NRA America’s Rifle Challenge is heading to the Black Hills. The “Faces of Freedom” ARC Regional Championships, presented by 360 Precision, will run August 1-2 at the Pete Lien & Sons Shooting Sports Complex in Rapid City, South Dakota, and the event arrives as one of the most anticipated stops on the nationwide ARC Across America National Challenge during the country’s 250th anniversary year.
What sets this championship apart is its structure. Rather than running a single level, the event stacks both ARC levels into one title chase across eight full stages of fire. Competitors will work through the four foundational marksmanship stages that make up Level 1 before stepping into the four more dynamic Level 2 stages, where distance and movement raise the degree of difficulty. Every stage counts. Scores from all eight combine into a single overall ranking, which rewards the well-rounded shooter rather than the specialist who can lean on one strength. The four Level 1 stages also qualify toward the national challenge, so a strong showing in Rapid City echoes well beyond the Black Hills.
The whole thing runs in a one-day shooting format, a deliberate choice that leaves competitors room to actually enjoy the trip. The $125 match fee covers entry, lunch during the event and an awards dinner once the shooting wraps. It also opens the door to the 360 Precision demo bay, available to competitors and their guests, along with prize drawings from event sponsors. Registration opens June 1 through Practiscore, and the official match hotel with discounted rates will land in the registration confirmation email.
Match Director Michael Kuzara and Assistant Match Director Bruce Schmidt will run the championship with support from the Prairie Thunder Action Shooting Club, the kind of seasoned local crew that keeps a match safe, fair and moving on schedule.
Then there is the setting, which might be the easiest sell of all. Rapid City sits at the doorstep of some of the most recognizable country in the American West, and a one-day match leaves plenty of daylight for the rest of it. Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial are short drives away. So are Custer State Park, Badlands National Park, the gold-rush streets of Deadwood and the legendary motorcycle town of Sturgis. A competitor could shoot the championship on Saturday and spend the back half of the weekend turning it into a family trip through history and high country. For a match built around celebrating 250 years of American independence, it would be hard to draw up a more fitting backdrop.
Sponsorship and partnership opportunities tied to the championship and the broader ARC program are available through Steve Kupcha, Managing Director of Corporate Partnerships at the NRA, at [email protected]. For more information on NRA America’s Rifle Challenge, visit arc.nra.org.
