F Open or F/TR ?

[broncman]

Which would you build?
Short history... Attended the North State Long Range clinic years ago and have been hooked since. Problem was time and money. Now that I got my boys raised I now have time and some money

I had built an AR that I used then and I am ready for a new rifle. Mean while I have been practicing at my 300 yard home range and plan to shoot a few FTR matches with my 223 AR. I have it dialed in for .5 MOA out to 300.

Hoping to make one of the upcoming October Butner matches. Been shooting 2-3 times a week steady for awhile.

Barnard Action, Brux or Krieger barrel , Precision Rifle and Tool Stock.
Palma length and style 308 for F/TR , 6BRX for F Open.

Those are my thoughts....but which discipline for the new rifle?

Ken

 

[abishai]

Join the dark side ! Shoot F open. Our rifles are so much cooler........
Check out the 6xc, It has given me far fewer headaches than the brx.

 

[Steve Blair]

F-T/R is more difficult to shoot well because of cartridge limits and managing the bipod. [br]
F-Open is easier to shoot well but, generally, more expensive and very competitive. [br]
I shoot both and like them equally well.

 

[Killshot]

I started same as you a few years ago, long-barreled AR in F/TR. The hook was set pretty hard.
Now shoot a 6 Dasher in F-Open matches monthly. Love it.
It all depends on the person, of course, but F/TR is probably a place where a new guy could be a little more comfortable with the parity of equipment used.
I even managed a couple of F/TR wins before going into Open, where I'm unlikely to do that again until the High Masters I shoot with get too old to drive to the range..... ;D

 

[Hombre0321]

Not many responses as of yet, but even with this few I am really surprised at the choice to go F-Open as opposed to F/TR. I read these boards a lot and I find most advice, advises a new to F-Class shooter is usually urged to go into F/TR first.

However with that said I think going into F-Open makes a lot of sense. You have a much broader choice in caliber's for the long range game, especially if you plan on shooting at a 1,000 yds. The Mid Range distances caliber is just not as big of a deal. Your choice of the 6BRX is the only thing I personally would not do, but that is me. It is a great cartridge don't get me wrong, but with an unlimited pallet I feel there are better choice's.

The one down side to going F-Open as opposed to F/TR is the money you will be competing against. When I started into F-Open I simply converted my long range bench rest rifle so I already had a start. Today I have three dedicated F-open rigs, never thought I would go that far, but that is just the way it worked out. Some of the rifles on the line in F-Open have price tags that is a little hard to get your mind around I always thought. that was until I built my last rifle a Pierce actioned switch barrel rig. I mean I got a screaming deal on the action and a McMillan Tooley MBR stock. Should have left well enough alone, but the McMillan was just to butt ugly for me, despite the fact that the Pierce in that stock shoots little bitty bug holes. Oh no I had to restock it with a Shehane stock and ended up having one of those " Hard to get your mind around price tag" rifles myself. hope it shoots as good as it looks and I will find out this Sunday as I do have a 1,000 yd F-Class match.

Silly me I guess but I'm Old so I need something to spend my time at. I am usually smarter than that though and I know it's not the cost of the equipment that makes the difference it's always the nut behind the butt.

What it gets down to is this. If you can shoot and have good equipment ( not necessarily expensive) can build a good reload, have the time to put in the work it takes to be competitive, then you will be a success. I truly believe it is that simple.

F-Open is a great place to start I believe, that takes absolutely nothing away from F/TR as it is just as difficult and maybe more so...

Good Luck With Your Choice, and I hope to see you on the line at Butner.

Roland

 

[DennisH]

I shoot both and have several rifles for both classes. Just depends on how I wake up the morning of the match.

F-T/R, I use a 308

F Open, I use a 284 Win or my BRX

This really helped, didn't it!

If you need a complete rifle, let me know. I may part with one of mine.

 

[broncman]

F/TR has forced me to become consistent with the bipod issues. Actually having fun with the challenge and this may be my first rout. I have actually reduced my group sizes shooting prone of a bipod than on the bench. At first they grew but now I can consitently keep my five round groups in the high threes and low fours at one hundred with my AR. Wind and mirage at longer ranges are now my focus. My 100 yard range is very calm nd my three hundred is pretty switchy.

Which rd for 1000 are you guys suggesting? 6BRX or a dasher really has my interest because of accuracy and barrel life. NOT interested in barrel burners and rds with accelerated throat errosion. Those are just extra things to worry about starting out.

Talked with Blair Clowdis and looks like he will smith it for me.

Thanks for the replies. Really getting excited about this.

 

[KT]

Just my 2 cents!

I shoot at Butner as well. If you are going to go the open route and are going to just have the one rifle for the time being. I would recommend something larger than the 6mm. The wind at 1000yds is going to eat you alive compared to the 7mm's.

I run a 6.5x47 at midrange and a .284 at long range.

