Dustin Ellermann

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Dustin Ellermann
Personal information
Born	1982–1983
Hometown	Zavalla, TX
Occupation	Christian Camp Director
Competition information
Season	Season Three
Team	Blue Team Green Team
Place	1st
[Source]

"I'm from Zavalla, Texas, a small town of 647 people."

―Dustin Ellermann

Dustin Ellermann was a contestant of Top Shot Season Three. He was originally a member of the Blue Team, but after making the final seven, Dustin became a part of the merged Green Team. He placed first place out of sixteen competitors, becoming the third Top Shot.

Personal life

"I'm a nice guy, but I can be too outspoken and honest—if I don't like you, I won't hide it."

―Dustin Ellermann

Dustin and Brittany on Top Shot.

Dustin is a Christian Kids Camp Director residing near Zavalla, Texas, where he operates his camp: Camp His Way. Dustin's favorite hobby is shooting, with hunting as a close second. He and his wife, Brittany, live at the camp with their two young boys (2 and 5-year-olds) and are also foster parents to kids needing a loving home year round. Dustin is mainly a self taught shooter, growing up with a small BB range in his attic and extending to firearms as a teenager. He had only had one pistol-shooting class, where his instructor was astonished at his abilities. In addition to shooting, Dustin enjoys reading about guns and using them to make himself a better marksman. Other than firearms, Dustin has experience with the compound bow, tomahawk, and throwing knives.

Top Shot

Week One

Dustin shooting against Phil Morden.

Dustin arrived for Season Three of Top Shot along with the other fifteen contestants. Here, Colby Donaldson, the host of the competition, stated that a Preliminary Challenge would determine the placement of each individual. In pairs, they would shoot head-to-head with the Smith & Wesson 500 Magnum at three targets. Whichever of the two was able to hit all of their targets before their opponent would be victorious and join the Blue Team, while the unvictorious became members of the Red Team. Dustin, as one of the youngest competitors, was called to shoot against another youthful competitor, Phil Morden, forming the last pair. Both men hit the first target simultaneously, but Phil was able to connect with his targets moments before Dustin. After missing on the final target, both contestants were forced to reload; however, Dustin managed to reload his weapon faster than Phil and was able to hit the final target, resulting in his victory and spot on the Blue Team. Colby then allowed the contestants to head to the house they would be living in during their stay in the competition. The members of Red Team arrived here first, claiming all the bottom bunks of the bed, giving members of the opposing team a limited choice on where to sleep. After this, the Blue Team met outside, where they jeered some members of the Red Team for their performances in the first challenge.

Dustin with the Larue Tactical OBR.

The following day, the contestants arrived at the Shooting Range to participate in the first Team Challenge. Here, they noticed that there were a number of platforms set up with targets in the distance. After all of the contestants had gotten situated, Colby explained that for the challenge, two contestants would be assigned to one of the four shooting platforms for their team. Once on these, each would destroy a target using the Larue Tactical OBR before their team could advance to the next station. Whichever team finished the course first became victorious. Afterwards, Colby stated that to get onto the platforms, the contestants would not be climbing the ladders built on, but a sixteen-foot pole which would have to be carried to each station. Before participating in the challenge, both teams decided their shooting order, with the Blue Team choosing Dustin and Billy Rogers for the first station. Once here, Dustin got the pole before Billy, and once his teammate had climbed onto the platform, Dustin took his time, aiming at his target, and managed to hit it in one shot. Soon after, Billy also hit his target on the first shot, giving the Blue Team a lead. This lead lasted until the third station, where Jarrett Grimes and Sara Ahrens were having a difficult time hitting their targets. At the final station, the Blue Team was only slightly behind the Red Team, but managed to win, just as the last shooter for Red Team was about to fire at his target.

Dustin reading from the Bible.

After the teams returned to the house, the Red Team held a team meeting while the Blue Team met in the kitchen. Here, Dustin read aloud some verses from the Bible that he had found that morning, and concluded by saying that when he read those verses, he thought, "sucks to be Red", which was found humorous by some members of his team. Soon after, the Red Team left the house to nominate two people to send to the Elimination Challenge. When they returned shortly after, it was revealed that Amanda Hardin and Mark Schneider were to compete to remain in the competition. The following day, after Mark and Amanda had attended a Practice Session for the challenge, the Red Team departed once again to witness the first Elimination. They returned a while later with Mark, who nailed a target bearing Amanda's name to the wall, in tribute to her.

