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F-T/R School

I shoot at OKC gun Club when my boss doesn't have me working out of town. We have a great bunch of guys that help any way they can. I've gotten good, honest answers to all my dumb questions. However, I usually need to get home after the match.

I used to shoot mostly pistol and competed in bullseye, IHMSA, USPSA and (my favorite) ICORE. I went to a couple of formal classes and that really got things rolling for me. I'm looking for a formal rifle shooting class, but it seems like most are geared for tactical type scenarios that don't really interest me a whole lot. I do most of my hunting with a shotgun, so not really interested in hunting classes either. Then again I don't know what I don't know. Are there any classes geared specifically for F-class, preferably F-T/R?
 
The only real school I know of specifically for F-TR is the school of hard knocks LOL. I have attend it for many years, but have yet to graduate and receive my diploma. ;(

Seriously, you may find a long range precision rifle course available at some locations, but it is unlikely to be geared toward F-TR specifically. More likely, you can find wind-reading courses put on by F-Class shooters locally and/or regionally. I would strongly recommend participating in one as wind-reading is a huge part being successful in F-Class shooting. In addition, I would recommend that you find an experienced F-TR shooter in your area, and talk to them about mentoring you. I think it likely you could find someone that knows their stuff that would be willing to spend some time with you and help you with the basics of F-TR. With a solid foundation in the basics of how the game is played (shooting techniques, equipment, reloading, etc.), you can then take it to whatever level you desire on your own, for the most part. Having a more experienced shooter provide some mentorship early can certainly make the journey simpler and faster.
 
The only real school I know of specifically for F-TR is the school of hard knocks LOL. I have attend it for many years, but have yet to graduate and receive my diploma. ;(

Seriously, you may find a long range precision rifle course available at some locations, but it is unlikely to be geared toward F-TR specifically. More likely, you can find wind-reading courses put on by F-Class shooters locally and/or regionally. I would strongly recommend participating in one as wind-reading is a huge part being successful in F-Class shooting. In addition, I would recommend that you find an experienced F-TR shooter in your area, and talk to them about mentoring you. I think it likely you could find someone that knows their stuff that would be willing to spend some time with you and help you with the basics of F-TR. With a solid foundation in the basics of how the game is played (shooting techniques, equipment, reloading, etc.), you can then take it to whatever level you desire on your own, for the most part. Having a more experienced shooter provide some mentorship early can certainly make the journey simpler and faster.
Well stated Greg.. you never fail to give someone good information.
 
I agree with Greg.

No formal classes that I'm aware of. Generally speaking, it's easiest to just go shoot a match with whatever you have. If you express an interest in FTR, I am quite confident someone would show you the ropes.

If you ever travel down to the Central Texas area, I'd be glad to meet with you, let you shoot some rifles, and brain dump all about F-T/R.
 
As someone who also came from pistol shooting, where classes are abundant.. I've often wondered this myself. A wind reading class, coupled with some time spent on shooting techniques, and Fclass gear could be in demand. The right class could take years off of someone's learning curve.

@Erik Cortina offers reloading classes that would be beneficial. Of course between Erik's, F Class John, and @Keith Glasscock YouTube channels, reloading might be pretty well covered.
 
One of our local clubs does a 1 day classroom instruction, followed two weeks later with a match where each new shooter that attended the clinic gets a HM coach to help. It's simple, but very informative and put on by some world class shooters/coaches. Maybe you could talk to some local shooters and see if the more experienced guys can put something similar together.

Aside from that, if you can make the time to attend a 2-3 or more day match that has a good attendance like the Nationals, a big regional in your area, Southwest nationals, I'd encourage you to do that. Don't be concerned about how you'll do, but go with the intention of learning from the best. At most multi day matches, you'll find groups of shooters at the same hotels (find out where everyone stays ahead of time). The after hours, hotel parking lot gatherings are loaded with stories and knowledge. Just think of the travel and expense as exactly what you'd probably pay to take any other 3 day long range shooting course.
 
