What Is Steel Challenge?

Among all competitive shooting sports, Steel Challenge is perhaps the purest and most intuitive — all you need to do is hit steel targets as fast as possible. There are no paper target scoring zones, no complex stage movement plans, no Hit Factor calculations. The rules can be summed up in one sentence: Hit all the steel plates, and the fastest shooter wins.

What Is USPSA?

If you’re in North America and interested in competitive shooting, USPSA (United States Practical Shooting Association) is almost impossible to avoid. As the U.S. affiliate of IPSC (International Practical Shooting Confederation), USPSA is the largest and most active practical shooting platform in North America, with hundreds of local matches held across the country every week.

Glock Gen 6: The Most Significant Upgrade in Glock History

In December 2025, Glock officially unveiled the highly anticipated sixth-generation pistol — Glock Gen 6 — with retail availability starting January 20, 2026. This represents the most significant update since the Gen 5 launch in 2017, and many consider it the most substantial generational improvement Glock has ever made.

Why Does Ammunition Selection Matter So Much?

In the shooting sports world, most people focus on the firearm itself — the brand, model, and how it feels in hand — while often overlooking an equally important factor: ammunition. In reality, your ammunition choice directly affects shooting accuracy, felt recoil, training costs, and even determines whether you can legally compete in a match.

The 4 Cardinal Rules of Gun Safety (Quick Answer)

The 4 cardinal rules of gun safety are:

1. Treat every firearm as if it is loaded — always check the chamber, never assume a gun is empty.
2. Never point the muzzle at anything you are not willing to destroy — safe direction, every second, no exceptions.
3. Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on target and you have decided to shoot — indexed above the trigger guard otherwise.
4. Know your target and what is beyond it — bullets over-penetrate, miss, and ricochet; identify the backstop before you fire.

These four rules were codified by Colonel Jeff Cooper and are now taught by the NRA, NSSF, and every major law-enforcement and military program worldwide. They work as a layered defence: follow all four and an accident becomes almost impossible.

Why Do You Need a Training Plan?

“I go to the range every week, but I don’t seem to be improving.” — This is a common frustration among shooters. The problem often isn’t about not practicing enough, but rather the lack of a systematic training plan.

Why Is the Belt the Foundation of Competition Shooting Gear?

In competition shooting, the competition belt is the foundation platform that carries all your equipment. A good competition belt isn’t just a strap around your waist—it determines whether your holster and magazine pouches stay secure, how the weight of your gear is distributed, and whether every draw and reload is consistent.

🎯 The 60-Second Answer (Rules, Capacity & What to Buy)

Most people land here asking one of three things, so here are the short answers before the deep dive.

60-Second Answer: 5 Mental Techniques That Beat Match Pressure

Short answer: Mental training for shooting comes down to five core techniques — Visualization (mentally rehearse every stage), Breathing Control (use box breathing or 4-7-8 to drop your heart rate), Positive Self-Talk (cut the negative inner monologue with one trigger phrase), Focus Management (learn to pull attention back to the present), and Pre-Match Routine — the bridge that carries practice-range performance into the match.

🎯 Holster Rules & Best Picks: The 60-Second Answer

The two USPSA rules that decide whether your rig is legal: the heel of the butt of the handgun must be even with or higher than the top of your belt — that’s rule 5.2.7.2, and it applies to every division — and the gun can sit no further from the belt than 2-1/8 inches in Production, Single Stack, Carry Optics and PCC, or 3-3/8 inches in Open, Limited, Limited-10 and Revolver (rule 5.2.5). Thigh straps are out. IDPA is stricter: the butt must sit clearly above the top of the belt (8.5.1.12), an OWB holster may not stick out more than 3 inches (7.62 cm) from your body measured at the top of the belt, and cant is limited to vertical or muzzle-rear by no more than 15 degrees (8.5.1.6). Cross-draw, shoulder, small-of-the-back and pocket holsters are banned outright (8.5.2). IPSC is not simply “USPSA abroad”: the height rule matches word for word (5.2.7.2, Appendix E3b), but the belt carrying your holster must be worn at waist level — female competitors in all divisions may wear it at hip level instead — and IPSC Production still requires the trigger guard to sit behind the hip bone, which is exactly the requirement USPSA deleted. Two things most club advice still gets wrong in 2026: appendix carry and IWB are now legal in USPSA Production, Single Stack and Carry Optics, and a leg strap that is banned in USPSA handgun is perfectly legal in Steel Challenge and multigun. Full numbers, division by division, are in the holster rules section below.