jan 12, 2006)

I liked tonight's main challenge. I would love to go up against that at our range. It would be a great way to hone both accuracy and speed of target acquisition.

Jake's quitting proves his military training is not the reason behind his behavior; he's simply an immature, whiny, selfish ***** who will take his toys and go home when he can't get his way. Good f-in riddance.

Other than they need to fill another 20 minutes (incl. commercials), I don't know why they needed to bring another challenger to take on Phil. I am glad they brought back Mike Hughes though. He deserved to be there far more than Jake did. I'm curious to know what Jake's reaction is to knowing Mike is back on the show in his place.



gschrock said:


> Now, the attitude he has about how to do that, and the way he carries himself? That definitely doesn't get a pass from me. I've only seen seasons 2 and 3, but I'm a little disappointed in the people they get that are ex-military, they've really been coming across as asses.


Other than Jake, it's not so much the ex-military that have been behaving badly. In Season 2, it was George and (to a lesser extent) Ashley who were behaving badly, despite the fact that both were active-duty USAF on leave.

History no longer has their forum, but when it was still up, some folks thought that George should have been court-martialed for his behavior towards Jaime (also active duty, but USN) who outranked him. Many more thought George and Ashley were an embarrassment to the USAF, particularly other current and former USAF members including a few of relatively high rank.


----------



## HIHZia (Nov 3, 2004)

I think the producers misunderstood Jake when they heard he was a Navy Seal. I think he's a BABY Seal. Boo-hoo for poor widdle Jake who got his feelings hurt.

Buh-bye.


----------



## Tivortex (Feb 29, 2004)

As Snowjay said, classless. He was out of place from the beginning and won't be missed.


----------



## Big Deficit (Jul 8, 2003)

I hope we get a little info on Jake quitting. It would seem that the producers were very kind to him in allowing him to just "disappear". There had to be some drama....it is Jake after all!


----------



## Unbeliever (Feb 3, 2001)

Big Deficit said:


> I hope we get a little info on Jake quitting. It would seem that the producers were very kind to him in allowing him to just "disappear". There had to be some drama....it is Jake after all!


One of the production crew posts on Calguns. Apparently there was a Colby speech to Jake about quitting, but they decided not to use it on the theory of "it's done, lets move on."

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showpost.php?p=7308600&postcount=377

--Carlos V.


----------



## MrGreg (May 2, 2003)

RonDawg said:


> I liked tonight's main challenge. I would love to go up against that at our range. It would be a great way to hone both accuracy and speed of target acquisition.


I thought both challenges this episode were quite good. No gimmicks, no tricks. Just shoot accurately and quickly.

I shoot speed steel with a pistol, which is similar to the first challenge, and I also hunt sage rats with a bolt action rifle. So both of them looked fun to me.

Fun side note, I shoot at the same club as season 1 winner Iain, and his wife was one of the instructors when I got certified at our action range. Nice people.


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## inaka (Nov 26, 2001)

I'm so glad Jake quit. F that baby.

I've always joked with my dad (who watches Top Shot too) that if there was enough drama and someone crazy enough, the show is setup so that a nutjob who loses and hates the other guys literally has a loaded weapon in his hand and could go postal. 

If there was ever a guy to do it, I would be Jake.
Lucky that redheaded guy from NY wasn't still around. If they were head-to-head, and Jake lost? DUCK!


----------



## inaka (Nov 26, 2001)

MrGreg said:


> I thought both challenges this episode were quite good. No gimmicks, no tricks. Just shoot accurately and quickly.


Yup me too.

I'm really surprised only Justin would reload a new clip each time the targets rotated. The table in front of them looked to have at least 20 pre-loaded clips at least. It's like playing Lethal Enforcers...you don't wait until you're out to reload, you wait til the coast is clear.


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## RonDawg (Jan 12, 2006)

MrGreg said:


> I shoot speed steel with a pistol, which is similar to the first challenge, and I also hunt sage rats with a bolt action rifle.


Applications for Season 4 are already closed, but perhaps Season 5?


----------



## MrGreg (May 2, 2003)

RonDawg said:


> Applications for Season 4 are already closed, but perhaps Season 5?


I'm not nearly pretty enough to be on tv 

Although I have been impressed this season with how well the camp counselor is doing without any professional training or competitive experience. Just raw skill and a good attitude.


----------



## nmiller855 (Sep 26, 2000)

I have a friend that has a son that wins all kinds of shooting competitions but is too young to complete on this show. Hopefully he'll keep winning & have a shot to try out. I guarantee he was raised to be respectful of others & would never act anything like Jake on this season.


----------



## Tivortex (Feb 29, 2004)

MrGreg said:


> Although I have been impressed this season with how well the camp counselor is doing without any professional training or competitive experience. Just raw skill and a good attitude.


