Top Shot (2010) s03e08 Episode Script
Ramp It Up
Previously on "Top Shot".
The Blue Team votes Jack and Paul into elimination challenge.
Everyone who came in just want it to demonstrate good sportsmanship.
You voted me into elimination.
Off.
They clearly wanted me to go to this elimination, and now they're gonna reap what they sow.
Jake goes 3 for 3! Jake survives "Jake's not a gun nut.
" But I can outshoot you.
And decides he has no more use for the Blue Team.
I ain't gonna be nobody's whipping boy.
It's nothing against you personally.
I'm moving outside.
I'm thinking I voted for the right guy.
The Red Team loses the trick-shot challenge He laid it on me.
I was outshot.
And after eight challenges, the teams are tied at four apiece.
There are shots that changed history Feats of legendary skill and extreme precision.
Now 16 of today's best marksmen have been chosen.
They come from all over the country and from all walks of life.
Amateurs and professionals, military, recreation, and exhibition shooters.
Each shows the timeless skills of a true marksman Not just with one weapon, with any weapon.
They will compete in a gauntlet of challenges until only one remains, earning $100,000 prize, and the title of "Top Shot.
" - Hey.
- Hey, guys.
There's a Cliff! - I won the challenge.
- I'm back in the house.
I'm back with my team.
Everything's gonna be fine.
But we all decided that, you know, Mike was the weakest shooter, so we all shot his target, and he got his choice.
- All right.
- There he is.
Red Mike.
For me, the next thing I want to accomplish is making the green team, and then I think I'll be much better off.
I'll sink or swim on my own ability and not have to worry about other people on the team doing their job.
It's a shame he's gone, man.
It made it easy for us to win and We can't count on him up on the line and going 0-for no more and you know? No, you can't.
I'm gonna miss Mike a lot, you know? It was awesome having such a poor shooter on the Red Team to give us victories and needed wins.
Mike had the audacity to put my name on a target on the wall of the house prior to me going to elimination range.
So it's kind of awesome that I get to stand here in front of something that he made to me, and he's at home, and I'm still in the competition.
Good morning, guys.
Morning.
Morning.
Morning.
Well, we started with 16 marksmen, and with Billy dropping out and Michael's elimination, we have cut the field in half, and we're all tied up again.
One of you eight is gonna go home with the $100,000 prize and the title of history's "Top Shot.
" So far, you guys have run a gauntlet of challenges, using some pretty amazing weapons.
But there is a class of weapons we have yet to introduce on this season of "Top Shot" Archery.
How many archers we have in the group? Mm, mm.
All right.
For the next team challenge, and this weapon is all about instinct.
This is our way of seeing who here has the natural ability to adapt.
The recurve bow is one of the oldest archery weapons documented, as far back as the 2nd millennium B.
C.
It gets its name from the outward curves at the very ends of the bow.
This ancient innovation gives the recurve the capacity to store more energy than straight-limbed bows.
Will focus on a very unusual skill Skipping arrows off a metal ramp.
I'm really excited about using a recurve bow.
In my preparations for "Top Shot," my brothers had me practicing with a recurve bow.
So adapting to that, I think, made me just about ready for anything "Top Shot" could throw at me.
For the practice and challenge, you'll be using a modern recurve bow.
We've invited world-class archer Chris Palmer to help prepare you for the next challenge.
Not many people use the recurve bow anymore, so even if you have some archery experience, there are some specific skills you need to learn for this weapon.
Let's get to it.
Red Team, you guys are up first.
Blue Team, you can head back to the house.
You'll practice later.
Good luck.
Have fun.
See you all at the challenge.
How's it going? Gary.
Hi.
How you doing? Hi, Gary.
The fact that we're shooting a traditional recurve bow with no sights, nothing fancy It's all instinctive, and to me, that is a true test of marksmanship.
It's very enlightening for me, you know, just to see how everybody does with the recurve bow.
This is gonna be all off instinct.
Definitely do not try to aim.
All I can say is, look at your target Is if you try, right now.
All right.
Okay? Go ahead, Chris.
All right.
I shot youth competition, but always with a compound bow Never with a recurve.
This is definitely a new venue Very limited experience with a recurve bow.
You're to-the-right or left guy? I'm a right-handed guy.
The primary difference is, with a compound bow, you have a sighting system, and when you pull it all the way to the rear, there's a huge let-off.
So, you can hold it there forever.
With a recurve, that's not the case.
Don't hold it.
The longer you hold it, you're gonna start shaking.
Now.
- Good shot.
There you go.
- Good shot, Chris.
You just whip the arrow where you feel, instinctively, it's going to go, and that's how you have to get good at it.
Nice.
- There you go.
- Nice, Phil.
That was right in the middle of the ramp.
Good shot.
It adds a layer of difficulty.
But you just got to look at where your point of impact is on the ramp and then look up at the slot you're shooting at to see where your arrows are impacting, and then you adjust on the ramp accordingly.
In between the fingers All right.
Put the arrow on the bottom of the hand right there.
Whoop.
And don't do that.
Don't do that.
All right.
I have never shot any kind of a bow ever in my life, other than, you know, being 5 years old and shot the one with the suction cups on the end.
So I'm definitely gonna be at a disadvantage for this practice and the challenge.
Oh.
Oh.
That's all right.
That's all right.
Ohh.
It hit and then bounced.
Is he's drawing it back literally in front of his face.
You're pulling straight to your mouth.
You need to be pulling straight to the side of your face.
Oh, I thought we were supposed to come to You're supposed to come to the side corner of your mouth.
Boom.
There you go.
Good shot.
I think, going into this, Chris, Phil, and myself Cliff was the one that was having the biggest problem, and at the end of the day, he's doing pretty well.
- There you go.
- That's it right there.
You are dialing in.
I think that we will do well during the challenge.
I think I'm a good archer.
I've been shooting archery since, literally, I could hold a bow probably 4 or 5 It's gonna be tough.
Nice.
That's low.
I don't have any experience with the recurve bow.
I usually utilize technology and just go with a compound bow.
And so a recurve's new to me Geez.
Right away, Mike has come up and has got this little book, and he's got a lot of questions for me.
Is our objective to hit that white? Your objective is to hit where you can, and if you can, yes, hit it.
So, I want to hit the white.
I already can tell that he's gonna be thinking about this way too hard.
That hit that low, and it was still low.
So you're gonna have to adjust.
And you guys can back up, too, you know, and move around.
There's just nothing that you can write down on a piece of paper that's going to help you.
All it takes is practice.
Way to go, Alex.
I just hope the ground will be different.
Pal, you're working yourself up.
I know this is important to you.
Trying to think of all this other stuff.
Man.
It is funny trying to watch Alex and Mike do all their math and calculations.
So, if we get lower, are we gonna get more height off that? Not necessarily.
It depends on how low you are shooting to that spot.
It's kind of boggling their engineering minds, and I'm just kind of playing around with it and having fun.
- Did he bounce that? - No.
You can stand there and talk 15 minutes I can shoot a couple straight into the board.
Is that all right with you? No, it's not.
All right, "well, I'm still gonna do it, so" At one point, Jake and Mike started fighting.
Dude, listen.
They were acting like a bunch of kids.
It's like, "what are you guys doing?" I know that I'm the best recurve bow shooter I've been shooting bow and arrow since I was 4 years old.
I was so small when I first started off, I had to stand on a milk crate to be able to shoot the bow and arrow.
I'm not an olympic bow guy, but you don't want to be standing in front of me if I'm shooting at you with a recurve b.
Man.
I'd probably say this is probably one of the least productive practices we've had.
I don't think we got a feel for, like, how to really adjust that ramp.
So we'll just have to see tomorrow.
Nice.
Nice shot.
So, at this point, the Blue Team thinks I'm a complete buffoon, so they don't want to give me credit at all for being able to do anything well, no matter how well I can do it, which is fine.
I mean, I want them to underestimate me so that falls right into my plan.
Who in this house right now are you afraid to go head-to-head against? Mike with a pistol.
So he'd be your first vote To get him out? Yeah, put him in there.
I want the best person to go home, not the worst.
