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Things you wish you knew F-TR and F-class

scissorhands

I'm going to give it an honest go this year for F-TR 600 and 1000 yards, Going to use a rifle I have had for ten years (savage F-TR .308) I have an old Sinclair bipod, Nightforce NXS scope and a protector rear bag. I will be loading my own ammo ( I have about 600 175 SMK I will use up first).

What are some things you wished you knew when you decided to get serious?
 
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1) Practice/hone your wind-reading skills until it hurts, then practice some more

2) Load the best bullet available to you (i.e. the best combination of BC, ease of reloading, precision); for many that would currently mean the Berger 200.20X bullet, but other choices are available

3) Set the barrel/chamber up specifically to shoot that specific bullet (i.e. ~30" length, 10-twist, 0.170"-0.180" freebore)

You will probably receive lots of comments about this piece of equipment, or that specific rifle scope, or just about anything else that will probably cost an arm and a leg. My advice would be that the equipment you already have will work for the time being. You can worry about buying new stuff later. I would strongly suggest choosing a bullet better suited to F-TR shooting than the 175 SMK, maybe something like 185 Juggernauts if your rifle is set up appropriately to load them. After that, focus on your wind-reading skills. You will potentially lose far more points to making poor wind calls than all other sources combined if there's much wind at all where you shoot most often.
 
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I have about 600 175 SMK I would like to use up, I will most likely use them for 600 yards. I have been fortunate enough to come across a few boxes of 185 juggernauts and 200-20x. I don't think the 200-20x is going to shoot in my 1:12 barrel. I will load up the 185 Juggernauts for the 1000 yard match at the end of the month.
The plan is not to buy any useless equipment, because I need more work than my equipment.
 
I started just where you are a little more than a year and a half ago. I had a savage FTR, Sinclair bipod, sightron 36x fixed scope, a protector rear bag, a bunch of IMR 4064 and some 175 SMK’s. It didn’t take long to work my way up to Master with that combo and I had a lot of fun doing it. You are on the right track with what you have. I will point out a few things I wish I knew, or I did know but kept in denial. I used to think 500 or 1000 was a lot of projectiles. Now I am nervous when I only have 1000. I now have to constantly pick up 500 boxes here and there. I also eventually switched to the more expensive Bergers, but before I could shoot them, I needed a 170 freebore. So, after about 6 months with the savage FTR, I began building a custom rifle so I could chamber a 170 freebore to be able to shoot 185 jugs and 200.20x and shoot 1000 yd matches. I could have swapped the savage barrel with a custom prefit with a 170 freebore, but I figured I should just upgrade to a custom. I would like to buy 2k or 3k Bergers at a time, but I can’t afford that, but when they are in stock, I try to get 3 or 4 boxes of 500 over time before they go out of stock. I also stock up on SMK’s when they are on sale and use them for 300 yd club matches, practice and for 600 matches when Bergers get below 1K. So, if you get the sickness and you will, you may want to upgrade to a custom, and upgrade your bipod … and your rear bag. I still have the savage FTR as a backup rifle and will shoot it at local 300 yd matches with the 175’s. All this time, I have been slowly stocking up on powder and primers. I was about to stock up on srp brass, but I missed that boat. Something to get used to is constantly looking for something in stock, whether it is Varget, primers, 185 jugs, srp brass or something else you haven’t stocked up on. After a year and a half, I feel like I am half way there.
 
scissorhands said:
I'm going to give it an honest go this year for F-TR 600 and 1000 yards, Going to use a rifle I have had for ten years (savage F-TR .308) I have an old Sinclair bipod, Nightforce NXS scope and a protector rear bag. I will be loading my own ammo ( I have about 600 175 SMK I will use up first).

What are some things you wished you knew when you decided to get serious?
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In addition to the good information above, I will add, in no particular order:

(1) Do your homework. There are no shortcuts, you’ve got to put the effort in. Success is based on trial and error. The best shooters tend to be those putting in the most effort.

(2) Listen to your fellow competitors about how they do things. Take every opportunity to look at the equipment they are using and watch them as they shoot. Benefit from their experience. But, always keep in mind that what works for them may not work for you.

(3) Improvement is never linear or constant. Hubris will be punished.

(4) There are no guarantees, spending money on the latest and greatest doesn’t always mean improved scores. But, poor equipment increases the degree of difficulty.

(5) Wind reading ability and handloading techniques are what separates competitors from the participants. The importance of both cannot be overstated.

(6) A great barrel, great load, and a great setup greatly improves your wind reading ability.

