Top Shot (season 3)
The third season of the History Channel television series Top Shot, commenced airing on August 9, 2011. The season contained twelve episodes, and was filmed over a period of 35 days in Santa Clarita, California. The season was won by Dustin Ellermann.
Gary Quesenberry, Alex Charvat, and Phil Morden returned for Top Shot: All-Stars. Charvat finished in 11th and Quesenberry finished in 3rd, while Morden was the season's winner.
Contestants
| Contestant | Occupation / background | Original Team | Merged Team | Eliminated |
33, Birmingham, AL | Firearms Instructor, Nurse, Realty Broker | Red Team | 16th Place | |
| Sara Ahrens 38, Beloit, WI | Police Training Sergeant, former SWAT team member | Blue Team | 15th Place | |
| Drew Shprintz 27, Philadelphia, PA | Firearms Instructor, Bartender, Outdoorsman | Red Team | 14th Place | |
| Mark Schneider 45, Largo, FL | USPSA Competitor, Customer Service Professional, Air Force veteran, Outdoorsman | Red Team | 13th Place | |
| Jarrett Grimes 42, Tyrone, GA | Department of Homeland Security Agent, USAF Veteran, Former Police Officer/SWAT Team Member, Competition Shooter | Blue Team | 12th Place | |
| Paul Marinaccio 31, Fairfield, NJ | Detective, Firearms Instructor | Blue Team | 11th Place | |
| Billy Rogers 33, Virginia Beach, VA | Restaurant Operator, Competition Shooter | Blue Team | 10th Place | |
| Michael Marelli 28, Long Island, NY | NY State Court Officer, Competition Shotgun Shooter | Red Team | 9th Place | |
| Cliff Walsh 41, Tierra Verde, FL | Airport Driver, Competitive revolver shooter, Revolver World Champion, USPSA National Revolver Champion, Former Sheriff's Deputy | Red Team | 8th Place | |
| Mike Hughes Returned to game | Firearms Training Equipment Company President, Competitive Pistol Shooter | Blue Team | Green Team | Returned |
| Jake Zweig 39, Steilacoom, WA | College Football Coach, Former Navy SEAL | Blue Team | Green Team | 7th Place |
| Phil Morden 25, Milford, MI | Video Producer, Three Gun Competitor, Gunsmith | Red Team | Green Team | 6th Place* |
| Alex Charvat 38, Green Bay, WI | Structural Engineering business owner, former Forester, Outdoorsman | Blue Team | Green Team | 5th Place |
| Chris Collins 25, Collinsville, OK | United States Shooting Academy Firearms Instructor, Sales and Marketing coordinator, Former Marine Fleet Anti-Terrorist Security Team member and infantryman | Red Team | Green Team | 4th Place |
41, Cleveland, OH | Department of Homeland Security Agent, U.S. Army Veteran, Competition Shooter | Red Team | Green Team | 3rd Place |
| Mike Hughes 38, Maple Falls, WA | Firearms Training Equipment Company President, Competitive Pistol Shooter | Blue Team | Green Team | 2nd Place |
| Dustin Ellermann 28, Zavalla, TX | Christian Camp Director, Accountant, Outdoorsman, Lumberjack, Minister | Blue Team | Green Team | Winner |
Contestant progress
Episodes
Episode 1: "The Gauntlet"
No practice sessions were held for the preliminary and team challenges. The trainer for the elimination challenge was Jim "Long Hunter" Finch, cowboy shooting specialist.Repeating rifles were a significant advance over single-shot rifles for use in combat due to their greater rate of fire.
Episode 2: "Down and Dirty"
The trainer for both challenges was Craig Sawyer, Navy SEALs instructor and former sniper.Smith & Wesson's "M&P" stands for "military and police". Its design is based on input from law enforcement and the military.
Episode 3: "Slug It Out"
The trainer for both challenges was Taran Butler, national/world pistol champion.Episode 4: "The Bulldog Gatling"
The trainer for the team challenge was Spencer Hoglund, historical weapons expert and four-time national champion speed shooter. The trainer for the elimination challenge was Garry James, historical weapons expert.The original Gatling gun was invented in 1862 by Richard Gatling, a dentist by profession.
There was a three-way tie between Chris, Michael, and Mark with 2 votes each. It was broken by Gary, who voted for Mark, and Cliff, who voted for Michael.
Episode 5: "Throwdown Showdown"
The trainer for the team challenge was Jack Dagger, primitive weapons expert. The trainer for the elimination challenge was Rick Pohlers, cannon expert.Hotchkiss Mountain Gun was used to devastating effect in the battle of San Juan Hill and Wounded Knee Massacre.
