Grant Kunkel Sweeps Area 5 Steel Challenge Championship

by
posted on June 18, 2021
** When you buy products through the links on our site, we may earn a commission that supports NRA's mission to protect, preserve and defend the Second Amendment. **
gkunkel-1.jpg

Team Federal’s Grant Kunkel had a stellar performance at the 2021 Area 5 Steel Challenge Championship that netted him six first place trophies, plus the Rifle Master and Rimfire Master titles.

The match, held at the Riley Conservation Club in Terre Haute, Ind., on June 11–13, had 364 shooters competing across six divisions.

Kunkel’s wins in the Area 5 Steel Challenge Championship include first place in Rimfire Rifle Optic (RFRO), Rimfire Rifle Iron (RFRI), Rimfire Pistol Optic (RFPO), Rimfire Pistol Iron (RFPI), Open and Pistol Caliber Carbine Optic (PCCO) divisions.

According to the main match results posted to the Practiscore website, Kunkel's best stage in Open division was Smoke and Hope with a time of 8.01 seconds. His total Open division time was 74.75 seconds, about six seconds ahead of runner-up Ryan Wagner.

As for the Rifle Master award, it's given to the competitor with the fastest Rimfire Rifle and PCC combined time, while the Rimfire Master award is for the fastest combined time in RFPO, RFPI, RFRO and RFRI combined. As mentioned, Kunkel won both awards.

Kunkel gave high praise to his Federal Syntech ammo for Open division, while for the rimfire portions of the match he was shooting CCI Mini-Mag.

“For the handgun Open division, I was shooting Syntech Action Pistol, because it’s extremely soft recoil, accuracy and absolute reliability allow me to concentrate fully while making quick shots and staying on target. I relied on CCI Mini-Mag ammo for the rimfire events.”

Learn more about Steel Challenge. Visit federalpremium.com and cci-ammunition.com for more information about Federal and CCI.


Read more: Mastering Steel Challenge Stages: Five To Go

Latest

Panchovilla SK 3
Panchovilla SK 3

SK Guns’ Pancho Villa 1911 Returns in Stainless Steel

SK Guns reissues its Pancho Villa 1911 in stainless steel, limited to 300 engraved .38 Super Government Models at $3,100.

USPSA Grand Master Jessie Harrison Joins Team Check-Mate

Check-Mate has signed pistol champion Jessie Harrison to its shooting team, adding her to a roster built on magazine reliability.

Range USA Completes Store Redesign

Range USA finishes redesigning all its stores, adding self-service handgun displays, a 32-gun long gun tower and double the in-store optics.

Federal’s New Action Shotgun Rifled Slug

Federal’s Action Shotgun line adds a 12-gauge TruBall rifled slug, a 1-ounce hollow point at 1,300 fps, now shipping.

Preview: 2026 Spirit Of America NRA National Fullbore Championships

NRA’s National Fullbore Championships run Sept. 10-17 at the Whittington Center in Raton, New Mexico. Mail-in entries close Aug. 15.

A Century Of Tradition Fights To Survive: 1994 National Matches

Congress and the Pentagon nearly ended the National Matches in 1994. NRA vowed to keep them alive while Mike Anti rewrote the smallbore record book.

Interests



Get the best of Shooting Sports USA delivered to your inbox.