Now competing with major sponsorship from Taurus firearms, Jessie Duff (formerly Jessie Harrison) thoroughly dominated the ladies’ division of the recent U.S. Steel Challenge Nationals in Florida, winning the Steel Master title. It seems like you can put any makers’ firearm in Jessie’s capable hands, and she comes out a winner.
Jessie defended her 2011 titles in Ladies Limited, Open and Steel Master, making this her 6th year in a row to win the Ladies Steel Master title. “Competing for Steel Master is a lot more difficult than you would think,” Duff says. “You have to be just as proficient with all three guns, as someone would be with one. A lot of time goes into training for it, and thankfully it paid off this weekend!”
At the U.S. Steel Challenge Nationals, Jessie competed in three divisions: .22 Optic Rimfire, Limited, and Open. All three divisions qualify her for the Steel Master title, an Aggregate score of all three divisions. After the match Jessie commented, “This match was the first match of the year for me, and I wanted to kick the season off with a victory, especially with my new relationship with Taurus. I was very proud to come home with three national titles!” Mark Kresser, President and CEO of Taurus USA comments, “We are very pleased with Jessie’s performance. Jessie is … taking Taurus to a new level and breaking open the door of the competition world.”
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New Name, Same Game
Jessie Harrison (who formerly competed as Jessie Abbate) stormed through the Steel Challenge last weekend, winning multiple titles (including her fourth women’s Overall Win) in a truly dominant display of speed and accuracy. This was a gutsy performance by Jessie, who has faced tough family issues lately*.
This year marked the 30th Anniversary of the Steel Challenge, one of the most prestigious action pistol events in the country. The match, held August 18-21, 2011 in Piru, California, attracts the top handgunners in the world, who compete against the clock in multiple stages. All targets are steel plates.
In a dominating “three-peat” performance, Jessie Harrison won the Women’s Division of the Steel Challenge. This is the third year in a row that Jessie won the Women’s Overall Title. Her 2011 win now gives her FOUR Steel Challenge Overall titles. This year, Jessie also won the Rimfire Title, the Women’s Limited Title, and the Steel Master Title. Jessie, who shoots for Team Smith & Wesson, proved convincingly that she is the woman to beat in the speed-shooting game.
B.J. Norris Blazes in Men’s Division
Jessie’s Team Smith & Wesson team-mate B.J. Norris rolled over the competition in the men’s Open division, demonstrating both blistering speed and consistency. Like Jessie, Norris won multiple titles: Open Division, Rimfire Open, and Steel Master. B.J. shot an impressive 81.18 score to secure the Open Division win.
Former Team Glock shooter Dave Sevigny won the men’s Limited Class (iron sights) with a cumulative time of 90.51. Dave obviously has not suffered too much from his move away from Team Glock, which has lost many top shooters lately. The men’s Production Class winner was Mike Seeklander with a 99.73 score. Living legend Jerry Miculek once again showed he is the world’s greatest wheelgunner, winning the OSR (revolver) class.
*Jessie’s 45-year-old husband, William L. Abbate, a professional shooter, was recently arrested and charged with improper conduct with a 15-year-old female shooter whom he coached. READ News Story.
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The Shooting Wire reports that there are just two days left to take advantage of the early registration discount for the 2011 Steel Challenge World Speed Shooting Championships. Competitors must submit Match Applications this Friday, July 15, 2001, to take advantage of the discounted match fee. If you get your application postmarked by Friday then you’ll also be entered in a drawing for a new Ruger Mark III pistol. If you aren’t familiar with the Steel Challenge, held each year in Piru, California, it is one of the top pistol competitions in the world. Check out this video highlighting our friend K.C. Eusebio, who has set fastest times on many of the Steel Challenge Stages.
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The Steel Challenge, one of the world’s premier speed-shooting events, kicked off yesterday in Piru, CA, just down the road from AccurateShooter.com’s home base. Thursday saw shooters compete in the rimfire division. The star of the day was young Ryan Leonard of Oregon City, OR. This 17-year-old pistol prodigy proved that youthful enthusiasm (and quick reflexes) CAN beat age and experience. Ryan outgunned all the big-name pros, including Glock’s Dave Sevigny, Blackhawk’s Todd Jarrett, and Smith &Wesson’s B.J. Norris.
