August 18th, 2009

Jessie Abbate Sets 5 Records, Wins 3 Titles at Steel Challenge

Jessie Abbate of McDonough, Georgia is widely considered the best female action pistol shooter in the world. And yet she seems to get better and faster each season. This year she truly “raised the bar” at the 2009 Steel Challenge World Speed Shooting Championships held August 12-16 in Piru, California. Breaking records left and right, Jessie dominated the women’s field, earning the coveted Ladies Steel Master title.

Jessie Abbate Pistol

Jessie Abbate PistolAbbate, a Team Glock member, set five new world records on her way to scoring a hat trick at the Steel Challenge, where she won the Ladies Open Rimfire Pistol, Limited Pistol, and Open Pistol titles. In addition to collecting top honors in three divisions, Jessie claimed the Ladies Steel Master title which is for the best combined time of the three events.

Abbate held off the defending ladies champion and Team Smith & Wesson member Kay Miculek who stalked Abbate through the match taking second place in all three events. Miculek has won the Steel Challenge an amazing seven times and held seven women’s world records, four of which Abbate broke.

“Jessie really put on a clinic and her outstanding shooting through the entire Steel Challenge demonstrates how far she has come in the shooting sports. Hers is the standout performance of the match,” observed Michael Voigt of the Steel Challenge Shooting Association. This is the second time Abbate has taken top honors at the Steel Challenge. Her first win came in 2007.

World’s Best Shooters at the Steel Challenge
Jessie Abbate, of course, wasn’t the only story at the 2009 Steel Challenge. As usual, this event drew many of the world’s top pistoleros, including the legendary Jerry Miculek and the defending Open Class Champion, the USAMU’s young hotshot, K.C. Eusebio. This year Max Michel claimed the Open Class title with a blazing 82.09 total time, followed by B.J. Norris (2nd place, 84.42), and K.C. Eusebio (3rd place, 86.07). As expected, Jerry Miculek won the Optical Sight Revolver class by a wide margin. Rob Leatham won Production Class with a remarkable 97.07 time, beating runner-up Julie Golob by more than 19 seconds. Simon “JJ” Racaza turned in a fine 92.78 to win Limited Class against stiff competition, while Taran Butler (109.07) took the enhanced Service Pistol title, with an impressive winning margin of nearly 13 seconds.

CLICK HERE for Complete Results from 2009 Steel Challenge World Championships.

Top photo courtesy Tactical Solutions, maker of rimfire barrels, suppressors and other products.

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