Season 3 got off to a great start last night with the producers choosing to create an instant winner versus loser dynamic, via the medium of the S&W .500 Mag. In the initial head-to-head shoot off, competitors were paired up according to their backgrounds and Mike Hughes showed his mettle with a smoking run, despite being much more familiar with a Glock. Both ladies were forced to deal with recoil that was way out of their comfort zones—a pretty harsh way to kick off the competition, but great for showing the audience dramatic high speed footage of flames blowing out of the barrel/cylinder gap.

There were several new additions to this season's format that I believe are going to take the show to the next level. The first is the use of Phantom (high speed) cameras to capture the actions of competitors during the challenges, whereas previously this technology had been used more selectively due to its cost. The other is to include more detailed information regarding the actual performance of the shooters, something which can sometimes be obscured in the editing of the challenges. Top Shot, now with added stats!

The team challenge was interesting in that it shows just how difficult it can be to operate a firearm under physical and mental stress. At least two competitors tried to operate the Larue OBR without a magazine in place, and this is a rifle with controls that should be familiar to all. Note to editors: The shot of a round impacting the dirt 10 feet low and left of the target was overused.

I was slightly surprised to see the Single Action Army used as the nomination pistol as I figured the producers might continue the 1911 centenary theme. I hope for Phil's sake that it doesn't appear in one of the challenges, as he managed to shank the shot in Amanda's target pretty badly. For the first show at least, the nomination is performance based and it will be interesting to see how long this lasts. Anyone care to make a prediction?

—Iain Harrison