See the full rules here: https://scsa.org/rules
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Steel Challenge stages consist of 5 steel plates with one plate designated as the Stop Plate. You can shoot the plates in whatever order you like but the Stop Plate must be last because hitting the Stop Plate ends the current String of Fire. Your String doesn't end until you hit the Stop Plate so you can keep taking make up shots on missed plates until you decide to hit the Stop Plate or 30 seconds elapses. 

You shoot 5 Strings in a row and your score for that stage is the total time of the best 4 Strings. Basically, you get one throwaway String. The lowest total time across all stages wins. Most stages are shot stationary from within a shooting box, but one stage does require you to move between boxes on the clock.

You can shoot centerfire pistols, pistol caliber carbines, 22LR pistols, or 22LR rifles. 22LR pistols and all rifles start low ready, pointing at a start mark so you don't need a holster or mag pouches for these divisions.

Safety

Safety is of the utmost importance in this sport. Violating any of the safety rules will lead to disqualification from the match. Disqualification (DQ) means your match is over, your scores are forfeit, and you can no longer shoot for the rest of the day.

This match is a COLD RANGE match. That means no handling of any firearms anywhere except the designated Safe Area tables in each bay or under the supervision of a Range Officer (RO). This includes the parking lot. If your competition firearm is loaded, let one of our staff know (look for the GPS shirts) and we’ll proceed to a bay to clear it.

Safe Areas

Each bay has a designated Safe Area with a table and red lines to clearly indicate the bounds of the Safe Area. As long as you’re within these red lines you can handle your firearm. Make sure to keep your firearm pointed at the berm in front of you at all times. Pointing a firearm at another person will disqualify you from the match.

Safe Areas are for unloaded firearms only and no ammunition (including dummy rounds) may be handled inside the Safe Area. Ammo and magazines may be handled anywhere else on the range except for the Safe Area. Magazines stowed on the belt, in pockets, or in your bag can enter the Safe Area, but may not be removed from their stowed position while you are in the Safe Area. Empty magazines can be handled in the Safe Area.

Gun Handling Safety

Unsupervised gun handling
The only time you can handle a firearm is an a Safe Area or under the direct supervision of a Range Officer (RO). When your turn comes up to shoot the stage, you may not handle your firearm until the RO says "Make ready." Handling your firearm before the RO gives the "Make ready" command will result in a DQ.

Sweeping

Allowing the muzzle of a firearm to point at any part of any person’s body (sweeping) will lead to a DQ. There’s an exception for sweeping your lower extremities during holstering and unholstering.

The 180 Rule

The muzzle of your firearm must never point uprange. The 180 is an imaginary plane that follows you throughout the stage that is 90 degrees to your left, right, up, and down. Allowing your firearm to point past the 180 is considered to be pointing uprange and is a safety violation leading to a DQ.

about Steel Challenge

See https://nroi.org/nroi-tips/nroi-tips-the-180/ for more details

Trigger Finger

Unless you’re aiming at or shooting at targets, all movement must be done with fingers visibly outside of the trigger guard and pointed in a safe direction (see 180 rule). Failure to do so is a safety violation and will result in a DQ.

During reloads and malfunction clearing, your trigger finger must be outside the trigger guard. Failure to do so is a safety violation and will result in a DQ.

Accidental Discharge

An accidental discharge is a safety violation and will result in a DQ. 

The following are Accidental Discharges:

  1. Firing a shot over the berm

  2. Firing a shot within 10ft of you, except when shooting at a target that close

  3. Firing a shot during reloading, malfunction clearing, or transferring the gun between hands

  4. Firing a shot during movement, except when shooting at targets.

  5. Firing a shot while picking up a staged firearm when you’re not shooting at targets and the shot does not strike a target.


Dropping a firearm

Dropping a firearm during the course of fire will result in a DQ. Dropping a firearm outside of a course of fire is not a DQ, but a Range Officer must retrieve it. Retrieving a dropped firearm unsupervised will result in a DQ so make sure to call an RO if this happens.

Start Position

Centerfire pistols must start loaded and holstered.
Rimfire pistols, rimfire rifles, and PCCs must start at low-ready with the muzzle pointing at the start mark on the ground.

Magazine Capacity

There is no maximum capacity. You just need to bring enough ammo to complete 5 strings of 5 steel plates and you can reload between Strings.

Scoring

Your score for a stage is the total time of the best 4 strings of the 5 strings you shot. A string of fire does not end until you hit the Stop Plate.

