Is a comp really necessary for a Steel Challenge open gun?

[Onepocket]

What ShadyScott said.

[FF112173]

Good topic Scott! Some very interesting points of view.

[BeerBaron]

when trying to figure out why i shoot rimfire at well over 2 classifications higher then centerfire an analysis of my transition times showed them virtually identical to rimfire

I am getting off topic a bit here in my own thread, but......I think most people will classify higher with rimfire than with their centerfire gun. I think the main difference is low-ready vs draw. Draws are really what set most people apart when you get to the higher levels. Most rimfire shooters can snap a low-ready draw in .6-.8 consistently. Give that same shooter a centerfire gun and most draws are going to be 1.5 or higher depending on the stage (I RO a lot for SC and I frequently check out different shooters' first shot times). Draws really make the difference to get to a higher classification in SC. I shoot with a few M and GM Steel Challenge shooters and where they smoke me (I'm a mid-A) is on their first shot. After that our splits/transitions are almost identical. If you are losing .1-.2 each string to another shooter just on the draws that really adds up across 6 or 8 SC stages. Using the new proposed classification system I would be a GM in Rimfire Pistol Open and still an A in Centerfire Open and I know for a fact that it is my draw that needs work for me to make it to Master.

I totally agree. I'm an average shooter and can snap out easily .6-.8 firsts on my low ready start. my surrender draw is fairly slow. I recently RO'd consistently for 3 days at a steel match and was also watching first shot times. the guys who were doing the spanking were always quicker out of the holster. The rest of the stage was fairly close between mid level shooters and the top level guys. the difference is the top level guys had less melt downs and had consistently faster first shots.