Harrison: What have you been doing since winning “Top Shot”?
Ellermann: I had no idea the demands on my time would be so great. I’ve been making appearances at local range days and speaking at churches and other events, such as wild game dinners put on by church men’s groups. History Channel just sent me the [winnings] check, and there’s a little piece of property just coming available down the road from camp where the neighbors are real welcoming. So it seems like God has provided for my family once more. In the future, I’d like to be able to set up a youth marksmanship camp, but things are so busy right now I’m not sure when I’ll be able to get the time. I’ve been working with some companies on sponsorship deals, so hopefully I’ll be able to get out and take part in some more shooting competitions.

Harrison: What’s your number one shooting tip for people wanting to emulate your success?
Ellermann: Trigger control! That’s where it all happens—sight alignment will happen naturally if you let it, so concentrate on making the perfect trigger press every time, and you’ll hit your target.

“Top Shot” is the most successful shooting show ever produced, with fans all across the globe. While it has undoubtedly attracted non-shooters to the sport and introduced firearms to an audience that otherwise would only see guns on the nightly news, it has also received well-founded criticism from the shooting community regarding the balance of drama versus firearm information. To address that, the network has developed a new show, “Top Gun,” which features more of the guns seen in “Top Shot,” demonstrated by experts seen in that week’s episode. Look out for Chris, Dustin and myself on H2 channel.

Keep up with all the happenings from the fourth season of "Top Shot" at AmericanRifleman.org's "Reality Shots" blog! Iain Harrison will provide insight and analysis throughout the season.