For your first gun I would really recommend building something in the 7mm range. IE .284 (because I'm bias and they shoot very well).

KT

 

[DennisH]

I have actually reduced my group sizes shooting prone of a bipod than on the bench

You will always shoot better prone, JMO

 

[broncman]

The more I look at it, I realize a new gun for ftr would eventually leave me wanting a f open as well. Looks like I may cut my teeth on ftr with my current gun, then a 6BRX for 600 and a 284 variant for 1000 a bit later. One gun a year is what I am trying to budget for. I also do not want to tackle learning and figuring out two guns at once.

I need to attend a few matches first before I spend money in the wrong direction.

 

[MNFinn]

For me F-class is practice for long range hunting, I shoot a .308, and I likr F-T/R because I can use my hunting rig to begin getting prificient at shooting out to 600 yards, which is my personal set limit for shooting .308 at game, don't shot at them tat far yet, but with practice from F-T/R, that is my goal

 

[jbpmidas]

I would start out with an F-T/r rifle. Get into the sport and really learn all you can about wind and mirage. Set a goal for yourself. When you achieve it, then look into trying F-Open. At this point, you can try F-Open with your F-T/r rifle, but you can't go the other way around. This is the path I chose.

I started out with a factory .308, then rebarrelled and restocked it. I met my goals and am now in load development for my .284 Shehane.

 

[broncman]

Price for either rifle I want would be the same. So it is not really a money issue per se. I do reload as well.

Thanks for all the replies. Sure I will only be able to decide once I go to a few matches. Looking forward to meeting people and getting back into this. Anyone going to be at Butner on the 20th?

Going to try to get down friday for practice.

Ken

 

[painless2]

Just a note about costs of an F open rifle. Start with a BAT action, McBros stock,
Krieger barrell built by a quality smith, and a 12x42 NF scope that's 4500.00. Add another 1200.00
For a decent front rest and rear bags. Oh, and then there is the cost of reloading stuff and you had better make near perfect ammo to be competative. Figure six grand.
Which by the way would be about the same for a custom Ftr rifle. Then you'll want a second rifle.


Hopes this helps
Tom

 

[DennisH]

painless2, I am feeling a little pain after reading your post.

I started off with a factory Savage rifle, F-T/R 308. Get a Vortex scope and you should be set up for under $2k.

You will gain a lot of experience with this rig, plus most of them are very accurate out of the box.

Now I have about 5 custom built rifles! It's addictive.

F Open class is usually pretty competitive, but I do know a few who started there. When my 284 is finished, I will start shooting F Open a little more.

 

[broncman]

I allready have bags, rests, reloading equipment, except dies for new caliber.

Barnard action, Krieger, Precision Rifle and Tool stock and a Sightron SIII 8x32.

I will be inletting and bedding the stock as well as the paintjob.
Brux barrel is also being considered. I allready own two Sightrons and happy with them.

$4,000 is my budget and the above is all around that!

Trading some of my stash for a Savage locally that I want to play with. Yes there will be 2 guns eventually. You guys know it never really ends!

 

[Immike]

I'll take it over a remodeled kitchen any day of the year!!! My motto is one of EVERYTHING!!!

 

[memilanuk]

Started out shooting a little Savage 10FP rebarreled to a 6 BR for mid-range, back when F-class was still 'run what ya brung'. When it became 'official' and I had to choose between F/TR & F/Open... F/TR seemed like a more natural extension of a) my tactical rifle and b) my Palma rifle that I already had, both in .308 Win.

Nowadays... a full-tilt F/TR rig built with all the cool-kid components isn't going to be much cheaper than an equivalent F/Open gun, other than barrel life and the bipod vs. front rest costs (only because Seb hasn't started making his joystick bipod yet... )

One thing I would like to point out... is to not get to caught up in buying a 'winning' setup. Go with what you have, shoot some matches, get your feet wet, have fun... most importantly, have fun. Once you have some matches under your belt, you'll have a better appreciation for what works for you, and which one you enjoy more (or like Dennis and myself, both).

 

[ColWhitecakes]

If your really interested in benchrest, but are too lazy to sit up-right, go with F-open.....I kid.

 

[nosualc]

Interesting question!

Both can be hyper-competitive at the highest levels, and both will cost you a fortune to do a full on custom build. An F-Open rest is a good deal more expensive than a fancy F-T/R bipod, but buy well and you can get most of your money back.

I started with F-Open first. I dunno why, probably because I wanted to personally shoot as high a score as possible, and a front rest and choice of cartridges makes higher scores easier to do (a joystick front rest is so cool it just seems like cheating).

Now that I've shot F-Open for a bit, I have come to appreciate the differences of F-T/R. The two disciplines emphasize many of the same things, but the subtle differences are intriguing.

Not next year, but maybe the year after I'll add an F-T/R rifle to the mix, and give the "other side" a whirl.

-nosualc