origins of ftr?

[Regnar]

I e tried to find this answer but have been unable to. Was it conceptualized at the same time fclass was created or was it an off shoot? why was 308 and 223 chosen for the two calibers?

As ppreciate it if someone could answer those two questions.

 

[Jefferson]

Canada. what do you think of that

 

[XTR]

In Canada when you hear someone mention "shooting TR" they mean they do it with with a sling and coat with a 308, unlike here when you hear someone say they shoot TR they usually mean F-TR.

In the US we'd usually refer to what Canadian's call "TR" righly or wrongly (depending on the rifle they were holding) as Palma shooters. F class started in Canadia, so F-TR is the F class version of Canadian TR shooting.

 

[Laurie]

F/TR followed F-Class by a few years. F started in Canada and F doesn't = free as you may think, rather the late George Farquarson of Kamloops, British Columbia:

https://www.2017fcwc.ca/history-of-f-class

As said, the original idea was to take the standard 'Target Rifle', / 'Fullbore Rifle' / Palma rifle and add a bipod and riflescope. Allowances were made for the extra weight and because the rifle is rested / supported, the minimum trigger pull allowance was reduced / eliminated as long as the rifle cannot be fired inadvertently.

Although it started with enhanced ICFRA specification rifles which to be compliant must be 308 or 223 calibre, F as internationally regulated by ICFRA (the International Confederation of Fullbore Rifle Associations) saw any calibre up to and including 8mm allowed from day one. One of the few restrictions put on rifles is no muzzle brakes - not because of competitive enhancement, rather to avoid distrurbance to neighbouring competitors on the firing line. At that time it was envisaged that F-Class competitors would shoot alongside TR / Fullbore competitors on the same targets.

Initially, there was a preponderance of 308 users (plus 223 in Canada where the little cartridge was strong in TR), but 6.5s, 7s and 300 magnums quickly made use of the original ICFRA compliant cartridges a hopeless task in all but very short-range matches. Enhancements such as pedestal front-rests were quickly adopted and so on. So after a very short period, two or three seasons, the restricted F/TR class was introduced - as per F but limited to the two original cartridges, reduced rifle all-up weight, and use of a bi-pod (or sling as used in Fullbore) made mandatory, its weight included with the rifle in the ceiling of 8.25 Kg (F = 10 kg and a front-rest isn't included, although a bi-pod is if chosen). Around the same time, target ring diameters were reduced compared to TR / Fullbore, halved for the key ones for both classes.

Since then, getting on for 10 years ago, the formula has held up very well as I cannot think of any changes, although I'm sure some 'tweaking' must have taken place. Individual national rifle associations can put their own restrictions / modifications to piggyback on the international formula for national matches - eg Canada has a 'less than 156gn 308 bullet or 81gn 224 bullet ceiling on F/TR and Australia has its own variants for domestic matches too.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

I thought it was “tactical rifle” meaning nato calibres, and bipods

 

[Regnar]

F/TR followed F-Class by a few years. F started in Canada and F doesn't = free as you may think, rather the late George Farquarson of Kamloops, British Columbia:

https://www.2017fcwc.ca/history-of-f-class

As said, the original idea was to take the standard 'Target Rifle', / 'Fullbore Rifle' / Palma rifle and add a bipod and riflescope. Allowances were made for the extra weight and because the rifle is rested / supported, the minimum trigger pull allowance was reduced / eliminated as long as the rifle cannot be fired inadvertently.

Although it started with enhanced ICFRA specification rifles which to be compliant must be 308 or 223 calibre, F as internationally regulated by ICFRA (the International Confederation of Fullbore Rifle Associations) saw any calibre up to and including 8mm allowed from day one. One of the few restrictions put on rifles is no muzzle brakes - not because of competitive enhancement, rather to avoid distrurbance to neighbouring competitors on the firing line. At that time it was envisaged that F-Class competitors would shoot alongside TR / Fullbore competitors on the same targets.

Initially, there was a preponderance of 308 users (plus 223 in Canada where the little cartridge was strong in TR), but 6.5s, 7s and 300 magnums quickly made use of the original ICFRA compliant cartridges a hopeless task in all but very short-range matches. Enhancements such as pedestal front-rests were quickly adopted and so on. So after a very short period, two or three seasons, the restricted F/TR class was introduced - as per F but limited to the two original cartridges, reduced rifle all-up weight, and use of a bi-pod (or sling as used in Fullbore) made mandatory, its weight included with the rifle in the ceiling of 8.25 Kg (F = 10 kg and a front-rest isn't included, although a bi-pod is if chosen). Around the same time, target ring diameters were reduced compared to TR / Fullbore, halved for the key ones for both classes.

