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Having never been to a speed steel match I can clearly tell you in my unbiased opinion - we're much more fun :)

Seems like speed steel is pistol only and you can shoot .22 or center fire. We're rimfire only and have 4 stages for rifle and 4 for pistol. You can shoot one or the other or all of the above. We're geared to new to competitive shooting crowd. No move and shoot, reloads or tricky courses of fire. On the fire command you shoot the steel targets, when you hit the stop plate we stop the clock. You shoot each stage 5x and we throw out your worst score. The other 4 add together to make your score for that stage. Prizes awarded for overall champion, top lady, top youth, top senior and top new shooter. We also do a raffle at the end of the day with anything leftover on the prize table.

And of course I serve BBQ lunch that is worth at least half of what you pay to shoot the match :)

While I have never shot the DRRC rimfire match, I have only heard good things about it. I regularly shoot speed steel matches at TCGC (Sherwood, OR) and ARPC (Shedd, OR). I can go over some differences on the speed steel side.

Speed steel has roughly 8 divisions. Broken down as such:

Rimfire pistols with or without optics.
Centerfire pistols with or without optics.
Rimfire carbines/rifles with or without optics.
Pistol caliber carbine (PCC) with or without optics.
Some folks even run revolvers, so if that floats your boat, that's an option too.

Generally, most folks only shoot one gun per match. There are some that will shoot two guns per match on occasion, but at least at TCGC, it's at the match director's discretion if you get to run two guns in a match or not.

There are a total of six stages (TCGC on occasion will run seven stages it there is a huge turnout at the match). Both TCGC and ARPC shoot their matches in their respective "action" bays.

Each bay is setup with one stage. Shooters assemble themselves into shooting squads either day of the match (TCGC) or Practiscore the Monday before the match at ARPC.

There is one squad per stage with an avg. size of 10 shooters (could be a little more or less depending on how many total shooters are competing at the match).
Match director's at both clubs will on occasion, adjust the size of the squads if it appears some of the squads are overloaded or running on the light side.

Generally speaking (98% of the time), there are five targets per stage with targets ranging from roughly 10yds out to around 45yds (ARPC has smaller bays, so you won't be shooting out to 45yds). Nearly all stages are one shot per target (there are some exceptions though). Shooting a "clean" match (no misses) will result it a total of 150rds of ammo being expended. I always bring double that amount. Although I have never needed all of it, some folks in your squad may not have anticipated missing as much as they did or just plain forgot to bring any ammo at all. Having extra ammo on hand to "loan", can really save the day for your fellow shooter and they will be very appreciative of your kindness.

Each stage is shot five times (strings) with your slowest time dropped from your total time. Each squad has a electronic device to record times for each shooter and also a shot timer to start the shooter with a audible beep and to record the total time for each string.

TCGC and ARPC do not provide lunch or offer prizes at their respective matches. TCGC does have it's annual "Man of Steel" match with a total of ten bays. It also provides a lunch and a raffle to win prizes (prizes are raffled during the extended lunch break).

After everyone has shot the stage, you then move to the next stage (rinse and repeat) till you have rotated through all of the stages. At the conclusion of the match, the match director (TCGC and ARPC) will upload the match scores to practiscore. Once the scores are posted, you can see how you or any of the other shooters did and where you placed in your respective division or even overall.



I may have left something out but that's a pretty good representation of how speed steel matches are shot at TCGC and ARPC.
In my humble opinion, speed steel is the least technical and intimidating of all the action shooting sports (no running and gunning, etc) and is pretty laid back group of folks.

Having said that, if you are a brand new shooter to the action shooting sports and are more than a bit nervous or apprehensive about shooting your first match, by all means, get out and give the DRRC rimfire match a shot (pun intended)! You'll meet a lot of like minded people and have a blast doing it!

Over the last few years, I have introduced several members here on the forum to speed steel at TCGC. While I rarely do that anymore, there are plenty of folks that shoot speed steel and the DRRC rimfire match that are more than happy to show a new competitive shooter the "ropes".

As for me and the folks I regularly squad with, we all want a new shooter to succeed. Nobody wants to see them fail. Whether that's helping them with match/range rules or gun and equipment/ammo issues etc. We all want every new shooter to the match to have a safe and fun time. Hopefully that they'll have a positive experience and come back again and again!

So in closing, if you have never done this type of shooting or match, then don't be afraid. Once you get the first match under your belt, you'll.be wondering why you waited so long! 😀
 
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Just to add to the above, there are no round count restrictions for magazines (at TCGC or ARPC). You can load as many rounds into the mag as it will hold or shoot as many rounds as needed to complete the stage.
 