To put it honestly, I don't know if "Top Shot" has seen a competitor like me.
And the first two seasons, I think, have been gentlemen's shows, and then they put a commando like me on this and brought a whole different edge to the competition.
I'm gonna find a way to win at all costs, no matter what the odds are.
And I really don't care how I get it done.
If I'm understanding you right, you want to knock off all the stronger players, so in the end, you can go up against the weakest one.
Why would you not want to do that in life? That's a bully mentality, man.
You just want to go up against the weaker ones? Let me ask you this Would you rather drop a 5,000-pound bomb on 50 guys' heads or run in there with a sword and give them a chance? This ain't war.
This is a sporting event.
No.
This is a sporting event.
It's winning or losing That's what it comes down to.
It comes down to winning or losing.
You know, the first thing we learned in S.
E.
A.
L.
training was the best S.
E.
A.
L.
ops were the ones and they never knew you were there.
You can say, "well, there's no honor in fighting that way," but at the end of the day, I don't really care.
I'm trying to get my men back to safety, and if I got to blow up people to do that, well, so be it.
I tell you I would like to test my pistol skills against Mike because, if I did win this, I want to know that I walked out beating the best people I could beat.
If you got an opportunity to put the best dudes out, Go compete against sisters of the poor There's absolutely nothing that Jake does in this house that makes sense to me whatsoever.
He's kind of the anti-team member.
I think he'd get along a whole lot better in the house.
He'd be a whole lot better competitor.
This is a sportsmen's challenge, and he is the most unsportsmanlike person I've ever been associated with.
At the end of the day, I don't want my family to watch this Oh.
Yeah, that's no problem with that.
I can understand that.
I don't have that problem.
My family knows who I am, and they ain't never gonna say I'm scared.
The guys in the house are telling me that I'm not playing the game correctly, and I'm not listening to them.
You know, I don't ever listen to anybody.
I'm trying to win "Top Shot," and if I can go against the worst person in the finals, then I did my job.
Walking into the challenge range today, it looks very intimidating.
Not only do we have to skip these arrows off of a ramp to hit a target, but now we find out it's gonna be a moving target.
So the level of difficulty in this thing is just It's beyond me.
I really don't understand how this is gonna work out.
Coming up on "Top Shot" Go! There's nothing conventional about this.
You can't have practice for this.
And it looks like it's gonna be almost impossible.
Welcome fellows, to the team challenge.
Each of you has had the opportunity to hone your skills with the recurve bow.
Let's hope you learned what you needed to.
This will be a side-by-side challenge, guys.
set up two matching wheels.
There are six 12-inch targets on each wheel.
You'll also notice the ramp leading up to each wheel.
On my go, an archer from each team will run up to the firing line and pick up a recurve bow.
You'll fire arrows at the ramp Each archer will get up to three arrows per turn.
Your turn is over when you either hit a target or shoot all three arrows, whichever comes first.
After taking your turn, put the bow down.
Run to the back of your team's line.
Then the next shooter will head up, take his shots.
Archers will cycle through the line as many times as it takes.
An arrow shot directly into a target you got to bounce it off the ramp.
Members of the winning team will be safe from elimination.
Members of the losing team, however, must go to the nomination range I'm immediately struck by how absolutely insane this challenge looks.
I mean, in all honestly, it looks like it's gonna be almost impossible.
There's nothing conventional about this.
You can't have practice for this.
I mean, it looks incredibly hard.
Guys, take your starting positions.
Let's do this.
Here we go.
Dustin's first up for the Blue Team.
Gary grabbing the recurve bow for the Red Team.
Dustin's g one downrange.
Oh! Gary sticks it in the wall right in front of his target.
Dustin's got one more shot.
I shoot my three arrows, this whole ramp thing is really messing with my head.
Jake up next for the Blue Team.
Gary misses on all three of his arrows.
Come on.
Come on.
Go.
That's tough.
Jake fires his first.
Phil up next for the Red Team.
Come on, Phil.
Oh, good shot, Jake.
Good shot, Jake.
- There you go! - Phil hits a target.
Red first on the board.
I knew exactly where the arrows were flying.
I just mistimed the rotation of the wheels.
Jake gets a point for the Blue Team.
We're all tied up.
I sent the third arrow, and it stuck in the board.
And I knew that this challenge was gonna be difficult, but not undoable.
Chris up next for the Red Team, going up against Alex.
- Come on, Chris! - Let's go, now! There you go! Chris sticks his first arrow! - Chris hits the target - Great.
But he has a little bit of a mental lapse.
Chris, off the line! Oh! Chris, off the line! Aw He benched the bow at that point and got to the end of the line.
It took a little time.
- We're neck and neck! - Come on, Cliff.
Come on, Cliff.
- You got it, buddy.
Oh Cliff and Mike miss on their first attempts.
- Nice! - Oh Keep going.
Keep going.
But it's a target that they've already hit.
That won't count.
Oh! That one goes right in between the - There you go.
- Get back! Get back! Get back! Cliff goes right in between the targets for the Red Team.
- Oh! - What was that? That one skips off the target.
Come on, Gary.
- Yes! Off the line! - Off the line! Off the line! Red Team leads, 3 to 2.
Dustin has one more arrow.
Phil's already back up.
Ohh, that one goes low.
All right, I'm close, man.
Phil goes just over.
- Oh! - Good job.
Jake sticks another one.
Jake is 2 for 2.
Alex back on the course, going toe-to-toe with Chris.
It's all right.
We're all tied up, Ohh! And missed it.
- There you go.
- Here it comes.
Let's go! Let's go, baby! Chris sticks one.
Red Team takes the lead.
- Nice! - There you go.
Alex ties it up.
We are neck and neck! Cliff taking on big Mike.
- Come on, Cliff! - Mike goes just low.
I'm hoping that Cliff can get up there and just let his instincts take over, and maybe he'll make it happen.
Aw So now we're back to the beginning of the lineup, and we're gonna start this thing over from tied.
Dustin's back on the course for the Blue Team.
Oh, that was close.
Yeah! Gary sticks it for the Red Team.
- Red Team has one target left! - It's all you, Phil.
- Ohh! - Come on around.
Oh, that one goes just South.
- Oh! - That's all right.
Get another one loaded up.
It's Jake back up.
Jake carrying the weight for the Blue Team.
Nice! Jake went 3 for 3.
It was a real good run.
- Oh! Come on.
Come on.
- Let's go! Let's go! - Chris, you got it.
- There you go.
Let's go.
- Alex is back up.
- Both teams have one target left.
Alex waiting on it.
He misses.
It's anybody's game at this point.
- Come on, Chris! - One target left.
Oh, come on, one more.
Get it up.
Whose target is gonna come up first? Alex takes a shot.
Goes just left.
Wait for it to come around.
Alex misses with his three.
- That's it, man.
- Ohh! Mike's back up for the Blue Team.
Oh! Come on.
Get back! Get back! Get back! Chris just missed.
Go, go, go, go, go! Come on, you It's all you, Cliff! At this point of the competition, each team has one target left, and we have both of the worst archers from each team up.
- Have to pull it, Mike! - Have to pull! Come on, Cliff! Get him out of there! Send it! Yeah! That's it Blue Team wins! Yes! I hear this stick, like the sinking sound of victory.
So, yeah, it felt good.
I mean, it It gave me a pretty strong rush.
Blue Team, congratulations.
You guys win the challenge.
You are safe.
Red Team, you got a couple hours to decide which two of you will face off in the elimination challenge.
I'll see you later at the nomination range.
All of you can head back to the house.
Granted, I shot nine arrows.
You know, I'm not Robin hood or anything like that.
I got lucky, but, you know, you just take the wins when you can.
This is "Top Shot.
" I mean, anything can happen.
After the challenge is over, I know I'm going.
I mean, I wouldn't have it any other way.
I didn't perform.
I have to go.
The hard part is, who else is gonna go? That's gonna be really tough.
Coming up on "Top Shot" Knowing that one of us is gonna go home, it's kind of a big blow.
If I look at you who the are you yelling at?! - Don't yell at me.
