Top Shot (season 5)
The fifth season of the History Channel television series Top Shot premiered on May 29, 2013. It is an all-star season with all competitors returning from prior seasons.
Unlike past seasons, the players are not assigned to teams, but compete on an individual basis throughout the season. Also, the process of nominating players for elimination is not used. Instead, the lowest-performing players from an individual challenge take part in a "Proving Ground" challenge; the two lowest performers from this step then compete head-to-head in an elimination challenge.
The season was filmed in Santa Clarita, California.
Contestants
| Contestant | Occupation/Background | Eliminated | |
| Phil Morden | Season 3 / 6th | Video Producer, Three Gun Competitor, Gunsmith | Winner |
| Chris Cerino | Season 1 / 2nd | Law enforcement trainer, 42nd place in the International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association | 2nd Place |
| Season 3 / 3rd | Department of Homeland Security Agent, U.S. Army Veteran, Competition Shooter | 3rd Place | |
| Brian Zins | Season 2 / 2nd | Cabot Gun Ambassador, independent security contractor, former Marine Corps pistol team member, 12-time NRA National Pistol Champion | 4th Place |
| William Bethards | Season 4 / 7th | 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 | 5th Place |
| Peter Palma | Season 1 / 4th | Plumber, Marine Scout Sniper | 6th Place |
| Adam Benson | Season 1 / 6th | Construction project manager, former Marine rifleman, USPSA Master Class shooter, competitive pistol and three-gun shooter, muzzleloader and archery hobbyist, competitive catapult engineer | 7th Place |
| Joe Serafini | Season 2 / 4th | Construction worker, Company High Shooter in Marine boot camp, Champion archer, qualified expert with both the M16 and Beretta 9mm pistols. | 8th Place |
| Kelly Bachand | Season 1 / 5th | Student, competition shooter, USA National Rifle Team | 9th Place |
| Jamie Franks | Season 2 / 5th | US Navy rescue swimmer, graduate of the Navy Expeditionary Combat Skills and Practical Weapons courses and Anti-Terrorism Force Protection/Deadly Force Training, Navy rifle and pistol marksmanship expert. | 10th Place |
| Alex Charvat | Season 3 / 5th | Gun range engineer, 4H-shooting instructor, 3-Gun competitor, firearms enthusiast | 11th Place |
| Gabby Franco | Season 4 / 8th | Firearms instructor, business owner, competitive IPSC shooter, history maker as the first female to qualify for the Venezuelan Olympic Shooting Team, 2000 Sydney Olympics competitor, 1999 Pan American Games silver medalist shooter, 2000 South American Games gold medalist shooter, 2002 South American Games three-time gold medalist shooter | 12th Place |
| Kyle Sumpter | Season 4 / 5th | Police Commander, Former SWAT Team Member, Washington State IDPA and Steel Championship Winner | 13th Place |
| Chee Kwan | Season 4 / 6th | Range Master, State Certified Firearms Instructor, Former Marine Infantryman, Recreational Shooter, 3x Rifle and Pistol Expert | 14th Place |
| Blake Miguez | Season 1 / 7th | Semi-professional speed shooter | 15th Place |
| Season 4 / 2nd | Federal Police Officer, USAF Veteran, Former Air Force Security Forces Member, World Champion Grenadier, ISPC Shooter | 16th Place |
Contestants progress
Episodes
Episode 1: "Best of the Best"
No practice session was held for the individual challenge. The trainer for the elimination challenge was Craig "Sawman" Sawyer, Navy SEALs instructor and former sniper.Episode 2: "Tricks of the Trade"
Blake and Kyle tied with 3 points each. The gumball shot was randomly chosen to be replayed as the tiebreaker, and Kyle won 1-0.
The trainer for the squad and elimination challenges was Taran Butler, national/world shotgun champion.