Episode 6: "Turn the Corner"
The trainer for both challenges was Jeff Gonzales, former Navy SEAL and counter-terrorism instructor. Iain Harrison and Chris Reed, the winners of Seasons 1 and 2, served as honorary team captains during practice for the team challenge and offered their own advice. A $5,000 donation was made to a charity selected by the captain of the winning team.Episode 7: "Tricked Out"
| Premiere date | Team challenge weapon | Team challenge | Benched player | Winning team |
| September 20, 2011 | Smith & Wesson Model 686 revolver Volquartsen semiautomatic rifle | "Trick It Up Challenge": One shooter per team competes at each of 4 stations. Exhibition Shot #1: Holding the revolver upside down, fire at 3 beer bottles from 30 feet. Exhibition Shot #2: Fire the rifle at three 1/8 inch cotton swabs from 25 feet. Exhibition Shot #3: Fire the rifle at 3 compact disks from 35 feet, trying to shoot through the center hole without breaking the plastic. Exhibition Shot #4: While blindfolded, use the revolver to fire 3 pairs of shots at 2 gallon jugs from 25 feet. One point awarded to the team whose shooter hits more targets at each of the first three stations, and one point awarded for each pair of shots that hit the targets at the fourth. Higher point total wins. | Chris | Blue Team |
| September 20, 2011 | Elimination challenge weapon | Elimination challenge | Nominated for elimination | Eliminated player |
| September 20, 2011 | Schofield Revolver | "Shoot from the Hip Challenge": One shooter at a time fires at 10 targets from 25 feet, shooting from the hip so that the bullets pass under a hitching rail. Shooters use two revolvers, each loaded with 5 rounds. Higher number of targets hit wins. | Michael, Cliff | Michael |
The trainer for both challenges was Jerry Miculek, holder of four revolver world speed records.
Before the practice sessions for the team challenge, Billy withdrew from the competition due to complications in his wife's pregnancy. Since this decision left the Red Team with one extra member, they were allowed to decide for themselves which player would be benched.
The Schofield Revolver used in this challenge was referred to as the "Pinkerton Model" because the barrel was shortened to 5 inches so Pinkerton detectives could easily conceal it.
Episode 8: "Ramp It Up"
| Premiere date | Team challenge weapon | Team challenge | Benched player | Winning team |
| September 27, 2011 | Modern recurve bow | "Ramp It Up Challenge": Teams fire at separate sets of 6 targets mounted on rotating wheels 50 feet away, trying to bounce arrows off a metal ramp to hit them. One player at a time per team; a player's turn ends after he has either fired 3 arrows or shot a target that has not yet been hit. First team to bounce arrows off the ramp and hit all targets wins. | N/A | Blue Team |
| September 27, 2011 | Elimination challenge weapon | Elimination challenge | Nominated for elimination | Eliminated player |
| September 27, 2011 | Modern recurve bow | "Slider Challenge": From 20 yards, with unlimited arrows, both players fire at 4 two-color targets moving back and forth at different heights. Player with more hits on his assigned color after 3 minutes and 30 seconds wins. | Cliff, Chris | Cliff |
The trainer for both challenges was Chris Palmer, archery expert and world-class archer.
Episode 9: "Stacked"
The teams were dissolved at the start of this episode. All players received green shirts and began to compete directly against each other for the rest of the season. After the individual challenge, all players voted for one of the lowest performers. The top two vote-getters then competed in an elimination challenge as in earlier episodes.The trainer for both challenges was Craig "Sawman" Sawyer, Navy SEALs instructor and former sniper.
There was a second-place tie between Chris and Mike. Each fired one shot at a target; the one who hit closer to the center was safe from elimination.
Episode 10: "Odd Man Out"
The trainer for the individual challenge was Taran Butler, national/world pistol champion. The trainer for the elimination challenge was Michael Voigt, president and CEO of the United States Practical Shooting Association.Jake resigned from the competition after being nominated. As the last individual shooter eliminated before him, Mike returned to compete alongside Phil in the elimination challenge.
