I'd like to see a new F class Category. "F-TAC"

[big john 5394]

I am a bench & rest F- class shooter, in bench rest we have a tactical & stock class to get younger shooters into the club they have there own relay& no problem we brakes. We need younger shooters or the sport will die as we die off.
Big John 77 years old

 

[Nealm66]

A couple of ranges near me have 600 yard matches with a bunch of different classes including 50bmg, tactical, iron sights etc. It’s a lot of fun. Muzzle brakes are allowed and doesn’t seem to bother anyone. I thought the original post was to create a new class not change the rules of f-class? They also allow a cool down period after 5 shots to keep from overheating. I’d sure don’t see the harm in creating a new competition that geared more towards a hunter/prs type competitor. I double up on hearing protection and shoot a lot at public ranges so I get used to the muzzle blasts so that it doesn’t affect me during competition. I guess you could consider it combat training

 

[Jon Leary]

I think a new category could be M1 Tactical. M1 Garand on a bipod. Issue type sights. Probably better suited to CMP matches.

 

[ballisticdaddy]

You inadvertently made the point everyone is trying to say: the brakes are extremely loud

The article you cited is from 2015, and pretty much every brake used has 4 sets of ports now, like the Fat Bastard from the article.

The Fat Bastard is 162% louder than a bare muzzled barrel, because decibels are logarithmicly calculated. So that's over double the loudness of the bare muzzled barrel.

And the newer brakes also busts wind/force back and to the sides now so the force and loudness is not right back at the shooter. In other words, aimed right at the person that would be shooting next to the shooter with the brake.

Here is the chart which you did not add to your post, which shows the percentage increase in raw loudness:

At this point, the talk about brakes should really be over.

So if it's really all about the noise then why not allow suppressors?

 

[TylerFromMS]

So if it's really all about the noise then why not allow suppressors?

View attachment 1566839

Not legal for all competitors. Like laws legal, not rules legal.

 

[ballisticdaddy]

Not legal for all competitors. Like laws legal, not rules legal.

Not saying it would be mandatory but in 42 states they are not illegal so why would it be an issue? The OP was trying to find ways to attract new shooters with a new class, not find ways to keep them away

 

[Dgd6mm]

As a newer match director there has been many new competitors reach out to me that have rifles with muzzle breaks, foldable bipods and squeeze bags.

How many match directors in this thread?

Curious what other match directors think of this?

 

[Sandstorm]

The mirage would kill you after 10 shots Sir.
You would not want to use a suppressor.
They get way too HOT.

 

[TylerFromMS]

Not saying it would be mandatory but in 42 states they are not illegal so why would it be an issue? The OP was trying to find ways to attract new shooters with a new class, not find ways to keep them away

I agree fully. Screw the guys that live where they’re not legal. But that’s why they’re not “NRA legal”- not available to everyone.

But yeah, brakes are hideous to shoot next to. I’ve left a match mid string before. Suppressors I’d be cool with. I think it boils down to doing whatever you want as long as it doesn’t affect me. Shooting besides a silencer on the line doesn’t affect me. Shooting besides a clamshell on the line does. But it probably wouldn’t last long once they couldn’t see the target in string fire.

Shooting next to a brake is akin to having a stall selling popsicles next to this guy:

 

[TylerFromMS]

How many match directors in this thread?

I help. We generally place them on their own relay at the other end of the line and a rigged divider between them and the normal people. Bonus points if you can put them and the sling guys out from under the awning in direct line of Mississippi delta sun to give that extra challenge that they’re after.

Truthfully, most of those guys come out once and all of the things they’ve heard about tuning from Hornady and Litz falls apart and we never see them again.

 

[ballisticdaddy]

The mirage would kill you after 10 shots Sir.
You would not want to use a suppressor.
They get way too HOT.

Umm...we shoot prairie dogs suppressed and go over 50 rounds before we let em cool, that would get you through a relay easily. Most dogs are around the size of the x ring

 

[Laurie]

So if it's really all about the noise then why not allow suppressors?

For international matches, not all participating countries allow legal civilian ownership of sound moderators as we call them in the UK. That's why ICFRA and its participating member national rifle associations don't allow them.

