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Old July 29, 2010, 09:10 AM   #1
aarondhgraham
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Talk to me about rimfire steel challenge matches,,,

I'm not looking for serious competition,,,
I'm really just looking for a sport shooting experience,,,
And some friendly camaraderie with some like minded shooters.

I think rimfire steel matches might be the perfect blend of fun and economy.

I found this website and am wondering if their rules and set-up would be considered typical,,,
I assume that the rules for centerfire and rimfire would be the same,,,
Or at least somewhat similar.

Any insights you good folk can provide me will be very helpful.

I am especially interested in knowing about the type(s) of ammunition that is used,,,
I am going to assume that jacketed centerfire ammo is not permitted.

If that is correct, where does one buy lead ammo in 9mm.

Like I said,,,
I am competition ignorant,,,
Any information you can give me will be very much appreciated.

.
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Old July 29, 2010, 11:29 AM   #2
Scorch
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Rimfire matches are limited to rimfire. Most people shoot 22LR standard velocity match ammo for rimfire matches, although there are always a few adventurous people that shoot HV ammo or 22 Mag. A steel challenge is a hoot to shoot with a 22.

If you want to shoot steel with a centerfire handgun, there are lots of clubs that offer steel challenge type shoots. Talk to the event coordinators at your local club to see if they have heard of any local matches. First-timers can get a lot of tips and learn a lot from the other competitors. You will see a lot of 1911 45s at steel shoots because they will cleanly take down the targets, but people compete with other chamberings as well.
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Old July 29, 2010, 12:09 PM   #3
ice9_us
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yes

I'm not looking for serious competition,,,
I'm really just looking for a sport shooting experience,,,
And some friendly camaraderie with some like minded shooters.

-------------------------

That is exactly what you will find. Have fun..
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Old July 29, 2010, 01:01 PM   #4
g.willikers
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From the horses' mouth

Here's the web sites for the two sanctioning organizations for steel challenge matches:
(.22 is one of the divisions at all their matches).
http://isishootists.com/scsa.htm
http://steelchallenge.com/
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Old July 30, 2010, 08:37 AM   #5
lmccrock
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Quote:
I am going to assume that jacketed centerfire ammo is not permitted.
I have only been to steel challenge matches at 2 clubs, but neither forbid jacketed ammo. Occasionally fragments fly, but everyone wears eye protection, and if you are looking at the target, nothing bad happens. The targets are set at a minimum distance

I have not been to one of the local matches, but they require low power ammo. Most of the shooters also shoot USPSA and they do not want to hammer their plates with major power factor loads, so they require low power. Plain 9mm FMJ or JHP is ok. Not sure I would shoot a bi-metal bullet.

To be sure, contact the match organizers.

Lee
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Old July 30, 2010, 12:42 PM   #6
MrBorland
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I shot my first rimfire steel match this past weekend. It was a major match, and while matches can be shot with pistol and/or rifle, this match required both pistol (day 1) and rifle (day 2). I did well on day 1, and very poorly on day 2.

Most shooters use a semi-auto pistol. IMHO, though, if you don't find the trigger to be a handicap, a 10-shot revolver is an excellent rimfire handgun for it's reliability. Regardless of the gun used, though, it's a lot of fun, and very economical. A great way to work on speed and transitions.

At our range, I believe any .22LR may be used. Shooters start at the "low ready", so no holster needed. Also, at our range, there's no set configuration or number of plates per stage. There may be as few as 3 and as many as 9, including a "stop" plate. An early hit on "stop" stops the timer, and you get a 5 second "miss" penalty for each remaining target. In some cases, plates may be surprisingly close, so it's not hard to accidentally hit the stop early.

Here's a link to rimfire matches a local range:

http://www.youtube.com/results?searc...h+rimfire&aq=f
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Old July 30, 2010, 03:09 PM   #7
EdInk
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I have been wondering about these competitions too.

How hard is it to be competive with only ironsights?
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Old July 30, 2010, 03:56 PM   #8
aarondhgraham
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Hello EdInk,,,

From what I can tell there are always separate divisions for iron sights and optics.