- The is wrong with you? What you gonna do? I'm not The are you gonna do, Mike? Jake performed very well today, and I'm excited at this point.
I mean, it's a real victory.
It's a real success.
We pulled the "w," and that's what counts.
Nice job, guys.
Yeah, with the bow and arrow, I dominated.
You don't think I can do anything.
That's all right, though.
Hug.
It was close, man.
It was so close.
And the fact that Jake went That's frustrating.
It is the most frustrating thing that I've ever dealt with in my life.
Looking around the room, I know that I've picked the other three individuals out as the strongest shooters.
So knowing that one of us is gonna go home is kind of a big blow to all of us.
We know that it's gonna be It's gonna be tough.
It's on me, man.
I couldn't hit one.
I didn't didn't deliver anything.
The hard thing is gonna be, who else, you know? Right.
I'm sorry I had to drag us down.
You know, Gary has performed the best out of this team for the entire competition.
So it came down to Chris and Phil.
- Well, I hit one.
- Chris had a brain fart.
Then that's the different You know, you count hits on target he beat me.
Yeah, but I'm willing to go, if no one else is, either way.
So am I Either way, you know? Well, I meanI don't know.
That hopes the strong guys go away so that I don't have to face them.
I'd rather go out, you know, guns blazing against the absolute best, and that's the way I hope this works out.
I still have hard feelings, 'cause all three of you voted for me, and put Billy into elimination when he volunteered to go.
Okay.
Well, let's really just put this behind us, though.
I mean, really, it's two things back, and we're still a team, and we got to perform as a team.
Right after we win, Jake's all mad.
Can't cope with having been sent to elimination.
By his reasoning, he shouldn't go.
It's not personal at all, you know? And if I make mental mistakes but it is, it is.
All I'm pissed about, Mike, is that Billy volunteered to go and didn't end up in place.
He vents that, like, he was mad.
He didn't think he should have gone.
So, obviously, there's issues that are unresolved.
It's nothing personal.
Whatever, dude.
It is personal, 'cause you sent You didn't send a that had a worse performance and volunteered to go.
How is that anything but personal, Mike? Because I think Billy's overall fundamentals just looked better.
Get the out of here.
What had he done? If we make an assessment of each other, we can't get this personal about it.
We got to, like, listen and respect each other Well, here's my thing You ain't gonna keep sending me to elimination and not have recourse for it.
That's what I'm saying.
But there's a point where you just need to catch on and say, "there's no use.
" Were your feelings hurt? No, the volunteered to go, Mike! All I'm saying is y'all.
That's all I'm saying, Mike.
I think Jake solves problems like a grade-schooler.
And I think all of us would want to be the guy because of his unsportsmanlike conduct.
That is the attitude which causes us to be like, "well, for sure, he's gonna go to elimination.
" Well you send me to elimination with no just cause.
I think it was just cause.
I'm trying to just listen and then communicate, so everything really death-spiraled from there.
You're talking around in circles.
None of it makes any sense.
- First, you say, "it's performance-driven.
- You We sent you there based on performance.
" Jake, you came into this show knowing there's elimination challenges and knowing it's not a perfect science and knowing that you may have to get sent And knowing now and the fact that you are all wired up about this is not showing maturity.
If I look at you Not showing turity? If I look at you who the are you yelling at?! - Don't yell at me.
- The is wrong with you? What you gonna do? I'm not The you gonna do? Go ahead and do it.
Jake, I'm not Go ahead and do it, Mike! Keep shaking! Go ahead! - I'm in full control here! - Jake.
- The you gonna do?! - Nothing.
Take your best shot! I'm not gonna do anything.
Take your best shot! I'm not gonna do anything.
Go ahead! Guys.
Keep running your mouth about performance.
I'm not running my mouth.
You're running your mouth, Mike! - I'm not gonna - We're not gonna fight.
Go ahead, man.
Go ahead.
You're just running your mouth - Listen, Jake.
- No, there is no "listen.
" Ridiculous.
I think Jake's a coward, and I think the only way he's gonna get eliminate Mike is by a technicality, if he gets Mike to throw a punch at him or something.
I think I think that was going through his head.
And he almost got there.
And the bottom line is, if I can get rid of people without going to elimination round All I got to do is get them to punch me it's an easy day.
- It got bad.
- I lost my temper.
I cooled down, thinking, like, "why am I lowering myself to this level?" Jake's disrespecting this competition.
He's disrespecting the competitors.
Or his ability to take any kind of criticism.
So we'll just we'll just continue the best we can and compete the best we can.
Everything I do is extremely calculated.
You know, you can look at all the past leaders of the world, no, they just saw more than the average human being was able to see.
You look at Attila the hun You know, he's still famous, thousands of years later, because he was so cruel.
He also conquered half the known world at the time.
So you can say whatever you want to say about my tactics Yes, they're unconventional.
But that's why I am who I am.
That's why I win the way I win.
That's why I always achieve what I set out to achieve.
'Cause I don't do what everybody else does I don't play the normal party line.
Walking into the nomination range today just looking up there at that rack and seeing four targets there It kind of really sinks in as to how far you've gone in this competition.
Red Team, welcome back to the nomination range.
All right, let's get to it, gentlemen.
Unfortunately, you know, Cliff hasn't exactly proven himself to be the strongest archer in the group, so my bullet goes into Cliff's target.
It came down to Chris and Phil, Cliff and Chris, you each have one vote.
Chris, your turn.
Based on performance shooting the recurve bow I know that I can't vote for myself So it's obviously got to go to Cliff.
All right, Phil.
Chris volunteered himself, and I give him a lot of credit to do that.
Good luck to the both of you.
Thanks, Phil.
It's not, you know, one of my proudest moments to have to shoot Chris' target, knowing how good of a shooter he is and feeling that I didn't perform up to my expectations today.
Cliff and Chris, you two will face off in the elimination challenge tomorrow.
If you lose the elimination challenge, you are out of the competition.
It's part of the game.
It's what we signed up for.
I came here to shoot, I want to shoot, and finally, I feel like I'm getting my chance it would be an honor to send Cliff home, and it would be an honor to be sent home by Cliff.
Either way, I'm happy with it.
All right, thanks, Colby.
Be a good battle.
Absolutely, man.
Absolutely.
Coming up on "Top Shot" "Holy crap.
Now I got to shoot something that's moving.
" Either one of us could walk away with the win.
Cliff and Chris, welcome to practice for the elimination challenge.
Once againYou'll be using the recurve bow.
In the team challenge, you learned to ricochet your arrows into a target.
Direct hits were not permitted.
But in the elimination challenge, direct hits are exactly what you'll be working on.
Chris Palmer is back to help teach you this new skill.
You'll practice separately.
Cliff, you're up first.
And you throw a football pretty good? Sure.
Okay.
Well, it's basically the same thing That's why it's all instinct.
You know, you don't have sights when you're throwing a football, right? Right.
Our contestants today are gonna have to learn how to shoot an arrow instinctively into a moving target that's going from side to side.
Your weapon, sir.
- Okay.
- Thank you.
I think, "holy crap.
"I could barely shoot the arrows off the ramp "that was standing still.
Now I got to shoot something that's moving?" This is not gonna be good.
I whacked the crap out of my arm.
Did you hear that sound? Yeah.
No, I heard it.
I'm gonna have Cliff just start out shooting a stationary target, 'cause he's never done this before.
I can't get my arm right.
Now.
Boom! Right out of the gate, he hit the bull's-eye, so I was quite impressed.
Thought this was hard, man.
If I just could have done that yesterday, I wouldn't be standing here.
All right, you want to Want to try to move it? So, how far should I lead with that speed? Oh, you definitely want to - Just if you're going for the yellow - Right.
As far as the moving target, you just have to aim at the edge of the target Not ahead of it, but just a little bit ahead of the bull's-eye.
Oh, just ahead.
I hit my arm again.
Ohh.
Tried to go too quick.
Take your time.
Yeah.
I'd rather you slow down a little bit and get it right.
You know, I'm bumping it forward with my finger.
There you go.
I'm getting the hang of it.
You're getting it.