Leonard posted the fastest score on three of the eight stages — 5 To Go, Smoke & Hope and Outer Limits — to finish in a final time of 69.76 seconds. Next fastest man was Dave Sevigny, 1.45 seconds behind. It was a brilliant showing by the 17-year-old Leonard, who claimed the Open Rimfire Championship. Congrats to the Oregon teen — we expect we’ll here more from the young shooter in the years ahead.
Finishing 5th overall, and winning the women’s open rimfire division was Jessie Abbate, now with Team Smith & Wesson. The popular shooter from Georgia was the fastest lady on seven of the eight stages in the match. Abbate’s final time of 76.90 seconds outpaced her Team S&W team-mate Kay Miculek by 11.60 seconds. In the Ladies’ iron-sight Rimfire event, the winner was Team S&W co-captain Julie Golob.
The Rimfire event is the first leg of the three-event contest that decides the Steel Master winner. The second is the iron sight centerfire pistol event shot in either the Limited or Production division. And the third is the Open pistol contest, the main event of the World Speed Shooting Championships.
Abbate is the defending Ladies’ Steel Master Champion and is a favorite to win the title again in 2010. For more info visit www.SteelChallenge.com.
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Among female action shooters, Jessie Abbate, 2009 USPSA Ladies Back-to-Back National Champion, may be the most marketable talent in America right now. Jessie has been featured on several TV shows, including Shooting USA, Cowboys, Shooting Gallery, and American Hunter. After Abbate left Team Glock in a contract dispute, the shooting world has been wondering which sponsor would secure Jessie’s services for its team. Well, now we have an answer — Jessie Abbate will shoot for Team Smith & Wesson. Jim Shepherd’s Shooting Wire reports that “Abbate has signed with Team Smith & Wesson”, as confirmed by Abbate’s agent Russell Stott.
This now gives Team S&W a powerful threesome of female shooters as Abbate joins Womens’ Team Captain Julie Goloski Golob and Kay Clark Miculek. While 9-time USPSA Champion Golob is primarily a pistol shooter, both Kay Miculek and Jessie Abbate are top-flight multi-gun shooters as well. Abbate developed her rifle and shotgun skills in Cowboy Action shooting, and Kay is a 13-Time USPSA Multi-Gun Open Champion. Having Kay AND Jessie under contract is a big coup for Smith & Wesson, as multi-gun matches afford Smith & Wesson a chance to showcase its handguns AND its rifle products.
The Rise of Multi-Gun Competition
Multi-Gun and 3-Gun matches become more popular every season. One top 3-gun shooter who originally came up through the pistol ranks told us: “Multi-Gun is the future — it’s what TV viewers want and what sponsors want”. The major multi-gun matches are drawing 30% more competitors each year. And now 3-Gun Nation has brought multi-gun shooting to prime-time television with a compelling nationwide series with a huge cash payout in the end. That’s smart, NASCAR-style marketing. We predict that, within a few years, multi-gun events will eclipse the handgun-only events in popularity, prize money, and sponsorship interest. With Abbate added to the S&W team, along with long-time multi-gun ace Kay Miculek, S&W is positioned to dominate womens’ multi-gun competition for years to come.
Photos courtesy JessieAbbate.com
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Looking for a position that lets you work from home and be involved with many of the leading organizations in the gun industry, such as Ruger, Smith & Wesson, and the USAMU? The U.S. Practical Shooting Association (USPSA) is seeking a coordinator for its annual Steel Challenge competition, held each summer in Southern California.
The Steel Challenge Coordinator will assist in producing the Steel Challenge World Speed Shooting Championships. The successful candidate must be good with details, able to meet deadlines, have a good working knowledge of Excel spreadsheets, and have some event experience. The position also requires some Shooting Sports Industry experience and working with sponsors. The Coordinator will work from home but must be able to travel to the SHOT Show and the World Speed Shooting Championships. To apply for the job, send email to Scott Moore, SSC Director, scott@steelchallenge.com, or call (602) 687-9675.
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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.
Abbate, 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.
Jorge Ballesteros of Spain captured the coveted Steel Challenge title at the 2009 European Speed Shooting Championships held May 22 and 23 in Winterswijk, Netherlands. Facing Europe’s best shooters, Ballesteros won the Open Pistol title with a time of 61.31 seconds, besting last year’s top time by over two and a half seconds. Jan ter Borg of the Netherlands finished second while Germany’s Oliver Damm placed third for the second year in a row. Defending 2008 champion Saul Kirsch of the Netherlands finished fourth.
