Ryan McKinnon once again has proven to be one of Guyana’s top marksmen after winning the Guyana Sport Shooting Federation (GSSF) Challenge Shooting Match at the GDF Timehri Ranges last Saturday..

In spite of the heavy downpour, local handgun shooters made their way to the Range to hear the melodic pings of lead impacting steel.

The G.S.S.F. through its affiliation to the Steel Challenge Shooting Association (S.C.S.A.) continues to pioneer this area of sport-shooting to members by organising such matches on a regular basis.

The competition requirements were as simple as the scoring, the shooter would assume his/her position in the shooting box with hands up above their shoulders, upon the audible beep of the timer, draw their firearm and shoot at the targets, timer stops when the shooter hits what is designated to be the stop plate.

The challenging first stage named “Speed Option” saw the Stop Plate being located some 35 yards away, hitting this was made easy-looking by match favourite Ryan McKinnon who set the bar high causing the other competitors to follow sometimes doubling and even tripling his time total.

Needless to say, a lot of extra rounds were needed as several seasoned competitors relentlessly strove to secure hits on the steel plates thus causing them to ring with that ‘ping’.

The second stage named “Roundabout” saw targets set at closer distances but in somewhat of a tricky arrangement this caused shooters to engage them in random orders as they each felt was best.

Ray Beharry won this stage by showing resilience and not backing down from the challenge of the dominating McKinnon.

The competitor’s best four scores out of five strings of fire on each stage will then be added together for collective score. The lowest total time/score for all stages wins the overall match.

Steel Challenge is considered to be one of the fastest shooting competitions in the world. The competition on Saturday consisted of two stages. In the first stage, competitors were required to shoot five different steel targets set out at various angles and distances, one of which is designated as a “stop plate” which is shot last.
Registering a hit on the plate stops the time. The total time it takes to hit all five plates is used for the score (Your time is your score.) Misses and penalties add 3 seconds to the time for each. Competitors are scored using an electronic timing device which records the time that every shot is fired. The shooter with lowest time wins.

In his opening remarks, Match Director, Dr. Pravesh Harry welcomed members who came out to take part in the event, despite the inclement weather, encouraged shooters to have fun while keeping safety paramount throughout the Match.
Range Master, Mr. Ryan McKinnon, reviewed the Rules of Steel Challenge and reminded everyone of the safety rules.
GSSF President, Ms. Vidushi Persaud presented copies of “Front Sight” Magazine the official journal of the United States Practical Shooting Association to the new members for participating.

Steel Challenge is the perfect way to introduce newer shooters to competitive shooting because of the easy to understand Rules and the instant audible feedback of the bullet hitting the plate is encouraging and satisfying.

The Guyana Sport Shooting Federation wishes to thank the Chief of Staff of the GDF, Brigadier Mark Phillips, Director of Sport Neil Kumar, the National Sports Commission, the Ministry of Culture Youth & Sport and the members of the G.S.S.F. for their usual support.

Results: Overall Winners…
1st – Ryan McKinnon – 50.47
2nd – Pravesh Harry – 65.98
3rd – Ray Beharry – 72.04