You know, it's just a matter for me of maintaining the fundamentals and just doing everything right each time, which means I have to slow down.
If I get in a rush, I'm gonna make mistakes.
Focus.
That one actually felt really good.
What surprises me about Cliff during this is that he's actually quite calm.
Like any competition, if you're calm and collected and you know what you're doing and you stick with it, you'll succeed.
Hit the crap out of my arm with that one.
Hey, you hit your arm, but you hit the target.
Good enough.
Hi, Chris.
How you doing? Doing well.
Doing well.
We'll find out soon.
Held it too long.
Time and release.
Time and release.
I noticed, when you were pulling back, you're shaking like that This arm is.
Uh-huh.
So, that could be why you're throwing them off, too As you're letting go, you're moving the bow from shaking.
So it sounds like I need to time the release better.
But due to the fact that his hands are shaking, he's missing that target.
As you pull back, try to release as you're getting to the point.
Okay.
Okay? See how that works for you.
That's the way I shoot it.
Yeah.
All right.
What I found to be the most important is the point of release When I hit my stopping point, releasing right then, not pausing, even for a split second.
Go.
Good one.
It's kind of like throwing a football.
You don't pause right before the release you just whip it.
Don't get your hands shaking during the heat of competition, and I think you'll do just fine.
Okay.
I'm not the greatest archer in the world, but I know that Cliff isn't, either, and I feel fairly confident.
I think speed is gonna be critical in this, whatever it is.
I think there's gonna be a lot of arrows sent flying.
And we'll we'll see how it goes.
Shooting is a sport.
It's like golf, where it's all about doing the same thing exactly the same over and over again, repetitively, to be consistent.
And you never stop learning.
There's always something else that you can do better.
In this competition, you have to learn quick.
So this will be a good test of how much I learned over the last three days.
After my time in the marine corps, I became a firearms instructor.
I live in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
And I'm married.
I have a 4-year-old named liberty I feel very strong about the second amendment.
That I got it tattooed on my forearm.
I feel like it's one of the things and then I got, you know, a little revolver tattooed here on my arm just to remind me of, I guess, the way of the gun.
Being only 25 years old, very limited experience in the shooting world I'm used to that.
So I look forward to the chance to prove myself yet again and beat Cliff.
Walking into today's elimination challenge, I see big metal towers and cables back and forth, our targets are gonna be going back and forth along those cables.
Red Team, welcome to the "Top Shot" elimination challenge.
Cliff and Chris, in respect to this competition, this is do-or-die time for you guys.
For this challenge, you will once again be using the recurve bow.
This will be a timed, side-by-side challenge that will show us exactly how skilled you've become with the bow.
are two towers.
Connecting them are four wires with targets hanging at different heights.
On my "go," the four 18-inch targets are gonna begin to move back and forth between the towers at different speeds.
One half of each target is orange.
You'll each be assigned a color.
Whoever gets the most hits on his target in 31/2 minutes wins.
The loser is eliminated.
But realize this if you hit your opponent's color, you're gonna give him a free point.
All right, Cliff, you're gonna be orange.
Chris, you are yellow.
Chris has, you know, shot one most of his life, so he definitely has the advantage.
But, I mean, I don't feel like I'm out of it, but I definitely feel like I'm the underdog.
Cliff's obviously got a very good record in elimination challenges.
This will be his third time.
He's came back both previous times, but I do feel confident in my abilities, and I think that there's a reasonable chance that either one of us could walk away with the win.
Coming up on "Top Shot" That's a point for Chris! Cliff nails it! I put an arrow on his target.
So I'm certainly not helping myself here.
Now we're tied up! Cliff and Chris, this is a timed, side-by-side challenge.
Using a recurve bow, you'll have 31/2 minutes to fire your arrows at four moving targets as they're passing from you Cliff, you'll be shooting at the orange half of the targets.
Chris, you're gonna take out the yellow.
The marksman who sticks the most targets wins and avoids elimination.
Loser says "adiós" to any chance of winning "Top Shot" and the 100 grand that goes with it.
The winner also gonna receive a $2,000 gift card all right, guys, this is live.
Archers, readySetGo! Targets already out on the range.
Oh! That's a point for Chris.
Oh! Chris misses to the left.
Cliff misses to the right.
Cliff still waiting to get on the board.
There's a lot of time and plenty of arrows, but only the ones that hit count, so I'm gonna take it slow and steady.
There you go! Cliff's on the board! We're tied up, 1 point apiece! It is crazy.
Cliff gets another point! Now Chris scores! We're tied up again, 2 to 2! Chris sticks one on his target.
Chris leads, 3 to 2.
Oh! Chris hits one of Cliff's targets.
Now we're tied up.
Thanks, buddy.
Chris leads, 4 to 3.
Cliff nails it! Chris hits another target.
We're now 5-4.
Chris leads.
Aah.
Clock is ticking.
Both men very accurate.
Chris scores again.
Chris leads, 6-4.
Cliff got to make up some ground here.
Chris sticks another one.
Cliff goes wide right.
Still plenty of time for Cliff to catch up.
Ohh! Oh! Chris' nicks the top of the target.
It does not stick.
Cliff sticks another one! I gave yours it back, dude.
Oh! Cliff sticks one in Chris' target.
Gonna be a point for Chris.
Chris sticks another one.
Cliff goes just high.
Chris sends another one down.
That will count as a point.
Chris loaded up again.
Chris scores another point.
It's yellow.
Cliff sticks one in the yellow.
That's gonna give Chris a point.
Right after that, Chris sticks another one in his target.
Chris sticks another one.
Cliff gets a point on the board! Cliff scores another point! Ah! Oh! So, Cliff starts to catch up, and I put an arrow in his target.
So I'm certainly not helping myself here.
Now Chris hits one in the orange.
Cliff sticks another one! Cliff making up tons of ground here at the end of the challenge! Oh! Chris hits one! Time! Cease fire! Good shooting, guys.
Very good.
Nice work! Yeah, man.
Good job.
- I know it's over.
- I can't do anything else.
I really don't know whether I've won or not, but, you know, I'm good with it either way.
Cliff, you stuck 10 arrows Nice work.
Thank you.
Chris, you stuck 15 arrows.
Congratulations.
You win.
You are still in the running for the $100,000 prize and the title of "Top Shot.
" Nice shooting, buddy.
Thank you.
Appreciate it.
Been a pleasure, man.
Thank you.
Same here.
Chris, come on down.
Grab your gift card.
You can rejoin your team.
It was a good feeling to win, good feeling to know that I'm going back to the house and I'm still in the running.
Thanks.
Appreciate it.
Yep, yep.
You know, I also feel bad to be sending a real good shooter home, but that's the nature of the beast.
Good shooting, man.
Thank you.
And I came out victorious.
I'm happy about that.
Cliff, unfortunately, you have fired your last shot.
You have been eliminated from "Top Shot.
" Come on down here to say goodbye to these guys on your way out.
You know, to win "Top Shot," you have to be great at everything.
And, of course, the bow got me.
I mean, my arm is destroyed.
I'm I'm quitting bow competition.
I'm retiring officially right here.
All right, guys, good luck.
Hey, man, good shooting with you.
Appreciate it.
Chris.
It's been an honor.
Chris, honor, too, man.
Phil.
Been a pleasure.
Good luck, guys.
Make sure one of you guys takes this home.
We will.
All right, man.
I had a great time on "Top Shot.
" I met a lot of great people.
I did a lot of neat stuff I would never have got a chance to do.
It was, you know, the most fun you can have with a gun Or a bow.
Well, gentlemen, there are seven of you guys, all one step closer to taking that grand prize, the $100,000 and the title of history's "Top Shot.
" You can head back to the house.
I'll see you tomorrow morning at practice.
All right.
Good job, Chris.
Thank you.
Appreciate it, Colby.
On the next episode of "Top Shot" It's time for the green jerseys.
Yeah! All right! The individual stage of the competition begins.
Me making the green team is a lot like getting promoted at work.
McMillan TAC-50.
The largest-caliber rifle yet puts the shooters to the test.
This thing kicks like a three-legged ninja.
