I am new here...

[ramirojpc]

Hi,

I am new to the forum and have not been lurking, so brand new as of about 10 mins ago. I got the link to the forum because I sent in a question to usfclass.com about how to get started in F-Class open competition and Rick Jensen suggested i join here.

As a brief intro for me: I am in my early 40s, I have 4 kids, I love the outdoors, I love hunting, and as of last year I started reloading my .308 for hunting. I also live in Colorado Springs. About 20 years ago I took marksmanship in the ROTC in college and did pretty well and I've always been interested in shooting.

I would like to look into F-Class open or F-T/R competitions to see if I can make it, both skills wise and cost wise. Being a family of 6, cost is very important to me, so I would prefer to start with something basic to see if this new interest is something I'd like to stick to long term. I can then either build on my basic rig, or upgrade to something better.

Below I copied the same questions I sent in to usfclass.com, and i would greatly appreciate your inputs and feedback.

All the best,
Ramiro

====================
I am interested in getting more information about this competition. Below are some of the questions I would like answered and any additional information that will help me better understand what I need and how to join the team, would be greatly appreciated.

How do I join the team? (I live in Colorado Springs)
What is the cost to join? to compete?
Is there a list of competitions for 2015?
What caliber(s) are recommended or most common? (I am saving up for a Savage 12 VLP DBM in 300 WSM, will this work?)
What are the rifle requirements? weight? length? accessories (ie. bi-pod, scope, breaks, etc.)?

I have a family of 6, so cost is important to me, can you please give me an idea of the overall cost of competing? Rifle, Ammo, fees, reloading (I already have reloading equipment) supplies, travel, etc.
=====================

 

[Immike]

There is no team to join but you need to find a club near you to start with. You mentioned a 308 then you may have what you need to go to your first match. It can be as expensive as you make it but it's not necessary to spend a lot to get started. Welcome to the forum and good luck with your shooting.

 

[chkunz]

If you shot in ROTC you may have shot smallbore or air gun in three or four positions. Their are many disciplines in the shooting sports, smallbore prone, smallbore position, air gun, high power rifle (national match course, mid range, long range, F Class), bench rest and many others. Your basic training in marksmanship in ROTC will provide you a good start in any of these sports. There are many opportunities to pursue one of these disciplines and some are less expensive than the others. You will read a lot on this forum about the folks that are on the leading edge of their discipline and the things that they are doing and it may sound intimidating to see what the winners are doing. The best thing to do is find a match near you and go see what is going on and meet the people and learn how to get started. There are a lot of folks that will mentor you and even share equipment until you are able to buy your own. This is a life time sport that you can enjoy the rest of your life and pass on what you learn to your children. The best way to teach your children the fundamentals of marksmanship is with the five meter BB program. I am an experienced coach in many of the disciplines so let me know if I can help.

 

[jonbearman]

Welcome to the very best forum there is on the net. We welcome your questions and if you are going the savage route I would join savageshootersforum.com. With the 15.00 per year you will be able to use the classifieds and you could probably get an f-class gun there for less money than going new. It is pretty hard to shoot out a .308 barrel and the competition action is much stronger than the standard receiver.

 

[22BRGUY]

Also a big welcome to the forum. As said by Jon, if you just hang around here you can't help but learn a lot from the best there are. Good luck with your endeavor.

 

[M-61]

A warm welcome to the site.....enjoy

 

[blairf]

Welcome to the Board. Shoot what you have immediately and have fun. Don't worry about much else - just show up and enjoy!

 

[ShootDots]

Welcome to the forum! You can get into F-T/R "relatively" inexpensively. However, it will not take too long and you WILL want to "upgrade".. Herein lies a "problem".. If you buy "just enough" to get into it, you will be spending MORE money soon.. If it is possible, try and borrow some decent equipment from someone while you save for what you want. I know that may not be possible. If it is>>GREAT! If not, buy a NICE used F-T/R or F-Open rifle and when you can, replace the barrel. On a nice used weapon designed for a specific discipline, about the only thing to upgrade to is a new barrel or possibly a better scope. I think this is the "cheapest / best" way to get started!