I'm going to try it with my Mk III Ruger 22/45,,,
Mine is the most basic slab side barrel model there is.

At my age and stage I'm not really concerned as to how competitive I am,,,
If my scores show any level of consistent improvement over time,,,
I will consider it to be ammo money well spent.

.
__________________
Never ever give an enemy the advantage of a verbal threat.
Caje: The coward dies a thousand times, the brave only once.
Kirby: That's about all it takes, ain't it?
Aarond is good,,, Aarond is wise,,, Always trust Aarond! (most of the time)
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Old July 30, 2010, 04:26 PM   #9
lmccrock
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Steel Challenge has different divisions for irons and optics and revolver. The course of fire is 5 rounds, so unless something goes horribly wrong, capacity is not an issue.

Lee
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Old July 30, 2010, 07:30 PM   #10
MrBorland
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Quote:
How hard is it to be competive with only ironsights?
Well, you'd be competing against others with ironsights, so the answer depends on you. Nonetheless, the overall winner of the East Coat Rimfire championship just won it with iron sights, handily beating all others, including those with optics.

From the match results, you can also see that a number of Limited shooters did very well against Open shooters with their pistols (stage 1-7).

http://caswellranch.com/default.aspx
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Old July 30, 2010, 10:10 PM   #11
EdInk
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I have the same gun as you, aarongraham, expect mine is a MkIII.

I've always just liked simple sights on my guns. I even black-out the rearsights on a 3 dot setup.

I'm by no means old (only pushing 30) but I just don't have the time to SERIOUSLY compete on regular basis in any sport.
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Old September 11, 2010, 02:22 AM   #12
photoracer
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Steel matches

Steel matches are probably the fastest growing part of the shooting arena. With Ruger assuming the sponsorship of the relatively new Ruger Rimfire Series which is an outgrowth of Steel Challenge, it becomes a more family friendly type of competition.
I've been a member of my club for several years in a minimum participation basis. However last year I decided to upgrade my level of competition and started shooting more of my clubs steel matches, including a few new rimfire only matches. This year I started traveling away from my club to shoot matches. So far this year I've shot 2 Steel Challenge events with one more to go and 1 Ruger Rimfire event with another still to go to. Plus the PSA Steel event and will shoot their new Multi-Gun rimfire event also.
Primarily I am shooting rimfire classes only but will start shooting more centerfire as I go along. I have 3 rimfire semi-auto pistols and one semi-auto rifle. With these 63 year old eyes I'm shooting primarily Rimfire Open/Optics with red dots. But now I've had a custom set of eyeglasses made that will help me shoot iron sights better. So the Ruger 22/45 I won down at the East Coast Regionals at Caswell Ranch will be currently dedicated to Rimfire Iron class although for 2 gun rimfire events like the Ruger Series I will continue to shoot Open. I was also among the shooters down there that had problems with their rifles, as I was in 2nd place in the Open pistol class after the first day. To bad also as the rifle stages I did not have troubles with I shot 2nd to 4th best times in.
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Old September 11, 2010, 08:02 AM   #13
Rifleman1776
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I like what photoracer posted.
There is a legitimate place for .22 competition. Not everyone can afford the big guns and ammunition. Rules should encourage, not discourage shooting and new shooters.
I contacted a local Cowboy action shooting club to ask about matches with .22 rimmies. I explained that due to problems with my aging shoulders I can no longer handle larger CF pistols and have sold most of mine. He flat our ridiculed me for wanting to compete with .22, insinuating it was only for women and children.
This is not that attitude our shooting sports need.
For now, my .22 pistol shooting is limited to my back yard.
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Old September 11, 2010, 06:14 PM   #14
g.willikers
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Rifleman1776,
The SASS cowboy matches do allow .22, but only for youngsters.
So, you will have to lie about your age.
The NRA Action Pistol Matches also have a .22 division, at the local level, now.
Unfortunately, there aren't many of them around the country.
But you might get lucky and find some in your area.
Wish that I could.
Before the USPSA/IPSC, IDPA and Steel Challenge matches became so popular, AP was THE game.
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