F-class shooting for Beginners

[ArtinNC]

Just saw this on FaceBook

Daniel Maple
Author
Top Contributor

Bruce Cole roughly
Barrel 800
Action 1700 (well worth it)
Stock with rad bedded and finished 1900
(I have one of his with rad for sale 900)
Flavio trigger 450 - trigger tech diamond is similar for 300
Scope 3200
MDT rings 375
Other scopes that will work well Nightforce comp 2200
Vortex golden eagle 1700
So I’m in it about 8,500 ish

This is just for Beginners ??? "WOW" this will kill most BEGINNERS dreams !!

 

[Krogen]

Get started with a general purpose .223 or .308. A heavy barrel is a plus. Put on a Harris bipod and use the rear bag you probably already have. Start with "whatcha got." Then you can decide if F-class is for you. It didn't take an expensive rifle to teach me that my neck is the weak link. Nothing to do with purchased equipment. The neck just won't accommodate prone these days.

 

[ArtinNC]

And a group from that gun at 100 yds

 

[ArtinNC]

I shoot this group with this gun in a 600 yd Match in NC and only had $800 in this gun . A Funky old Savage .

 

[ballisticdaddy]

Just saw this on FaceBook

Daniel Maple
Author
Top Contributor

Bruce Cole roughly
Barrel 800
Action 1700 (well worth it)
Stock with rad bedded and finished 1900
(I have one of his with rad for sale 900)
Flavio trigger 450 - trigger tech diamond is similar for 300
Scope 3200
MDT rings 375
Other scopes that will work well Nightforce comp 2200
Vortex golden eagle 1700
So I’m in it about 8,500 ish

This is just for Beginners ??? "WOW" this will kill most BEGINNERS dreams !!

And still need to add in a front rest for about another 2K!

 

[Rank Amateur]

Just saw this on FaceBook

Daniel Maple
Author
Top Contributor

Bruce Cole roughly
Barrel 800
Action 1700 (well worth it)
Stock with rad bedded and finished 1900
(I have one of his with rad for sale 900)
Flavio trigger 450 - trigger tech diamond is similar for 300
Scope 3200
MDT rings 375
Other scopes that will work well Nightforce comp 2200
Vortex golden eagle 1700
So I’m in it about 8,500 ish

This is just for Beginners ??? "WOW" this will kill most BEGINNERS dreams !!

As @Krogen stated, you don't need the type of setup described to get started in F-Class. Even if you want to get started with a custom-built F-class rifle, it doesn't have to be a $10k rig for a good chance of success. My first custom build for F-TR was a repurposed Savage action with a new Shilen 28" heavy bull barrel chambered in .223 Rem. Choate tactical stock, Rifle Basix trigger, Burris rings, Golden Eagle scope, Sinclair bipod. All told, $2400. My second was the same, chambered in 6BR with a Sinclair benchrest adapter added. Used a front rest and rear bag that I already had, and I was into the "open" division. Both shot bugholes after load development. Would either of these hold their own against a 7mm truly custom rig built by a top gunsmith shooting off of a $2k front rest, etc? No, but also not so drastically worse that the shooter wasn't a MUCH bigger factor than the rig either.

As Krogen said, start with something you already have, probably competing in F-TR with a .223 Rem or .308 Win. Learn if you like the sport, then consider investing in top tier equipment. In my experience, F-Class shooters are a very welcoming group. They are also much more likely to encourage a new competitor shooting a factory rig well, than a mediocre shooter shooting the best and most expensive gear . Have fun!

 

[Jeff Porter]

There are deals out there. I was able to put together a good starter rig in .223 for right at $2,000.

 

[ballisticdaddy]

But who wants to spend 2-3K on a rifle that is never going to be competitive?

 

[Jeff Porter]

But who wants to spend 2-3K on a rifle that is never going to be competitive?

Will this be competitive ? There is still the wind reading and trigger manners aspect. A good trigger puller with a decent rig will beat a poor trigger puller with a $10k rig.

 

[ballisticdaddy]

Will this be competitive ? There is still the wind reading and trigger manners aspect. A good trigger puller with a decent rig will beat a poor trigger puller with a $10k rig. View attachment 1511712View attachment 1511713

That is a great 5 shot group in the 1st pic and a better clean target in the 2nd pic, how many matches have you won with that setup?

 

[Rank Amateur]

But who wants to spend 2-3K on a rifle that is never going to be competitive?