 

[Tim Singleton]

http://centralalabamagunclub.com/main/files/5613/2632/3413/F-Class-Rifle-Rules.pdf
This will answer some of your rule related questions.

Another great site
http://benchrest.com/forumdisplay.php?18-F-Class


I'm sure others will continue to chim in and keep answering your questions


Welcome

 

[Tim Singleton]

http://forum.accurateshooter.com/index.php?topic=3787129.0

Where to shoot spread sheet in competition section on this site

 

[ramirojpc]

Thank you to everyone for the warm welcome and for all your inputs. I will read through in detail all responses and follow the links. I will hang around here as my time permits and learn as much as I can. I'll probably take the better part of this year to get familiar with F-T/R competition and what's required and jump in next year. Since I just moved from TX, I am currently building elk hunting kits for my son and I, so that takes precedence this year. My current .308 (T/C Dimension) is going to my son and I am buying the Savage 12 VLP in 300 WSM, hence my question about it. I wanted to see if it could do double duty. So here's another couple of questions, and pardon my ignorance since I am just starting to learn about competitive shooting: What is the difference between a competition action and a regular/hunting action like the Savage? How do the differences affect accuracy? Thanx a bunch for your inputs.

 

[jonbearman]

You can get the regular action to shoot good. However the competition receiver is much thicker and stronger than the normal hunting actions. You can buy an action from Jim at Northlandshootersupply. His number is 1-763-682-4296. This way you can build it from the ground up at home with an investment into the tools needed to set the barrel headspace,then you can get a barrel and additional pieces right from Jim. This is the route so you get what you want piece by piece if you are interested.

 

[Tim Singleton]

What is the difference between a competition action and a regular/hunting action like the Savage? How do the differences affect accuracy? Thanx a bunch for your inputs.

That is a question that will probably get a lot of response
A savage action is a fine mass produced action for a hunting rifle IMO. I built several savages and am now working toward being savageless.
Many ways to look at it. To go to any type of rifle competitions whether it is Fclass or some type of Benchrest competition takes a lot of money. Hotels, fuel entry fees hundreds of dollars in powder primer and bullets over the course of a season.
Most want to achieve some success for all this effort. IMO and experience starting out with a mass produced action and worse the factory barrel is a waste of a lot of money. If you buying a hunting rifle by all means go for a savage

If it were me I would take this year and absorb as much as I could. Find a used Fclass rifle built on a custom action you will save thousands in the long run

There are guys who have success with a savage in Fclass but they are not the norm.
You ask what the differences are between a custom and a savage. There are more than I can list I'm sure
One of the biggest differences to me is the effort in bolt lift. Keeping the gun on target during cycling of the action is near impossible with the savage. There are mods that can be done to help with this they cost money
Triggers for a savage are limited to rifle Basix and sharp shooter supply neither of which IMO compare to a jewel
Stiffness and bedding surface of the savage action IMO is not suitable for the longer heavy profile barrels for an F open gun.

The list just goes on and on

 

[stubbicatt]

You can shoot F class at Colorado Rifle Club in Byers and at Buffalo Creek Gun Club up past Deckers. Each has a website you can visit to learn more. My suggestion is to go and watch a match, learn how to pull targets, the proper positioning of the scoring disc etc., and ask a lot of questions. At least at CRC the F classers are pretty friendly and open with advice, up to you to sort wheat from chaff.

Beware this can be a very expensive hobby. Its not unheard of to have ~$4,000+ tied up in rifle and range equipment, and there is the ongoing expense of bullets, powder, etc.

 

[normmatzen]

If I were you, I would buy an off the shelf Savage F/TR rifle in 308 if you want to do F/TR or 6BR if you want F Open.

I would recommend the 6BR as the loading is easy and inexpensive. Buy LEE reloading equipment and an inexpensive bench rest and have fun.

The Savage costs about what a custom action alone will cost and will still be competitive for a long time. When the barrel goes out in about 3000 rounds, buy a custom barrel and you will automatically improve your scores.