Week Two

After Amanda's elimination, both teams were given a night of rest. The following morning, Blue Team member, Jake Zweig, had members of his team perform a walkthrough of the previous challenge, using a golf club as a rifle and a bench as a platform, while the Red Team watched for amusement. Afterwards, the contestants arrived at the Shooting Range to attend their first Practice Session. Here, Colby stated that during the practice, they would need to get accustomed with using the AK-47 by shooting prone, under guidance by expert, Craig Sawyer. After the Red Team had finished, the Blue Team was given their chance at practicing. Dustin did well with shooting the weapon, and in the end, the Blue Team felt satisfied with their performance.

Dustin with the AK-47 in the challenge.

The next day, the contestants returned to the Shooting Range for the second Team Challenge. Here, they immediately noticed the obstacles and targets set up. Once the contestants got situated, Colby announced that the challenge would be a race between the teams. Two contestants would be assigned to each station, with an exception of the last, in which one would be assigned. To get to these stations, they would need to endure the obstacles standing in their way. The first obstacle was a narrow pipe, measuring twenty feet long, which would have to be crawled through. Next was a mud pit, which was followed by crawling through mud and finally a crawl through sand under barbed wire. Once at these stations, each contestant would destroy a target, with an exception of the last, where one individual would take out two targets, before their team could proceed to the next station. Whichever team finished first would be victorious. Before the challenge, the Red Team had to decide who to sit out on the Blue Team, due to them having an extra member after Amanda's elimination, and chose Jarrett Grimes. Then, both teams broke off to determine their shooting orders, with the Blue Team choosing Dustin and Billy for the first station. Once the challenge began, Dustin and Billy rushed towards the pipe, with Dustin making it through first. As soon as Billy hit his target when he arrived at the station, Dustin commenced firing at his target, managing to hit it on his first shot. Sara Ahrens and Alex Charvat then made their way through the pipe, took the AK-47's from Dustin and Billy, and rushed towards the second station. At the third station, the Blue Team ended up behind the Red Team, and it was up to Jake to run through the course and let the final shots off for the victory. However, Jake was unable to do this, resulting in Blue Team's defeat.

"The hardest thing about losing this challenge is that we can't blame anyone."

―Dustin Ellermann

When the Blue Team returned to the house, they washed off before holding a team meeting. Here, the contestants were having a difficult time deciding who to send to the Elimination Challenge. After a while, Jake stated he would vote for Sara, which motivated others to vote for her as well. A few hours later, the Blue Team arrived at the Nomination Range for their first time to vote two people into the Elimination Challenge, by each individual shooting the target of who they wanted to nominate. When Dustin was called to vote, his target had already been shot at by Mike Hughes and Billy. He decided to shoot Billy's target, just to call things even, for appearing to have shot at Dustin's target without reason. However, in the end, it was Dustin and Sara who were voted to compete in the Elimination Challenge.

Dustin shooting against Sara in the Elimination Challenge.

After being nominated, Dustin and Sara arrived at the Shooting Range the following morning to attend a Practice Session before the Elimination Challenge. Here, Colby stated that the two would be shooting the Smith & Wesson M&P .45 at targets under guidance by returning expert, Craig Sawyer. During the practice, Dustin was given a suggestion about reloading by Craig, and he shot very fast and accurate. Later that day, the Blue Team returned to the Shooting Range again for the second Elimination Challenge. Here, a large, rotating cylinder, slightly concealed by a wall, was set up, bearing red foe targets and blue friend targets. Using the Smith & Wesson .45, the two would attempt to gain as many points as possible while firing at the targets when they were not concealed. Hitting a foe target would add a point to the total, while hitting a friend target would lead to a one point deduction on each occurrence. In the end, Dustin was victorious, having gained a total of 23 points in comparison to Sara's 11. Afterwards, the Blue Team returned to the house, where Dustin nailed a blue target bearing Sara's name to the wall. At the house, Dustin was complimented on his performance before the Blue Team went outside once again to perform another walkthrough.