First match shot at 500 yds, 3x 20 rounds for score, score was 594:17x. The rifle was NOT the limiting factor (grin). Using a "decent" starter rig to learn wind reading, competition, etc. is not a bad idea at all. I assure you that my scores wouldn't have been better if I had a March Majesta mounted. Top rigs/loads are expected to hold better than 1/4 MOA, yet I (and I'm sure many others here ) routinely see shooters hitting 9s (or less) with VERY expensive rigs because they couldn't read mirage or missed a flag change, or jerked the trigger, etc. Of course there are rifles that are simply not precise enough to be useful, but (in my opinion) any build that will hold 1/2 MOA, and not open way up as the barrel heats through a 20-round relay, should be good enough to get started in the sport. This is great fun, and can massively improve shooting technique over time. Don't get hung up on the "equipment race". There are no awards for the prettiest rifle or the most expensive. There is a special satisfaction from beating competitors shooting gear many times as costly as what you are using. There is also a special satisfaction to shooting the "small" cartridges and beating competitors fielding big boomers and/or the latest "hotness". If you think you're going to buy your way onto the podium (thinking your equipment will win for you), you will be sorely disappointed. Again, this is great fun, enjoy it!

 

[ballisticdaddy]

First match shot at 500 yds, 3x 20 rounds for score, score was 594:17x. The rifle was NOT the limiting factor (grin). Using a "decent" starter rig to learn wind reading, competition, etc. is not a bad idea at all. I assure you that my scores wouldn't have been better if I had a March Majesta mounted. Top rigs/loads are expected to hold better than 1/4 MOA, yet I (and I'm sure many others here ) routinely see shooters hitting 9s (or less) with VERY expensive rigs because they couldn't read mirage or missed a flag change, or jerked the trigger, etc. Of course there are rifles that are simply not precise enough to be useful, but (in my opinion) any build that will hold 1/2 MOA, and not open way up as the barrel heats through a 20-round relay, should be good enough to get started in the sport. This is great fun, and can massively improve shooting technique over time. Don't get hung up on the "equipment race". There are no awards for the prettiest rifle or the most expensive. There is a special satisfaction from beating competitors shooting gear many times as costly as what you are using. There is also a special satisfaction to shooting the "small" cartridges and beating competitors fielding big boomers and/or the latest "hotness". If you think you're going to buy your way onto the podium (thinking your equipment will win for you), you will be sorely disappointed. Again, this is great fun, enjoy it!

I didn't just fall off the turnip truck and started with a Remington 700 action trued and had a barrel spun up by a great smith but was never competitive with that setup. My custom built rifles were nowhere near the 10K mark mentioned earlier in this thread but further from the 2K mark. Your classification nor podium places have no idea what you had shot on the firing line. I made HM classification that I earned through practice and am very aware that cannot be purchased. I was trying to be real with the new shooters but really do appreciate the lecture on how it all really works!

 

[Jeff Porter]

That is a great 5 shot group in the 1st pic and a better clean target in the 2nd pic, how many matches have you won with that setup?

All that I have entered … .
I just got this late last fall and have not done much other than open the throat to shoot the 88’s. I have only played at 500 yards but not in any matches yet.

Savage FTR .223 questions

Preface: I have been a sling shooter all my life and have never shot a match from a bench or with a bipod. The dark side has knocked and I opened the door. I recently came into a Savage 12 FTR -223 rifle with a Vortex Golden Eagle scope and what I believe is a Rifle Basix trigger. ? Does...

forum.accurateshooter.com

I am still a sling shooter but got this set up to where my shooting partner and I could shoot in flip flops and a t shirt some times instead of a heavy coat and glove in 100 degree weather. We have less than 200 rounds down the pipe between us. My buddy shot it in one match with 80.5 Berger’s left over from my Service Rifle before we throated it. If I recall correctly he was hanging with F open guys in switchy winds and put up a 196-197 with 7,8 X’s.

 

[Old3GNR]

It's not the rifle, I was a Sharpshooter firing a stock Winchester 700.

 

[mousegunner]

Get started with a general purpose .223 or .308. A heavy barrel is a plus. Put on a Harris bipod and use the rear bag you probably already have. Start with "whatcha got." Then you can decide if F-class is for you. It didn't take an expensive rifle to teach me that my neck is the weak link. Nothing to do with purchased equipment. The neck just won't accommodate prone these days.

