Top Shot (season 4)
The fourth season of the History channel television series Top Shot premiered on February 14, 2012.
The season contains twelve episodes, and was filmed in Santa Clarita, California. The season was won by Chris Cheng.
Gregory Littlejohn, Kyle Sumpter, Chee Kwan, William Bethards, and Gabby Franco returned for Top Shot: All-Stars. Littlejohn finished in 16th, Kwan finished in 14th, Sumpter finished in 13th, Franco finished in 12th, and Bethards finished in 5th, meaning that Season 4 was the only season without a representative in the finale.
Contestants
| Contestant | Occupation/Background | Original Team | Merged Team | Eliminated |
| Craig Buckland 47, Sandisfield, MA | Chemist, National and International Competitive Shooter, 3x World Champion and 4x National Champion, IDPA 5-Gun Master | None | 18th Place | |
| Forrest McCord 21, Houston, TX | Kinesiology Student, World Champion Pistol Shooter, Former U.S. Junior Shooting Team Member, IPSC World Shoot Gold Medalist, USPSA Competitive Shooter | None | 17th Place | |
| Frank Melloni 28, Middle Island, NY | High School Custodian, Self-Taught Shooter, World War II Firearms Collector | Blue Team | 16th Place | |
| Keith Gibson 28, Ghent, NY | Grass-Fed Cattle Farmer, Former U.S. National Guard Combat Medic, Former U.S. Army Veteran, Junior Olympic Shooting Camp Member, Army Basic Rifle Marksmanship Award Winner, Private Pistol Instructor, IDPA Shooter | Red Team | 15th Place | |
| Michelle Viscusi 21, Gilbert, AZ | Military Police Officer/Border Patrol, Former Army National Guardsman, Weapons Accessories Company Model | Blue Team | 14th Place | |
| Colin Gallagher 35, Wichita, KS | Police Sergeant, New Recruit Weapons Trainer, Criminal Profiling Training | Blue Team | 13th Place | |
| Eric "Iggy" Keyes 39, Chicago, IL | Police Officer, Former Homicide and Narcotics Detective, Former SWAT Team Member, Skilled Pistol and Rifle Shooter, Weightlifter | Red Team | 12th Place | |
| Tim Trefren 34, Thayne, WY | Professional Big Game Guide, Business Owner, Bow Hunter, Skilled Archer, 2x World Champion Moose Caller | Red Team | 11th Place | |
| Dylan Fletcher 30, Alpharetta, GA | Knife Maker, Businessman/Entrepreneur, Skilled Knife Thrower, Pistol and Rifle Shooter | Blue Team | 10th Place | |
| Terry Vaughan 40, London, UK | Professional Speaker for Personal Safety, NRA Pistol Instructor, Former British Royal Marine Commando | Blue Team | 9th Place | |
| Gabby Franco 30, Doral, FL | Firearms Instructor/Business Owner, Former Venezuelan Shooting Team Member and Olympian, Pan American Games Silver Medalist, South American Games Gold Medalist, Tactical and IPSC Competitive Shooter | Red Team | Green Team | 8th Place |
47, Fredericksburg, VA | FBI Law Enforcement Specialist/Firearms Instructor, Former Marine, Marine Corps Shooting Team Member and Coach, Ex-Virginia State Trooper, National and State 3-gun Competitive Shooter, Gold Lauchheimer Trophy Winner, FBI Shooting Team National Record Holder in 3-gun | Blue Team | Green Team | 7th Place |
| Chee Kwan 23, San Gabriel, CA | Range Master, State Certified Firearms Instructor, Former Marine Infantryman, Recreational Shooter, 3x Rifle and Pistol Expert | Red Team | Green Team | 6th Place |
| Kyle Sumpter 50, Kent, WA | Police Commander, Former SWAT Team Member, Washington State IDPA and Steel Championship Winner | Red Team | Green Team | 5th Place |
| Augie Malekovich 34, Belle Vernon, PA | Financial Advisor, Former Department of Homeland Security Agent, Former Marine, Triple Nickel Award Winner | Blue Team | Green Team | 4th Place |
| Gary Shank 28, Reno, NV | Firearms Instructor, Civil War Reenactor, Historical Firearms Appraiser, Former Gun Library Manager, Local ISPA and USPSA Shooter, Cowboy Action 3-Gun Competitor | Red Team | Green Team | 3rd Place |
31, Waterloo, IL | Federal Police Officer, USAF Veteran, Former Air Force Security Forces Member, World Champion Grenadier, ISPC Shooter | Blue Team | Green Team | 2nd Place |
| Chris Cheng 31, Mission Viejo, CA | IT Professional, Firearm Enthusiast, Skilled Pistol, Rifle and Shotgun Shooter. Self-taught. | Red Team | Green Team | Winner |
Contestant progress
Episodes
Episode 1: "Sweating Bullets"
No practice sessions were held for the preliminary and team challenges. The trainer for the elimination challenge was Garry James, historical firearms expert and former United States Army ordnance officer.Episode 2: "In the Trenches"
The trainer for both challenges was Craig "Sawman" Sawyer, Navy SEALs instructor and former sniper.Episode 3: "Shotgun Showdown"
The trainer for the team challenge was Chris Reed, the winner of Season 2. The trainer for the elimination challenge was Taran Butler, national/world shotgun champion.Episode 4: "Crossbow Crossfire"
The trainer for the team challenge was Chris Brackett, archery expert. The trainer for the elimination challenge was Julie Golob, national/world pistol champion.Episode 5: "Swing Into Action"
The trainer for the team challenge was Russ Combs, national flintlock champion. The trainer for the elimination challenge was Steve Gilcreast, former Army Ranger and SWAT team leader.Episode 6: "Blast from the Past"
The trainer for the team challenge was Rick Pohlers, cannon expert. The trainer for the elimination challenge was Jack Dagger, primitive weapons expert.Episode 7: "Trick Shot Shoot Off"
The trainer for both challenges was Robert Vogel, 11-time national shooting champion.Episode 8: "The Mad Minute"
The trainer for both challenges was Iain Harrison, the winner of Season 1.The "mad minute" originated as a pre-World War I term used by British riflemen during training to describe scoring 15 hits onto a 12" round target at 300 yd within one minute using a bolt-action rifle. The term still exists in modern military parlance to describe any short period of intense weapons fire.
