For the second time this year, ELEY returned to Stourport Pistol & Rifle club to host its Speed Steel challenge on Saturday (20^th July). Precision, skill and, of course, speed meant Nick Towndrow dominated the Mini Rifle discipline for the second time. However, Nick also proved his pistol prowess topping the podium in the LBP open division as well.

Not only has Nick won himself bragging rights down the range, but he has also bagged £1,500 cash prize. This is in addition to a £200 bonus because he was using ELEY ammunition – ELEY force in the mini rifle and contact in the pistol discipline. Subsequently, second and third place also claimed cash prizes of £500 and £250 respectively.

The competition was close for the mini rifle discipline with just 1.57 seconds between the top three shooters. Hot on Nick’s heels was Corey Smith who finished in second place – just .11 seconds behind!

Nevertheless, it was a clearer win in the LBP discipline with Nick finishing a fantastic 3.5 seconds ahead of runner up John Chambers.

View the full results from the day.

Replicating the course of fire designs that are popular in the US Speed Steel Challenge competitions, shooters made their way through a total of eight stages each featuring five steel plates. Pendulum proved to be one of the hardest for both mini rifle and LBP, taking shooters 2-3 seconds longer than the others to complete.

Whereas Smoke & Hope designed in a triangle shape with the stop plate at the center, was found to be one of the quickest with the average time taking 10.47 seconds for mini rifle and 12.67 for LBP.

To view photographs from the event, head over to the ELEY gallery.

The third and final event in the ELEY Speed Steel challenge series will take place in October. Here, ELEY will welcome US steel challenge shooter Kurt Grimes. Grimes is a steel challenge and rimfire challenge champion winning eight senior division world titles and multiple local level matches every year. Most recently, he won the Senior World Title for the 5th year in a row at the World Speed Shooting Championships.

Kurt will be holding a masterclass on the 10^th October where participants can learn shooting skills from the grandmaster himself. The event will include equipment demos, information and advice as well as the opportunity to shoot with the man himself. Spaces are limited to 12 per session so make sure you book in advance to make sure you don’t miss out! To find out more, email michaelatkinson@eley.co.uk.

If you fancy your chances in ELEY’s next Speed Steel competition, now is the opportunity to test your mettle. Register for the October event here.

Additionally, to find out more about the UK practical shooting discipline and how you can get involved, visit http://www.ukpsa.co.uk/.