Interested in F T/R. Can my rifle do it?

[clunker]

There are some pretty good shooters over in the Spokane area - Randall VanZant for one. Ron Sanders or Praveen Kumar (I think he shoots over there from time to time), and Dean Brown are all good guys and will steer you straight.

If you're closer to Wenatchee, give me a holler.

And down at the Tri-Cities, they have the (in)famous Rattlesnake Mountain Shooting Facility (www.tcsa.info). The Long Range matches might be a bit much for your gear at the moment, but they have some pretty active Friday shoots @ 300/600 yds. George Crawford, Bill Prue, John Hauptmann and their crew will get you all lined out.

I'm in Pullman, so Spokane is definitely closer than Tri-Cities. I'm less than 8 miles from the Idaho border, so Moscow, Lewiston, Couer d'Alene, and surrounding areas are also on the table. Considering how many people I know in Pullman who love to shoot (students, farmers, scientists, etc.), it blows my mind that there isn't a single rifle range within 25 minutes in zero traffic.

Just out of curiosity, is it just bench rest shooters who clean their bore between shots, or is that standard practice for the other competitions as well?

 

[memilanuk]

I'm in Pullman, so Spokane is definitely closer than Tri-Cities. I'm less than 8 miles from the Idaho border, so Moscow, Lewiston, Couer d'Alene, and surrounding areas are also on the table. Considering how many people I know in Pullman who love to shoot (students, farmers, scientists, etc.), it blows my mind that there isn't a single rifle range within 25 minutes in zero traffic.

Just out of curiosity, is it just bench rest shooters who clean their bore between shots, or is that standard practice for the other competitions as well?

F-Open shooters may (or may not) clean at the end of every day. The way the matches are set up, its not really feasible to clean your gun between relays.

I'd say more F/TR shooters have gone that direction (cleaning more often) with the heavy bullets (200 gn in .308). Otherwise it's not uncommon to go shoot a weekend tournament (150-200+ rds) without cleaning.

 

[Trebor Snave]

If you're in Pullman, don't rule Missoula out. People come from much farther away to shoot Deep Creek. And we are very F-T/R friendly.
Won't be any matches until spring, though.

 

[clunker]

Does Missoula have 300-yd TR? Any more matches this year?

 

[Trebor Snave]

Missoula is pretty much done for the year. Next matches will be Memorial day weekend, then the big one is the NW regional long range match held over two weekends in September. The format for this last year's Memorial Day matches was:
Saturday - two 20-shot stages at 600 yards. Oh, and a concurrent 1000-agg across-the-course match to keep the high power shooters happy.
Sunday - 20-shot stages at 300, 500, and 600 yards.
Monday - two 20-shot stages at 1000 yards.
Memorial Day is what the match director has christened an "Ironman". Shoot all the matches and you've put 200 rounds for record downrange in three days, from three shooting positions, slow fire and rapid fire with mag changes... it's a blast!

The NW regional format is:
Friday - Palma format team match (15 shot stages at 800, 900, and 1000). If you don't have a team, we'll find one for you.
Saturday - Palma format individual match.
Sunday - two 20-shot stages at 1000 yards.
The second weekend in September is for the F-TR and -Open shooters, and the fourth weekend is for sling shooters but at least a few TR shooters shot that weekend as well. There's also a special class for PRS-type rifles (not 308 or 223, shot off a "field" bipod).

Mostly we just want people to come out and compete.

The MT rifle (and some pistol) schedule can be found at the MRPA webpage. It won't likely be updated until February or March, but it's something to keep in mind. Hope to see you there in '19!

Bob Evans

 

[Curmudgeon]

Come on, you can shoot ftr with any 223 or 308. If you've never done it go do it. Then get a 7 twist barrel and a 90 grain bullet and see what you can do. It's all about getting out there and meeting the shooters. First thing is to have fun. If you reload good, otherwise go meet other shooters. So much to learn won't happen in one post. Go see how it all comes together. Cheers.

 

[clunker]

Missoula is pretty much done for the year. Next matches will be Memorial day weekend, then the big one is the NW regional long range match held over two weekends in September. The format for this last year's Memorial Day matches was:
Saturday - two 20-shot stages at 600 yards. Oh, and a concurrent 1000-agg across-the-course match to keep the high power shooters happy.
Sunday - 20-shot stages at 300, 500, and 600 yards.
Monday - two 20-shot stages at 1000 yards.
Memorial Day is what the match director has christened an "Ironman". Shoot all the matches and you've put 200 rounds for record downrange in three days, from three shooting positions, slow fire and rapid fire with mag changes... it's a blast!

