Steel Beast

Walther’s Q5 match SF brings pistol racing to the sales counter.

There can be little to no reasonable contest when we make the statement that competitive pistol shooting, particularly at the club level, is gaining ever-broader popularity. More and more handgun owners are realizing that friendly competition is a great way to hone skills, test new gear or upgrades, and keep their beloved sidearms from languishing in a safe, sock drawer, or worn-out holster.

But the growth of the sport has created, in our opinion, a widening gap among participants. On one end, you have everyday enthusiasts and concealed carriers who simply want to run their daily-driver stock guns under some kind of pressure test to gauge their abilities. On the other, you have career competitors with massive sponsorships shooting Excalibur-level open guns like the Limcat Customs Shadow Cat we reviewed way back in Issue 2. That particular gun was listed in the article at a stomach-dropping $4,895. There was also the STI Costa Carry Comp that this author reviewed for Issue 30 at an almost-equally staggering $3,699.

For shooters who can afford those guns, or are provided them, they are masterful examples of handheld lead projectors. But in between those two extremes is a steadily rising populous of pistol shooters who are well beyond shooting stock guns. Maybe that’s how they started before getting bit by the bug. Now they’re sacrificing nights, weekends, and countless dollars in practice ammo to push themselves beyond the pack. They want to win, and they want to win against the best opponents they can find. But in the world of race guns, bottom dollar will quickly become the thickest glass ceiling for mid-level competitors.