By Iain Harrison

Jerry Miculek has been a hero of mine since I first saw him shoot in Bisley, England in 1993. Back then, British citizens were permitted to own handguns, and believe it or not, England put on one of the world's largest handgun competition that covered just about every discipline that could be shot with a pistol or revolver. Jerry put on daily displays of his prowess with a Smith & Wesson 625 and always wowed the crowds with not only his marksmanship, but with his laid-back showmanship.

The next time we met was early last year, during the casting for the inaugural season of Top Shot and although it pains me to say it, I'm glad he decided not to join the show as a competitor as he's probably the most accomplished all-around shooter these days. While most famous for his skills with a wheelgun, there's nothing that goes bang that he can't shoot exceptionally well. So it came as no surprise to see him coach the competitors with not only the Smith & Wesson 686, but the Volquartsen as well, before moving on to the Schofield. This week's show was a fairly good test of marksmanship as there was nothing too hard and they were using firearms that everyone should be familiar with. This allowed no excuses based on whacky guns, obstacle courses, the phases of the moon or last night's bad burrito.

It was also interesting to see that although the practice session went well for just about everyone concerned, the pressure of competition was handled by some much better than others. Of course at this stage, it's hard to play the invisible man and hope you can skate by under the radar. Every one of your teammates has a pretty good idea of your strengths and weaknesses and will be thinking how to use that information to his advantage. The red team's decision to send Michael Marelli to elimination was an obvious one based on his performance, but his choice of opponent was a little puzzling to say the least. Given that Jerry Miculek was the expert, it might have been a clue as to the probable firearm, so picking anyone other than revolver expert Cliff Walsh would have been a good way of upping your odds of staying in the running.

Another way to increase your chances is by carrying over your practice methodology to competition. For example, if you've practiced hip shooting using a body index to get your hits, why on earth would you change things up and use a range prop to brace against, especially when there was $100,000 on the line? Ah well, live & learn.