Episode 9: "The Longest Shot"
The teams were dissolved in this episode. All players received green shirts and began to compete against each other for the rest of the season. After the individual challenge, all players voted for one of the players who had not won immunity. The top two vote-getters then competed in an elimination challenge as in previous episodes.| Premiere date | Individual challenge weapon | Individual challenge | Winning player | Eliminated player |
| April 10, 2012 | Accuracy International AX338 rifle, using.338 Lapua Magnum ammunition | "1500 Yard Shot Challenge": Shoot at a 30-inch target from 1,500 yards; maximum 10 minutes and 20 rounds per player. The four fastest times to hit it are safe; next three are eligible for nomination; slowest is immediately eliminated. | Augie, Chee, Gary, Gregory | Gabby |
| April 10, 2012 | Elimination challenge weapon | Elimination challenge | Nominated for elimination | Eliminated player |
| April 10, 2012 | Henry rifle | "Not Just the Bull's Eye Challenge": Shooters fire at separate sets of 5 targets from 45–55 feet. Each target consists of 3 sections, a bullseye and 2 outer rings. First to hit all sections of every target wins. | Chris, William | William |
The trainers for both challenges were Kelly Bachand and George Reinas, contestants from Seasons 1 and 2.
Episode 10: "SWAT Throwdown"
The trainer for both challenges was Jeff Gonzales, former Navy SEAL and counter-terrorism instructor.Episode 11: "Have Machine Gun Will Travel"
The trainer for both challenges was Craig "Sawman" Sawyer, Navy SEALs instructor and former sniper.Episode 12: "The Ultimate Prize"
No practice sessions were held in this episode. The six individual shooters eliminated prior to the final challenge returned to watch it, along with Allen Treadwell, a professional shooter sponsored by Bass Pro Shops.| Premiere date | Elimination challenge weapon | Elimination challenge | Winning player | Eliminated player |
| May 1, 2012 | Winchester Model 1873 rifle | Two shooters at a time fire at 12 double-sided targets from 50 feet, trying to flip as many as possible to their assigned color. The winners of the first-round matches advance; the losers play a third match, with the loser of this one being eliminated. Ties are broken with a rematch. | 1st round: Chris, Gary 2nd round: Gregory | Augie |
| May 1, 2012 | Pistols: Remington M1911, Browning Buck Mark, FN Five-seven Long Guns: Lee–Enfield Mk III rifle, M14 rifle, Benelli M4 shotgun | Two rounds are played, with every shooter picking one weapon, target, distance, and shooting stance in each. All three shooters try each shot; no weapon or target may be used more than once. The lowest number of hits is eliminated. Targets include jars, bowls, bottles, and mugs. | Gregory, Chris | Gary |
| May 1, 2012 | Final challenge weapon | Final challenge | Eliminated player | Top Shot |
| May 1, 2012 | Kentucky flintlock pistol Henry rifle Webley Mk VI revolver Colt Peacemaker revolver BowTech StrykeZone 350 crossbow M1918A1 Browning Automatic Rifle Milkor USA M32A1 grenade launcher | Run a course with 7 shooting stations:
| Gregory | Chris |
Epilogue: Behind the Bullet
Premiering after the final episode, Top Shot Season Four Behind the Bullet, was a one-hour documentary involving behind-the-scene interviews and footage taken before, during, and after the season four competition. At the end of the episode, the show profiled each of the contestants, post-competition.- Frank Melloni has opened his own firearms training academy.
- Keith Gibson is starting a new grass-fed dairy farm.
- Michelle Viscusi recently completed a photo shoot for Maxim.
- Colin Gallagher is back working as a Police Sergeant in Wichita. He has returned the bandana to Greg.
- Iggy Keyes has been shooting in local gun competitions.
- Tim Trefren recently left on his first trip of the spring bear-hunting season.
- Dylan Fletcher has started shooting locally in the USPSA, IPSC and IDPA.
- Terry Vaughan continues to travel as a professional speaker on body language.
- Gabby Franco is back in Miami teaching precision shooting.
- William Bethards will be competing at the National Rifle and Pistol Championship.
- Chee Kwan has applied to become a U.S. Marshal.
- Kyle Sumpter has been running lethal force and firearms training courses.
- Augie Malekovich has been teaching air rifle shooting to paralyzed veterans.
- Gary Shank has started a new job selling firearms.
- Gregory Littlejohn has been shooting USPSA matches. He spent most of his $6000 from Bass Pro Shops on ammo.
- Chris Cheng is excited to start his pro shooting career. He has yet to spend any of his championship winnings.
Nomination Range
- Episode 1: Forrest and Craig were eliminated in a preliminary challenge.
- Episode 9: Gabby was eliminated due to having the worst performance in the individual challenge. At the nomination range, William and Kyle tied for second place with 2 votes each; Kyle won a shoot-off to gain immunity.
- Episode 11: Gary and Kyle tied for second place with one vote each; Gary won a shoot-off to gain immunity.
Ratings