Pioneer Sportsmen Club in Dunbarton, New Hampshire, once again served as the host for this year’s Area 7 Steel Challenge Championship. While this match typically sees hot summer temperatures, it wasn’t that simple this year. Staff and competitors did their best to stay focused while shooting in rain, humidity and heat. It also didn’t stop participants from laying down some fast times, and having a bunch of fun.
This year saw well-known company SIG Sauer as title sponsor for the match. SIG Sauer offers a variety of quality firearms, optics, suppressors and more. They were also a local sponsor with the SIG Sauer Academy and Experience Center located only about 50 minutes away from the venue. They kindly donated multiple firearms for competitors to win, and even had a demo bay set up where you could win hats and more firearms.
SilencerCo also came on board this year as a major sponsor, donating five suppressors for competitors to win. Mighty Armory was another major sponsor, donating dozens of its quality reloading dies. On top of that, other local sponsors Tandemkross, Revo-Gear and Ear Safety Systems were on site, with displays to check out and products to help lighten your wallet. Riverside Pizza once again served up a delicious selection of pizza, burgers, sausage subs and, everyone’s favorite, ice cream sandwiches.
This was also the first year that the match rolled out its version of a “Lewis-style” payout system.
As far as the shooting went, there were some repeat division winners, and some new names at the top.
Iron Sight Revolver division saw Glenn Stilwell taking first place. Glenn is a local and is one of the mainstays in the area for helping with matches, including taking on some big roles at this year’s A7 match.
The other wheelgun division—Open Revolver—saw Squirrel Zadora taking the top spot. Squirrel is passionate about Steel Challenge, from a competitor and Match Director standpoint. He has worked hard to get fast, and his victory was well deserved. Second place was taken by last year’s winner, the always-fast Ryan Wagner from Pennsylvania.
Phil has won this division three out of the four years he has competed in it.
Production division brings us to our first repeat winner, none other than SIG Sauer’s own Phil Strader. Phil has won this division three out of the four years he has competed in it. Keeping Phil honest was another SIG shooter, Mason Lane. Mason is a regular in the area, an accomplished champion in his own right, and it was a treat to see him at this year’s match. Third place was taken by talented local shooter, Dat Tran.
Carry Optics was another division where Phil and Mason went head to head. This time, however, Mason came out on top, with Phil taking second. The top three were rounded out by Dillon Davidson taking third.
Open division saw more familiar names at the top. Always fast, Ryan Wagner defended last year’s win by setting the quickest time and claiming first place. Phil Strader was hot on his heels in second and Dillon Davidson claimed another third spot. An honorable mention in this division is Squirrel Zadora taking fourth place shooting Open Revolver. Additionally, Limited division saw a one-two repeat from last year with Phil Strader taking first and Dat Tran taking second.
Starting off the low-ready divisions was Rimfire Pistol Irons. First place this year was Jason Masse. Jason is a local shooter and range officer, and helps with setup at a few different clubs in the area. Second place saw Dat Tran near the top again, and in third place was Glenn Stilwell.
Another division that had some repeat customers was Rimfire Pistol Open. Ryan Wagner was once again at the top, with second place going to myself and Jason Masse taking third. Rimfire Rifle Irons had yet another repeat winner, as Area 7 resident Dave Wilde was able to defend last year’s victory with another first place performance. Plus, Todd Woitzel from Nebraska took second place and Tony Wilhelm from Pennsylvania finished in third.
Rimfire Rifle Open also had a one-two repeat from last year—Dave Wilde was once again on top, with Tony Wilhem taking second. Gino Gurley took third place. Gino is another local who is passionate about Steel Challenge. He helps set up and works as a range officer, along with working hard to get fast. As for Pistol Caliber-Carbine Irons division, Dave Wilde successfully defended yet another title by taking first place.
This brings us to our last division, Pistol Caliber-Carbine Open. Continuing their dominance, Dave Wilde and Tony Wilhelm claimed another one-two finish, replicating their placements from last year. The Pistol Caliber-Carbine Open podium was rounded out by Gino Gurley in third place.
I would like to thank everyone that was involved in having yet another successful match. This includes staff, sponsors and competitors. Pioneer Sportsmen is tentatively planning on hosting the Area 7 Steel Challenge Championship again in 2025.
Article from the November/December 2024 issue of USPSA’s magazine.
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