I'd be down if its not "gamer" driven. Last shoot I went to (Sioux City Iowa), everybody came to play the game. Hardly anybody brought what they carry daily...a lot of long slide Glocks and holsters designed for speed. Only 2 or 3 of us actually drew from true concealment, and we got murdered on time. I would have had more fun with the 2 or 3 people that actually came to develop skills, but we were in different relays and never had much time to talk.
I think---that you must be talking about a different kind of match. As has been mentioned, Steel Challenge doesn't allow you to draw from concealment, so if it was a SC match, someone was
really ignoring the rules.
If it was a USPSA match---well, that one isn't about concealment either. There is a division for folks shooting stock guns (and I shot a G17 in that division for a number of years), but the other divisions don't. Which makes sense, because it is a game, and those people are playing the game because they enjoy the sport.
In addition, they too were developing skills--just not the ones you wanted to develop. I'm betting that plenty of the people there indeed tested a number of aspects of their shooting skills. (I'll note that I personally don't find shooting matches to be good places to develop skills, but instead
test skills.)
If it was an IDPA match, then it
still wouldn't surprise me if people used guns and methods of carry that they wouldn't actually use in real life---because IDPA is also a game with rules and more importantly, with winners and losers. As such, people playing the game want to win, and changes in equipment will make a substantial difference to that. (That's one of the reasons I roll my eyes every time someone says "IDPA is practicing for reality! None of that gamer stuff!" ---as they walk around with a G34 in a range holster on their hip covered by a stiffened IDPA shoot-me-first vest that they never wear outside of a match or practice.)
Truthfully, developing shooting skill is something that won't really happen in matches---that occurs in practice on your own. (IMO) However, using matches to
test aspects of your shooting skills (not all aspects by any means---realistic self-defense tactics, for example, don't get tested) does indeed work---and the game makes it fun.
But it certainly isn't meant to be realistic for self-defense practice (no, not IDPA either). I note that I'm not even allowed to participate in IDPA using my preferred method of carry (can't use appendix IWB in IDPA).
So---matches are supposed to test certain aspects of shooting skills, and to be fun. Those aspects may not be what you are interested in, however.
How many people usually show up? Any women shoot? My wife would definitely shoot if she wasn't the only woman and didn't feel intimidated.
Shooter turnout: We've averaged 61.5 shooters per SC match this year, with a high of 79, and a low of 46 (that was in January). So, plenty of people come out and shoot. We still start at 9am, and still get done by 2pm even with 6 stages, though.
We get men, women, and children of all types and skill levels to come out and shoot. Pretty much everyone has a good time. Best level of preparation would be making sure you read the two stickied posts at the top of this forum regarding Match Safety and Introduction to Steel Challenge, and perhaps watching some of the videos of Steel Challenge that are available on YouTube.
Match Safety:
http://nebraskafirearms.org/forum/index.php/topic,7025.0.htmlIntro to Steel Challenge:
http://nebraskafirearms.org/forum/index.php/topic,6854.0.htmlVarious Shooters at a 2009 match:
Right after ENGC bought an official SC steel set:
Some video of the difference between good runs and bad runs from the same person:
Steel Challenge is a good fun time. The people who win tend to be the ones that can go one-shot-for-one-hit on the steel, at speed. It is a great way to test your accuracy and speed under at least a little bit of stress. Can't shoot it from concealment, however.
ETA:
Just looked up Sioux City, and I see there is a club there that holds "Steel Challenge" matches. However, judging from their stage setups and such, they do it a bit differently than we do.
At ENGC, we run 6 of the 8 official SC stages, and we are an official Steel Challenge-affiliated club, so we go strictly by the official SC rules. 5 steel per stage, one the stop plate, 5 strings per stage, etc. So, a little different than the Hawkeye Rifle and Pistol Club. Nothing against how they do it---just making sure people know that we use the official SCSA rule set.
