The Steel Challenge is a speed shooting championship and governed by the Steel Challenge Shooting Association (SCSA). The competition was founded by Mike Dalton and Mike Fichman.[1] The targets, made of steel, range in size from 10" round plates to 18"x24" square plates. The match is held every year in Piru, California and draws shooters from around the world.
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The Steel Challenge World Speed Shooting Championships have grown to one of the largest professional pistol competitions in America.[2] In 2007 more than 220 competitors from the United States and around the world competed for a portion of the $390,000 in cash and prizes - the largest purse in competitive pistol shooting.[3]
Competitors are scored based solely on the time it takes them to shoot each stage. The last target that is shot is known as the "stop plate", which stops the timer. All primary target hits made after the stop plate has been struck, will be scored with a 3 second penalty each. The maximum time permitted for a run is 30 seconds and a competitor will be stopped and asked to reload if they reach the 30 second limit. Each competitor shoots each stage five times, with their slowest run dropped, excluding the stage Outer Limits where only four runs are shot and the top three counted. The competitor's best four out of five runs are totaled for their stage score and the eight stage scores are added together to establish the competitor's match score. The winner is the competitor with the lowest overall time.
Seventy shooters competed in the first Steel Challenge in 1981. John Shaw claimed the first ‘World’s Fastest Shooter’ title along with his share of the $20,000 in cash and prizes.
In the winter of 2007, Dalton and Fichman sold the Steel Challenge to the United States Practical Shooting Association (USPSA)[4] which is the US sanctioning body of IPSC.
The Steel Challenge comprises eight courses of fire called 'stages.'[5] They are:
| Stage | Shooter | Time | Avg. Run | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pendulum | Jerry Miculek | 10.72 | 2.68 | 2008 |
| Roundabout | JJ Racaza | 8.08 | 2.02 | 2008 |
| Showdown | BJ Norris | 8.11 | 2.02 | 2007 |
| Five To Go | Max Michel | 9.58 | 2.39 | 2007 |
| Speed Option | KC Eusebio | 9.72 | 2.43 | 2010 |
| Smoke & Hope | KC Eusebio | 7.39 | 1.84 | 2004 |
| Outer Limits | BJ Norris | 11.14 | 3.71 | 2008 |
| Accelerator | Max Michel | 8.94 | 2.23 | 2007 |
| Stage | Shooter | Time | Avg. Run | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pendulum | Kay Clark-Miculek | 12.58 | 3.14 | 2005 |
| Roundabout | Kay Clark-Miculek | 10.01 | 2.50 | 2006 |
| Showdown | Kay Clark-Miculek | 10.85 | 2.71 | 2008 |
| Five To Go | Kay Clark-Miculek | 11.95 | 2.98 | 2006 |
| Speed Option | Kay Clark-Miculek | 12.70 | 3.17 | 2008 |
| Smoke & Hope | Kay Clark-Miculek | 9.25 | 2.31 | 2008 |
| Outer Limits | Kay Clark-Miculek | 14.62 | 4.87 | 2008 |
| Accelerator | Kay Clark-Miculek | 11.56 | 2.89 | 2007 |
| Year | Top Overall | Top Woman |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | KC Eusebio | Jessie Abbate |
| 2009 | Max Michel | Jessie Abbate |
| 2008 | KC Eusebio | Kay Clark-Miculek |
| 2007 | Max Michel | Jessie Abbate |
| 2006 | JJ Racaza | Kay Clark-Miculek |
| 2005 | Max Michel | Kay Clark-Miculek |
| 2004 | Tatsuya Sakai | Kay Clark-Miculek |
| 2003 | KC Eusebio | Athena Lee |
| 2002 | Rob Leatham | Athena Lee |
| 2001 | Doug Koenig | Kay Clark-Miculek |
| 2000 | Doug Koenig | Kay Clark-Miculek |
| 1999 | Doug Koenig | Julie Goloski |
| 1998 | Jerry Barnhart | Cathy Levanza |
| 1997 | Ross Newell | Kay Clark-Miculek |
| 1993 | Jethro Dionsio | Valerie Levanza |
| 1992 | Jethro Dionsio | Valerie Levanza |
| 1991 | Jerry Barnhart | Judy Woolley |
| 1990 | Jethro Dionsio | Judy Woolley |
| 1989 | Angelo Spagnoli | Shirley Hamilton |
| 1988 | Chip McCormick | Suzan Cooper |
| 1987 | Jerry Barnhart | Michelle Griggs |
| 1986 | Chip McCormick | Jo Anne Hall |
| 1985 | Rob Leatham | Lee Cole |
| 1984 | Nick Pruitt | Lee Cole |
| 1983 | Mickey Fowler | Linda Zubiena |
| 1982 | J. Michael Plaxco | Pamela Morris |
| 1981 | John Shaw | Melba Pruitt |
Since at least 2003, the Shooting Gallery show on the nationally syndicated Outdoor Channel has covered each Steel Challenge championship. It has also been covered in other press, including notable articles in American Handgunner,[6][7] GunWeek, [8] and Outdoor Life.[9]
