Cross referencing my comments on another competition thread, are SC matches generally as much of a time commitment as USPSA? I don’t love the idea of shooting and scooting, but maybe I can help out a little before I git.
Cross referencing my comments on another competition thread, are SC matches generally as much of a time commitment as USPSA? I don’t love the idea of shooting and scooting, but maybe I can help out a little before I git.
If you mean how much time you’re there, no. Steel is usually much shorter in duration to USPSA and IDPA. As was mentioned earlier there is no taping and scoring. This there is no need to call the range cold unless a steel target fails and must be replaced or some hot shot uses a full auto burst to knock over a target stand.Originally Posted by JAD
Last edited by El Cid; 12-22-2018 at 01:41 PM.
I am starting in the "speed steel" matches at Dothan Gun Club in January.
Not sanctioned but about the same as Steel Challenge.
I think the "good place to start" comes from:
-No or little movement required
-Faster match pace, less down time
-Fewer rules & simple stage design allow people to focus on shooting
-Shorter overall match of ~3 hours vs 6-8 for USPSA
A lot of people do move on because, as you mentioned, there are only 8 stages. After you shoot it for a year it's natural to branch out to IDPA or USPSA which have very different challenges, even if they are typically more lax on technical shooting skills.
Every now and then someone will run outlaw steel matches in my area and they are a ton of fun. Typically a little more complex than standard steel challenge, but not like a 30+ round USPSA field course either. It's nice to mix it up and get the logistical benefit of an all steel match without the monotony of the standard stages.
As someone who hasn't ever done steel challenge, but has watched quite a few of Mr. Kelley's videos, this seems like an apt comparison. It does look like a lot of fun, and definitely a valid test of skills that don't get used as much in USPSA/IDPA, but I think that if it's just the same 8 stages over and over, I'd probably get bored pretty quickly. Outlaw matches where the stage design varies seem more fun to me, at least from the outside looking in.
I agree and most of the local matches I’ve shot do work in some “custom” stages. The creativity of your group of shooters is the only limit. Some stick with the fixed shooting box and some have more freedom to include movement. That depends on your range facility, but also can be affected by how many people show up to shoot at the match.
I’ve also participated in 2 gun matches that are done with mostly steel. It’s especially helpful at longer ranges where it would consume lots of time checking hits on paper at 100+ yards.
Long term, shooting always changing steel, like Tuesday Night Steel at Rio is where it is at for me, but short term when you are chasing peak time runs on each stage, SC can be pretty absorbing!
Likes pretty much everything in every caliber.
I am so jealous of Tuesday Night Steel!
Guns are just machines and without you they can do no harm, nor any good
I make it when I can. I really enjoy it.
I've only shot Steel at my local club, so I don't know how it's done elsewhere. But we have two matches each month, and depending on who's running it, and who's shooting it, can mean the difference between finishing at 1230 or 1400. Milling around for an hour beforehand waiting on the match director to organize the tablets is a bit of buzz kill. And waiting at every bay for a huge squad in front of you to finishing shooting, when they each have two guns, will also drag out the match. But fortunately these are not the norm. So overall, our matches finish earlier than IDPA or USPSA.
As for helping out, on a good squad everybody is taking turns running the scoring tablet or being RO. Those roles rotate much more than in USPSA or IDPA, in my experience.
I encourage you to try it out. You can always shoot half the match if time is tight.
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