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What caliber for 500-1000 yd F-Class

Papa Charlie

Papa Charlie

I am looking for input from those who are competing in F-Class matches.

I shoot Mid-Range F-Class at 500 yards currently with my .308 Win rifle. So far I am very pleased with the performance and the barrel is only a year old with approximately 1100 rounds down the pipe. So my question stems from what do I do when the barrel has gone it course and it is time to replace. Do I stay with .308 Win or do I switch to a new caliber. I have been contemplating competing at 1000 yards, but my primary matches will be at 500.

My current barrel is a Benchmark, 1:10 twist, 5R, 30". I have thought about going with either the .284 or moving to the 6mm or 6.5mm.

So the question is, what would you recommend and why?
Also, what barrel configuration would you use with the caliber that you are recommending?
 
Well if the 308 is working for you why would you want to change? I would stick with a the 308 which is what I shoot. I shoot 175's but will change soon to 200.20X bullets. You already have the bipod and a good understanding of where to hold for wind conditions. Why not stick with it? If you change to open then you will need a new rest and then the hunt for the ever elusive perfect rifle/caliber and set up will get a hold of you... Next you will be shooting a Creedmoor and nobody wants that.... lol..
 
I'm building a new .284 Shehane for F Open. If you shoot FTR .308 is the answer for most.
F Open, .284, .284 Shehane, Walker, ect. are common as are 7 SAUM and .300 WSM.
 
DirtySteve said:
Well if the 308 is working for you why would you want to change? I would stick with a the 308 which is what I shoot. I shoot 175's but will change soon to 200.20X bullets. You already have the bipod and a good understanding of where to hold for wind conditions. Why not stick with it? If you change to open then you will need a new rest and then the hunt for the ever elusive perfect rifle/caliber and set up will get a hold of you... Next you will be shooting a Creedmoor and nobody wants that.... lol..
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I don't mind moving to F-Open, I have the Joypod which would also work for F-Open as well and I could, if I decide to, upgrade to a NEO Mini down the road. Besides it isn't unusual for me to be grouped into the F-Open as we often have too few F_TR shooters to set aside a stand alone group. The rest of my setup would be fine although I may want to upgrade to a heavier rear bag if I go to the Mini.

I shoot the 185 Juggernauts and they work fine out to about 600 yards but for 1000 yard they have way to much drop and according to my ballistics will drop out of supersonic at about 850 yards. Not conducive to to 1000 yard matches.
 
One Shot One Thrill said:
7 saum is Awsome. It has been very easy to tune and able to achieve great velocities with out stressing any part of the brass!!
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I agree the 7 SAUM is a great round, however, I don't want to have to change the bolt so would probably not go with the 7 saum. It has a much larger base diameter (0.5357") than the .308 Win (0.4728"). But the .284 Winc has a base of 0.473. I believe the 6.5 Creedmoor and the 6MM variations all have the 0.473 base diameter.

My concern with the 6 and 6.5 rounds is, at least from what I have read, have trouble past 600-700 yards with wind, while the .284 is much less effected as the rounds are heavier.
 
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Papa Charlie said:
I don't mind moving to F-Open, I have the Joypod which would also work for F-Open as well and I could, if I decide to, upgrade to a NEO Mini down the road. Besides it isn't unusual for me to be grouped into the F-Open as we often have too few F_TR shooters to set aside a stand alone group. The rest of my setup would be fine although I may want to upgrade to a heavier rear bag if I go to the Mini.

I shoot the 185 Juggernauts and they work fine out to about 600 yards but for 1000 yard they have way to much drop and according to my ballistics will drop out of supersonic at about 850 yards. Not conducive to to 1000 yard matches.
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PC, What velocity are you running the Juggs at? I'm shooting them and at 2592 FPS and according to Shooter app it goes subsonic at 1225 yds.. I shoot them at 1000 yds with no problem.
 
Since most of your match's are at 500 yards a BRX or Dasher in a 7.5" twist would be about perfect. 110 Sierra's out of either hang with the 6.5's at mid range and do well at long range. The 284's still have an advantage in the wind.

The common Open cartridges I see at our club are, in no particular order..
6Dasher, 6BRX, 6.5Creed, 260, 260AI, 6.5x284, 284, 284 Shehane.
 
I'm running a mild load but they shot good so I stayed there. Using H4895 Fed 210m 185 juggs Lapua brass. 26" Broughton MTU . With that speed you should have no problem at 1000 and what Dean said,they shoot good. I shoot 175 SMK's at 2754 and have no problems reaching 1000 either.
 
swd said:
Since most of your match's are at 500 yards a BRX or Dasher in a 7.5" twist would be about perfect. 110 Sierra's out of either hang with the 6.5's at mid range and do well at long range. The 284's still have an advantage in the wind.

