The Rimfire Challenge is just about the most fun you can have with .22 LR pistols and rifles. This week Shooting USA TV features the 2017 Rimfire Challenge World Championship hosted at the Cavern Cove Rimfire Range in Woodville, Alabama. This major match attracts hundreds of competitors from around the nation. It’s fast and fun with instant feedback from ringing plates indicating hits. The Rimfire Challenge Championship is family-friendly event that’s great for all skill and experience levels.

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The 2017 Rimfire Challenge World Championship brought 350 competitors to Alabama from as far as California and Washington State to shoot .22 LR rimfire pistols and rifles on 14 challenging stages, all with steel plate targets. The Challenge is designed to attract first-time competitors. “Our mission is to promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports. And to see all these young kids out here with their parents and their families all shooting together and enjoying the shooting sports. That’s what it’s all about, ” says Tisma Juett with the NSSF.

Photo Courtesy Rockford Sportsmans Club.

The Challenge offers plenty of action, with fourteen (14) stages of fire — each with a wide variety of steel plates. There is no set pattern or design, so each stage is different. You need to be fast AND accurate — you get penalty points for missing any plates. Scores are based on time for each stage, with add-ons for penalties. As with most action shooting games — it’s always best to shoot “clean” (no misses), even if you slow down a little bit.

At the 2016 NSSF Rimfire Challenge Championship Smith & Wesson was on hand with demo rifles and pistols. See the action in the S&W-produced video above. Competitive shooting is one activity in which entire families, both oldsters and youngsters, can come together in a supervised setting to enjoy the spirit and camaraderie of competition.

NSSF Rimfire Challenge Basics
The Rimfire Challenge is a two-gun event so you need a rifle and a handgun (which can be either a semi-auto pistol, or revolver). There are two divisions: 1) Open — Any firearm (pistol or revolver in handgun class) with scopes, optical sights, light gathering scopes, battery powered optics or lasers; and 2) Limited — Pistols and rifles with iron sights, adjustable metallic sights, and/or fiber optic. Bolt-action rifles and lever-action rifles are allowed, but self-loading (semi-auto) rifles are most popular because they can shoot quickly.

Many different stage designs can be employed at Rimfire Challenge matches. Here are two examples from the Rimfire Challenge Suggested Courses of Fire:

Rimfire Rifle of Choice: S&W M&P 15-22
If you want to shoot both Limited and Open class, a very good rifle choice rifle is the Smith & Wesson M&P 15-22. The feel, weight, and controls will be familiar to any AR owner. These 15-22s have been refined over the years and now are very reliable. Shoot it in Limited Class with the standard iron sights. Then fold down the sights and attach a 1-4X optic to shoot Open Class.

Rimfire Challenge Organizational Change for 2018
The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) announced that, starting in January, 2018, the NSSF Rimfire Challenge will be transitioned to a new organization: the Rimfire Challenge Shooting Association. Originally developed by Ruger’s Ken Jorgenson, TV host Michael Bane and the late Nelson Dymond, the program was first known as the Ruger Rimfire Challenge. NSSF took over the the program in 2014, changing its name to the NSSF Rimfire Challenge. The new organization will be led once again by Ken Jorgensen and Michael Bane.

What is the most family-friendly shooting discipline? It just might be the NSSF Rimfire Challenge. NSSF took over the Rimfire Challenge in 2014, replacing Ruger as the sponsoring organization. Now more than 400 Rimfire Challenge events are held across the country each year. The matches are designed to encourage family participation in a friendly atmosphere. Entire families, both oldsters and youngsters, can have fun shooting together in a supervised setting. You don’t need expensive ammo or hardware, and the primary focus is on having fun and enjoying the comraderie.

The NSSF Rimfire Challenge World Championship will be held October 13-15 at the Cavern Cove Range in Woodville, Alabama (near Huntsville). There will be five “tune-up” fun matches on Friday, October 13, followed by the main matches on Saturday and Sunday. This year there will be 14 total stages (7 handgun and 7 rifle).

Demonstration Sessions with Guns and Ammo Provided
During the Championship weekend there will be free demo programs. That gives visitors some trigger time even if they are not an official competitor. At last year’s NSSF Rimfire Challenge Championship in Alabama, Smith & Wesson was on hand with demo rifles and pistols. See the action in the S&W-produced video above. At the October event, attendees were able to try out the Smith & Wesson® SW22 Victory pistol and the M&P 15-22 rifle.