Week Three

The morning after Sara's elimination, the contestants headed to the Shooting Range once again to attend a third team Practice Session. Here, Colby stated that during the practice, they would be shooting slugs with the Benelli M4 Super 90 at paper targets, under guidance by speed-shooting expert, Taran Butler. The Blue Team devised a plan to shout and yell at each other to induce the feeling the feeling of stress. Despite this, Dustin was able to hit his targets very well. As soon as the Blue Team returned to the house, they began training using a golf club as a "firearm", similar to their first walkthrough.

Dustin, firing at his targets with the Benelli.

The following day, the contestants returned to the Shooting Range, where they instantly noticed an array of mason jars filled with red and blue liquid. For the challenge, the teams would be shooting head-to-head in an assigned order. Using the Benelli M4 Super 90, the contestants would destroy the jars filled with liquid of their team color. Whichever team hit all fifty targets first would be victorious. Before the challenge, the teams were allowed to determine their shooting order, with the Blue Team choosing Dustin to shoot second, after Billy. As soon as the latter had ended his first run, Dustin was up, and managed to hit five targets with five rounds. When Dustin was up for his second run, the Blue Team had destroyed 27 targets, and he brought the total up to 31 by hitting four targets. After a third rotation, Blue Team managed to hit all of their targets, while Red Team still had 19 targets left, resulting in the former's second victory.

After returning to the house, the Red Team held another difficult team meeting, while the Blue Team relaxed, feeling great after winning prior to a defeat. Shortly after, the Red Team left to vote two people into the Elimination Challenge, and when they returned, it was revealed that Drew Shprintz and Cliff Walsh were sent to this challenge. The following day, after Cliff and Drew had attended a Practice Session, the Red Team departed once again to witness the third Elimination Challenge. They returned a while later with Cliff, who nailed Drew's target to the wall.

Week Four

The morning following Drew's elimination, the thirteen remaining contestants returned to the Shooting Range for another Practice Session. Here, Colby announced that the next few challenges would incorporate historical weapons, starting with the Remington 1875. To help prepare the contestants for the challenge, they would be shooting at paper targets under guidance by expert, Spencer Hoglund. When Dustin was up to shoot, he performed well with the revolver, and had fun while doing so.

Dustin shooting against Cliff.

The following day, while approaching the Shooting Range, the contestants noticed an array of six large dice. Each die made up one station, and below each were two smaller dice with the same number of targets represented by the numbers of the large dice. One individual on each team would be assigned to each station, and attempt to hit all of their targets before their opponent. Every target hit would add a point to their team total. Whichever of the teams ended with the most points would be victorious. Before engaging in the challenge, the Red Team needed to decide who to sit out on the Blue Team, and they ultimately decided on Mike Hughes, due to his handgun skills. Afterwards, the teams broke off to determine who would be shooting at which stations. Highly expecting of Dustin, the Blue Team chose him to shoot at the sixth station. By the time it was Dustin's time to go up, Blue Team had thirteen points to Red Team's ten, and he had to make sure he did not fall behind Cliff Walsh, who was the last up for the opposing team. With his first six rounds, Dustin was able to hit five targets. He then had to unload the Remington and decided to reload it with two rounds, both of which were misses, giving Cliff time to rebound and finish the station. However, in the end, Blue Team scored more points than the Red Team, resulting in another victory.

When the contestants returned to the house, the Red Team held a team meeting, and left for the Nomination Range soon after. When they returned, it was announced that Michael Marelli and Mark Schneider would vie to continue in the competition. The following morning, the two men attended a Practice Session, and when they returned, announced that they would be shooting a Gatling gun, to the envy of several contestants. The Red Team departed later that day for the Elimination Challenge, and returned with Michael, to the Blue Team's disappointment, who nailed Mark's target to the wall.

Week Five

Week Six

Week Seven

Week Eight

Week Nine

Week Ten

Week Eleven

Week Twelve

Post-competition

References

External links