Thanks for the feedback! I'm glad people are deriving value from my videos. I'll look to make some videos this year specifically on how I train for stages.

Congrats on your first match! And thanks for the feedback! I think I'll make a separate video for each pretty soon.

You should report back and tell us how it was. Also what the video left out that you would have liked to know beforehand

Thank you! Pleaae share with other new shooters! Also, definitely subscribe because I have more videos coming

@@offthedraw oh yeah I already shared it with my buddies hoping steel challenge will appeal to them also. Keep up the great work!!

Glad to hear it! Good luck at your first competition!

I'm glad this was helpful to you! Good luck at your first match! Make sure and share this with any friends you have that might consider signing up for their first match

Come back and let me know how you did!

Thank you! Please share with anyone you know who might want to get involved in the sport!

I love to hear it. Take the dive, bring a friend if it helps, you won't be dissapointed

Glad to hear it! I hope your first match went well! Come back and let us know what classification you got.

Ended up missing it. Still planning to go to my first one soon.

Congrats on diving into your first couple matches and earning a B-Classification! That's a great question. I can tell you that I shot my first match in May of 2022, and I reached M-class by August of 2023. Without diving into the details of each match, I can't recall how many matches it took to get from B to A and A to M. I was averaging 1-2 matches a month, excluding Dec-Mar. But I was also doing alot of dry fire practice working on my draw speed and target transitions, I did a decent amount of live fire practice as well, shooting alot of USPSA in between also helped keep my skills sharp. I think an individual's progress is going to depend on a lot more than how many matches they are shooting. How much practice is being done, and how effective they are at improving their technique is going to be crucial. For me, in order to not stagnate, I had to develop novel ways to approach my training and learn to be really analytical of my form and performance. Mastering the mental game is probably the most important thing as well. Now, almost a year later, I am 0.2 seconds away from GM. And I plan on making more videos on how I got to where I am now. As well as individual topics like mastering the mental game, more in-depth on individual stages, and key aspects of training for Steel Challenge.

Don't even worry about that! Everyone is super encouraging and there will be plenty of people at your skill level. It's all about having fun, and you don't have to be good to start. Plus, the only way you'll improve is by doing.

Love to hear it. Thanks dude.

Unfortunately I haven't shot any carbine divisions yet, so I can't give you a good answer. I've only shot handgun divisions so far. If I were to speculate, I would say that the farthest target in USPSA is 35 yards. So zeroing to 35 is probably a good place to start.

Great question. And to be honest, when it comes to Steel Challenge, I don't do very much to train outside of working on my holster draw and presentation during dry fire. I have been considering getting the Steel Challenge wall decals from Go Fast Don't Suck as a way to help eek over the line into GM (Im currently about 2 seconds away). But beyond that, I find that just working on target transitions during live fire in any capacity is enough for me to make good hits during a Steel Challenge match. Because I am M-class in Steel Challenge but still A-class in USPSA, I devote more of my time to training for USPSA. My main focus lately has been on movement and footwork. I lose a lot of time by not being agile and light on my feet, and my shooting on the move needs some refinement. So that has been where my effort currently is. Although, I recently bought several 10in plates to start bringing to the range with me. (My club has limited options for Steel available at an given time) and I think three 10 in plates, that I can set in different patterns at different ranges, will help improve my game in a more cost effective way than buying an entire Steel Challenge stage set. Also, I should note that the area I live in it's possible to go to a match just about every weekend in the warm months. (Less Steel Challenge), but I average about 1-2 Steel Challenge matches a month and 2-3 USPSA matches a month. I hope this helps answer your question.

@@offthedraw Thank you. It does. And thank you for the very detailed response. It is much appreciated!

Yes it is. This ensures a consistent starting position for everyone. Hands at sides allows for more wiggle room for interpretation. Personally, I would suggest starting from that position more when dry firing. Not just for competition. My thought is if you find yourself in a self defense situation you may initially want your hands up. Two reasons; first, showing your hands to the offender may help to deescalate a situation. Secondly, if it doesn't then it's a better position to block any physical strikes from the offender or to push them away to create distance. During my dryfire practice is will practice hand above shoulders 60-70% of the time, and hands at sides 40-30%.

@@offthedraw After you hit the stop plate and you have another run... you leave a round in the chamber and change mags and back in the holster or do you show clear hammer down and get a command to make ready again for each run?

@Bane_Diesel after you hit the stop plate you can immediately change your mag, leave a round in the chamber and reholster without having to wait for a command.

@@offthedraw thanks for all the help 👍 my surrender draw is significantly slower.

Absolutely my man, keep it smooth.

You can reload magazines anywhere outside of safety tables. Handling ammo is totally fine as long as your gun is holstered or bagged.

@@offthedraw thanks

That's correct. With the exception that occasionally a club with mix a "club stage" in the mix. This stage will follow the same rules and parameters as any of the eight standard stages, but will be a custom layout. It will count towards your score for the match but otherwise does not count towards a classifier score.