Young eyes and reflexes can make up for a world of inexperience. And you're right, he does have a great attitude. Go Dustin.


----------



## JoBeth66 (Feb 15, 2002)

I was so happy to see Jake walk off the show. It wasn't about him 'not having anything to prove' - that's BS. What it was ABOUT was that he wasn't confident he could beat Gary, and he didn't want anyone in the house to be the one to say A) - they sent him home and B) - they nailed his target to the wall. So he nailed his own target and left before he could be booted.

Whiny baby is whiny and will not be missed a single bit.

I love that Mark got to take his place, though! That's gotta be a little salt in the wound.


----------



## snowjay (Mar 27, 2007)

I don't think is target deserves to be on that wall, he didn't leave with any type of honor. I think the housemates should take his target off the wall and toss it in the trash.


----------



## busyba (Feb 5, 2003)

inaka said:


> I've always joked with my dad (who watches Top Shot too) that if there was enough drama and someone crazy enough, the show is setup so that a nutjob who loses and hates the other guys literally has a loaded weapon in his hand and could go postal.


I've had the same thought.

I wonder if they have armed security on the set to take out any rogue competitors. 

Oh, and yeah... F Jake.


----------



## Amnesia (Jan 30, 2005)

How is that different from any other shooting competition?


----------



## busyba (Feb 5, 2003)

Amnesia said:


> How is that different from any other shooting competition?


Other shooting competitions don't have producers who try to increase drama and personal tension between the competitors.


----------



## Ment (Mar 27, 2008)

If Jake ever gives an interview I want to read what he has to say about his conduct on the show. He really is infantile.


----------



## busyba (Feb 5, 2003)

Ment said:


> If Jake ever gives an interview I want to read what he has to say about his conduct on the show. He really is infantile.


I don't need to read the article to know what he'll say. Something along the lines of "I don't give a f---."


----------



## inaka (Nov 26, 2001)

Amnesia said:


> How is that different from any other shooting competition?


The push from the show for reality TV "drama" in combination with them living under the same house and maybe hating each other is more of a powder keg to me than standard shooting competitions.


----------



## RonDawg (Jan 12, 2006)

JoBeth66 said:


> I was so happy to see Jake walk off the show. It wasn't about him 'not having anything to prove' - that's BS. *What it was ABOUT was that he wasn't confident he could beat Gary*, and he didn't want anyone in the house to be the one to say A) - they sent him home and B) - they nailed his target to the wall. So he nailed his own target and left before he could be booted.
> 
> Whiny baby is whiny and will not be missed a single bit.
> 
> I love that Mark got to take his place, though! That's gotta be a little salt in the wound.


You mean Phil. I personally thought Jake could beat Phil. Jake may be a *****, but he's an accurate-shooting ***** 

No, I think the real reason is he has a hard time with rejection, and can't deal with life when things don't go his way. He took his first nomination VERY hard and it led to disharmony within his own team. He really held a grudge against the guys who shot his target, even though 2 of the 3 are themselves elimination challenge survivors.

Otherwise, I agree with you.


----------



## heySkippy (Jul 2, 2001)

The challenges this week sure looked like fun! I would pay to do either one.


----------



## Amnesia (Jan 30, 2005)

Wow---Mike was really impressive in the final challenge...


----------



## busyba (Feb 5, 2003)

So they said that Mike's new nickname is "Zombie" because he was dead and now he's back.

Considering what we know of the production schedule, Mike was dead and then was _resurrected 3 days later_. I would have come up with a slightly different nickname.


----------



## RonDawg (Jan 12, 2006)

Great season finale. It's interesting to see the two finalists are mostly self-taught and had no prior professional firearms experience.

Mike did great until the very end. I think he could have won the challenge, but when shooting the jars he lost his focus.

Dustin was a bit shaky at first but soared ahead to the victory. He took a HUGE risk in choosing a .22 rifle to shoot golf balls at 100 feet, but he pulled it off.

To my surprise, Jake allowed himself to be interviewed for the post-competition show. But if there was any doubt about Jake, he removed that with his interview and previously unaired footage of his antics at the house. That man is seriously psychologically unbalanced. For all his BS talk about his "psy-ops" strategy, in the end the only person he psyched out was himself. 

I feel sorry for his baby who is supposed to be born next month. Imagine growing up with Jake as your father.


----------



## ClutchBrake (Sep 5, 2001)

RonDawg said:


> Dustin was a bit shaky at first but soared ahead to the victory. He took a HUGE risk in choosing a .22 rifle to shoot golf balls at 100 feet, but he pulled it off.


I'm pretty sure it was 100 YARDS. That was damn impressive with a .22 rifle. 100 feet not so much.