Since then, getting on for 10 years ago, the formula has held up very well as I cannot think of any changes, although I'm sure some 'tweaking' must have taken place. Individual national rifle associations can put their own restrictions / modifications to piggyback on the international formula for national matches - eg Canada has a 'less than 156gn 308 bullet or 81gn 224 bullet ceiling on F/TR and Australia has its own variants for domestic matches too.

Thank you. That is what I was looking for.

 

[watercam]

The original reason for the creation of the class was for those who were getting too old to be comfortable in a coat and sling. It allowed them a way to compete that was easier on the bod'. Initially they shot the same target as the sling shooters but what with the front and rear rests it proved too much of an advantage for sling shooters to over come. Hence the small scoring rings.
Now it is simply the easiest way to get started in the game.

 

[MrFrankZ]

[QUOTE="watercam, post: 37278922, member: 857266]"Initially they shot the same target as the sling shooters but what with the front and rear rests it proved too much of an advantage for sling shooters to over come. [/QUOTE]
They obviously ain't shot with me LOL . Had my rear handed to me once by a dude with a sling and glove.

 

[XTR]

I thought it was “tactical rifle” meaning nato calibres, and bipods

There are a whole lot of people who think the TR stands for "Tactical Rifle", I even heard it announced that way on the PA at Camp Perry during in 2012. It's Target Rifle, which is pretty obvious when you understand that George Farquharson was a sling shooter and the whole concept he championed.

 

[JeffT]

FTR started at the 2004 national championships in Butner, NC. A group of people met with the match director and they wanted the current FTR shooters to have a equal playing field amongst the hot rod open shooters, who at the time did have an advantage. At the time, most of the FTR shooters were using Harris bi-pods and shooting either 155 or 175 Sierras. My how times have changed. Now they are using joy-pods and 215's with high BC's and on many occasions shooting better scores than the "advantaged" open shooters. That was the first time the sub-class of FTR was recognized. Lbart can correct me if I got any of that wrong as he as always played a part in the decision. Fclass in the US wouldn't be what it is today without Lbart steering the ship.

 

[Liven The Dream]

F/TR followed F-Class by a few years. F started in Canada and F doesn't = free as you may think, rather the late George Farquarson of Kamloops, British Columbia:

https://www.2017fcwc.ca/history-of-f-class

As said, the original idea was to take the standard 'Target Rifle', / 'Fullbore Rifle' / Palma rifle and add a bipod and riflescope. Allowances were made for the extra weight and because the rifle is rested / supported, the minimum trigger pull allowance was reduced / eliminated as long as the rifle cannot be fired inadvertently.

Although it started with enhanced ICFRA specification rifles which to be compliant must be 308 or 223 calibre, F as internationally regulated by ICFRA (the International Confederation of Fullbore Rifle Associations) saw any calibre up to and including 8mm allowed from day one. One of the few restrictions put on rifles is no muzzle brakes - not because of competitive enhancement, rather to avoid distrurbance to neighbouring competitors on the firing line. At that time it was envisaged that F-Class competitors would shoot alongside TR / Fullbore competitors on the same targets.

Initially, there was a preponderance of 308 users (plus 223 in Canada where the little cartridge was strong in TR), but 6.5s, 7s and 300 magnums quickly made use of the original ICFRA compliant cartridges a hopeless task in all but very short-range matches. Enhancements such as pedestal front-rests were quickly adopted and so on. So after a very short period, two or three seasons, the restricted F/TR class was introduced - as per F but limited to the two original cartridges, reduced rifle all-up weight, and use of a bi-pod (or sling as used in Fullbore) made mandatory, its weight included with the rifle in the ceiling of 8.25 Kg (F = 10 kg and a front-rest isn't included, although a bi-pod is if chosen). Around the same time, target ring diameters were reduced compared to TR / Fullbore, halved for the key ones for both classes.

Since then, getting on for 10 years ago, the formula has held up very well as I cannot think of any changes, although I'm sure some 'tweaking' must have taken place. Individual national rifle associations can put their own restrictions / modifications to piggyback on the international formula for national matches - eg Canada has a 'less than 156gn 308 bullet or 81gn 224 bullet ceiling on F/TR and Australia has its own variants for domestic matches too.

Thank You Good information ….

 

[Lbart]

Prior to 2004 there was only F-Class. You could shoot any caliber (range permitting) and use any front support & a rear bag. There was only the 10kg/22 lb weight limit from the international rules. As Jeff T. wrote; before the 1st FCN’s in 2004 I got a committee together from what would become F/TR shooters. I asked them to come up with some basic rules to apply to F/TR. We started with the weight limit at that time of the Palma/ sling rifle and added the approx. wt. of a target scope and bipod (Harris was most popular then) and came up with 8.25kg/ 8.18lbs. Since the only calibers allowed in Palma at that time were .308 Win and .223 Rem, we decided to stick with those due to the origin of FC. This put off a few who were shooting calibers other than .308 & .223 and using a bipod, but in retrospect it looks like it was a good decision. Remember you can still use a bipod in F-Open so long as the rifle w/bipod is under 10kg.