The maximum time allowed for an individual string is 30 seconds and the maximum score for any stage is 30 seconds. You will be stopped after 30 seconds and any hits made after the 30 second max time will not be counted.

Misses
Any standard plate which has not been hit before the stop plate will count as a Miss. Each Miss on a standard plate will result in a 3
second penalty, added to the competitor’s time for that string.

Missing the Stop Plate
If the Stop Plate is not hit, the score for that string is 30 seconds. 

Divisions

Your firearm of choice will determine your Division. The following is a summary, for full division requirements please check Appendix D1 through D9 in the rulebook.

Rimfire Pistol

  • Rimfire Pistol Optics (RFPO): This is the Rimfire Pistol race division. All legal Rimfire Pistols are allowed. Optics and Compensators are specifically allowed.

  • Rimfire Pistol Iron Sights (RFPI): Any Iron-sighted Rimfire pistols without optic sights. Fiber-optic sight inserts are specifically allowed.


Rimfire Rifle

  • Rimfire Rifle Optics (RFRO): This is the Rimfire Rifle race division. All legal Rimfire Rifles are allowed. Optics and Compensators are specifically allowed.

  • Rimfire Rifle Iron Sights (RFRI):  Any Iron-sighted Rimfire rifle without optic sights. Fiber-optic sight inserts are specifically allowed.

Pistol Caliber Carbine

  • Pistol Caliber Carbine Optics (PCCO): This is the Pistol Caliber Carbine race division. All legal Pistol Caliber Carbines, to include short-barreled rifles, are allowed. Optics and Compensators are specifically allowed, suppressors are not allowed.

  • Pistol Caliber Carbine Iron Sights (PCCI): Any iron-sighted rifle without optic sights. Fiber-optic inserts are specifically allowed.

Centerfire Pistol

  • Open (OPN): This is the race division! All legal firearms are allowed. Optics and Compensators are specifically allowed.

  • Limited (LTD): Any iron-sighted pistol without a compensator, barrel ports, or optical sight. Fiber optic inserts are specifically allowed.

  • Production (PROD): Any double action or safe action pistol on the USPSA Production gun list. Holsters must follow USPSA Handgun Rules for the Production Division except as specifically noted.

  • Single Stack (SS): 1911 models only. Holsters must follow USPSA Handgun Rules for the Single Stack Division.

  • Revolver: Any revolver can be used for competition. Fiber optic inserts are specifically allowed. No barrel length or holster restrictions. No restrictions for maximum rounds.

    • ​Optic Sight Revolver (OSR): A revolver equipped with Electronic / Optical Sights.

    • Iron Sight Revolver (ISR): A revolver equipped with iron sights. Fiber optic inserts are specifically allowed.

  • Carry Optics (CO):  A double action or safe action/striker-fired semi-automatic pistol equipped with an optic sight.  Compensators or ports are not allowed.

  • Limited Optics (LO): Any gun with a slide mounted optic without a compensator, barrel ports, or lasers.


Start positions

Rimfire pistol divisions, rimfire rifle divisions, and PCC will start low ready pointing at a cone in front of you. All the rest of the divisions start holstered with your wrists and hands above the shoulders fully visible from behind

Classification
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In order to receive a classification in any division, first you must be a member of USPSA (Steel Challenge is owned by USPSA). Then you need to shoot at least 4 of the 8 official Steel Challenge stages. We do 6 of the 8 official Steel Challenge stages every month so one of our matches will get you classified. To improve your classification, keep shooting official Steel Challenge stages and if you improve on your times, your classification will go up.

Shooting Multiple Guns

You may shoot a 2nd gun for $10 more. To do this you must register on Practiscore again, but select the 2nd gun discount and it'll only charge you $10 for the second entry. Make sure to squad your second entry with your first. Maximum 2 guns please.

Range Information

Please follow the posted speed limits on the road into the range. Speeding on the range could result in ejection from the range and disqualification from the match.

The road inside the range flows one way in a loop so incoming traffic won't interfere with outgoing traffic please follow the signs.

The range has a rule about over the berm DQs. The range will be keeping track of over the berm DQs and anyone who sends a round over the berm 3 times will be banned from the range.

Help us leave the range as clean as when we arrived and please place all trash into the garbage cans or take it out with you and discard it at home.

There will be an email sent out after the match registration closes the night before with more information like bay assignments and the bays we will use are bay 1 - 6 and we will do a shooters meeting in bay 1.