And a new level of excellence will decide who stays in the game.
That's a hit!
The Blue Team votes Jack and Paul into elimination challenge.
Everyone who came in just want it to demonstrate good sportsmanship.
You voted me into elimination.
Off.
They clearly wanted me to go to this elimination, and now they're gonna reap what they sow.
Jake goes 3 for 3! Jake survives "Jake's not a gun nut.
" But I can outshoot you.
And decides he has no more use for the Blue Team.
I ain't gonna be nobody's whipping boy.
It's nothing against you personally.
I'm moving outside.
I'm thinking I voted for the right guy.
The Red Team loses the trick-shot challenge He laid it on me.
I was outshot.
And after eight challenges, the teams are tied at four apiece.
There are shots that changed history Feats of legendary skill and extreme precision.
Now 16 of today's best marksmen have been chosen.
They come from all over the country and from all walks of life.
Amateurs and professionals, military, recreation, and exhibition shooters.
Each shows the timeless skills of a true marksman Not just with one weapon, with any weapon.
They will compete in a gauntlet of challenges until only one remains, earning $100,000 prize, and the title of "Top Shot.
" - Hey.
- Hey, guys.
There's a Cliff! - I won the challenge.
- I'm back in the house.
I'm back with my team.
Everything's gonna be fine.
But we all decided that, you know, Mike was the weakest shooter, so we all shot his target, and he got his choice.
- All right.
- There he is.
Red Mike.
For me, the next thing I want to accomplish is making the green team, and then I think I'll be much better off.
I'll sink or swim on my own ability and not have to worry about other people on the team doing their job.
It's a shame he's gone, man.
It made it easy for us to win and We can't count on him up on the line and going 0-for no more and you know? No, you can't.
I'm gonna miss Mike a lot, you know? It was awesome having such a poor shooter on the Red Team to give us victories and needed wins.
Mike had the audacity to put my name on a target on the wall of the house prior to me going to elimination range.
So it's kind of awesome that I get to stand here in front of something that he made to me, and he's at home, and I'm still in the competition.
Good morning, guys.
Morning.
Morning.
Morning.
Well, we started with 16 marksmen, and with Billy dropping out and Michael's elimination, we have cut the field in half, and we're all tied up again.
One of you eight is gonna go home with the $100,000 prize and the title of history's "Top Shot.
" So far, you guys have run a gauntlet of challenges, using some pretty amazing weapons.
But there is a class of weapons we have yet to introduce on this season of "Top Shot" Archery.
How many archers we have in the group? Mm, mm.
All right.
For the next team challenge, and this weapon is all about instinct.
This is our way of seeing who here has the natural ability to adapt.
The recurve bow is one of the oldest archery weapons documented, as far back as the 2nd millennium B.
C.
It gets its name from the outward curves at the very ends of the bow.
This ancient innovation gives the recurve the capacity to store more energy than straight-limbed bows.
Will focus on a very unusual skill Skipping arrows off a metal ramp.
I'm really excited about using a recurve bow.
In my preparations for "Top Shot," my brothers had me practicing with a recurve bow.
So adapting to that, I think, made me just about ready for anything "Top Shot" could throw at me.
For the practice and challenge, you'll be using a modern recurve bow.
We've invited world-class archer Chris Palmer to help prepare you for the next challenge.
Not many people use the recurve bow anymore, so even if you have some archery experience, there are some specific skills you need to learn for this weapon.
Let's get to it.
Red Team, you guys are up first.
Blue Team, you can head back to the house.
You'll practice later.
Good luck.
Have fun.
See you all at the challenge.
How's it going? Gary.
Hi.
How you doing? Hi, Gary.
The fact that we're shooting a traditional recurve bow with no sights, nothing fancy It's all instinctive, and to me, that is a true test of marksmanship.
It's very enlightening for me, you know, just to see how everybody does with the recurve bow.
This is gonna be all off instinct.
Definitely do not try to aim.
All I can say is, look at your target Is if you try, right now.
All right.
Okay? Go ahead, Chris.
All right.
I shot youth competition, but always with a compound bow Never with a recurve.
This is definitely a new venue Very limited experience with a recurve bow.
You're to-the-right or left guy? I'm a right-handed guy.
The primary difference is, with a compound bow, you have a sighting system, and when you pull it all the way to the rear, there's a huge let-off.
So, you can hold it there forever.
With a recurve, that's not the case.
Don't hold it.
The longer you hold it, you're gonna start shaking.
Now.
- Good shot.
There you go.
- Good shot, Chris.
You just whip the arrow where you feel, instinctively, it's going to go, and that's how you have to get good at it.
Nice.
- There you go.
- Nice, Phil.
That was right in the middle of the ramp.
Good shot.
It adds a layer of difficulty.
But you just got to look at where your point of impact is on the ramp and then look up at the slot you're shooting at to see where your arrows are impacting, and then you adjust on the ramp accordingly.
In between the fingers All right.
Put the arrow on the bottom of the hand right there.
Whoop.
And don't do that.
Don't do that.
All right.
I have never shot any kind of a bow ever in my life, other than, you know, being 5 years old and shot the one with the suction cups on the end.
So I'm definitely gonna be at a disadvantage for this practice and the challenge.
Oh.
Oh.
That's all right.
That's all right.
Ohh.
It hit and then bounced.
Is he's drawing it back literally in front of his face.
You're pulling straight to your mouth.
You need to be pulling straight to the side of your face.
Oh, I thought we were supposed to come to You're supposed to come to the side corner of your mouth.
Boom.
There you go.
Good shot.
I think, going into this, Chris, Phil, and myself Cliff was the one that was having the biggest problem, and at the end of the day, he's doing pretty well.
- There you go.
- That's it right there.
You are dialing in.
I think that we will do well during the challenge.
I think I'm a good archer.
I've been shooting archery since, literally, I could hold a bow probably 4 or 5 It's gonna be tough.
Nice.
That's low.
I don't have any experience with the recurve bow.
I usually utilize technology and just go with a compound bow.
And so a recurve's new to me Geez.
Right away, Mike has come up and has got this little book, and he's got a lot of questions for me.
Is our objective to hit that white? Your objective is to hit where you can, and if you can, yes, hit it.
So, I want to hit the white.
I already can tell that he's gonna be thinking about this way too hard.
That hit that low, and it was still low.
So you're gonna have to adjust.
And you guys can back up, too, you know, and move around.
There's just nothing that you can write down on a piece of paper that's going to help you.
All it takes is practice.
Way to go, Alex.
I just hope the ground will be different.
Pal, you're working yourself up.
I know this is important to you.
Trying to think of all this other stuff.
Man.
It is funny trying to watch Alex and Mike do all their math and calculations.
So, if we get lower, are we gonna get more height off that? Not necessarily.
It depends on how low you are shooting to that spot.
It's kind of boggling their engineering minds, and I'm just kind of playing around with it and having fun.
- Did he bounce that? - No.
You can stand there and talk 15 minutes I can shoot a couple straight into the board.
Is that all right with you? No, it's not.
All right, "well, I'm still gonna do it, so" At one point, Jake and Mike started fighting.
Dude, listen.
They were acting like a bunch of kids.
It's like, "what are you guys doing?" I know that I'm the best recurve bow shooter I've been shooting bow and arrow since I was 4 years old.
I was so small when I first started off, I had to stand on a milk crate to be able to shoot the bow and arrow.
I'm not an olympic bow guy, but you don't want to be standing in front of me if I'm shooting at you with a recurve b.
Man.
I'd probably say this is probably one of the least productive practices we've had.
I don't think we got a feel for, like, how to really adjust that ramp.
So we'll just have to see tomorrow.
Nice.
Nice shot.
So, at this point, the Blue Team thinks I'm a complete buffoon, so they don't want to give me credit at all for being able to do anything well, no matter how well I can do it, which is fine.
I mean, I want them to underestimate me so that falls right into my plan.
Who in this house right now are you afraid to go head-to-head against? Mike with a pistol.
So he'd be your first vote To get him out? Yeah, put him in there.
I want the best person to go home, not the worst.
To put it honestly, I don't know if "Top Shot" has seen a competitor like me.
