SSN Vet
Member
Ever heard of this History Channel "Top Shot" program....
Could be entertaining and good PR for the shooting sports community..
as long at they TV reality show dim whits don't try to stir up some stupid rommance triangle angle....
http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100527/GJNEWS_01/705279627
Could be entertaining and good PR for the shooting sports community..
as long at they TV reality show dim whits don't try to stir up some stupid rommance triangle angle....
http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100527/GJNEWS_01/705279627
Jim Sinclair is a competitive service rifle shooter and a now a reality television star.
Sinclair, 48, a lifelong Dover resident, is one of 16 contestants in the new History Channel reality show "Top Shot," which is set to debut June 6 at 10 p.m.
According to the History Channel, the show takes 16 or the nation's most skilled marksmen and tests them in timing, speed and accuracy in their quest to win the $100,000 prize package. The winner ultimately has to be skilled in everything from muzzle-loading muskets and modern pistols to slingshots and throwing knives.
"If anyone had told me prior to Dec. 17 (2009) that I would've been on a reality TV show, I would've looked at them like they had two heads," Sinclair said during an interview Wednesday afternoon. "I'm a shooter, not a TV person."
Sinclair's road to reality television stardom began on Dec. 17 when he saw a casting call for the show on a shooting website. After reading through the eight-page application, Sinclair saw that many of the questions applied to him.
He has been shooting since he was five years old and has developed into a skilled rifle shooter who has competed and won awards in numerous local, state, and national competitions.
"Filling out the application was a form of entertainment, if anything else," he said.
Around 1,500 people applied to be on the show and Sinclair was one of 50 people flown to Los Angeles, Calif., in February for final interviews.
Sinclair declined to go into details about the interview process but said it was multi-faceted and rigorous.
"Coming out of it I didn't think I would be selected but I felt honored having been a part of the group."
Following the interview Sinclair returned home and back to work as a member of the Foster's Daily Democrat press crew. He was working the day the History Channel called him and gave him the surprising news that he had been selected to participate in the show.
"I took the call when I was in the plate room and things were going wrong," he said. "I was like 'YEAH!' I was wicked, wicked pumped and from that point on things started moving fast."
Sinclair flew back out to Los Angeles in March to begin filming the show.
According to the History Channel, competitors in the show face both team and individual elimination challenges until one-winner remains. In the series opener, contestants are immediately divided into two teams and then compete in a "Rifle Relay," an obstacle course using standard-issue rifles from four different wars.
In the elimination round, two contestants go head-to-head in "The Long Shot," a long-distance sniper challenge that will send the first person home.
In the following two episodes, contestants' skills with the pistol and bow and arrow are put to the test.
"It was a challenge learning many different types of weapon systems in such a short-period of time," Sinclair said.
Because the show has yet to premiere, Sinclair couldn't discuss specific details about the challenges and how he did. He said those interested in knowing would just have to tune in and watch the show.
For Sinclair, his venture into reality televisions is just another life adventure he can attribute to shooting. His love of shooting and hunting has taken him all over the country and Sinclair said his friends really weren't too surprised when he told them about the venture into reality television.
"My friends just kind of shook their heads and asked, 'What type of adventure are you involved with now?'" he said. "It's just one more adventure for me."
Sinclair credited his wife, Marcia, and son, Jim, for their support during the whirlwind process.
Sinclair is a 1980 graduate of Dover High School and has worked at Foster's Daily Democrat for 18 years.
He was joined on the show by a diverse group of competitors including a Wild West entertainer, a radio gun show host, a 22-year-old rifle prodigy and the first female in the history of the Chicago Police Department to become "Top Gun" of her graduating class, just to name a few.
