New Shooting Reality Show American Marksman – SHOT Show 2016
Russ Chastain 01.26.16
Are you the American Marksman?
That’s what the website for the brand-new shooting competition asks of visitors, and it’s a good question.
Many of us are certainly marksmen. Could we compete with folks who shoot guns for a living? Maybe not, but for this competition, we won’t have to. American Marksman is for amateurs only–folks like you and me.
American Marksman is a three-level national tour of target shooting competitions in which competitors begin at the local level and attempt to advance to regionals and ultimately to the national championship event. Along the way, filming will take place for a television show that documents the competition and competitors.
American Marksman is for amateur competitors only. As long as you meet our eligibility guidelines (see below) and are eligible by law to participate in a firearms shooting competition in your home state, city, and/or county, you are eligible.
To join, you first visit the sign-up page and fill it out to create a profile. The second step is to respond to an email sent to the address you provided in the first step, “selecting your gun type, selecting your range, and completing payment.” Finally, you should see a pop-up saying, “It’s Go Time!” Fill that out and the next screen should say “Success!” You should get a confirmation code there, as well as a second email saying your registration is complete and providing details on the next steps.
Payment info:
Match fees for the local qualifying level are just $20 per registration if you choose either handgun or rifle. You may select both rifle and handgun for just $35. Your match fee at the local level gets you one qualification attempt and 2 target sheets.
If you qualify for regionals and/or nationals, there will be separate match fees charges for each level. If you qualify, you will need to pay the registration fee for the next round at the time you register for that next round.
Four categories are offered: Junior (12 to 16 years of age), Women’s Open, Military/Law Enforcement, and Men’s Open.
To compete, you need to find a participating range. Then you go to that range on or after March 1, 2016, making sure American Marksman “is being offered” on that date and time. Once you confirm availability on a given date and time frame, show up and “the staff of the local qualifying ranges will lead you through the contest and upload your scores for you.”
Be aware that most ranges will charge range fees–not included in your registration fee–when you show up to shoot. You might want to call ahead and ask about fees when you’re confirming time and dates.
In qualifying rounds, rifle and handgun rounds will be shot with 22 rimfire guns, using 22 LR only. You can use your own gun, a borrowed gun, or a rented range gun. 50 rounds are needed per firearm type (50 for handgun, 50 for rifle).
I can’t go into all the rules here; check them out if you’re interested.
What About the TV Show?
Film crews will be on location at selected local qualifying ranges on pre-selected Range Days and at all Regional Championship events and the National Championship event. You will have the opportunity in the future to submit a video to us letting us know why we should follow your progress and consider you for the TV show. American Marksman makes no guarantees that any particular participant, spectator or competition venue will be shown on the television show.
Any person selected for filming will be required to fill out a waiver/release. No exceptions.
The show will air on both Outdoor Channel and Sportsman Channel.
Prizes
A prize of $50,000 was mentioned to me, but I didn’t see a specific amount given in the “What Can I Win?” section:
At the local level, competitors are attempting to qualify to receive a bid to the Regional Championship round.
At regionals, competitors are attempting to qualify to receive a bid to the National Championship. Additionally, the top 10 competitors in each category at each regional championship will receive individual awards.
At the National Championship, participants will compete for the title of the American Marksman and a prize package that will include cash and gear/items from sponsors.
All in all, it looks pretty interesting, and I’ll be looking forward to watching the show. Who knows, I might even join in. It appears that it will not involve infighting and “house politics,” which is what killed Top Shot in my opinion. I’m further assured that American Marksman will not feature rock-throwing, atlatls, or slingshots. It will be all about the shooting. Now that’s something I can really get behind.
Full details can be obtained by visiting the American Marksman website.