And the first two seasons, I think, have been gentlemen's shows, and then they put a commando like me on this and brought a whole different edge to the competition.
I'm gonna find a way to win at all costs, no matter what the odds are.
And I really don't care how I get it done.
If I'm understanding you right, you want to knock off all the stronger players, so in the end, you can go up against the weakest one.
Why would you not want to do that in life? That's a bully mentality, man.
You just want to go up against the weaker ones? Let me ask you this Would you rather drop a 5,000-pound bomb on 50 guys' heads or run in there with a sword and give them a chance? This ain't war.
This is a sporting event.
No.
This is a sporting event.
It's winning or losing That's what it comes down to.
It comes down to winning or losing.
You know, the first thing we learned in S.
E.
A.
L.
training was the best S.
E.
A.
L.
ops were the ones and they never knew you were there.
You can say, "well, there's no honor in fighting that way," but at the end of the day, I don't really care.
I'm trying to get my men back to safety, and if I got to blow up people to do that, well, so be it.
I tell you I would like to test my pistol skills against Mike because, if I did win this, I want to know that I walked out beating the best people I could beat.
If you got an opportunity to put the best dudes out, Go compete against sisters of the poor There's absolutely nothing that Jake does in this house that makes sense to me whatsoever.
He's kind of the anti-team member.
I think he'd get along a whole lot better in the house.
He'd be a whole lot better competitor.
This is a sportsmen's challenge, and he is the most unsportsmanlike person I've ever been associated with.
At the end of the day, I don't want my family to watch this Oh.
Yeah, that's no problem with that.
I can understand that.
I don't have that problem.
My family knows who I am, and they ain't never gonna say I'm scared.
The guys in the house are telling me that I'm not playing the game correctly, and I'm not listening to them.
You know, I don't ever listen to anybody.
I'm trying to win "Top Shot," and if I can go against the worst person in the finals, then I did my job.
Walking into the challenge range today, it looks very intimidating.
Not only do we have to skip these arrows off of a ramp to hit a target, but now we find out it's gonna be a moving target.
So the level of difficulty in this thing is just It's beyond me.
I really don't understand how this is gonna work out.
Coming up on "Top Shot" Go! There's nothing conventional about this.
You can't have practice for this.
And it looks like it's gonna be almost impossible.
Welcome fellows, to the team challenge.
Each of you has had the opportunity to hone your skills with the recurve bow.
Let's hope you learned what you needed to.
This will be a side-by-side challenge, guys.
set up two matching wheels.
There are six 12-inch targets on each wheel.
You'll also notice the ramp leading up to each wheel.
On my go, an archer from each team will run up to the firing line and pick up a recurve bow.
You'll fire arrows at the ramp Each archer will get up to three arrows per turn.
Your turn is over when you either hit a target or shoot all three arrows, whichever comes first.
After taking your turn, put the bow down.
Run to the back of your team's line.
Then the next shooter will head up, take his shots.
Archers will cycle through the line as many times as it takes.
An arrow shot directly into a target you got to bounce it off the ramp.
Members of the winning team will be safe from elimination.
Members of the losing team, however, must go to the nomination range I'm immediately struck by how absolutely insane this challenge looks.
I mean, in all honestly, it looks like it's gonna be almost impossible.
There's nothing conventional about this.
You can't have practice for this.
I mean, it looks incredibly hard.
Guys, take your starting positions.
Let's do this.
Here we go.
Dustin's first up for the Blue Team.
Gary grabbing the recurve bow for the Red Team.
Dustin's g one downrange.
Oh! Gary sticks it in the wall right in front of his target.
Dustin's got one more shot.
I shoot my three arrows, this whole ramp thing is really messing with my head.
Jake up next for the Blue Team.
Gary misses on all three of his arrows.
Come on.
Come on.
Go.
That's tough.
Jake fires his first.
Phil up next for the Red Team.
Come on, Phil.
Oh, good shot, Jake.
Good shot, Jake.
- There you go! - Phil hits a target.
Red first on the board.
I knew exactly where the arrows were flying.
I just mistimed the rotation of the wheels.
Jake gets a point for the Blue Team.
We're all tied up.
I sent the third arrow, and it stuck in the board.
And I knew that this challenge was gonna be difficult, but not undoable.
Chris up next for the Red Team, going up against Alex.
- Come on, Chris! - Let's go, now! There you go! Chris sticks his first arrow! - Chris hits the target - Great.
But he has a little bit of a mental lapse.
Chris, off the line! Oh! Chris, off the line! Aw He benched the bow at that point and got to the end of the line.
It took a little time.
- We're neck and neck! - Come on, Cliff.
Come on, Cliff.
- You got it, buddy.
Oh Cliff and Mike miss on their first attempts.
- Nice! - Oh Keep going.
Keep going.
But it's a target that they've already hit.
That won't count.
Oh! That one goes right in between the - There you go.
- Get back! Get back! Get back! Cliff goes right in between the targets for the Red Team.
- Oh! - What was that? That one skips off the target.
Come on, Gary.
- Yes! Off the line! - Off the line! Off the line! Red Team leads, 3 to 2.
Dustin has one more arrow.
Phil's already back up.
Ohh, that one goes low.
All right, I'm close, man.
Phil goes just over.
- Oh! - Good job.
Jake sticks another one.
Jake is 2 for 2.
Alex back on the course, going toe-to-toe with Chris.
It's all right.
We're all tied up, Ohh! And missed it.
- There you go.
- Here it comes.
Let's go! Let's go, baby! Chris sticks one.
Red Team takes the lead.
- Nice! - There you go.
Alex ties it up.
We are neck and neck! Cliff taking on big Mike.
- Come on, Cliff! - Mike goes just low.
I'm hoping that Cliff can get up there and just let his instincts take over, and maybe he'll make it happen.
Aw So now we're back to the beginning of the lineup, and we're gonna start this thing over from tied.
Dustin's back on the course for the Blue Team.
Oh, that was close.
Yeah! Gary sticks it for the Red Team.
- Red Team has one target left! - It's all you, Phil.
- Ohh! - Come on around.
Oh, that one goes just South.
- Oh! - That's all right.
Get another one loaded up.
It's Jake back up.
Jake carrying the weight for the Blue Team.
Nice! Jake went 3 for 3.
It was a real good run.
- Oh! Come on.
Come on.
- Let's go! Let's go! - Chris, you got it.
- There you go.
Let's go.
- Alex is back up.
- Both teams have one target left.
Alex waiting on it.
He misses.
It's anybody's game at this point.
- Come on, Chris! - One target left.
Oh, come on, one more.
Get it up.
Whose target is gonna come up first? Alex takes a shot.
Goes just left.
Wait for it to come around.
Alex misses with his three.
- That's it, man.
- Ohh! Mike's back up for the Blue Team.
Oh! Come on.
Get back! Get back! Get back! Chris just missed.
Go, go, go, go, go! Come on, you It's all you, Cliff! At this point of the competition, each team has one target left, and we have both of the worst archers from each team up.
- Have to pull it, Mike! - Have to pull! Come on, Cliff! Get him out of there! Send it! Yeah! That's it Blue Team wins! Yes! I hear this stick, like the sinking sound of victory.
So, yeah, it felt good.
I mean, it It gave me a pretty strong rush.
Blue Team, congratulations.
You guys win the challenge.
You are safe.
Red Team, you got a couple hours to decide which two of you will face off in the elimination challenge.
I'll see you later at the nomination range.
All of you can head back to the house.
Granted, I shot nine arrows.
You know, I'm not Robin hood or anything like that.
I got lucky, but, you know, you just take the wins when you can.
This is "Top Shot.
" I mean, anything can happen.
After the challenge is over, I know I'm going.
I mean, I wouldn't have it any other way.
I didn't perform.
I have to go.
The hard part is, who else is gonna go? That's gonna be really tough.
Coming up on "Top Shot" Knowing that one of us is gonna go home, it's kind of a big blow.
If I look at you who the are you yelling at?! - Don't yell at me.
- The is wrong with you? What you gonna do? I'm not The are you gonna do, Mike? Jake performed very well today, and I'm excited at this point.
