Aim For The Top Shot

Scene from Top Shot

One of the series that I find interesting at History Channel was Top Shot. It is a competitive reality show were the competitors are aiming to be the year's Top Shot. Although the relevance of it in history was when the competitors held old West revolver types. 

The series was very challenging in every episode. It was not like any sharpshooting competition I've ever seen. In one episode, they had to shoot targets while hanging upside down. I was able to experience for the first time a sharp shooting competition when I got invited by History Channel Asia for their own Top Shot event here in the Philippines and also to understand the series with the experience.

Pistol Range

I got to assemble some of the bloggers to form a team with coordination of Ms. Meg Sebastian, one of people that handles History Channel's marketing locally. The event was not as difficult like the series since most are not professional marksmen.

Archery Long Bow Range

There are about ten groups of five. Each member has to finish three categories within the time limit regardless of which category they started with. The categories are Pistol, Slingshot and Long Bow Archery. The event was held at Philippine Marines Shooting Range in Fort Bonifacio.

Our group was composed of Mark Cerbo, Carl Valenzona, Jay-L Aquino and Sire Arevalo. Our first category we engaged in was the Pistol category. It was my first attempt to hold a real gun on a competition. I thought it was heavy since it looks like bigger than the standard firearm pistol I see on local law enforcement and it was only using pellets. I was oriented by an expert sharpshooter how to hold the gun properly and the rules on safety procedures when loading. We are given two cartridges to load 5 pellets in each one and aim using the pistol's foresight and rearsight before firing. After my turn, I was able to see if I got to hit any. It turns out that if the target was a real person and if I was using real bullets, I could have shot the person ten times in the front torso. There were three sections in the torso area from outer to middle: D, C, and A. I had six shots in A.

My target

 The next category we did was Sling Shot. Slingshot is no stranger to any Filipino child. But it was also difficult. We are tasked to knocked down six cans with the slingshot with ten marbles. I was able to knock down most cans  but with one left was too difficult to hit. Now, I got to respect the precision of David's slingshot when he hit Goliath in the head.

Slingshot

The last category was the Long Bow Archery which was the most difficult of all the categories we had. I was able to hit most of the middle area but not the bullseye. I even missed the board once. I was told to keep on compensating on my aim which I did. But it was quite an experience I will never forget. It was like scratching one item from my bucket list and I intend to do it again if given a chance.

After the competition, we continued having a camaraderie dinner for the awarding and the presentation of the upcoming shows on History Channel. One documentary is about a famous White Star Liner, "Titanic: Mystery Solve". An update on the tragedy and the enigma that puzzles the historians 100 years later. Titanic: Mystery Solve premieres on April 15, 2012 which also marks the centennial year of the Titanic's sinking.

Other series to be expected this year is Mankind, a documentary about the history of humankind, and the newest mini-series from the same people that brought you The Kennedys, Titanic: Blood and Steel. Top Shot Season 3 is currently being shown every Tuesday at 8:00 PM. History Channel is open for commercial slots, e-mail sebastian.meg@gmail.com for details.

 Gun Safety Rules:

(PNSA/PNC Rifle Pistol Shooting Range)

1. Always keep the gun pointed in the safe direction

2. Always keep the finger off the trigger until ready to shoot.

3. Always treat the firearm as if it is loaded.

4. Always know your target and what is beyond.

5. Always know how to use the gun safely.

6. Be sure the gun is safe to operate.

7. Always wear wear eye and ear protection as appropriate.

8. Never use alcohol, prescription or other drugs before or while shooting.

9. Always keep the firearm free from obstruction and well maintained.