Action Steel

Summary

 This club match is based on Steel Challenge, but is not an SCSA sanctioned event. The shoot consists of 5 stations of 5-6 steel targets of varying sizes and placed in varying patterns – the shooters will shoot at the targets 5 times. Many stages will have a stop plate that must be shot last. There can be other procedural challenges in any given stage. The strings are timed, with your highest time being dropped, and your remaining 4 strings added up counting as your score.

 Match Facts

• The match is held on the 50 yard range. We shift the line forward of the pad, so the shooting pad is cold when the match is in progress.
• Match is held on the 4th Sunday of every month March through October
• Match registration begins at 8:15AM. Match will begin at approximately 9AM.
  
• Cost is $15.00 for the first gun, and $10 per additional guns. Both members and non-members are welcome. Juniors under the age of 18 may shoot the match for free when accompanied by an adult entry.
• Pre-registration through Practiscore is required for anyone with specific squad requests. All pre-registrations through Practiscore, even those without squad requests, will be accommodated before any walk-in shooters.
• Due to the volume of non-club members registering and then not showing or submitting withdraw requests, matches will be first opened to club member registration for one week. Members who have shot the match before and are on our contact list will receive the first notice; if a member hasn’t shot the match and would like to be added, send a request to the committee at steel@ftrpa.com. After one week, the event will appear as public on Practiscore so non-members may register. 
• The match is capped at 80 guns. At 9AM, any registrant not checked in will be removed from their requested squad. If they have not checked in before we finish assigning all registrants, they will be removed from the match.
  
• If the weather is questionable it is recommended that you contact us prior to arriving. Get on our steel mailing list, as we will send any cancellations to that list. If it’s a little rainy/drizzling we will likely run the match. If it’s coming down in buckets or stormy, we’ll likely cancel.
• The purpose of this match is to have fun. You don’t need to be an expert shooter to enjoy it. This match is great for kids! The targets aren’t that hard to hit and the bell-like qualities of the steel plates make it fun even if you aren’t the fastest shooter.

 Course of Fire

• Match follows cold range rules. Guns must be unloaded and cased when brought to the line. Guns may only be handled and loaded at the firing line. Guns off the line must remain cased.
• Match is divided up by squads, with a squad starting at each station. Each match has a Squad Leader.
• Uncase when instructed to by Squad Leader with the firearm pointed in a safe direction. The Squad Leader will allow you to get a sight picture and dry fire if you like. When instructed to, load your firearm and make ready.
• Match starts at the low ready, muzzle touching the shooting table, or coming as close as you can while keeping the firearm pointed in a safe direction.
• Squad Leader will ask whether the shooter is ready, if acknowledged, “Standby” will inform the shooter the start buzzer is imminent. Commence shooting on the buzzer.
• Each course of fire may be different, so engage each target according to the course of fire. The game is speed v. accuracy. The total amount of time it takes to complete the course of fire is your score. Lower scores are better, like in golf. Each stage is repeated five times for five strings. Your highest score is dropped from each string.
• When you complete your five strings, the Squad Leader will ask that you drop your magazine and clear your firearm. He or she will want to check your chamber, and then will ask you to drop the slide, drop the hammer (if possible) and re-case.
• Your squad will move on to other stages once every shooter in your squad has had a chance to complete the stage.

Divisions

Categories

Recommendations for Match Participants

• Good eye and ear protection are critical for this match.  Also be sure to wear appropriate clothing and footwear. Fragments can come back from the steel. Usually fragments do not come back fast enough to be anything more than an annoyance, but they have been known to sometimes break skin.
• You will shoot a minimum of 125 rounds on a 5-stage match for each gun you enter. That’s assuming you don’t miss, which you probably will. It’s recommended you bring 250-300 rounds for each gun you want to enter. Better to have too much than not enough, and sometimes we’ll do bonus plates.
• It is very helpful to bring five full magazines to the match, or speed loaders if you have a revolver. Have them loaded when you get to the line. You can load magazines behind the shooting line, you just can’t handle or load firearms. There is no capacity limit for these matches. If you’re just starting out and don’t have that many, we can pass them off to someone who will help you reload while you’re shooting.
• It is better to only shoot as fast as you can hit the plates. Misses are costly. Speed will come with experience. Also keep in mind that the miss plate penalty is 3 seconds. So often time it’s better to take the penalty if you are facing a difficult plate.
• Please do not bring a brand new gun or a recently worked on gun unless you have checked it’s in good working order first. A match is no place to find out something isn’t working with your firearm. If your firearm is found to be malfunctioning in a dangerous manner, you won’t be permitted to continue with it.
• Be sure you have good muzzle discipline, and are good about always keeping your muzzle pointed in a safe direction. We can be forgiving of newbies who need to take their time, and don’t know all the ropes, but we do require that you’re already a safe shooter.
• You’ll be hitting 10″ and 12″ steel targets at distances of 10 to 20 yards. If you can somewhat consistently hit in a 10″ target at 10 yards, you’ll probably be able to do OK in this match. If you struggle to land shots in that radius, you might want to practice a bit before trying our match.

Contact

• Contact the match directors at steel@ftrpa.com
• Pre-registration is strongly recommended on Practiscore. Walk-ins will only be accommodated on a space-available basis after pre-registrants.