Marc Folco at southcoasttoday.com reckons The History Channel’s Top Shot program is, in a word, rubbish. The Open Season columnist has declared open season on the program’s skill level, and drafted in his best bud in New Bedford to hand him ammo. “Sunday’s shooting match involved shooting 1903 Springfield rifles in 30-06 caliber,” Folco recalls. As the scribe then points out—as this Military Channel YouTube video documents—the 1903 is a highly accurate long-range rifle. So why can’t these top shots hit squat?
The event was simple with no difficulty. Heck, it was child’s play. There was no 1,000-yard target. Not even a 200-yard target. The shooter had to fire at a 50-yard target, then switch places with the spotter, who had to fire at a 100-yard target. And the shooting was from a rest, no less. After hitting the 100-yard target, they were supposed to switch to several other shooting stations with the same course of fire, after crawling under barbed wire and such . . .
I couldn’t believe that the shooters were missing the 50-yard target. It was big — and with a Springfield from a rest, it’s a gimme. Like shooting fish in a barrel. Even the 100-yard target was big and easy. At any local competition it’s nothing to watch shooters with old fashioned muzzleloading rifles pop 10’s and X’s at 100 yards shooting offhand, with no rest.
So we would think this was a piece of cake, but when the guy on the Red Team was up to shoot the first big 100-yard target, he couldn’t hit it. Even with his spotter helping, he couldn’t hit it. He fired one round after another and never hit the bull. The Blue Team had finished their course and this Red Team guy never even got out of the chute. It appeared that he couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn from the inside.
My son could have hit that target offhand with his .22 when he was 12 years old. And these were supposed to be America’s top shooters?
Just in case you think Folco’s a braggadocio, his pal and national rifle champ Marty Casey concurs.
“Those were easy targets — and they were big,” he said. “And from a rest, with a spotter, none of the competitive high-power rifles shooters I know would have missed once.”
Casey also agreed that the shooters spent more time sitting around, arguing and discussing their emotions and personality conflicts like a group of teenage college girls, than actually shooting. It was all too true. I almost expected a slap-fight with hair-pulling to break out.
“I was expecting to watch some expert marksmanship but the show is too much like those silly reality Survivor shows,” he said.