How Mike Hughes (almost) didn't lose

With three completed seasons, the firearms shooting competition has steadily gained cable viewers' interest with the show. Shooters compete for a $100,000 grand prize and the "Top Shot" title

Mike Hughes, 39, beat 14 other tactical shooting instructors, military vets, homeland security agents and more.

Formerly an attorney, Hughes was looking for a hobby several years ago and picked up shooting. It turns out, he had a knack. When Hughes saw the casting call in early 2010 for the first season, he says he responded out of curiosity. He might have made it into that first season, but he had to turn down the opportunity due to work. When the call came again this year, he was ready. The production company flew him from his home in Washington state to Southern California where the show is filmed. The second day the new Top Shot hopefuls were on location, the challenges began.

After his nemesis on the show—Jake Zweig—quit, Hughes was called back to rejoin the competition, which would ultimately lead him to a second place finish, beat in the finale by Christian camp director Dustin Ellerman.

On Zweig

"He lacked the ability to cope with critiscism. Jake and I get along fine now, but living with him was difficult."

On Ellerman, the season 3 winner

"I had originally nominated him for elimination in the first round. [As an accountant and minister] he just didn’t come from a mold that fit anywhere. When you saw his skill level and his ability later in the show, you can see that he's go it in him."

On Michael Marelli, a 28-year-old court officer from New York who placed 9th

"After I saw his on-the-fly interviews [when the show aired] I saw his mouth was writing checks his body couldn't cash. But he was a really funny guy, good to have around the house.

"Michael had a technical expertise, though."

Behind-the-scenes

"The downtime was horrific. I was clinically unproductive; there's only so much working out and journaling you can do before you start to lose your mind a little.

"We didn't have opportunities to train except for those seen on the show, so it was terribly boring.The guys and I would joke that the show was making us slower and dumber [due to] all the downtime."

On the assault rifle & CornerShot challenges

A mid-season episode had the contestants shooting a VLTOR TS3 Carbine from VLTOR, an AR-15-type rifle from Tuscon, Arizona-based VLTOR. The 11 shooters were split into two teams. The winners of season 1 and 2 returned to mentor the teams as they

Today Hughes owns his own company and works in the firearms industry. His company, Next Level Training, introduced its dry-fire training pistol called the SIRT last year at SHOT Show. Hughes shares more tips and tricks on training on his company's blog: nextleveltraining.com/mikehughesblog.

Top tips

The competitive shooting champ and near winner of season 3 shares what he does to get near tip 'Top Shot' shape

Tax the fundamentals. Marksmanship, pistolcraft, recoil managment, speed reloads, stance, grip, trigger control, etc. Keep engaging the basics to refine and keep response swift.
Don’t be afraid to look in the ugly mirror. Get outside your comfort zone. Shoot in all varieties of conditions: on a flat range, prone in the mud. Get muddy and see how it changes your grip and shooting. If you only shoot the firearms, targets, ranges that you’re comfortable with and good at, they will stay the only tools and environments you’re good in. Diversify.
Patience. People ask me if the “reality” of the show is real—and the reality is real. It’s kind of like a cock fight. You are a participant. But like a cock fight, though it’s for entertainment, it’s still real for the cocks.
What I learned most: What we value—relationships. Two things: One, when we were on the show, we were cut off from everything. Eventually when I went home [in episode 9] I went up to the mountains with my family to relax.
Primitive weapons rock. I liked these challenges and the expert they brought on, Jack Daggert. The fundamentals he taught—dropping your hips, squaring up with the target, etc.—were all good skills to learn. Some of the guys didn’t like the primitive weapons challenge, but I like to know that whether or not I have a gun, I can always be armed.
Maintenance and care knowledge and practice is vital. On the show, unlike when I shoot competitively, I do not have the knowledge about my firearm that I normally would. I don’t know how many rounds have been through it, I don’t know when it was last cleaned, etc. One thing viewers did not see on the show was when the equipment had issues. That knowledge and practice is just as important as marksmanship and all the other actual techniques.
Add ons that make sense. Hughes says there aren’t many accessories that he relies on, but there are a few good items out there that add up. For example, Rapid Adaptation Technology Grips. or RAT Grips, makes grips that can be molded to the user’s exact hand, which hyper-customize the handle on the gun. He has also used FrogLube from Audemous Inc., a biodegradable, non-hazardous, non-toxic and non-flammable gun cleaner, lubricant and preservative (CLP).