Outer Limits is my favorite Steel Challenge stage by far. Unfortunately for me, you only run it 4 times instead of the usual 5, and only 3 of the runs count for score. It has the furthest shots of the match, and there is movement on the clock from one shooting position to another, making it pretty unique among steel stages.
The circular target is at 20 yards, the large rectangle is at 35, and the center stop plate is at 18 yards. You would think hitting a giant target at 35 yards would not be that hard, but plenty of people miss it. If you want a fast time on the stage, you have to be able to visually call your shots and not wait for the steel to ring. If you can’t effectively call your shots, you will leave the shooting box and then have to go back to make up the missed shot. Not a winning strategy.
The video below shows my 4 runs at Steel Nationals this year. My 13.75 run was equal to the peak time for that stage, which gives me a 100% performance. Of course, I was shooting my LTT P30L LEM. Jerry Miculek and I had a discussion about DAO guns back at the 2006 Steel Nationals. I think he won revolver that year and I won IDPA and placed second in Production. I opined that a DAO auto might be a great steel gun, and I assumed he would agree since he was shooting revolver. Well, he did not think much of using a DAO auto at the time. While I did not win a division this year, and likely never will again, I do not think my choice of the LEM hampered me in any way. Might be time to actually practice some steel stages and see what happens.