 

[Regnar]

Prior to 2004 there was only F-Class. You could shoot any caliber (range permitting) and use any front support & a rear bag. There was only the 10kg/22 lb weight limit from the international rules. As Jeff T. wrote; before the 1st FCN’s in 2004 I got a committee together from what would become F/TR shooters. I asked them to come up with some basic rules to apply to F/TR. We started with the weight limit at that time of the Palma/ sling rifle and added the approx. wt. of a target scope and bipod (Harris was most popular then) and came up with 8.25kg/ 8.18lbs. Since the only calibers allowed in Palma at that time were .308 Win and .223 Rem, we decided to stick with those due to the origin of FC. This put off a few who were shooting calibers other than .308 & .223 and using a bipod, but in retrospect it looks like it was a good decision. Remember you can still use a bipod in F-Open so long as the rifle w/bipod is under 10kg.

Thank you. this was the other piece I was looking for, the 223 and 308.

Appreciate it.

 

[Jefferson]

I knew someone had the gift of language and could explain it far better than I
thanks

F/TR followed F-Class by a few years. F started in Canada and F doesn't = free as you may think, rather the late George Farquarson of Kamloops, British Columbia:

https://www.2017fcwc.ca/history-of-f-class

As said, the original idea was to take the standard 'Target Rifle', / 'Fullbore Rifle' / Palma rifle and add a bipod and riflescope. Allowances were made for the extra weight and because the rifle is rested / supported, the minimum trigger pull allowance was reduced / eliminated as long as the rifle cannot be fired inadvertently.

Although it started with enhanced ICFRA specification rifles which to be compliant must be 308 or 223 calibre, F as internationally regulated by ICFRA (the International Confederation of Fullbore Rifle Associations) saw any calibre up to and including 8mm allowed from day one. One of the few restrictions put on rifles is no muzzle brakes - not because of competitive enhancement, rather to avoid distrurbance to neighbouring competitors on the firing line. At that time it was envisaged that F-Class competitors would shoot alongside TR / Fullbore competitors on the same targets.

Initially, there was a preponderance of 308 users (plus 223 in Canada where the little cartridge was strong in TR), but 6.5s, 7s and 300 magnums quickly made use of the original ICFRA compliant cartridges a hopeless task in all but very short-range matches. Enhancements such as pedestal front-rests were quickly adopted and so on. So after a very short period, two or three seasons, the restricted F/TR class was introduced - as per F but limited to the two original cartridges, reduced rifle all-up weight, and use of a bi-pod (or sling as used in Fullbore) made mandatory, its weight included with the rifle in the ceiling of 8.25 Kg (F = 10 kg and a front-rest isn't included, although a bi-pod is if chosen). Around the same time, target ring diameters were reduced compared to TR / Fullbore, halved for the key ones for both classes.

Since then, getting on for 10 years ago, the formula has held up very well as I cannot think of any changes, although I'm sure some 'tweaking' must have taken place. Individual national rifle associations can put their own restrictions / modifications to piggyback on the international formula for national matches - eg Canada has a 'less than 156gn 308 bullet or 81gn 224 bullet ceiling on F/TR and Australia has its own variants for domestic matches too.

 

[Laurie]

As Jeff T. wrote; before the 1st FCN’s in 2004 I got a committee together from what would become F/TR shooters.

Time flies! I wouldn't have thought 14 years of the class. I have a feeling we in the UK were behind you though in adopting F/TR, and the idea took a while to cross the Atlantic.

 

[riflewoman]

I met George Farquharson a few times an I’m not entirely sure that he’d recognize the “F-class” style of shooting at all. When he exclaimed “all I wanted to do was shoot my rifle” it wasn’t from a rest or bipod. He just wanted to shoot his rifle that was in a chambering other than 308 Winchester.

 

[memilanuk]

I still blame Larry (lbart) for getting me into all this; I'd read an article of his about the sport at the very back of a book 'Precision Shooting at 1000yds' published by Dave Brennan of Precision Shooting Magazine. As a displaced varmint hunter it seemed like a good practice opportunity. First match I went to (2002 or so), they asked me 'What class/category?' When I said 'F-Class' they said 'Never heard of it' so I ended up shooting sling for a few years til there was more than just me around these parts that wanted to shoot F-class at a match

 

[Laurie]

I still blame Larry (lbart) for getting me into all this; I'd read an article of his about the sport at the very back of a book 'Precision Shooting at 1000yds' published by Dave Brennan of Precision Shooting Magazine.

Ha! Ha! I was (ruinously expensively) influenced by that feature too - I still have the book. Flicking through it now shows how far long-range shooting has come in not that many years from 1,000 yards being an adventure then to today's King of 2 Miles.