By Iain Harrison

Has it really been almost two years since I first became involved with Top Shot? Time has flown. The cast of Season 1 had no idea what lay in store from them as they assembled in a business hotel near LAX to go through the casting process for a show that most of us thought, secretly, had no chance of getting off the ground.  Sometimes, it’s great to be proved wrong.

It seems like each season throws its members a curve ball in the opening episode and this year was no different. Forest McCord and Craig Buckland are both world class action shooters and to see them eliminated before the real competition even started, was startling to say the least. Craig especially had the breadth of ability and experience to be a difficult guy to beat, but unfortunately we’ll never get to witness the revolver skills that took him to the top of IDPA, as he shanked the opening shot. It was good to see, however, that the M1A (sorry Colby, but I didn’t see a giggle switch on that rifle) was actually zeroed and that just about everyone had the ability to line up iron sights & press a trigger. Next time, I’d like the producers to get rid of the sandbags and at least make the shooters use an unsupported position.

The team challenge seemed like it must have taken forever to shoot and this was one instance where I was glad of a little editing to make things go quicker, otherwise it would have been like watching paint dry. Still, resetting the plate rack every time a shooter missed made for an accuracy-intensive competition that went down to the wire, and where the mental pressure on the last men standing must have been agonizing. In this situation, there is nothing for it but to shut out the world around you and focus on the fundamentals.

American Rifleman readers will no doubt be familiar with Garry James who made a welcome reappearance as an expert on the M1 carbine. I first met Garry on the set of Season 1, where he saved the day by allowing us to use one of his own Kentucky long rifles after the original provided by the show broke down. This time, the guns proved less finicky, which was just as well since one of two complex vintage mechanical devices could have caused problems. Did any of you guys catch what model of motorcycle was used in the elimination challenge? The absence of horizontal cylinder heads ruled out my first guess, but I’m no expert in vintage bikes.

Both the victor of last night’s elimination challenge and the vanquished carried themselves well and there was none of the drama (yet!) that played out last season. Having met most of Season 4’s cast, I have a feeling you’ll like these guys and I am looking forward to next week, which features the BAR and a 40 mm grenade launcher. Oh, and watch out for those British dudes, some of them can shoot.