Shooting steel can improve a concealed carrier’s accuracy.
Competition shooting can be a great way to spend the day. It’s a fun, dynamic way to shoot that breaks away from the standard square range. If you’re interested in competitive shooting or even interested in sharpening your defensive skills, you should take a peek into Steel Challenge. Steel Challenge is defined as a speed shooting competition. As the name implies, your targets will be steel. Steel Challenge is a great way to get into competitive shooting, to stretch your skills, and learn some new ones.
Why Steel Challenge
Steel Challenge is, without a doubt, the easiest speed shooting competition to navigate for beginners. If sports like USPSA and IDPA seem intimidating to you, then Steel Challenge is a great way to start. Unlike other speed shooting sports, there is no drawing or reloads on the clock. There is also no movement under the clock.
This makes Steel Challenge simple to understand and easy to shoot. Steel Challenge recognizes eight official stages. Each stage consists of five steel targets. Shooters will shoot each course five times, and they will aim to get the fastest time on each course. Shooters run the course five times but drop their slowest run. The only exception is a course called Outer Limits, where shooters only have four runs.
Steel Challenge is easy to get into and doesn’t require any crazy gear to remain competitive. It allows you to flex your competitive muscles and enter the world of competitive shooting.
How Could Steel Challenge Benefit You
Steel Challenge is a ton of fun and does make entry into the competitive world a bit easier. You might be asking how exactly Steel Challenge will help you as a defensive shooter. That’s a fair question. First, it gives you more range time, which can always be valuable. More importantly, it puts pressure on you. Pressure means stress.
You can certainly expect to experience stress in a defensive situation. Shooting under stress and under a timer is tough, and it’s even worse when you are competing. Being inoculated to stress can be very beneficial in a defensive shooting.
It requires you to hit multiple targets quickly and transition from target to target quickly. The targets are at all manner of ranges and distances from each other. This creates a different level of challenge and is a whole heckuva lot different than just shooting at a square range.
Bring your concealed carry firearm to the match if you want to sharpen your defensive skills. Trust me, competing with your P365 is a lot different than competing with your Glock 17. You might be humbled when you whip out that subcompact and let it rip and roar.
How To Find a Match
It’s fairly easy. Go to SCSA.org and find local matches in your area. I was pleasantly surprised at the number of matches in my area, and I live in the middle of nowhere. Competitive shooting is an addictive hobby, and Steel Challenge is a gateway into more complex, somewhat intimidating competitions. Steel Challenge is a great way to enjoy your firearms, sharpen your skills, and become a better shooter all around.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Travis Pike is a former Marine Machine gunner who served with 2nd Bn 2nd Marines for 5 years. He deployed in 2009 to Afghanistan and again in 2011 with the 22nd MEU(SOC) during a record-setting 11 months at sea. Travis has trained with the Romanian Army, the Spanish Marines, the Emirate Marines, and the Afghan National Army.
He serves as an NRA-certified pistol instructor and pursues a variety of firearms-based hobbies.
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