The other day, a reader, who is looking to attend his first Steel Challenge match, reached out to me asking if it was true that he would need to purchase 18 magazines before he could attend his first Steel Challenge match as he was told by Grok, the X (formerly Twitter) artificial intelligence (AI) service. Given that suggestion is absurd, I asked Grok, “How many magazines do I need for a Steel Challenge match?” I got a different answer, but it did suggest at least eight (8) magazines and gave me a practical recommendation of ten (10). The minimum magazine suggestion is also absurd. The practical recommendation is not completely crazy, but it is quite impractical for folks who are looking to get started and an unnecessary barrier to entry for most of us with financial constraints.

This begs the question, “what’s the minimum number of magazines that I need to compete in Steel Challenge?” We will answer that in this post, but I will take a more generic approach and look at the minimum amount of gear required along with some recommendations to set the stage for likely future improvements which differ depending on the Steel Challenge division one wishes to participate in.

Let’s get started.

Begin with the Rules

I don’t expect anyone other than competition nerds, prospective staff, or current staff to actually read the rule book which is currently 74 pages in length and seems to get longer year over year. Unless of course one is looking for a sleep aid because it is a very dry and boring read. However, having a basic high-level understanding of event structure and rules gives us a foundation on which to make equipment decisions.

First of all, each Steel Challenge event consist of up to four matches made up multiple divisions as follows:

• Centerfire Pistol Match
  • Open Division
  • Limited Division
  • Production Division
  • Single Stack Division
  • Iron Sight Revolver Division
  • Optical Sight Revolver Division
  • Carry Optics Division
• Rimfire Pistol Match
  • Rimfire Pistol Irons Division
  • Rimfire Pistol Open Division
• Rimfire Rifle Match
  • Rimfire Rifle Irons Division
  • Rimfire Rifle Open Division
• Pistol Caliber Carbine Match
  • Pistol Caliber Carbine Irons Division
  • Pistol Caliber Carbine Open Division

For the most part, divisions are separated by types of firearms. However, there are some additional nuances regarding accessories and modifications that are allowed in each division. For the sake of brevity, we won’t get into the division differences in this post, but I will consider revisiting them in a future post. Besides most folks who are looking to get started are mostly likely going to show up with a handgun they recently acquired for self defense that hasn’t been heavily modified chambered for a common pistol cartridge. As such, there will most likely be a division that is suitable for their handgun. Worst case scenario is they end up in one of the Open divisions which have far less equipment restrictions than the remaining match divisions.

All that said, there are a few common equipment requirements that dictate the starting point for gearing up. These are:

• Centerfire handguns require the use of an outside-the-waistband (OWB) holster, but may be transported in a pistol bag.
• Rimfire pistol competition does not involve the use of a holster, but pistols must be transported in a holster or in a pistol bag.
• Long guns must be flagged and transported either in a cart or a bag.

This means that at a minimum a competitor will need either a holster or a bag. And, in the case of a long gun, the competitor will need a chamber flag. We will get into more details and recommendations shortly, but first let’s establish an understanding of Steel Challenge stages.

Understanding Steel Challenge Stages

Every official Steel Challenge stages consists of five steel plates one of which is designated as a stop plate. The goal is to hit all five plates with the stop plate being the last plate hit as fast as possible. This procedure is repeated five times, with the exception of the stage named Outer Limits which is repeated four times. Each repetition is called a string. The score for a stage is the sum of all the individual string times after throwing out the worst string. The competitor with the fastest time wins the stage for their division, match, or event.

Knowing that, we can conclude that a minimum of 25 rounds (or 20 rounds for Outer Limits) is required to complete all of the strings for a single stage. That, of course, assumes no misses requiring a make up shot which are permitted in order to avoid the 3 second missed plate penalty or the 30 second missed stop plate penalty.

Ideally, a competitor should have sufficient loading devices to have enough ammunition ready to go to complete a stage. However, there are provisions in the rulebook that allows for a competitor who does not have sufficient loading devices to complete a stage to have another competitor or spectator reload loading devices on the competitor’s behalf to complete the course of fire while minimizing delays. This means that a competitor, including a new competitor, can compete as long as they have a minimum of two loading devices – one to shoot with while the other is being reloaded by a helper. It’s not ideal and it’s not optimal, but it is possible and allowed.

Another thing that is worth noting is that there are no requirements for loading device carriers. This means that magazines, speed loaders, or moon clips can be placed and transported on a belt, in pockets, or even placed on the barrel or table available at the shooting box on the stage.