----------



## snowjay (Mar 27, 2007)

I really wanted Gary to win, but obviously my crystal ball was on the fritz.

I can't believe Mike struggled so much with the shotgun. Dustin did a good job on the course though, that was impressive.

I haven't watched the after show yet, sounds like it should be interesting.


----------



## busyba (Feb 5, 2003)

A few weeks ago I was starting to think that Dustin might take the whole thing.

That was a really impressive run in the final challenge. Sure, Mike lost it at the jars, but Dustin was nearly flawless in his run; even if Mike didn't completely blow it, he would have had to have been lights out to keep up with Dustin. (Of course, it's arguable that if Mike had been keeping up even a little with Dustin, that the added pressure might have made Dustin not do as incredibly well as he ended up doing).

They stopped showing Mike completely after the lead got really big. I wonder if he ever finished the jars.


IIRC, in each of the first two seasons, the "called shot" challenge was lost on strategic blunders. This time around, everyone's strategy was sound (including Dustin making a great strategic move with the golf ball shot), it just came down to Gary not making his shots.


----------



## snowjay (Mar 27, 2007)

busyba said:


> They stopped showing Mike completely after the lead got really big. I wonder if he ever finished the jars.


I don't think he did, I remember at one if the final stages being able to see Mike in the background still with the shotgun.


----------



## Tivortex (Feb 29, 2004)

In the second hour "behind the bullet after show" they show that Mike did finally hit the last jar and headed for the next challenge but it was way too late.


----------



## HIHZia (Nov 3, 2004)

Dustin, not only was a great natural shot, but a fast learner with good strategy.

On the first head to head he got smoked, but learned what he needed to do and came back big time in hte second. He had the right idea at the "call your shot" as well. Pick a hard shot you're familiar with and make the others hit it. If it's really hard and he misses, chances are the others will miss too, and it's still even, but with a shot you have praticed, it's a great opportunity to take the lead. Mike figured it out in time to call a hard shot with the AK that gave him a better chance due to his arm strength, and Gary just blew it missing his pistol shot at the end. I would have liked to see gary and Dustin at the end, just because I think it would have been closer, but Dustin smoked that course and deserved the win.


----------



## MrGreg (May 2, 2003)

ClutchBrake said:


> I'm pretty sure it was 100 YARDS. That was damn impressive with a .22 rifle. 100 feet not so much.


I've got a rimfire rifle that I'm very comfortable with (17 hmr, not a 22), and I'd say with conditions like they had (some mild wind, shooting prone) I think I could hit a golf ball at 100 yards maybe 7 out of 10 tries?

But that's with a rifle I've probably shot over 2000 rounds through personally. I can't imagine picking up a 22 I'm not familiar with, even one as nice as the Volquartsen they were using, and doing it in a single shot.

With a 22 LR, you would need to know how it's sighted in; where is it zero'd? Even with the best 22 LR match grade ammo, if you're zero'd for 50 yards, your shot will be nearly 7.5 inches low at 100 yards. And with a 5mph crosswind, that's about 1.5 inches of drift. Very ballsy shot call.

Maybe they told the competitors how the gun was zero'd offscreen.

And the one handed AK shot? I'm amazed any of them hit that.


----------



## snowjay (Mar 27, 2007)

Just watched the after show, pretty cool getting to hear the competitors talk. Wouldn't mind shooting with some of them.



RonDawg said:


> But if there was any doubt about Jake, he removed that with his interview and previously unaired footage of his antics at the house. That man is seriously psychologically unbalanced. For all his BS talk about his "psy-ops" strategy, in the end the only person he psyched out was himself.


This, so this.

And he's teaching in my home state. Thankfully not at the college I attended.


----------



## JoBeth66 (Feb 15, 2002)

Awesome, awesome finale. I was very happy with the final four, and I really was glad Mike made it to the top 2. Dustin was not my favorite person (something about him just didn't sit right with me) but there's no question he absolutely deserved to win this.


----------



## Odds Bodkins (Jun 7, 2006)

Dustin is awesome. A humble person winning in a reality show? Noooooooo


----------



## Einselen (Apr 25, 2006)

I saw the Teaser about Top Shot Season 4 but my recording cut off before I saw anything else, was a date or anything mentioned?


----------



## RonDawg (Jan 12, 2006)

Einselen said:


> I saw the Teaser about Top Shot Season 4 but my recording cut off before I saw anything else, was a date or anything mentioned?


"Spring 2012"

The new contestants' faces are shown, but aside from a generic listing of the occupations being represented, you don't know anything about them from this video.


----------



## RonDawg (Jan 12, 2006)

JoBeth66 said:


> Dustin was not my favorite person (something about him just didn't sit right with me) but there's no question he absolutely deserved to win this.


