Thursday, March 1, 2012

It was a Shotgun Showdown last night on Top Shot

via NRAblog by GOblog.nospam@nospam.nrahq.org (LDalseide) on 2/29/12

Shotguns, slugs, birdshot and Team Red dominated last night's episode of Top Shot on History Channel

Top Shot season 4 competitor Gabby Franco at SHOT Show
Top Shot Competitor Gabby Franco at the 2012 SHOT Show in Las Vegas ... photo courtesy of Gabby Franco.
NRA Certified Instructor Gabby Franco returns to provide additional info for this week's recap of Top Shot — History Channel's program that pits America's top marksmen against each other in a competition for $100,000 and the title of Top Shot.

The night started with reservation. The idea of an all shotgun episode of Top Shot made me think the folks over at History Channel were taking the week off. After all, how much imagination can go into shotguns? Quite a bit it turns out.

Completely on the Benelli brand, the show started with team practicing with the M4 and Vinci. Expertly guided along by Season 2 Top Shot Chris Reed, each team produced their own group of favorites and flops. That, of course, was only practice. And practice can only do so much.

"Shotguns have a lot of recoil so body position is important," explained competitor Gabby Franco. "When practicing on the clays, looking at the target and not my sight was very challenging. As a pistol shooter, my number one rule is doing the opposite.

"I've shot clays and semi-autos once or twice before Top Shot, but it's definitely not my forte."

Forte or not, she found her rhythm along wit the rest of Red Team and headed out to face off Team Blue in the challenge round.

When seconds count, Blue was out

What hurt Team Blue more then anything else was the fact that it wasn't a head to head challenge. Instead, Team Red went first and Team Blue last. And last they were.

Teammates were divided at two stations — one shooting steel with a Benelli M4 and one shooting skeet with a Benelli Vinci. You have four minutes to hit as many clays as possible. Problem is, you have to hit the steel to launch the skeet.

"The easier target for me was steel," said Franco. "It was just like shooting a rifle. The clays were a challenge, but I applied what I learned from Chris and my teammates helped."

Team Red ran back and forth, called out shots and reloaded without missing a beat. Team Blue, on the other hand, casually walked to the line, lazily aimed at their targets and shot only when stars aligned … at least that's how it seemed. The difference in time of the first shot, for example, was a good five to ten seconds. That's a whole lot to let pass.

"I was more surprised by their lack of communication and teamwork. To win a challenge, you need to have communication."

The communication didn't start until Blue returned to the house. Practically coming to tears, that's when Greg Littlejohn proclaimed that he wouldn't fire on a friend's target. Others disagreed. That's when Terry Vaughan made a big move. Believing the vote should be based on performance, Vaughan told the team that he should be nominated for elimination. They obliged.

Michelle's three headed elimination round monster

Sure enough, Terry went. His elimination partner was Michelle Viscusi of Gilbert, Arizona. Now while there were some groans about women being singled out, voting for Michelle, based on performance, was perfectly valid. There were others who performed on the same level (okay, some below), but it was her turn to take the hit.

Benelli Nova 12 gauge pump action shot gun
12 gauge pump action Benelli Nova used during the Shotgun Showdown on History's Top Shot.

In elimination round, competitors were charged with sending a three headed wheel—like target rolling down the tracks. How? By shooting one of the three heads with a 12 gauge Benelli Nova. The trick was to make the wheel rock back and forth. When the wheel was on a back rock, hit it again. Terry quickly learned the trick and Michelle, well, she fell.

That makes Gabby the last female standing. No matter what her training is, she has to feel the pressure mounting.

"I'm a petite female, but I'm still in the competition. That's because I have proven myself as a shooter and a competitor. I proved it to my team and more importantly to myself.

"Females are looked upon as a weakness in this competition. But I have worked hard to position myself as a FORCE on the team. The only pressure I have at this point is in my mind. I plan to win the $100,000 prize and the title of TOP SHOT!"

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