OK gunnies, pop yourself some popcorn, give the dog a bone and tell the kids to get outside. Season 3 of Top Shot starts August 9th! Woo. Hoo. Right? Oh, you too? Yeah, I’m not a big fan either. Like all ‘reality’ shows, it has far too much cringe-worthy interpersonal crap and not nearly enough shooting. And even when they are, um, shooting, they’re not always shooting. If I never see someone throw tomahawks while standing on a moving platform with people flinging spitwads at them in a gale force wind again, it’ll be too soon. Anyway . . .

everydaynodaysoff.com has awarded the Top Douchebag titles for seasons one and two. Adam Benson took down the season one Top D-Bag prize. And it probably won’t shock dedicated TS watchers that George Reinas snagged the season two honors. You can check out the season three contestant bios here.

Even without TTAG’s Fearless Leader participating (RF didn’t make the cut), there’s no reason to believe that Season 3 won’t offer more grist for EDNDO’s mill. But will you be watching?

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36 COMMENTS

  1. Yeah, I’ll be watching, grinding my teeth while they’re playing Big Brother/Real World/Real Housewives/et al. I wish it was more like that new show “One Man Army”: a little trash talk up front, then grind it out with the last man standing as the winner. Damn, that water-filled coffin had me cringing.

  2. I’ll be watching on DVR or Hulu. That way I can fast forward through all the “drama” and just watch ridiculous shooting events.

    I thought about trying out, but you have to spend 6 weeks in a house with a bunch of “potential douchebags” and have no contact with the outside world. For some reason, I just think there are better ways to spend your time.

    • Thank God for Tivo. It’s the only way to make something like this bearable. Plus, you get through an hour long Top Shot in about 15 minutes.

  3. the top Dbag results from season two are skewed, at least George did not not listen to or follow instruction, and then complain about it later, like…. Jay, that guy sucked so bad.
    i am actually looking forward to season three, i hope they heard the nope about their stupid tomahawka nd blowgun sillyness, nobody wants that crap.

    • +1…I thought George (though still a loudmouth) showed himself to be a pretty decent guy in the end.

  4. I’ll be watching. I think on the whole this show has brought firearms to a wider audience in a positive light, and I want to support that. It’s also been a valuable tool to continue to expose my fiance to guns in a manner that she enjoys watching. I avoid watching some of the OFWG gun shows on Outdoor Channel with her even though I enjoy watching them because I think they just play into the OFWG commando stereotypes too much and that turns her off. Top Shot is fun to watch (we fast forward through much of the drama) and they have some great slow-mo camera shots. Over the previous two seasons, she’s shown interest to learn that she hasn’t at any other times. She has asked me things like “what does double action and single action mean?” etc.

    I do wish they did more “run and gun” style speed events like an IDPA stage or similar, rather than have 100% wacky challenges, but hey, I can’t complain too much.

    • agreed, how about increasing shooting stress levels naturally with an activity like, running perhaps? alot more exciting visually then shooting an arrow into a tube.

    • Top Shot gets 2+ million viewers each week. This is just a guess, but I’m guessing that all of the shows on The Outdoor Channel put together don’t get 2+ million unique eyeballs in a week. Top Shot (and (shudder) Sons of Guns) are doing things for the shooting sports that have never been done before. Good, bad or ugly, we’re now a part of the culture again.

      Cool.

      • Amen to what this show is really good for. Which is exposing gun sports and gun ownership to a wide audience; And making the subject more accessible to every day people who might not other wise have been enganged by a firearms enthusiest. We want to protect our 2nd ammendment rights? -Then we need to get more people to have a vested interest in maintaining it.

  5. No thanks. I will be busy that night doing something useful… like counting the pixels on my new netbook or alphabetizing the contents of the kitchen’s junk drawer.

    Actually, I would rather spend my time trying to convince the local Comcast to carry the Sportsman channel.

  7. I would have given the award to George too, until right up at the end when he threw the semifinal event to let Chris have a shot since he realized that he needed the prize money the least of the three of them (or so it seemed to me). Made me wonder if they made him look like a bigger jerk solely through editing.

    Now Jay, on the other hand….couldn’t stand that guy.

  9. I’ll be watching season *two* as soon as it streams on Netflix. I could never sit through all that phony drama “live.”

    As one of my old fraternity brothers complained about blue movies that were insufficiently filthy, Top Shot has “Too much talking! Not enough %$&#%!” Or shooting, as the case may be.