The European Steel Challenge drew 135 top speed shooters from Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain and the United States, all vying for their share of $40,000 in cash and prizes and the title of Europe’s Fastest Gun. The match was shot indoors and featured six of the eight stages used in the USA Steel Challenge: Smoke & Hope, Five to Go, Roundabout, Speed Option, Accelerator and Outer Limits.
“The European Steel Challenge is growing in popularity thanks to the hard work of match director Hans Wigger and, with so many strong competitors, it’s only a matter of time before we see a squad of top Europeans competing at the World Speed Shooting Championships here in the U.S.,” said Dave Thomas, executive director of the Steel Challenge Shooting Association (SCSA).
Fierce Competition Among Wheel-Gunners
In the Open Revolver division, shooters from the Netherlands ran the table with Mario Siemeling leading the way and defending his 2008 win by posting a time of 68.99. Harry ter Borg, who finished third in 2008, moved up to second shooting a time of 77.00 seconds. In third, with a time of 78.35, was Jan ter Borg. Below is a video from the 2008 ESC showing Harry ter Borg, Mario Siemeling (at 4:00 minute mark) and other wheel-gunners in action.
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Army Specialist K. C. Eusebio of the United States Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU) edged out B. J. Norris to win his second Steel Challenge World Speed Shooting title in Piru, California. Eusebio finished with a record time of 79.16. K.C. first won the Steel Challenge while still in High School — an amazing performance for such a young shooter. K.C. has set speed-records for many of the Steel Challenge’s stages, including “Smoke & Hope” shown in the video. Eusebio’s win is the third time an Army Marksmanship Unit member has taken the title in the past four years. Staff Sergeant Max Michel took the title in 2005 and 2007. Below is exclusive video taken by AccurateShooter.com at the Steel Challenge on August 16.
In the women’s division Kay Clark-Miculek took her seventh Women’s Steel Challenge title with a time of 105.85. Miculek now has twice as many titles as any other female shooter. In the Limited Category, Phil Strader of the US Shooting Academy’s 93.49 time was good enough to defeat 2006 World Champion JJ Racaza by just over 9 tenths of a second.
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Over 200 of the world’s best pistol shooters from 19 states and 4 foreign countries will compete for the World Speed Shooting Championship at the 2008 Steel Challenge. The Shooting events take place August 14 through 16 (Thurs. through Sat.) at the Steel Challenge Range in Piru, CA, located about 15 minutes from Magic Mountain in Southern California. Spectator admission is free. Awards ceremonies are scheduled for August 17 (Sunday) in nearby Valencia, CA.
Considered by many to be the “ultimate” speed-shooting competition, the Steel Challenge draws the world’s best pro shooters, who compete for over $350,000 in cash and prizes. The 3-day event tests competitors with eight challenging courses of fire, all “on the clock”.
Courses of fire, or stages, are made up of five steel targets which are electronically timed to 1/100th of a second. Competitors shoot each stage five times with their slowest run eliminated. The combined time of the four best runs is their score for that stage. Championships will be determined in in several categories including Rimfire, Shotgun, Single Action Revolver, Revolver, Stock Pistol and Open Pistol.
Now competing with major sponsorship from Taurus firearms, Jessie Duff (formerly Jessie Harrison) thoroughly dominated the ladies’ division of the recent U.S. Steel Challenge Nationals in Florida, winning the Steel Master title. It seems like you can put any makers’ firearm in Jessie’s capable hands, and she comes out a winner.
New Name, Same Game
B.J. Norris Blazes in Men’s Division
The 
Finishing 5th overall, and winning the women’s open rimfire division was Jessie Abbate, now with Team Smith & Wesson. The popular shooter from Georgia was the fastest lady on seven of the eight stages in the match. Abbate’s final time of 76.90 seconds outpaced her Team S&W team-mate Kay Miculek by 11.60 seconds. In the Ladies’ iron-sight Rimfire event, the winner was Team S&W co-captain Julie Golob.
Abbate, 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.
Jorge Ballesteros of Spain captured the coveted Steel Challenge title at the 