I was looking into taking my .308 40x with a Bushnell Elite for a spin, but a cervical fusion makes prone difficult. I can do the prone rapid and slow fire across the course but those stages don't take too long but neck still gets tired quickly.

 

[Ned Ludd]

Clearly one's definition of a "competitive" rifle matters in such cases. Let's be clear here, the rifle described in the OP is a full blown custom F-TR rig, not a beginner's rifle. Although some beginners will certainly purchase such expensive custom F-TR setups, many do not. Yet they can still be competitive with less expensive rifle setups at their monthly club matches, possibly even at the state/regional level, if their skill set is well-honed. Being competitive at the National level is another story entirely. Although the term "competitive" is often loosely used, it is more realistic to state the specific level of competition involved. Let's be honest, at the National level, perhaps as much as 90% of the field realistically has zero chance of actually winning or placing in the top 10, no matter what rifle setup they bring. That doesn't get discussed much, but that's the way it is.

I believe it is absolutely possible to build what might be referred to as more of a "starter" or "beginner" rifle for use in F-TR that can be competitive at the local and possibly at the regional level. At one point I looked very carefully into the possibility of putting together a budget F-TR rig using a blueprinted Remy 700 action from PTG, a laminate stock, and modestly priced trigger/hardware/scope/etc. Although I never had it built, the rig I came up with would have likely cost in the neighborhood of $1800 for the rifle setup alone without the scope or bipod. That was pretty much the best I could do with components I could find online. I firmly believe such a rifle could have been competitive at the local level, perhaps even a step beyond that. Nonetheless, we're still talking about a $2000+ rifle setup. The fact is, even F-TR has become an expensive game. The days in which one could show up at a local F-TR club match with a bone-stock, sub-$1000 Remy 700 and commercial ammunition and win are likely long behind us. Maybe it can still happen once in a rare while, but I would not expect it to be the norm moving forward. This may dismay some folks, but it's a pretty typical path for various kinds of sports competitions to follow. The longer they exist, the more expensive it becomes to get involved. It's just the way it works.

 

[K22]

Will this be competitive ? There is still the wind reading and trigger manners aspect. A good trigger puller with a decent rig will beat a poor trigger puller with a $10k rig. View attachment 1511712View attachment 1511713

I do not know anything about competitive, but I sure would like that setup any day of the week. You know part of it is the guy behind the trigger and from where I sit, you got that in spades. Nice shooting.

 

[perazziguy]

Will this be competitive ? There is still the wind reading and trigger manners aspect. A good trigger puller with a decent rig will beat a poor trigger puller with a $10k rig. View attachment 1511712View attachment 1511713

I've beat many shooters on the trap field with guns costing 2-3 times more than mine(which is by no means cheap). You still have to point the thing!

 

[std7mag]

That list would definitely keep me from shooting F Class!!
Not to mention a $2,000 front rest!!!

My own entry into F Open.
Stevens 200 in 7mm-08 -$399
Reamer for 7mm-08AI -$159
EGW 20 MOA one piece base & rings. $140
Sightron STAC 4-20X50, MOA2 reticle. $439
Caldwell sling stud to picitinny rail adapter. $23
Green Blob, Atlas knock off bipod. $69

Factory stock, factory trigger, factory barrel.
All work done by me.

Shot a 173, 173-1X, 173-2X.
First time shooting prone.
First time shooting 600 yards.
First time shooting 3 strings of 20 rounds.

Experience - priceless!!

 

[Medic505]

I started shooting F-TR with a Savage F-TR I purchased from Gene Sears for $700 bucks. Added a Nightforce Benchrest scope for $1200 and change. I shot this combination to Midrange High Master. Just looked on GrabAGun and the F-TR rifle is $1350 and available. The Savage Palma rifle is also available from them for $1742.99. Add a good scope and these rifles can be competitive.

A Doan Trever stocked Defiance action with a Jewel trigger, Bartlein barrel, Nightforce Comp and a Joy pod was used to get a LR High Master card. That's quite a departure from what I started with. (edit) That said, I know a couple guys that have shot a stock Savage to LR High Master. It can be done.

Just as many have said, shoot what you have to start with. The first match I shot was with a Savage LRPV in 6br off a sand bag and the gentleman who was shooting on my position was nice enough to let me shoot off his rest, otherwise I would have shot off sandbags for the front too. The only F-Open match I ever shot, but man was I hooked.

F Class is a great sport, full of great people. The only downside is, it's not cheap. But, what competitive shooting sport is?