I was around shooting sling Palma when F-class was introduced, if anyone can say that the spirit of the game hasn’t been prostituted, then just look at the rigs you see on the line today. The pox on all of us.
WWT.
I completely disagree.
I first started shooting Fullbore at Connaught Ranges in Canada back in 1981 (holy crap, that's almost 40 years ago.) In those days the range issued us the ammo, 147gr .308 NATO made by C-I-L. (Canadian Industries Limited, IIRC.) I had (and still have) a Carl Gustav Mauser 96 with a 30 inch barrel and Parker Hale peep sights front and rear. I still have the little bottle that contains the various front apertures to match the aiming black with the distance. We shot from 300 meters back to 900 meters, two to a mound. Sometimes three for big matches.
The issue ammo was junk, 10+ years old even then. After we passed the 600 meter line, keyholing on target was increasingly common. I have never seen so many keyholes outside of Lowes door hardware section.
The scores were "variable," to say the least. For those of us who went to the 2017 Worlds in Connaught and those who go to shoot the Canadian Nationals and other events there; you have probably noticed the wide spacing between the targets on the line. That was the first thing that struck me when I returned there after a 35 year absence. During the time I was shooting there, the target boards were 12 feet wide. It took two people to maneuver these mothers. Bull, Inner, Magpie Outer, Hit, Miss. Yep, even at 12 feet wide you could miss the target with that ammo. It usually came up short and I remember getting pelted by rocks and dirt from the safety berm. A lot.
Yes, we have moved on from then and the targets are much smaller now, as the rifles got a lot more precise. The person who got the F-class thing started was George Farquharson, a competitor from British Columbia who shot Fullbore in Canada. It is entirely possible that he was there when I shot in the Canadian Nationals in '81-'83 (or was it '84?). I haven't the slightest recollection of anyone there at the time except for one guy with whom I shot a couple of matches. He was REALLY good and he was French-Canadian so we had some great conversations. He would be quite old now.
George wanted to continue shooting with his buddies but he could no longer hold his rifle, even in a sling and coat and his eyesight was failing. He petitioned the DCRA to let him continue shooting, using a bipod and a scope. Pretty much F-TR. The DCRA agreed and the rest is history. I haven't the slightest problem with F-Open being so distant from the original F-class. I'm an F-TR guy and will remain F-TR.
I know people like to idolize competitors and shooters of yore. We should never forget those great shooters, but that doesn't mean we can't also have equal respect for the great shooters of today, as long as we match them to the proper targets. I can only imagine the scores using my old CG M-96 with C-I-L .308 (miss)Match ammo on an F-class target.
, when I was there first time in 2007 with Palma rifle, cute lil' gurls were pullin' our target, an'ed flurt with you in the mess hall!
