By Iain Harrison, Top Shot Season 1 Champion

I'm sitting here in the bar filled with fellow shooters who have taken the place over, and we’re deep into discussion regarding this week’s show. At the Top Shot house, there already seems to be a schism forming between the competitive shooters and the military guys. I must confess to being torn between the two. I’m currently competing on the local circuit, but I have a military background which makes it hard for me to pick sides. I guess I’ll just have to see how this one plays out.

During the team challenge, 10-time national champion Brian Zins showed why he ended up on the podium so often, tearing up the bull's eye on his targets with precision. He comes across on screen as a kind of cuddly, friendly elder statesman, but having met the guy I should probably point out that he’s a 20-year Marine corps veteran and current private military contractor with a rock hard psyche. It would be incredibly foolish to underestimate him.

Once again, we saw specialists at the top of their game unable to adapt to the crude iron sights, stock grips and trigger of a vintage revolver. To be honest, I’m a little worried as this year, I’m about to start my first season in USPSA’s Open division, shooting a widebody 1911 with a red dot sight. Don’t get me wrong, this combo is the most fun you can have within the US borders, but I’m 100 percent positive Athena Lee will kick my butt all over the range when our paths cross; she’s an incredible athlete in her field. But I’m going to go out of my way to shoot the crappiest guns in my collection to make sure I can still make hits on demand with say, an as issued SMLE or better still, a Nagant M1895.

The elimination challenge, in my humble opinion, was one of the best ever, starting with the practice session which took us all back to the county fair and the ‘Shoot the Star’ sideshow. There was one small problem, though, the Thompson was captioned as being referred to as the ‘annihilator’ in WWI, yet the following scene had it (correctly) captioned as being introduced in 1919.

Each one of those Thompsons had to have been worth at least $20,000 and getting the chance to see contestants rock and roll with six 50-round drums until the barrels were smoking hot was worth the price of admission. The size and weight (14 pounds) of the firearm placed Athena at a distinct disadvantage, but you have to give her credit – when she saw she was losing to Jamie, that mental switch was flipped and the red mist came down. If you’re going to go out, go out in style.

On another note, having been on the other side of the cameras, I would hesitate to condemn anyone for their performance as a teammate, as so much of your on-screen persona is determined by editing. Please bear that in mind as you cheer or jeer for your personal heroes or villains. It will do you well to remember that this is just TV and if the director evokes strong emotions in his portrayal of certain characters, well, he’s done his job.

Next week we'll welcome return of our friend Craig Sawyer as the expert, putting the competitors through their paces with the M1A1. For those who missed him on Season 1, Craig is the real deal; an ex-SEAL who has been there, done that and got the T shirt, but is a genuinely good guy.  With red and blue now even, it’s a given that the team with the most practical riflemen (its non-gender specific meaning – sorry Maggie) will have the upper hand.