The common Open cartridges I see at our club are, in no particular order..
6Dasher, 6BRX, 6.5Creed, 260, 260AI, 6.5x284, 284, 284 Shehane.
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SWD,not to hijack the thread but I'm thinking about building a 6 Dasher and how is it at 1000 yds?
 
Since your already set up for the 308 (dies, bullets, brass etc) I’d stay with it. If you want to go into “open” class you can’t beat a straight 284. Realize you won’t get the barrel life out of these like you do with the 308.
 
Lone Hunter said:
SWD,not to hijack the thread but I'm thinking about building a 6 Dasher and how is it at 1000 yds?
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I shoot a BRX but it's the exact same ballistics and for the most part even the same load data. With 110 SMK's it shoots right along with most 6.5's at 1K. .620 bc at 2900-3000ish. They hold water line quite well.

The 284 and variants always have an advantage at LR but if those guys aren't on their game the little 6's are right there. If your a good TR shooter a Dasher or BRX would be a great transition before deciding if want anything bigger OR not. Easy to shoot and load for.

If I were ONLY going to shoot 1K I'd probably consider something bigger but for an all around Mid Range/LR rifle the Dasher/BRX are well worth considering. And spending a year burning up one barrel would only make you a better shooter.
 
I will tell you MY experiences in F-Open. When I first started in F-Open in the fall of 2011, I shot a 6.5 x 47. It was NOT a "full-blown" F-Open rifle. It was a very nice rifle that I shot just for shooting. It was super accurate but I had no idea what I was doing in the wind>>>>and I never got any help from anybody and learned myself. This last statement is why I try to help anyone I can so they don't "wade thru" uncertain waters blindly. You can shoot 500 thru 1000 with one rifle and if you learn it well, you can become a force to be reckoned with! Having said that, IF (and this is a BIG IF) you plan on doing well enough to win AT BOTH ranges you will need a 7mm or 30 Cal. I have shot the gamut from 6mmBR to the Dasher to the 6.5s all the way thru the 7mms to a 30-06 Ackley! T-Rust me, if you can shoot it in F-Open, I probably shot it.

I am a fairly sizable guy (6' 2" and 240 pounds) and I can handle recoil! However, I HATE it! So this entire year I spent shooting ALL ranges with 6mms and 6.5mms... At Mid-Range when the wind was not too bad, I would do very well. But even at Mid-Range at some ranges, I was whipsawed around with horrible wind. At Long Range, I could almost never muster more than getting in "the middle of the pack"! Little bullets, no matter how fast or how accurate, simply can not compete with 180+ class pills and win with any regularity! AND I don't care what the "ballistic tables" say! Believe me when I tell you this, I have learned A LOT about what works in the wind and what don't!

The "moral" to this story is, if you want to spend money on components, travel to matches and plan on doing well, at BOTH Mid-Range and Long-Range, you have no real choice but to go BIG! If I were to have 1 rifle and learn it well, for ANY range, I would build one of 2 rifles in either 7mm SAUM IMP, shooting 195s or a .300 WSM shooting the 215 Hybrids. Both will make you sore by the end of a 2 day event. The 7 SAUM IMP with the 195s might have a VERY, VERY slight ballistic edge, however, your barrel life will literally be half or maybe less than half of the .300WSM. In either event, when the wind is up, going crazy or "Light and Variable", if you lose with either of those rifles (if they are properly tuned) the fault for that loss lies at your doorstep! Both sit at the pinnacle of wind defying Long Range F-Open cartridges>>>period!
 
Lone Hunter said:
I'm running a mild load but they shot good so I stayed there. Using H4895 Fed 210m 185 juggs Lapua brass. 26" Broughton MTU . With that speed you should have no problem at 1000 and what Dean said,they shoot good. I shoot 175 SMK's at 2754 and have no problems reaching 1000 either.
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I actually haven't tried it yet at that distance so will have to see what it does before I make the final decision. Would be nice to stay with all the gear that I have.
 
Papa Charlie said:
I agree the 7 SAUM is a great round, however, I don't want to have to change the bolt so would probably not go with the 7 saum. It has a much larger base diameter (0.5357") than the .308 Win (0.4728"). But the .284 Winc has a base of 0.473. I believe the 6.5 Creedmoor and the 6MM variations all have the 0.473 base diameter.

My concern with the 6 and 6.5 rounds is, at least from what I have read, have trouble past 600-700 yards with wind, while the .284 is much less effected as the rounds are heavier.
Click to expand...
I also shoot the 6.5 Creedmoor it does just fine at 1k. It also is relatively easy to tune less recoil so a little easier to keep tracking well.
 
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