Episode 11: "Wheel of Fire"
The trainer for both challenges was Matt Burkett, practical shooting expert and weapons manufacturer.Episode 12: "Season Three Finale"
No practice sessions were held in this episode. Each of the final two shooters had his wife and a friend watch the final challenge.| Premiere date | Elimination challenge weapon | Elimination challenge | Winning player | Eliminated player |
| October 25, 2011 | Glock 34 9×19mm pistol | From 35 feet, two shooters at a time fire at 4 sets of 3 double-sided, moving targets. They have 45 seconds to flip as many as possible to their assigned color. The two first-round winners advance, with the losers competing against each other; the loser of this second round is eliminated. | 1st round: Gary, Mike 2nd round: Dustin | Chris |
| October 25, 2011 | Handguns: Smith & Wesson Model 686 revolver, Infinity Sight Tracker race gun, Heckler & Koch SP89 pistol Rifles: Volquartsen.22 semiautomatic, AK-47, Winchester Model 1873 | Two rounds are played, with each player choosing a weapon, target, stance, and distance in both; all three players try every shot. No weapon or target may be chosen more than once. After all six weapons have been used, the player with the fewest hits is eliminated. Targets available include golf balls, jugs, glasses, tin cans, and bottles. | Dustin, Mike | Gary |
| October 25, 2011 | Final challenge weapon | Final challenge | Eliminated player | Top Shot |
| October 25, 2011 | Remington Model 1875 revolver Rock Benelli M4 Super 90 shotgun loaded with 1-oz slugs Recurve bow LaRue Tactical Optimized Battle Rifle Vltor TS3 rifle Smith & Wesson Model 500 revolver | Run a course with 7 shooting stations, crawling through a 25-foot sand pit under barbed wire to reach the first one. 1. Use two Remingtons to hit 6 targets at 35 feet. 2. From 15 feet, throw rocks at a square grid of 9 glass panes until 3 in a row are broken. 3. Hit 10 jars at 40 yards with the Benelli. 4. Using the bow, bounce an arrow off a metal ramp to hit a target 50 feet away. 5. Climb a pole to an 8-foot-high shooting platform, then shoot targets at 100/200 yards from the prone position with the LaRue. 6.Cross a rope to another platform and use the Vltor to hit targets at 75/100 yards while standing. 7. Climb down, then shoot targets at 30/50/70 feet with the S&W. First to complete the course wins. | Mike | Dustin |
Epilogue: Behind the Bullet
Premiering after the final episode, Top Shot Season Three Behind the Bullet, was a one-hour documentary involving behind-the-scene interviews and footage taken before, during, and after the season three competition. At the end of the episode, the show profiled each of the contestants, post-competition.- Amanda Hardin is training for a fitness competition. She would like to try hunting with her compound bow.
- Sara Ahrens is blogging and writing for Women's Outdoor News. She'll be attending the Shot Show in Las Vegas.
- Drew Shprintz just returned from a hunting safari in Africa. He's been working on tactical defensive shooting.
- Mark Schneider went on a shopping spree with his Bass Pro Shops gift card. He's excited to use his new gear on hunting trips.
- Jarret Grimes has been competing in the IDPA circuit. He recently returned from the Georgia State Championships.
- Paul Marinaccio is back on duty in his community which was ravaged by Hurricane Irene.
- Billy Rogers and his wife welcomed their healthy baby boy, Junior into the world. Billy competes locally in California.
- Michael Marelli has been giving private skeet and trap shooting lessons. He gave his Bass Pro Shops gift card to his grandfather.
- Cliff Walsh competed in October with the U.S. Revolver Team at the World Championships in Greece.
- Jake Zweig and his wife are expecting a baby in November. He currently coaches running backs at Bryant University in Rhode Island.
- Phil Morden started Run-N-Gun Productions, reviewing gear and firearms in web videos and DVD's.
- Alex Charvat has been shooting sporting clays with friends. He plans to enter upcoming USPSA competitions.
- Chris Collins has been working as a self-employed firearms instructor.
- Gary Quesenberry purchased a recurve bow. He is looking forward to deer hunting season with his brothers.
- Mike Hughes competed at the USPSA Production Nationals in September. He plans to start practicing three-gun.
- Dustin Ellermann has been busy with summer camp and retreat season. He plans on using his winnings to buy a new house for his growing family, including new daughter, Arrow.
Nomination Range
- Episode 4: 3-way tie between Michael, Mark, and Chris; Gary and Cliff were chosen to break it by casting one more vote apiece.
- Episode 9: 2-way tie between Mike and Chris; Chris won a shoot-off to avoid the elimination challenge.
- Episode 10: After being nominated for the elimination challenge, Jake nailed his own plaque to the wall and quit the show. At practice the next morning, Donaldson announced that according to the rules, the last eliminated shooter would take his place. Mike therefore returned to the show and competed against Phil, winning the elimination challenge and re-entering the competition.
Ratings