Episode 3: "Pick Your Poison"
The players practiced without a trainer for the individual and elimination challenges.Episode 4: "Crank Trigger"
The trainer for the individual challenge was Chris Palmer, longbow and traditional archery expert. The trainer for the elimination challenge was Garry James, former Army ordnance officer.Episode 5: "Shooting Dice"
Alex, Gabby, and Joe tied for last place with 0 points. For the tiebreaker, each fired one shot at a target from 75 feet, and the two players who hit farthest from the center went to the elimination challenge.
The players practiced without a trainer for the squad and elimination challenges.
Episode 6: "The Mile Shot"
The.338 Lapua Magnum was developed for ultra long-range sniper operations in the Afghanistan and Iraqi Wars. The.338 Lapua bullet can take between 3 and 4 seconds to travel the mile distance to the target.
The Henry Rifle was changed into the famous Winchester 1866 lever-action rifle. This brass-framed.44 caliber lever-action rifle can fire 28 rounds per minute.
Alatls require skill rather than muscle power. This allowed women and children to participate in hunting. The darts resemble large arrows or thin spears and can be from 4 to 9 feet in length and 3/8" to 5/8" in diameter. Scientists speculate that the atlatl is responsible for the extinction of the woolly mammoth.
Peter scored 12 points to win the challenge and receive the $2,000 Bass Pro Shops gift card. Alex and Brian tied with 8 points each, so they played a 2-round tiebreaker between themselves. They tied again 3-3 and played one more round, which Brian won 4-2.
The trainers for the individual challenge were George Reinas, season 2 contestant, and Craig "Sawman" Sawyer, Navy SEALs instructor and former sniper. The trainer for the elimination challenge was Jack Dagger, primitive weapons expert.
Episode 7: "Thread the Needle"
The players practiced without a trainer for the individual and elimination challenges.Episode 8: "Familiar Foes"
The trainer for the squad challenge was Taran Butler, national/world shotgun champion. The trainer for the elimination challenge was Rick Pohlers, cannon expert.Episode 9: "Big Boom"
The players practiced without a trainer for the squad challenge. The trainer for the elimination challenge was Chris Brackett, archery expert.Episode 10: "Zip or Ship"
The players practiced without a trainer for the individual and elimination challenges.Episode 11: "A Game of Horse"
After the fifth round, Chris had made 3 shots to 1 each for Brian and William, guaranteeing the win. Both of them missed their final shot, forcing a two-round tiebreaker with each player choosing one weapon. Brian won 2–0.
The trainer for the individual challenge was Craig "Sawman" Sawyer, Navy SEALs instructor and former sniper. Instead of returning to the house for a celebratory dinner as in past seasons, the four finalists hiked into a nearby valley for a meal of MRE rations and spent the night camping in a tent.
Episode 12: "Last Man Standing"
No practice sessions were held in this episode. The winners from all four previous seasons returned to watch the final challenge.| Premiere date | Elimination challenge weapon | Elimination challenge | Winning player | Eliminated player |
| August 28, 2013 | AK-47 assault rifle | Run a course with 4 obstacles, shooting a target at 75 yards after each one: a 20-foot tunnel, then 25-foot crawls through a trench filled with water and logs, under camouflage netting, and through a sand pit under barbed wire. Shooters carry the rifle through the course, loading it with a dummy magazine before each obstacle and exchanging for a live one at each shooting station. Fastest time to hit all targets wins an Oculus spotting scope; the slowest time is eliminated. | Phil, Chris, Gary | Brian |
| August 28, 2013 | Glock 19 pistol Heckler & Koch HK93 rifle Mosin–Nagant rifle SVT-40 rifle | Run uphill to a series of 4 elevated platforms, using a different weapon to shoot a target at each: 50 feet, 100 yards, 125 yards, 150 yards. Slowest time to hit all targets is eliminated. | Phil, Chris | Gary |
| August 28, 2013 | Final challenge weapon | Final challenge | Eliminated player | Top Shot |
| August 28, 2013 | Remington 1875 revolver Ruger 10/22 carbine Schofield Revolver BowTech Stryker crossbow SVT-40 rifle Beretta 92F pistol Hotchkiss mountain gun | Run a course with 7 shooting stations:
| Chris | Phil |