The NW regional format is:
Friday - Palma format team match (15 shot stages at 800, 900, and 1000). If you don't have a team, we'll find one for you.
Saturday - Palma format individual match.
Sunday - two 20-shot stages at 1000 yards.
The second weekend in September is for the F-TR and -Open shooters, and the fourth weekend is for sling shooters but at least a few TR shooters shot that weekend as well. There's also a special class for PRS-type rifles (not 308 or 223, shot off a "field" bipod).

Mostly we just want people to come out and compete.

The MT rifle (and some pistol) schedule can be found at the MRPA webpage. It won't likely be updated until February or March, but it's something to keep in mind. Hope to see you there in '19!

Bob Evans

Do I understand correctly that 20-shot stages at 300, 500, and 600 means you have to shoot at all three distances? Is that for F-open, or TR? I feel comfortable at 300, but 600 might be a stretch. A good friend is also interested, and it just so happens that his first rifle is a .308, so I might be able to drag him along. I ordered some Lapua ammo (largely because I want the brass) to see how well the .223 handles 20 shots over 20 minutes. I only have access to a 100-yd range, but it should give me an idea of barrel temp issues.

 

[Mulligan]

Do I understand correctly that 20-shot stages at 300, 500, and 600 means you have to shoot at all three distances? Is that for F-open, or TR? I feel comfortable at 300, but 600 might be a stretch. A good friend is also interested, and it just so happens that his first rifle is a .308, so I might be able to drag him along. I ordered some Lapua ammo (largely because I want the brass) to see how well the .223 handles 20 shots over 20 minutes. I only have access to a 100-yd range, but it should give me an idea of barrel temp issues.

Yes, a match is usually three 20 shot strings plus sighters. Some ranges shoot 600 yards for all three strings, some 300-500-600.
Spokane shoote two legs at 300 and two at 600...... at least that is what I recall from last year.
Your .223 will do just fine at 600, service rifle shooters (think AR-15) shoot at 600 all the time and trust me, they shoot really well at 600.
CW

 

[clunker]

This may seem like a stupid question, but what are sighters? Are you allowed to take shots that don't count toward your score, for the purpose of making adjustments? Are those sighters only before and after your 20 shots, or do you have the option to use that option in the middle of your string?

 

[kzin]

This may seem like a stupid question, but what are sighters? Are you allowed to take shots that don't count toward your score, for the purpose of making adjustments? Are those sighters only before and after your 20 shots, or do you have the option to use that option in the middle of your string?

Yes, that's just what they are. In f-class only before a scoring string(usually 20 shots).
At least 2 sighters for each string. Usually more before the first string.

 

[swd]

For sighters your on the clock for the round. But you have PLENTY of time for sighters and to shoot for record. In a round with unlimited sighters you tell the scorer when your done with sighters and going for record.

Some matchs have unlimited sighters, some only have 2 per round. The MD will tell you. For a 60 round match bring 80 rounds and you'll probably bring some home.

Get out and shoot some mid range. You'll have a blast! Be prepared to get hooked and spend a lot of money over the next few years, lol.

 

[Trebor Snave]

Sighters only happen at the beginning of each string, not allowed in the middle of the string. For instance, during a palma format match, each shooter gets unlimited sighters before the first string (800 yards) to refine their zero while remaining in the time limit for that string (22 minutes for all sighters and record shots). Once the shooter declares that they are going for record, their next 15 shots count for score. At 900 and 1000 yards you get two sighters before the string, but still 22 minutes.

F-TR and F-Open shoot the same target at each line, so the 300-500-600 thing is for both of them.

And don't worry about shooting longer distance. As long as you have a reasonable guess at your muzzle velocity, the number of clicks to come up on your scope for each yard line are pretty easy to determine using JBM Ballistics or Strelok (as a couple of examples. Some guys seem to use witchcraft). It might not be a pinwheel x with the first shot, but it'll be on paper and you can adjust from there with the next sighter. Just hold center!

 

[memilanuk]

https://www.ssusa.org/articles/2016/12/15/getting-started-in-f-class-competition/