Breaking Down the Finale | Season 5 Love at First Shot

I finally had a chance to put together the final breakdown video of Season 5 of NRA Women’s Love at First Shot. It was a fun little throwback watching the teams perform in the final two challenges.

SPOILER ALERT

If you haven’t watched Season 5, this is your chance to head on over to NRAWomen.TV and catch up because this post and the video have several spoilers. If you prefer, you can also scroll to the bottom of the page to watch the full breakdown video first.

First up was the carnival water balloon shoot-off. When we were brainstorming ideas for targets and challenges, I dreamed up this funnel idea that evolved into quite the contraption. Busting all those balloons with host Natalie Foster was definitely a highlight of my shooting fun on the show. We opted to shoot balloons working from the inside out, also focusing on where the targets clumped together to maximize water drop and get more than one balloon per shot. It was over way too fast and we filled the top water line in under 15 seconds! Of course, we shot for fun, not for the finale. There were definitely nerves going into the shoot-off between the Green, Purple and Red teams.

The Finale

With Red taking a clear win in the balloon challenge, it was a Blue and Red showdown for the final course of fire. I took elements from the previous stages and added in a new rifle, the M&P15 VTAC with Trijicon optic. Watch the video for more details on this firearm.

I wanted to give the teams options but designed the stage so that each team member had to shoot both a rifle and a pistol. That meant they could choose who would end up at the final position. As with past challenges, I offered a training period with the new rifle. I also placed the M&P15 VTAC in a Caldwell® DeadShot® FieldPod. This sturdy and consistent position kept it fair for each team. I wasn’t surprised when both teams opted for their Pro to take the final shots on those distant soda bottles and paint cans. Natalie and I used the same strategy in our test run because we felt confident in her M&P15-22 skills based on the previous course and that I would be faster on target and in the transitions with the M&P15.

A Tale of 2 Teams

Throughout the week we got a glimpse of the chemistry and shooting style of the Red and Blue teams. Between their training sessions at home and competing all week, the Pros knew exactly how to lead their teammates to success. Janna Reeves is certainly aggressive on target and quick on her feet but at the same time was cool and confident no matter the challenge. Knowing Alisha’s strengths, she talked her through how to get the results she was looking for. If I had to choose one word for Team Red it would be “focused.” Becky, equally talented, honed in on the details, not just talking Breann through the shooting, but the movement as well. Team Blue proved to be the “gamer” team for the entire season. Aside from our complete novice, Kaitlin of Team Purple, I feel that Breann grew the most, from timid and “girly” to confident and aggressive.

The finale was a close one with a lot of give and take in time. Becky’s “take advantage of every second strategy” helped Breann gain a fraction of a second at the start. Both Alisha and Breann had to take a makeup shot on their plates with the M&P 380 Shield EZ but Alisha’s follow-up shot was much faster. For position 2, Janna missed her final shot on the 3 steel poppers leaving the door open for Becky’s blazing fast, one-for-one run in this position with the 4″ M&P M2.0 Compact. Team Red’s steady and smooth strategy on the clay targets with the M&P15-22 allowed Breann to make up some time. She took it and her run in the third position was enough to take the lead.

Per the course of fire rules, before advancing to the next position, both of the competitor’s feet had to be in the correct hoop before their teammate could move to the next shooting position. Used to previous challenges, Becky held her hand out to tag instead of watching Breann’s feet land in the hoop. She was forced to retreat before advancing in a neck-and-neck race to the final rifle position. Ultimately, Janna was faster to the position, on the gun and in her transitions going one-for-one and securing the win for the team.

Even though we could crown only one team champion, I can’t say enough wonderful things about our competitors. For our amateurs, Kaitlin, Breann, Emily, and Alisha, it took a lot of courage to compete for the first time in front of a camera. Pros Becky, Janna, Cheyenne, and Annette taught their teammates so much and they shot great too. Hats off to these wonderful ladies and to the woman who started this whole Love at First Shot journey, the lovely Natalie Foster. She’s an incredible asset for our Second Amendment, women and firearms, and all the fun in shooting sports. Finally, a huge thank you to NRA Women, Smith & Wesson and Federal Premium for making this show possible. Here’s to Season 6!