I mean, it's a real victory.
It's a real success.
We pulled the "w," and that's what counts.
Nice job, guys.
Yeah, with the bow and arrow, I dominated.
You don't think I can do anything.
That's all right, though.
Hug.
It was close, man.
It was so close.
And the fact that Jake went That's frustrating.
It is the most frustrating thing that I've ever dealt with in my life.
Looking around the room, I know that I've picked the other three individuals out as the strongest shooters.
So knowing that one of us is gonna go home is kind of a big blow to all of us.
We know that it's gonna be It's gonna be tough.
It's on me, man.
I couldn't hit one.
I didn't didn't deliver anything.
The hard thing is gonna be, who else, you know? Right.
I'm sorry I had to drag us down.
You know, Gary has performed the best out of this team for the entire competition.
So it came down to Chris and Phil.
- Well, I hit one.
- Chris had a brain fart.
Then that's the different You know, you count hits on target he beat me.
Yeah, but I'm willing to go, if no one else is, either way.
So am I Either way, you know? Well, I meanI don't know.
That hopes the strong guys go away so that I don't have to face them.
I'd rather go out, you know, guns blazing against the absolute best, and that's the way I hope this works out.
I still have hard feelings, 'cause all three of you voted for me, and put Billy into elimination when he volunteered to go.
Okay.
Well, let's really just put this behind us, though.
I mean, really, it's two things back, and we're still a team, and we got to perform as a team.
Right after we win, Jake's all mad.
Can't cope with having been sent to elimination.
By his reasoning, he shouldn't go.
It's not personal at all, you know? And if I make mental mistakes but it is, it is.
All I'm pissed about, Mike, is that Billy volunteered to go and didn't end up in place.
He vents that, like, he was mad.
He didn't think he should have gone.
So, obviously, there's issues that are unresolved.
It's nothing personal.
Whatever, dude.
It is personal, 'cause you sent You didn't send a that had a worse performance and volunteered to go.
How is that anything but personal, Mike? Because I think Billy's overall fundamentals just looked better.
Get the out of here.
What had he done? If we make an assessment of each other, we can't get this personal about it.
We got to, like, listen and respect each other Well, here's my thing You ain't gonna keep sending me to elimination and not have recourse for it.
That's what I'm saying.
But there's a point where you just need to catch on and say, "there's no use.
" Were your feelings hurt? No, the volunteered to go, Mike! All I'm saying is y'all.
That's all I'm saying, Mike.
I think Jake solves problems like a grade-schooler.
And I think all of us would want to be the guy because of his unsportsmanlike conduct.
That is the attitude which causes us to be like, "well, for sure, he's gonna go to elimination.
" Well you send me to elimination with no just cause.
I think it was just cause.
I'm trying to just listen and then communicate, so everything really death-spiraled from there.
You're talking around in circles.
None of it makes any sense.
- First, you say, "it's performance-driven.
- You We sent you there based on performance.
" Jake, you came into this show knowing there's elimination challenges and knowing it's not a perfect science and knowing that you may have to get sent And knowing now and the fact that you are all wired up about this is not showing maturity.
If I look at you Not showing turity? If I look at you who the are you yelling at?! - Don't yell at me.
- The is wrong with you? What you gonna do? I'm not The you gonna do? Go ahead and do it.
Jake, I'm not Go ahead and do it, Mike! Keep shaking! Go ahead! - I'm in full control here! - Jake.
- The you gonna do?! - Nothing.
Take your best shot! I'm not gonna do anything.
Take your best shot! I'm not gonna do anything.
Go ahead! Guys.
Keep running your mouth about performance.
I'm not running my mouth.
You're running your mouth, Mike! - I'm not gonna - We're not gonna fight.
Go ahead, man.
Go ahead.
You're just running your mouth - Listen, Jake.
- No, there is no "listen.
" Ridiculous.
I think Jake's a coward, and I think the only way he's gonna get eliminate Mike is by a technicality, if he gets Mike to throw a punch at him or something.
I think I think that was going through his head.
And he almost got there.
And the bottom line is, if I can get rid of people without going to elimination round All I got to do is get them to punch me it's an easy day.
- It got bad.
- I lost my temper.
I cooled down, thinking, like, "why am I lowering myself to this level?" Jake's disrespecting this competition.
He's disrespecting the competitors.
Or his ability to take any kind of criticism.
So we'll just we'll just continue the best we can and compete the best we can.
Everything I do is extremely calculated.
You know, you can look at all the past leaders of the world, no, they just saw more than the average human being was able to see.
You look at Attila the hun You know, he's still famous, thousands of years later, because he was so cruel.
He also conquered half the known world at the time.
So you can say whatever you want to say about my tactics Yes, they're unconventional.
But that's why I am who I am.
That's why I win the way I win.
That's why I always achieve what I set out to achieve.
'Cause I don't do what everybody else does I don't play the normal party line.
Walking into the nomination range today just looking up there at that rack and seeing four targets there It kind of really sinks in as to how far you've gone in this competition.
Red Team, welcome back to the nomination range.
All right, let's get to it, gentlemen.
Unfortunately, you know, Cliff hasn't exactly proven himself to be the strongest archer in the group, so my bullet goes into Cliff's target.
It came down to Chris and Phil, Cliff and Chris, you each have one vote.
Chris, your turn.
Based on performance shooting the recurve bow I know that I can't vote for myself So it's obviously got to go to Cliff.
All right, Phil.
Chris volunteered himself, and I give him a lot of credit to do that.
Good luck to the both of you.
Thanks, Phil.
It's not, you know, one of my proudest moments to have to shoot Chris' target, knowing how good of a shooter he is and feeling that I didn't perform up to my expectations today.
Cliff and Chris, you two will face off in the elimination challenge tomorrow.
If you lose the elimination challenge, you are out of the competition.
It's part of the game.
It's what we signed up for.
I came here to shoot, I want to shoot, and finally, I feel like I'm getting my chance it would be an honor to send Cliff home, and it would be an honor to be sent home by Cliff.
Either way, I'm happy with it.
All right, thanks, Colby.
Be a good battle.
Absolutely, man.
Absolutely.
Coming up on "Top Shot" "Holy crap.
Now I got to shoot something that's moving.
" Either one of us could walk away with the win.
Cliff and Chris, welcome to practice for the elimination challenge.
Once againYou'll be using the recurve bow.
In the team challenge, you learned to ricochet your arrows into a target.
Direct hits were not permitted.
But in the elimination challenge, direct hits are exactly what you'll be working on.
Chris Palmer is back to help teach you this new skill.
You'll practice separately.
Cliff, you're up first.
And you throw a football pretty good? Sure.
Okay.
Well, it's basically the same thing That's why it's all instinct.
You know, you don't have sights when you're throwing a football, right? Right.
Our contestants today are gonna have to learn how to shoot an arrow instinctively into a moving target that's going from side to side.
Your weapon, sir.
- Okay.
- Thank you.
I think, "holy crap.
"I could barely shoot the arrows off the ramp "that was standing still.
Now I got to shoot something that's moving?" This is not gonna be good.
I whacked the crap out of my arm.
Did you hear that sound? Yeah.
No, I heard it.
I'm gonna have Cliff just start out shooting a stationary target, 'cause he's never done this before.
I can't get my arm right.
Now.
Boom! Right out of the gate, he hit the bull's-eye, so I was quite impressed.
Thought this was hard, man.
If I just could have done that yesterday, I wouldn't be standing here.
All right, you want to Want to try to move it? So, how far should I lead with that speed? Oh, you definitely want to - Just if you're going for the yellow - Right.
As far as the moving target, you just have to aim at the edge of the target Not ahead of it, but just a little bit ahead of the bull's-eye.
Oh, just ahead.
I hit my arm again.
Ohh.
Tried to go too quick.
Take your time.
Yeah.
I'd rather you slow down a little bit and get it right.
You know, I'm bumping it forward with my finger.
There you go.
I'm getting the hang of it.
You're getting it.
You know, it's just a matter for me of maintaining the fundamentals and just doing everything right each time, which means I have to slow down.
