Do you wonder if you should shoot Steel Challenge or Rimfire Challenge? Read these insights from Competitive Shooter Mackinzie Bragg on the topic.
If you’re wondering if you should shoot Steel Challenge or Rimfire Challenge? I say do them both!
There are different things I like about both but the one thing that is the same with both is they are a blast! When I started out shooting, I shot rimfire challenge. I showed up to a match with a rifle that my cousin Zoey, my uncle Eric and I all shared, we didn’t even have a pistol. It was at a rimfire challenge state match where I saw people shooting strings in 2 seconds for the first time, I thought that it was impossible.
I’ve been shooting for 4 years and quickly learned its not impossible. When I first started I had no idea I would’ve kept with it for this long, but I’m glad I have. Steel challenge and rimfire challenge are very similar in many ways but also very different. I like steel challenge because it’s a good way to watch your improvement since the stages are always the same. You can shoot up to 13 divisions, so I get to shoot centerfire too. But I really like rimfire challenge because it comes down to who is truly the best shooter. Everyone is on a level playing field. No one knows what the stages are or how many targets there are on a stage.
Steel Challenge really helped me become a better shooter. Because the stages are the same I was able to focus more on my technique and shooting. Rimfire Challenge helped me learn how to look at a stage and figure out the best way to attack it. Although even now I’ll walk up to a stage and think I have the best way figured out, until I watch people ahead of me shoot it lol. Then sometimes I change my mind! With both sports, it’s not necessarily the fastest way that is the best way. It’s figuring out what is the fastest but at the same time being the most consistent over 5 strings. Not just one string.
No matter which one you choose you can’t go wrong, but I say do what I do.
SHOOT THEM BOTH!!?
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This article was written by Guest Contributor and member of the Rimfire Challenge Community Mackenzie Bragg.
Mackenzie is one of the top female junior shooters in both Steel Challenge and Rimfire Challenge.
In May 2019, as a junior, Mackenzie set a new Steel Challenge World Record in Rimfire Rifle Open (RFRO) and secured Top Honors as RFRO Junior Champion, RFRO Ladies Champion and Overall RFRO Champion. Other top honors include:
º 2019 World Speed Shooting Championship Ladies RFPO and PCCO Champion
º 2017, 2018 & 2019 US Steel Nationals Ladies RFRO National Champion
º 2019 US Steel Nationals Ladies PCCO National Champion
º 2018 & 2019 US Steel Nationals Ladies RFPO National Champion
º 2018 World Speed Shooting Championship Ladies RFRO and PCCO Champion
º 2017 & 2018 Rimfire Challenge World Championship Ladies Open Champion
When Mackenzie is not busy on the range, she spends time with her family in Indiana. She hunts and fishes. She is a member of her schools National Honor Society and while still in high school she has started taking college classes.
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