It wouldn't happen to be about his overt Christianity, would it? I know he's mentioned it a couple of times, but it's far from Proselytism.


----------



## RonDawg (Jan 12, 2006)

snowjay said:


> And he's teaching in my home state. Thankfully not at the college I attended.


What are his courses? *****-bag 101? How to convince everybody you are a nutjob? Quitting is NOT losing?


----------



## RonDawg (Jan 12, 2006)

Odds Bodkins said:


> Dustin is awesome. A humble person winning in a reality show? Noooooooo


I bet it chaps Jake's hide to know that a nice guy can win Top Shot, without resorting to "psy-ops" and other dooshy behavior.


----------



## RonDawg (Jan 12, 2006)

ClutchBrake said:


> I'm pretty sure it was 100 YARDS. That was damn impressive with a .22 rifle. 100 feet not so much.


You're right it was 100 yards. I was at work when I saw the episode and was somewhat distracted during this part. And yes it was very impressive indeed.


----------



## JoBeth66 (Feb 15, 2002)

RonDawg said:


> It wouldn't happen to be about his overt Christianity, would it? I know he's mentioned it a couple of times, but it's far from Proselytism.


Nah (though on that front, he reminded me of Jack McBrayer's character in 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall').

It's not something I can put my finger on - just a vibe.


----------



## ClutchBrake (Sep 5, 2001)

RonDawg said:


> What are his courses? *****-bag 101? How to convince everybody you are a nutjob? Quitting is NOT losing?


He coaches running backs.

And I would not want that man coaching any child of mine.


----------



## ClutchBrake (Sep 5, 2001)

JoBeth66 said:


> Nah (though on that front, he reminded me of Jack McBrayer's character in 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall').
> 
> It's not something I can put my finger on - just a vibe.


It's funny you mention that. My wife was in the room while I was watching the finale. I was cheering Dustin on the entire way. My wife thought it was pretty funny because at the beginning of the season I didn't like him and hoped he would be the first one to go (after the women, who clearly did not get in based on skill).

I really thought he was fake and annoying at first. But I think what you see is what you get with Dustin. He really is that way. I have a good friend like that. A lot of people don't particularly care for him at first because he seems like he is trying too hard to be excited and upbeat about everything. But having known him for 15 years that is just him, and he is wonderful to be around.


----------



## busyba (Feb 5, 2003)

Anybody watch the behind the scenes show and come away from it thinking that Jarrett and Gary would make an adorable married gay couple? 

I swear that their joint interview scenes looked like they could have been interstitials from _When Harry Met Sally_ .


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## ClutchBrake (Sep 5, 2001)

busyba said:


> Anybody watch the behind the scenes show and come away from it thinking that Jarrett and Gary would make an adorable married gay couple?
> 
> I swear that their joint interview scenes looked like they could have been interstitials from _When Harry Met Sally_ .


YES!!! 

I really enjoyed the behind the scenes show. Except for Jake, of course. I still can't wrap my mind around him being part of a SEAL team. Or any team for that matter.


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## RonDawg (Jan 12, 2006)

ClutchBrake said:


> He coaches running backs.
> 
> And I would not want that man coaching any child of mine.


Oh I was aware of him being a coach. I thought snowjay was saying he was also teaching courses.

Unless the team he is coaching has an impressive winning streak, I don't know how anybody would want him as a coach after watching this show, especially seeing him quitting right before going to his second elimination challenge.


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## inaka (Nov 26, 2001)

What a great season finale.

This show has really grown on me and the subtle change they made to make the best shooters exempt from elimination in the individual stage makes all the difference.

Dustin was bad ass. Plain and simple.

I think the highlight of the entire season for me was when Dustin was on that huge 360° upside-down contraption thing and connected with like the first 6 or 8 shots. I literally laughed out loud in amazement.

I also like how in the after show, they replayed the final challenge and showed a previously unseen shot of Dustin giving his wife the "thumbs up" right before the final stage. Good stuff. Great show.

Looking forward to next season...


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## busyba (Feb 5, 2003)

inaka said:


> I also like how in the after show, they replayed the final challenge and showed a previously unseen shot of Dustin giving his wife the "thumbs up" right before the final stage.


The "thumbs up" thing was seen in the original airing of the final challenge.

It was a blink-or-you'll-miss-it moment. Maybe you blinked.


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## sieglinde (Aug 11, 2002)

I liked Dustin from the beginning and I don't like the over enthusiastic Christian thing but he didn't say anything religious until the end. He just struck me as this boyish really nice guy who let everything roll off his back. Jake needs to take lessons from him. I loved that he won. I would have been OK with anybody but Jake. The last five or six guys all seemed to be rooting for each other and had a very high ideal of sportsmanship and honorable behavior. Jake, a SEAL, no way. Those guys survive by teamwork.


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