Have you ever thought about having a .22 rifle class for Steel Challenge? I've heard some places do that. I think a .22 rifle with a red dot would be a lot of fun.
http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=438416
And the answer is: "Yes, but..."
We have. Several times. Plenty of other places
do include a .22 Rifle division, both Optics and Irons, and we HAVE thought about it. (I've got a sweet .22 with a dot I'd love to try, myself.)
Each time, though, we still stick with "well, let's work on getting people used to it a bit more, then we can add it..."
We've had a real jump in numbers in the past two years, and that seems to be continuing this year. One of the things that happens is that every time a new division is added, it (normally) means that suddenly the other division have less people---and thus, less competition. For example, once .22 caught on, the centerfire divisions dropped in numbers. (Ammo prices going up didn't help.) Once we get some more people shooting, we can possibly add another division.
I'm thinking that it is certainly true that towards the end of this year, the ENPS committee will probably talk about it again for next year---and if the numbers stay up (or increase) like I expect to happen, we'll probably add it. (That "probably" is based only on my own opinion, so don't read that as gospel.)
Long answer to a simple question, I know.
Short answer: We have thought about it. Haven't made the decision yet.
I will also say that if you happen to show up with a .22 rifle and want to shoot it, we'll let you do it.
Rules will be exactly like the .22 handgun divisions.