I have shot a small amount of Steel Challenge matches off and on for the past 20 years. It is good fun and it provides a level of performance stress unlike other shooting sports except maybe Action Pistol. I am no expert in it, but it is the only national championship I have ever won. In my last local match this past weekend, I shot Limited Optics and Carry Optics. I managed to win both divisions and take first over all in the centerfire divisions.
I mention this because there is slightly more to shooting steel than the advertising might suggest. The winner of the Steel Challenge has been called the fastest gun in the world. There may be some truth to this, but not enough to matter for our purposes. The reason I have consistently done well in these matches is because it is really an accuracy match, rather than a speed match. Of course, all shooting competitions are accuracy matches when it comes down to it so some explanation is probably in order.
While some of the steel stages use large targets at close range, most of them use small(er) targets at medium range. Hitting it is what counts, and when people do badly, it is not because they moved too slowly, it is because they missed the target and had to make it up. Misses do not lead to victory. Better to shoot within your means, and hit your targets, rather than push your speed and miss a bunch. None of this is new, and is likely self evident to most of you. Nonetheless, pushing for speed and missing is way more common than simply hitting at whatever speed you are capable of.
I do reasonably well, because while there are faster shooters than me in competition, I tend to not miss very much, and that leaves me with a pretty decent overall time. Of course, a good fast draw is a good thing to have for this type of shooting. My draws on various stages range from .7’s for big steel at 7 yards, to as slow as 1.2 for the smaller, more distant targets. Like Action Pistol, you will draw a ton in Steel Challenge and I like that aspect of it. If you do not have as fast a draw as you would like right now, do not let it stop you. A training partner of mine has a slower draw, but makes up for it with fast transitions and few misses.
One shot per target does not do much for your follow up ability (obviously), but it is excellent for improving your eye speed from target to target. Combine that skill with the draw and the basic level of accuracy needed, and you have a very challenging match. Part of the challenge is dealing with the stress. Most of that comes from inside you, but some comes from the fact that you have to stand and deliver, and everyone watching knows instantly if you are doing well or not. That is part of the excitement of shooting steel. In many cardboard heavy sports you can mask your performance with movement and fast sounding shots, and you need a formula to figure out your score after the fact. C class shooters can feel and look like they did almost as well as the better shooters. Not so much with steel. In steel shooting, everyone, from experienced competitors to new onlookers, knows instantly how you are doing. That adds a surprising amount of pressure to many people. It also makes the sport more fun, snce people can actually follow the shooting. “Made for TV” comes to mind.
Steel Challenge type shooting is not the be all end all for competition. It offers some things that other sports usually do not. Matches tend to be half day affairs, which is nice because I am unwilling to spend a full day on the range, wandering from stage to stage in order to shoot a few rounds and then wait another hour to do it again. If that sounds appealing to you, I highly recommend you add some steel matches to your training and range time. I think you will find it worth the effort.
Read the full article here
