TargetTalk

The History channels Top Shot program, Season 5 will start airing again on the 29th of May.
Two great former Marine Corps shooters and bullseye high masters, Brian Zins, and William Bethards are both on the show for their All Star season.


http://www.history.com/shows/top-shot/cast

I talked to Brian last Saturday at the NRA Annual Meeting. He was wearing a Top Shot All Stars shirt and said that it was the first day he was allowed to wear it in public. It was also interesting to hear him explain just how things go on behind the scenes with, basically, less drama, more technical glitches, and lots more waiting around than viewers can appreciate from just watching the show.

I tried my darndest to get my old friend Slocat to shoot in this and he said he was too old. I really don't think people care what age you are when you whip them.

oldcaster wrote:I tried my darndest to get my old friend Slocat to shoot in this and he said he was too old. I really don't think people care what age you are when you whip them.

After seeing some of the gymnastics on the preview, I think over fifty is probably "too old". I really hope Brian went back to some Marine Corps PT to get ready for this show.

Steve Locatelli is a great shot, but I think he is a bit older than I am, and I'm "too old".

I have a picture somewhere of the two of us on the beach in Asbury Park in about 1965 doing handstands and showing off which is what we did best then.

oldcaster wrote:I have a picture somewhere of the two of us on the beach in Asbury Park in about 1965 doing handstands and showing off which is what we did best then.

It is really a shame that time travel doesn't exist. The 60's was a golden time for pistol shooting talent. I suspect that many shooters back then would have made Top Shot look easy.

That said, I am really looking forward to the new season watching Brian Zins and Will Bethards.

I, too, have partied at Asbury Park, but since the linguini has taken its fearsome toll, I'm afraid my guinea buddy Slocat won't be doing many handstands.

I've shot with him for many years and he ALMOST never fails to beat me.

At the time, Steve had incredible balance. I did a lot of gymnastics and weight lifting in my early life and was very strong but did not have the stability that Steve had. He would go into his stand with one try and hit it perfectly every time. I always had to make multiple tries until I hit it right and then could tilt over to a one handed stand and hold it. I always wondered if the incredible balance he had was the key to his excellent Bullseye shooting. I know his dedication to practice counts immeasureably but if a person isn't developing it is hard to convince oneself to continue.

Ah Yes!! the sixties. A military 1911 worked over by the AMU was just shy of $100.

oldcaster wrote:Ah Yes!! the sixties. A military 1911 worked over by the AMU was just shy of $100.

And $10K a year was lawyer money.

The wife keeps bugging me to try out for Top Shot. I guess she gets tired of me yelling at the television.

John, it deserves your severest abuse!

I watched one episode and saw a bunch of guys throwing rocks at window panes. After that round, they then proceeded to whine about why they didn't do so well.

That was enough for me.

In the first episode, Brian redeemed himself with the best pistol shot in the elimination round. But he got there with his nemisis, the FAL rifle. Or maybe it was the swinging stand?

ETA: Mr. Bickar, you should definately try out for Top Shot. I think you will definately make it. I agree with Mrs. Bickar on this. One of my neighbors, about two miles away, is on the current show (lives in Conifer, CO, like me). He is an engineer and is a self-taught shooter. You are miles ahead of him.

I'd try, but I have this job that demands all my time.

Politics yes- Top shot no. Until all competitors shoot all comps the final
score will never reflect the best of the bunch. Scores count, votes do not..

philip_T wrote:Politics yes- Top shot no. Until all competitors shoot all comps the final
score will never reflect the best of the bunch. Scores count, votes do not..

I think you might be surprised by the format of the All Stars show. There are no teams. Everyone shoots all events, and there is no voting on elimination, just shooting.

That is the way it should be. Top shot and not top politician or schmoozer. It should be an overall average because the first elimination of a shooter might be because the one thing they are weak at is the first event plus as was seen, they will gang up on the one they decide is not one of the "boys" who might still be the best shooter. -- Bill --

oldcaster wrote:That is the way it should be. Top shot and not top politician or schmoozer.

I've talked to Brian about this and he says that any politics or schmoozing and the influence of such on outcomes, elimination selections, etc., was entirely a fiction produced in the editing bay. According to him, they were all a bunch of shooters and got along about as well as a bunch of shooters usually do: just fine. It was in the editing that the occasional remark got blown out of proportion and a false impression created that any such remarks actually had any impact on the competition. They didn't.

Hey, I wasn't there so I don't know. But my gut tells me I should trust Brian on this one.

If you had watched all the episodes, it would be clear to anyone that there were schemes to get rid of individuals. I can't give Mr. Zins a pass just because he is also a pistol shooter because he was clearly involved. We are all individually responsible for our actions and his actions and comments are written in stone because the archives are there and can be watched at any time. I realize that people can say and do things that they wished they hadn't especially when in the limelight but after it is done, admit you did things that you think weren't really right and go on. Everyone makes mistakes but when the individual won't admit it afterwards, it
hangs on forever.

oldcaster wrote:If you had watched all the episodes, it would be clear to anyone that there were schemes to get rid of individuals. I can't give Mr. Zins a pass just because he is also a pistol shooter because he was clearly involved. We are all individually responsible for our actions and his actions and comments are written in stone because the archives are there and can be watched at any time. I realize that people can say and do things that they wished they hadn't especially when in the limelight but after it is done, admit you did things that you think weren't really right and go on. Everyone makes mistakes but when the individual won't admit it afterwards, it
hangs on forever.

If I could see all the unedited footage I might agree with you.

Chances are good though, that there were schemes to get rid of anyone they saw as competition, by "anyone" who thought they had a chance to win.

The majority of these schemes to get rid of people ultimately ended up on the cutting room floor. This is why these shows are edited.

I was quite happy that in order to actually "be" eliminated, you had to lose a head to head competition. This, in my opinion was quite fair.

The reason I don't think it was fair is because an individual was put up for elimination when he wasn't the weakest link on the team. It was done more than once also. It was because he wasn't "one of the boys" which spelled another way is politics. The boys" even said they wouldn't do such a thing because of ethics but that was exactly what they did. If a viewer also feels they are "one of the "boys" they won't see where anything was wrong and look right past what happened. The show should be set up where you are either the best overall or you are not, where a single discipline cannot cause overall failure. It should have nothing to do with personalities, nor should it be possible for either one or a group to cause another to fail. Otherwise it shouldn't be called Top Shot but Top Hustlers and could be performed by actors. I won't watch another episode if it is operated like the last one as I might as well watch a soap opera instead.