If I get in a rush, I'm gonna make mistakes.
Focus.
That one actually felt really good.
What surprises me about Cliff during this is that he's actually quite calm.
Like any competition, if you're calm and collected and you know what you're doing and you stick with it, you'll succeed.
Hit the crap out of my arm with that one.
Hey, you hit your arm, but you hit the target.
Good enough.
Hi, Chris.
How you doing? Doing well.
Doing well.
We'll find out soon.
Held it too long.
Time and release.
Time and release.
I noticed, when you were pulling back, you're shaking like that This arm is.
Uh-huh.
So, that could be why you're throwing them off, too As you're letting go, you're moving the bow from shaking.
So it sounds like I need to time the release better.
But due to the fact that his hands are shaking, he's missing that target.
As you pull back, try to release as you're getting to the point.
Okay.
Okay? See how that works for you.
That's the way I shoot it.
Yeah.
All right.
What I found to be the most important is the point of release When I hit my stopping point, releasing right then, not pausing, even for a split second.
Go.
Good one.
It's kind of like throwing a football.
You don't pause right before the release you just whip it.
Don't get your hands shaking during the heat of competition, and I think you'll do just fine.
Okay.
I'm not the greatest archer in the world, but I know that Cliff isn't, either, and I feel fairly confident.
I think speed is gonna be critical in this, whatever it is.
I think there's gonna be a lot of arrows sent flying.
And we'll we'll see how it goes.
Shooting is a sport.
It's like golf, where it's all about doing the same thing exactly the same over and over again, repetitively, to be consistent.
And you never stop learning.
There's always something else that you can do better.
In this competition, you have to learn quick.
So this will be a good test of how much I learned over the last three days.
After my time in the marine corps, I became a firearms instructor.
I live in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
And I'm married.
I have a 4-year-old named liberty I feel very strong about the second amendment.
That I got it tattooed on my forearm.
I feel like it's one of the things and then I got, you know, a little revolver tattooed here on my arm just to remind me of, I guess, the way of the gun.
Being only 25 years old, very limited experience in the shooting world I'm used to that.
So I look forward to the chance to prove myself yet again and beat Cliff.
Walking into today's elimination challenge, I see big metal towers and cables back and forth, our targets are gonna be going back and forth along those cables.
Red Team, welcome to the "Top Shot" elimination challenge.
Cliff and Chris, in respect to this competition, this is do-or-die time for you guys.
For this challenge, you will once again be using the recurve bow.
This will be a timed, side-by-side challenge that will show us exactly how skilled you've become with the bow.
are two towers.
Connecting them are four wires with targets hanging at different heights.
On my "go," the four 18-inch targets are gonna begin to move back and forth between the towers at different speeds.
One half of each target is orange.
You'll each be assigned a color.
Whoever gets the most hits on his target in 31/2 minutes wins.
The loser is eliminated.
But realize this if you hit your opponent's color, you're gonna give him a free point.
All right, Cliff, you're gonna be orange.
Chris, you are yellow.
Chris has, you know, shot one most of his life, so he definitely has the advantage.
But, I mean, I don't feel like I'm out of it, but I definitely feel like I'm the underdog.
Cliff's obviously got a very good record in elimination challenges.
This will be his third time.
He's came back both previous times, but I do feel confident in my abilities, and I think that there's a reasonable chance that either one of us could walk away with the win.
Coming up on "Top Shot" That's a point for Chris! Cliff nails it! I put an arrow on his target.
So I'm certainly not helping myself here.
Now we're tied up! Cliff and Chris, this is a timed, side-by-side challenge.
Using a recurve bow, you'll have 31/2 minutes to fire your arrows at four moving targets as they're passing from you Cliff, you'll be shooting at the orange half of the targets.
Chris, you're gonna take out the yellow.
The marksman who sticks the most targets wins and avoids elimination.
Loser says "adiós" to any chance of winning "Top Shot" and the 100 grand that goes with it.
The winner also gonna receive a $2,000 gift card all right, guys, this is live.
Archers, readySetGo! Targets already out on the range.
Oh! That's a point for Chris.
Oh! Chris misses to the left.
Cliff misses to the right.
Cliff still waiting to get on the board.
There's a lot of time and plenty of arrows, but only the ones that hit count, so I'm gonna take it slow and steady.
There you go! Cliff's on the board! We're tied up, 1 point apiece! It is crazy.
Cliff gets another point! Now Chris scores! We're tied up again, 2 to 2! Chris sticks one on his target.
Chris leads, 3 to 2.
Oh! Chris hits one of Cliff's targets.
Now we're tied up.
Thanks, buddy.
Chris leads, 4 to 3.
Cliff nails it! Chris hits another target.
We're now 5-4.
Chris leads.
Aah.
Clock is ticking.
Both men very accurate.
Chris scores again.
Chris leads, 6-4.
Cliff got to make up some ground here.
Chris sticks another one.
Cliff goes wide right.
Still plenty of time for Cliff to catch up.
Ohh! Oh! Chris' nicks the top of the target.
It does not stick.
Cliff sticks another one! I gave yours it back, dude.
Oh! Cliff sticks one in Chris' target.
Gonna be a point for Chris.
Chris sticks another one.
Cliff goes just high.
Chris sends another one down.
That will count as a point.
Chris loaded up again.
Chris scores another point.
It's yellow.
Cliff sticks one in the yellow.
That's gonna give Chris a point.
Right after that, Chris sticks another one in his target.
Chris sticks another one.
Cliff gets a point on the board! Cliff scores another point! Ah! Oh! So, Cliff starts to catch up, and I put an arrow in his target.
So I'm certainly not helping myself here.
Now Chris hits one in the orange.
Cliff sticks another one! Cliff making up tons of ground here at the end of the challenge! Oh! Chris hits one! Time! Cease fire! Good shooting, guys.
Very good.
Nice work! Yeah, man.
Good job.
- I know it's over.
- I can't do anything else.
I really don't know whether I've won or not, but, you know, I'm good with it either way.
Cliff, you stuck 10 arrows Nice work.
Thank you.
Chris, you stuck 15 arrows.
Congratulations.
You win.
You are still in the running for the $100,000 prize and the title of "Top Shot.
" Nice shooting, buddy.
Thank you.
Appreciate it.
Been a pleasure, man.
Thank you.
Same here.
Chris, come on down.
Grab your gift card.
You can rejoin your team.
It was a good feeling to win, good feeling to know that I'm going back to the house and I'm still in the running.
Thanks.
Appreciate it.
Yep, yep.
You know, I also feel bad to be sending a real good shooter home, but that's the nature of the beast.
Good shooting, man.
Thank you.
And I came out victorious.
I'm happy about that.
Cliff, unfortunately, you have fired your last shot.
You have been eliminated from "Top Shot.
" Come on down here to say goodbye to these guys on your way out.
You know, to win "Top Shot," you have to be great at everything.
And, of course, the bow got me.
I mean, my arm is destroyed.
I'm I'm quitting bow competition.
I'm retiring officially right here.
All right, guys, good luck.
Hey, man, good shooting with you.
Appreciate it.
Chris.
It's been an honor.
Chris, honor, too, man.
Phil.
Been a pleasure.
Good luck, guys.
Make sure one of you guys takes this home.
We will.
All right, man.
I had a great time on "Top Shot.
" I met a lot of great people.
I did a lot of neat stuff I would never have got a chance to do.
It was, you know, the most fun you can have with a gun Or a bow.
Well, gentlemen, there are seven of you guys, all one step closer to taking that grand prize, the $100,000 and the title of history's "Top Shot.
" You can head back to the house.
I'll see you tomorrow morning at practice.
All right.
Good job, Chris.
Thank you.
Appreciate it, Colby.
On the next episode of "Top Shot" It's time for the green jerseys.
Yeah! All right! The individual stage of the competition begins.
Me making the green team is a lot like getting promoted at work.
McMillan TAC-50.
The largest-caliber rifle yet puts the shooters to the test.
This thing kicks like a three-legged ninja.
And a new level of excellence will decide who stays in the game.
That's a hit!