Competitors will be challenged with rimfire pistol and rifle stages at the Cavern Cove Competition Range in Woodville, Alabama (near Huntsville). Like all NSSF Rimfire Challenge events, the sponsors encourage both novice and experienced shooters to participate. In fact, for many shooters the Rimfire Challenge Championship may be their first-ever major competition.

Guns of Choice: S&W M&P 15-22 and Browning Buck Mark

If you want to shoot both Limited and Open class, a very good rifle choice rifle is the Smith & Wesson M&P 15-22. The feel, weight, and controls will be familiar to any AR owner. These 15-22s have been refined over the years and now are very reliable. Shoot it in Limited Class with the standard iron sights. Then fold down the sights and attach a 1-4X optic to shoot Open Class.

Smith & Wesson’s M&P 15-22 Sport MOE SL model (Magpul Original Equipment Slim Line) has been upgraded with a more comfortable handguard, an improved grip, and an adjustable Magpul buttstock. It is offered with Flat Dark Earth (tan) furniture (shown above) or dressed in matte black.

For pistol competition, we recommend the Browning Buck Mark Hunter. This has a nice set of iron sights, and you can fit a red-dot or pistol scope on the integral Picatinny Rail. The Hunter model, shown above, has a long, 9 3/4″ sight radius with bright fiber-optic sights. It’s also handsome with matte black finish and real Cocobolo grips. Another good choice is the Buck Mark Contour URX stainless with a 7 1/4″ slab-sided heavy barrel.

The Rimfire Challenge is all about shooting fast, so rapid-fire reliability is critical. The Buckmark is one of the most reliable semi-auto pistols ever made, and the ergonomics are great. You can find Buckmarks starting at $249.99 with the current Browning Bucks Rebate.

Rimfire Challenge Rules and Course of Fire

The NSSF Rimfire Challenge offers Open and Limited (iron sights) Divisions, plus Special Recognition sub-classes (Lady, Senior, Junior, Youth and Cowboy/Cowgirl). To learn more about rules, courses of fire, and the upcoming Rimfire World Championship, visit NSSF.org/Rimfire.

NSSF Rimfire Challenge Basics

The Rimfire Challenge is a two-gun event so you need a rifle and a handgun (which can be either a semi-auto pistol, or revolver).

• There are two divisions: 1) Open — Any firearm (pistol or revolver in handgun class) with scopes, optical sights, light gathering scopes, battery powered optics or lasers; and 2) Limited — Pistols and rifles with iron sights, adjustable metallic sights, and/or fiber optic.
• Bolt-action rifles and lever-action rifles are allowed, but self-loading (semi-auto) rifles are most popular because they can shoot quickly.
• It is suggested that your firearms hold at least ten rounds each, as there is no reloading allowed during the actually stages.
• It is a good idea to have five (5) magazines per gun (5 each for rifle and pistol). That way you don’t have to reload between stages. If you have a 10-shot revolver, you can reload manually, or use speed loaders.
• At Rimfire Challenge Matches, each competitor gets five (5) runs through each target stage.
• Eye and ear protection is required on the range at all times. This is true for spectators as well as competitors.

Many different stage designs can be employed at Rimfire Challenge matches. Here are two examples from the NSSF Rimfire Challenge Suggested Courses of Fire:

The National Shooting Sports Foundation and Cavern Cove Rimfire welcomes everyone to join us October 14 – 16, 2016 for the 2016 NSSF Rimfire Challenge World Championship! The event will be hosted at the Cavern Cove Rimfire facility in Woodville, Alabama.

Competitors will be challenged with both rimfire pistol and rifle stages. As with all NSSF Rimfire Challenge events, both novice and experienced shooters are encouraged to participate. This event is designed to be fun and enjoyable for all skill levels. For many shooters, a Rimfire Challenge represents their first competitive shooting experience.

Rimfire Challenge events are intended to be entertaining for the entire family. Whether you’re coming as a spectator or a competitor, side shooting activities are in the works so that everyone in attendance will have the opportunity to enjoy some trigger time. Come one come all to what will be a very exciting and fun weekend!