In club matches, the organiser can allow whatever he or she fancies and which the majority of participants are happy with. In the UK, where we have been allowed sound 'mods' for many years now, they are a normal part of our F-Class club scene. As with brakes, people don't want to take them off as it usually alters both POIs and precision. Most are shooting smaller sixes or 6.5s and the rifles are used for field as well as range use.

I think suppressors are harder to acquire in the US and much more expensive due to the licensing costs (no government charges for them here), so that would act as a brake (deliberate pun) on US use as far as I can see from a few thousand miles away.

As far as pros and cons in match use go, for the former they do provide a degree of recoil reduction; the big 'con' is heat build-up especially with large cartridges and in string shooting. The resulting heat induced mirage is ferocious, and there is a health and safety aspect in that they can inflict a nasty burn. (I managed to burn my fingertips badly through unwisely touching a big Reflex can on a .300WSM which had seen around 25 shots fired through it rather quickly before I knew better.)

 

[memilanuk]

Umm...we shoot prairie dogs suppressed and go over 50 rounds before we let em cool

On 40x?

 

[ballisticdaddy]

On 40x?

Haha here in CO we can't shoot through mirage above 30X in f-class or shooting dogs

 

[Spoonbill]

If a perso wants to shoot a match with a rifle that has a threaded muzzle why is it so hard to put a thrad protector on there and shoot a match? If its just because they might have to tune to a different load that's just lazy.

 

[ballisticdaddy]

If a perso wants to shoot a match with a rifle that has a threaded muzzle why is it so hard to put a thrad protector on there and shoot a match? If its just because they might have to tune to a different load that's just lazy.

Because most rifles when the brake is removed moves the POI so would need to be re-zeroed every time coming off and then back on. The range where we shoot f-class does not provide a 100 yard zero board so for most folks that is a real PITA. Again this thread is about creating a new class to bring in new shooters! We shoot a local PRS match that fills up every month with about 100 shooters while the local f-class match is less than 20...go figure!

 

[Spoonbill]

Because most rifles when the brake is removed moves the POI so would need to be re-zeroed every time coming off and then back on. The range where we shoot f-class does not provide a 100 yard zero board so for most folks that is a real PITA. Again this thread is about creating a new class to bring in new shooters! We shoot a local PRS match that fills up every month with about 100 shooters while the local f-class match is less than 20...go figure!

Come up with multiple zeros for multiple loads. The target is pretty big out there. Shouldn't be a problem to get on point.

 

[jackieschmidt]

Because most rifles when the brake is removed moves the POI so would need to be re-zeroed every time coming off and then back on. The range where we shoot f-class does not provide a 100 yard zero board so for most folks that is a real PITA. Again this thread is about creating a new class to bring in new shooters! We shoot a local PRS match that fills up every month with about 100 shooters while the local f-class match is less than 20...go figure!

What is the age differential between the two.?
I have attended one PRS Match as a spectator, (I helped one of the competitors build his rifle), and at 77 years old, here is no way I could do that.

 

[lal357]

Did everybody else quit?



The rules from F-Class have changed since its inception. The OP is talking about making a new class, ie: changing the rules of F-class.

no they didnt quit even at my club matches they put a barrier up between you and the MB shooter

 

[ballisticdaddy]

What is the age differential between the two.?
I have attended one PRS Match as a spectator, (I helped one of the competitors build his rifle), and at 77 years old, here is no way I could do that.

Jackie as a guess I would say close to a 20 year spread between the 2 crowds but the PRS does offer a senior class. I am 57 and by no means the oldest guy there competing. There are a lot of guys running rifles well over 25 pounds but I am more comfortable around 18 pounds which most able bodied folks could manage pretty easily. I keep saying PRS but I shoot more in the WYCO league which I started shooting in last year.

Making an Impact

WYCO PRL is a precision rifle league local to the Front Range area. The league includes four independent monthly one-day matches in Laramie Wyoming, Cheyenne Wyoming, N.O.C.O. at Pawnee, and Colorado Springs.

wycoprl.com