Just to add to the above, there are no round count restrictions for magazines (at TCGC or ARPC). You can load as many rounds into the mag as it will hold or shoot as many rounds as needed to complete the stage.
Kimber can correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe at the DRRC match you are limited to 10 rounds per string. I could be wrong though....
 
Well considering I work nights, making it to this match makes it darn near impossible, but last night I rolled the dice and checked Practiscore to see if there was still room. There was, and I saw some familiar speed steel ladies and jumped on their squad.

I got home from work and proceeded to clean my guns for the match. I actually made it out and had a great time! Having said that though, I do prefer the speed steel matches at TCGC and ARPC. This match is a little quirky and not what I'm used to shooting. I did like that half the stages were for rifle and the other half for pistols. It's nice because it forces you to be a more rounded shooter. I held my own with my pistol but several malfunctions cost me dearly. Yes, Conner is fast! Just wish I would had had a chance to watch him in action!

The safety briefing/walkthrough was spot on. As an NRA RSO (my brother and I actually got our RSO certs while members at DRRC a few years ago), it's refreshing to see a match director actually go over all the details and not just gloss over them.

Having lunch provided was a nice touch. It really does add to the "family" feel at the match. So glad I was able to persevere and attend the match. It has been on my "to do" list at least the past couple of years.

So @Kimber Custom, I shot your match, how about you come shoot one of mine?
I can be found on Squad 4 at Tri County and ARPC. Hope to see you at some point in the future! 😁
 
Totally spaced it and forgot to introduce myself today. I was on Squad 5 and placed 6th. I also got a prize for being top in the "1st time at this match" division. That was cool and I was not expecting that. Lol
 
Well considering I work nights, making it to this match makes it darn near impossible, but last night I rolled the dice and checked Practiscore to see if there was still room. There was, and I saw some familiar speed steel ladies and jumped on their squad.

I got home from work and proceeded to clean my guns for the match. I actually made it out and had a great time! Having said that though, I do prefer the speed steel matches at TCGC and ARPC. This match is a little quirky and not what I'm used to shooting. I did like that half the stages were for rifle and the other half for pistols. It's nice because it forces you to be a more rounded shooter. I held my own with my pistol but several malfunctions cost me dearly. Yes, Conner is fast! Just wish I would had had a chance to watch him in action!

The safety briefing/walkthrough was spot on. As an NRA RSO (my brother and I actually got our RSO certs while members at DRRC a few years ago), it's refreshing to see a match director actually go over all the details and not just gloss over them.

Having lunch provided was a nice touch. It really does add to the "family" feel at the match. So glad I was able to persevere and attend the match. It has been on my "to do" list at least the past couple of years.

So @Kimber Custom, I shot your match, how about you come shoot one of mine?
I can be found on Squad 4 at Tri County and ARPC. Hope to see you at some point in the future! 😁
So glad it worked out for you to come out. I also appreciate the comprehensive review - I really appreciate constructive feedback. Quirky is a good word for it. It's really hard to use stop watches instead of shot timers but it's the only way I can run 4 shooters at a time on one range. Unless/until the club gets actions bays we will stay 'based on' NSSF.

The main areas I stray:
* I put everyone in the same class - this was originally because of my manual score keeping system. Now that we're on practiscore I should look at this again.
* We use stop watches - again, it's a limitation of the range but this really does keep us in the 'fun' match style
* NSSF doesn't allow cans - I don't care
* NSSF doesn't allow more than 11 rounds in a mag regardless of capacity - I don't care (however, I do still impose the 12th shot 30s penalty)
* NSSF has some goofy rules about questioning a call - I'm just not that serious about it; if someone is that worked up about it, I'll give them their match fees back and wish them well

I can't remember the last match I actually participated in - might be time to dust off the old competition belt and see if I can remember what to do when that beep goes off...
 
Totally spaced it and forgot to introduce myself today. I was on Squad 5 and placed 6th. I also got a prize for being top in the "1st time at this match" division. That was cool and I was not expecting that. Lol
Well done! TCGC speed steel shooters were well represented today- Top Lady, Top Senior and Top New Shooter. Glad you made the match. Maybe it's a little quirky, but I really enjoy it. I like that it's low key.
 
@Kimber Custom , I totally get the "why" of using stop watches. I agree that having separate classes/divisions would be nice too.

As for being quirky, that's not a bad thing. You're obviously catering to a specific crowd, the "family fun" crowd and that's awesome. People who want to shoot a quirky family fun match can choose the DRRC rimfire match. Those that don't, can shoot at TCGC/ARPC. Different strokes for different folks as they say. Plenty of of room in the 2A shooting community for both types of steel matches.

The main takeaway? Pick one or the other, even shoot both! You're going to have a great time no matter what match you choose! So get out there and shoot! 😁
 
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