Minimum Equipment

Now that we have a high level understanding of Steel Challenge events, matches, divisions, and stages, we can distill the equipment requirements into the absolute minimum which isn’t very much at all. I’d argue that Steel Challenge’s equipment requirements represent the one of lowest barriers of entry among the most popular competitive disciplines. Besides the gun and ammunition, here is what it looks like:

• Either an OWB holster or a bag,
• two loading devices,
• and, in the case of long gun divisions, a chamber flag.

That’s it.

Holster or Bag

I’d argue that choosing between a holster or a bag is the first equipment decision that one will have to make. Having both isn’t a bad idea. In fact, I recommend having both. But it’s not essential.

The choice is pretty easy to make.

• Pick an OWB holster if competing with a centerfire pistol or revolver because it’s use is required and the firearm can be transported in the holster
• Otherwise go with a bag.

There is no need to acquire a competition specific OWB holster if you already have an OWB holster that isn’t craptastic. If you don’t have an OWB holster and have no intention of getting one for any other activity with the pistol you will be competing with, then, and only then, I recommend picking up a competition holster that comes equipped with DOT mount. Generally speaking, these types of competition holsters are a good investment that come predrilled to accept other popular competition belt mounts and the DOT mount is an inexpensive ($10) durable mount that works with just about any belt, including competition belts. Take a look at Weber Tactical USPSA/IDPA Holsters for an example of these holsters.

As far as bags go, they don’t need to be anything fancy. However, if the bag you are considering happens to include loading device storage, then ensure that the loading devices are accessible without opening the compartment where the firearm is stored. Otherwise you may find yourself stuck between a rock and a hard place, since opening the firearm compartment at the safe table would lead to a disqualification (DQ) given loaded ammunition devices would be accessible at the safe table (which is not allowed) and opening the same compartment anywhere else (other than the shooting box when it’s your turn to shoot under the direction of the RO) to access the loading devices would also lead to a DQ. TandemKross pistol and rifle bags are a good and relatively inexpensive place to start.

Chamber flags are inexpensive. They are also easy to lose. So if you need one, buy a multi-pack.

Loading Device Recommendations

Unfortunately, 50 or 100 round drum magazines are not allowed in Steel Challenge. Neither are belt-fed firearms. As such, a minimum of two loading devices, as already discussed, are a base level requirement.

I suspect that most new competitors will want to acquire more than the absolute minimum number of loading devices either prior to their first match or shortly thereafter in order to not be dependent on a helper to reload unused loading devices while it’s their turn to shoot a stage. The number of loading devices I recommend fall into three categories: low capacity (lo-cap) devices, high capacity (hi-cap) devices, and moon clips.

Lo-cap devices are commonly defined as devices that hold ten (10) or less rounds of ammunition. However, it may be worthwhile to expand that definition to twelve (12) or even fifteen (15) for Steel Challenge at first and maintain that definition depending on one’s current skill level. This definition includes speed loaders, moon clips, speed strips, single stack magazines, and small or state restricted double stack magazines. I recommend a minimum of five (5) low capacity devices. This provides one with sufficient loading devices to reload after each string and enough ready-to-go ammunition to complete all five strings even if each string ends up requiring a few make up shots.

Hi-cap devices would be those that hold more rounds than lo-cap devices. I recommend a minimum of three (3) high capacity devices. This provides one with sufficient loading devices to reload after every two strings and enough ready-to-go ammunition to complete all five strings even if each string ends up requiring a few make up shots.

A spare magazine just in case one fails or a string has to be reshot is also a good idea.

In my mind, moon clips are their own category for a couple of reasons. Mooning and de-mooning moon clips is a tedious and time consuming process even with mooning and de-mooning tools. Moon clips can also get bent without much effort and simply don’t have anywhere near the same service life as a magazine, a speed loader, or speed strip. As such, I recommend having sufficient preloaded moon clips to complete the entire match. Thankfully, moon clips can be obtained in 100 packs for a couple hundred bucks and can be transported easily in inexpensive tackle bags.

Let’s Recap

The lack of gear is a common barrier of entry to getting started with competitive shooting. However, the barrier is often lower than most would be or new competitors expect. This is especially true of Steel Challenge where one really only needs a few things to get started. At a minimum, one will need:

• An OWB holster or a bag,
• Two loading devices,
• and, in the case of a long gun, a chamber flag.

Beyond that, one will naturally want to increase the number of loading devices they have prior to their first match or shortly thereafter. However, most folks will be more than well equipped for Steel Challenge competitions with three (3) or five (5) loading devices depending on the capacity of their loading devices.

There will be plenty of time to acquire and fine tune additional equipment which will be better informed by match experience. Remember that every seasoned competitor was once a new competitor. They know what getting started is like and will most likely do everything they can to help you finish your first match and get started with the sport. That’s how the sport grows and remains alive.

So, stop making it harder than it needs to be and get to that first match.