Is it time?

[swc123]

Sorry to hijack the thread slightly, but isn't it time (especially on the International scene) to once again think about limiting the bullet weight in F-TR to <156gr, as is the case with Fullbore? Yes, I've seen and read the poll conducted in c2012 on this very topic. My reason, the current velocities the heavy bullets in .308Win F-TR are being pushed at, are not only pushing the envelope with regards to chamber pressures and resultant safety issues, but have decidedly exceeded sane pressure levels. Anybody checked lately to see at what sort of pressure levels you're operating when shooting 185's at 2850 or above??

Added bonus will be not requiring to start thinking about shrinking target dimensions.

Hijack off.

 

[Berger.Fan222]

Sorry to hijack the thread slightly, but isn't it time (especially on the International scene) to once again think about limiting the bullet weight in F-TR to <156gr, as is the case with Fullbore? Yes, I've seen and read the poll conducted in c2012 on this very topic. My reason, the current velocities the heavy bullets in .308Win F-TR are being pushed at, are not only pushing the envelope with regards to chamber pressures and resultant safety issues, but have decidedly exceeded sane pressure levels. Anybody checked lately to see at what sort of pressure levels you're operating when shooting 185's at 2850 or above??

Added bonus will be not requiring to start thinking about shrinking target dimensions.

Hijack off.

According to QL, RL-15 can get 185s to 2850 fps in a 32" barrel with 63kpsi and in a 30" barrel with under 66kpsi. High, but not insane.

Varget is more problematic, requiring 67kpsi in a 32" barrel and 70kpsi in a 30" barrel to reach 2850fps.

Shooters often chase these speeds for 1000 yards, but they are not needed at all at mid range.

But I'm not sure limiting the bullet weight would solve the problem. Since shooters have learned to push the pressures, they would still try and increase the speed on the 155 grain bullets to reduce wind drift and stay well above the sonic transition at 1000.

 

[dcali]

Sorry to hijack the thread slightly, but isn't it time (especially on the International scene) to once again think about limiting the bullet weight in F-TR to <156gr, as is the case with Fullbore? Yes, I've seen and read the poll conducted in c2012 on this very topic. My reason, the current velocities the heavy bullets in .308Win F-TR are being pushed at, are not only pushing the envelope with regards to chamber pressures and resultant safety issues, but have decidedly exceeded sane pressure levels. Anybody checked lately to see at what sort of pressure levels you're operating when shooting 185's at 2850 or above??

Added bonus will be not requiring to start thinking about shrinking target dimensions.

Hijack off.

This seems unpopular, but I would be fine with it. I don't think it solves the hotrodding issue, but I don't see too much of that in reality anyway. With long OALs, stiff actions, and palma brass, you really can put a little extra in safely. The only downside is that you make it a little harder for new shooters to comply with the rules with what they have.

 

[Berger.Fan222]

Not time now, maybe never.

Should rule changes be driven by the best shooters in the sport, or by careful consideration of welcoming new shooters?

I think there needs to be a balance, and the current 1 MOA ten ring and 0.5 MOA X-ring strikes a pretty good balance. Sure, high scores get posted on still days by shooters with $4k investments in their rifles and scopes. But do we really want to make the 10 ring so small that new shooters with factory Savages have no hope of ever shooting master level scores without making similar investments?

I can see raising the bar to HM classification, but this can be done either by raising the number of shots for record needed to get there at the 98% level (thus raising the possibility of shooting under windy conditions) or raising the percentage needed to 98.5% or 99%.

I think the bigger goal should be to raise participation levels. Wouldn't you love to see the number of shooters with mid-range scores submitted above 10k and the number of shooters with long-range scores submitted above 7k? This would ensure a brighter future for the sport than barriers to participation and success.

 

[okshooter]

Small correction: MR high master is 98.5%

If I'm not mistaken, the NRA reduced the percentage required to make High Master at midrange from 98.5% to 98% last year. So you were both right at one time.

I think that was a mistake, particularly for F-Open. At our local match last weekend, we had 16 F-Open shooters. My wife shoot the lowest HM score of the day, a 588, and came in 9th. I won the field of 9 F-TR shooters with a score of 584. While we do have a very good group of shooters participating in these matches, our range is definitely not known for high scores or good conditions, but these results are becoming more and more common.

Maybe it's time to split F-TR and F-Open and leave the classifications alone for F-TR and raise it back to 98.5% or even 99% for F-Open.

 

[DanSavage]

Is this decent shooting? It is a Savage with a $200 dollar EABCO accuracy barrel shot at 500 yards in 90 degree heat in under 10 minutes,, with no pits and no way to see the bullet holes unless I cut a line.





I was good for 3rd place that day lol. 6br with Hornady 105 hpbt's.

 

[XTR]

Sorry to hijack the thread slightly, but isn't it time (especially on the International scene) to once again think about limiting the bullet weight in F-TR to <156gr...

Hijack off.

NO