Some of the best online training you can get is from a series called Bullets from the Bible, with Greg Dykstra of Primal Rights. Yes, you will get a Bible lesson but also in depth training on driving a rifle from the prone position. I mean really in depth, like an hour class on proper trigger finger position. I would say any shooter will learn something from this series.

 
Thanks for the replies. You guys always have great information. I have to admit that I am a little surprised to hear that formal training is not more abundant.
 
At our club, Bayou Rifles, south of Houston, we have held a training class every 3-4 years. It's a day long and we go through a "match" where the students take turns pulling targets and scoring while we have several long time competitors fire some rounds under the commands of the match director. Then in the afternoon we go to the 1000 yard line and do a wind reading class with several pairs of coach/shooters discussing the conditions, taking shots and observing the results and answering questions.

The last time we did that we collected all sorts of information and recorded it all in a pdf. It's available at the Bayou Rifles site. We are providing this as a service to the community of shooters and would appreciate it if you would follow these simple requests:

Do not post the pdf at your site or on forums; instead, post a link to the pdf at the Bayou Rifles site.
Do not alter the pdf, lots of people worked hard to produce the contents and credit is properly given.
Do not sell the pdf or print it for commercial purposes. This is freely provided; respect the intent.


At this page, you will find links to F-Class John's excellent videos, all courtesy of F-class John and with his permission and encouragement.
A link to the 5MB pdf that I just discussed.
A link to BRI's current safety briefing that is read before the start of every match.

We will be adding more competition-related info as it becomes available.

If someone has information they think would be useful to the community and is looking for a place to host it, or better yet, have link to your site posted on there, PM me directly and we can discuss it. As you can see, we give full attribution and credit to the folks who create the information. It must be public domain or your own information, we will not infringe on any copyright or proprietary information.
 
Last edited:
Thanks Mike. Yeah, we created it for the last clinic, about 4 years ago. I finally got it to the website late last year.

It's almost time for another clinic and we need to update the pdf with Shotmarker info. That was the motivation behind contacting F-Class John to get his permission to put links to his excellent videos right there.
 
At our club, Bayou Rifles, south of Houston, we have held a training class every 3-4 years. It's a day long and we go through a "match" where the students take turns pulling targets and scoring while we have several long time competitors fire some rounds under the commands of the match director. Then in the afternoon we go to the 1000 yard line and do a wind reading class with several pairs of coach/shooters discussing the conditions, taking shots and observing the results and answering questions.

The last time we did that we collected all sorts of information and recorded it all in a pdf. It's available at the Bayou Rifles site. We are providing this as a service to the community of shooters and would appreciate it if you would follow these simple requests:

Do not post the pdf at your site or on forums; instead, post a link to the pdf at the Bayou Rifles site.
Do not alter the pdf, lots of people worked hard to produce the contents and credit is properly given.
Do not sell the pdf or print it for commercial purposes. This is freely provided; respect the intent.


At this page, you will find links to F-Class John's excellent videos, all courtesy of F-class John and with his permission and encouragement.
A link to the 5MB pdf that I just discussed.
A link to BRI's current safety briefing that is read before the start of every match.

We will be adding more competition-related info as it becomes available.

If someone has information they think would be useful to the community and is looking for a place to host it, or better yet, have link to your site posted on there, PM me directly and we can discuss it. As you can see, we give full attribution and credit to the folks who create the information. It must be public domain or your own information, we will not infringe on any copyright or proprietary information.
Good document. Thanks for sharing
 
Thanks Mike. Yeah, we created it for the last clinic, about 4 years ago. I finally got it to the website late last year.

It's almost time for another clinic and we need to update the pdf with Shotmarker info. That was the motivation behind contacting F-Class John to get his permission to put links to his excellent videos right there.
Would love to see another clinic and be involved!
 

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