    • FYI it goes up on hulu like the day after it airs on History. that’s how I watched season 1 and 2

  10. I find the show fascinating. While I agree that the interpersonal relationship stuff can get tedious at times, I think some of it provides teachable moments, especially on the art of leadership. As the great scholar Fat Albert once said, “if you’re not careful, you may learn something.” Watching Jay Lim systematically piss of the rest of the group provides a good example. He was trying to coach and exert leadership, but his leadership technique was so bad that he came across as some sort of know-it-all. And don’t even get me started on George.. I’m just glad to see that someone else thought he was a top douchebag.

  11. “Watching Jay Lim systematically piss of the rest of the group provides a good example. He was trying to coach and exert leadership, but his leadership technique was so bad that he came across as some sort of know-it-all”

    sort of?? this guy would refuse to listen to shooting experts then complain about their supposed “lack” of help

    • My recollection of that is less clear, but I’m sure you are correct. I just remember him trying to coach others, but he had very little shooting experience as compared to the people he was trying to “coach.” He failed to prove his credibility before offering the suggestions, and he often lacked tact, as I recall.

  13. I’ll probably watch. I’ve enjoyed the first two seasons so far, despite the douchebaginess of some of the contestants.

  15. Any show putting guns in a positive light that is popular in the “mainstream” deserves all of our support. Until winning the gun control debate in public opinion is no longer an issue, we need all the support that we can get.

    While all this drama is distasteful to us, it appeals to the general public; there is no changing that. So the producers make a show that lots of people watch, and we get our message out there that guns are normal: it’s a win-win!

    Let it go that not every minute of a show does not meet your expectations. Is there any show that fully lives up to your expectations? If not, you’re always welcome to become a producer.

    In all the ways that matter, the show is teaching the public tons of good stuff about firearms. They demonstrate safe gun handling, they always have their eyes and ears on when shooting, plus they show that you can shoot guns for fun without invoking the left’s stereotype of “Bubba.”

    As a result of this show, many people I know who have never shot a gun in their life have asked me to take them out shooting, and some of them are now gun owners. So I ask the inevitable question: “If it could save (or create) one gun owner, wouldn’t it be worth it?

  16. I’m entertained by the imaginative shooting challenges. We probably all think about how we might handle them. Some are way beyond my confidence level! ;->

  18. I’ll watch every episode and be left with the feeling that we viewers got gipped on the lack of AR’s. Other than that I usually enjoy the program.

  19. My problem is that the “Top” shot in both seasons, barely shot.

    Kelly, in the first season, out shot everyone. And at the end, was very gracious in that he did not make excuses, because everyone else had the chance to see the course in action after him. As he said, its part of the game and someone has to go first.

    In both cases, someone ended up going to a lot of challenges and beat a lot of people.

    There must be a way to challenge ALL of them.

  20. Yes, they have silly competitions – but face it, if it was just shooting, the target demographic would be rather small – all the “silliness” and “interpersonal relationship” stuff is to get a larger audience. They already have the gun enthusiasts.

  21. Yes and I wish they would change the name to Top Gun instead of Top Shot, cuz I’m only interested in the gun sections.

  22. Two seasons was more than enough for me. I wanted to like it, and indeed there were positive moments, but the faux drama is just too much of a distraction.

    As others have pointed out, it’s good that firearms use is being presented on TV in a lawful and relatively positive light. Training wheels are similarly useful, and yet I feel no compulsion to bolt them to my own bike in support of the toddler brigade. Time to grow up.

  23. Is the title “Top Gun” on purpose? I had to Bing to see if there was a new shooting show or something.

    I didn’t watch past the first episode of season two, so I doubt I’ll watch season three. Although I’ll be happy to catch reruns if the Homeland Security guy embarrasses himself or Homeland Security in some way.

    …does anyone else hear black helicopters outside my window?

  24. If the host is really talking while the contestants are trying to shoot why hasn’t someone shot HIM by now?

    Too bad he isn’t eligible for the top douchebag award…I’d watch Season 3 for that. Otherwise, forget it.

  25. I will be tuning in to check out the chicks! Nothing beats a hottie that can handle a weapon

  26. I just finished watching both seasons. While I’m a huge firearms enthusiast and gun-addict I can’t watch gun related TV shows, the technical and tactical “facts” are usually mistaken at best. However, I found Top Shot to be pretty entertaining, although the host makes me want to pistol whip him (the intense “pretty boy” scowl is retarded).

    The non-gun stuff is interesting from a passing interest standpoint, although I think it destroys the integrity of the competition. Good shooters can lose because they can’t throw a knife.

    I’d like to see some night shooting. Might be hard to televise night vision and white light shots though.

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