Steel Challenge competition shooting is a great way to get started in the sport of pistol shooting. It's an excellent place for beginners of all skill levels because the rules and targets are simple, and movement is not a significant factor.

The farthest target is thirty-five yards, and most targets are seventeen to twenty yards out, making it suitable for beginners and experts alike. Steel Challenge competition is a great way to learn and practice your draw, grip, stance, trigger control, transitions, and seeing your sights at speed.

Competitors are scored on how fast they can complete a stage. The winner will have the lowest total time across all stages in a competition. For each run on the stage, only one hit per target is needed using an unlimited number of rounds (called primary targets). The last plate is called the stop plate, and your stage time and score are recorded when you hit this plate.

Stage planning is simple because there are only five targets per stage, and they are all directly in front of you. Targets consist of circles and large rectangular plates, all set at varying distances. You engage the targets from designated shooting boxes. Only one stage requires you to move horizontally—about six feet, on the clock, to a secondary shooting position to complete the stage. 

Steel Challenge is a game of consistency at speed, so whoever has the best skills and makes the fewest number of mistakes wins!


Steel Targets

In Steel Challenge, all plates are the same color and usually painted white. The stop plate is designated by painting the two-by-four post with a color (usually red, orange, or black). The post color makes the stop plate quickly stand out from the rest of the four targets.

There are only three types of plates used in a Steel Challenge competition.

• 18-by-24-inch rectangle plate

• 10-inch round plate

• 12-inch round plate

Target heights are consistent for each stage except for two targets on the pendulum stage. Rectangle targets are five feet, six inches from the top of the plate to the ground, and round targets are set five feet high from the top of the target to the ground. The pendulum stage has two round, twelve-inch targets that are six feet from the top of the target to the ground.

Stage Summaries

When you attend a Steel Challenge match, you will see that there are only eight official stages. Each stage has five plates at distances of seven to thirty-five yards. You always shoot the same eight stages so you can easily practice outside of match competition.

Each run or string gets timed, and your cumulative times become your score. The competitor with the lowest overall cumulative score wins. A minimum of four scored stages per division are required to receive a classification.

Steel Challenge competitions are very much a mental game of consistency and performance. It helps to have a plan when shooting any stage. Review the stage diagrams so you understand where you will shoot first and where you will finish on the stop plate.

Official Classifier Stages

• SC-101 Five to Go

• SC-102 Showdown

• SC-103 Smoke & Hope

• SC-104 Outer Limits

• SC-105 Accelerator

• SC-106 The Pendulum

• SC-107 Speed Option

• SC-108 Roundabout

The table below is an example of an eight-stage competition where you shoot multiple strings per stage.

Because rimfire pistols and rimfire rifles can be used and don’t require holsters, it is a great way to get new people started in the sport. Shooting steel targets is a fun way to learn about competitions because each hit on steel gives you instant feedback.