(7) Good shooting is more fun than poor shooting. Poor shooting is always hard work.

Good luck. I envy your adventure.
 
When I started with FTR I wasted time and money with sub standard bullets and barrels. Get a cut rifled barrel from a reputable maker and the best bullets you can buy, this is 95% of the accuracy potential of a rifle system. It is easier to learn wind reading with a rifle that can hold vertical and is precise.
 
scissorhands said:
You actually came up and welcomed me at one of the recent 1000 yard matches at Bayou( I was just observing). Didn't know you were the national champion, but a world class act at the same time. Thank you.
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You could not choose a more humble and accomplished ambassador for F-class shooting. I bet @tvaught didn't even mention he is a survivor of the infamous Seal Team 6 Operation Ruidoso.
 
For me personally, the biggest thing I wish is knew was I should've allowed myself to make more mistakes. It took me too long to learn that I didn't have to try to win every match from day one, and that nobody was expecting me to. Had I allowed myself to learn more by shoot worse in the beginning, I would've learned a whole lot more and improved a lot faster. F Class as much as anything is a marathon, not a sprint.

On top of that...
  • Find a mentor
  • Always shoot against people better than you
  • Spend the money the first time, it's always cheaper
  • Take in all the information you can but never forget to be yourself when you shoot
  • Have the ability to adapt
  • Be nice, our sport is full of people who want to see you improve
  • Don't be offended when people don't share every secret of theirs the first time you meet
 
I get confused with the advice to go with the heavy bullets, I starting out in FClass with a .30-06, but I have just acquired a Bergara in .308, I have my 06 in a German Salazar chamber and I have read his thoughts on heavy bullets and I understood him. But then you see the Palma guys shooting the 155.5 full bore Bergers in a 1-11T .308. At 1000
 
These are categories

Person
- Believe in yourself...if you believe you can win than you will practice, prepare, and compete as a winner.
- If you are not winning your learning. There is no losing; competing shows us what we know and teaches us areas to improve.
- Once you have broken the shot let it go. There is no amt of time you can stare at the target that will change that 8.
- The most important shot... is the one your taking right now, put all your focus on the shot your about to take, not the shot you just took or the future shots trying to calculate what score you will get with the remaining shots.

Shooting
- Use a plate and mat under your bipod. FTR the rifle needs to track as smooth and repeatedly as mechanically possible. Bipods track only as well as the ground it rest on the rules allow you to create an environment where your bipod will ride on a flat surface. Using a plate and a mat will give you a smooth repeatable surface to shoot.
- Similarly the rear bag

Target
- What is the difference with an nine on the right, compared to an nine on the left? By being deceive and making a wind call you've decided you will not let the wind dictate where the shoot will land. A nine on the right and a nine on the left are exactly the same value, but you tried to better your chances by making a wind call.
- Point management, when the wind is such that X's and shooting clean are really difficult, look at changing your strategy where the 10 ring is the new X ring and the 9 ring is the new 10. It is equally important to preserve points as it is to have a high X count.

Reloading
I am just as guilty as the rest in buying the latest shinny bobble
- If i were to pick one piece of equipment it would be a scale FX120i or better. High quality scales will show immediate result. your powder charges will be moe consistent and consistency in charge weights produce better vertical.

Humour
-When you come off the line and your feeling down because you shot a 7 during the string... listen to others talking and hear what others are saying most likely you will hear someone say they shot a 7 or 6 and are laughing. It is incredibly rewarding to shoot high scores but sometimes the joy of shooting is the competitors themself.

Cheers
Trevor
 
Buy once, cry once.
Don't discount the .223 at Mid Range if you have one. 80 grain bullets drift similar to heavier .308's
Small bore practice at 100 yards is worthwhile as well. Wind is wind.
Don't get hung up on scores, focus on breaking good shots and calling your shots.
Listen to the conversations of more experienced shooters. You'll pick up many things.
Enjoy the journey, it is meant to be fun.

Scott
 
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I see you're down in Houston. If you're shooting at Bayou, they'll set you on the right path very quickly. :)

My suggestion is the same as others. You'll be shooting 185s soon enough, and I'm guessing a 10 twist barrel and some 20Xs will come shortly thereafter.

Gun handling matters more than you think; you'll figure that out in good time though.
 
cmysix said:
I get confused with the advice to go with the heavy bullets, I starting out in FClass with a .30-06, but I have just acquired a Bergara in .308, I have my 06 in a German Salazar chamber and I have read his thoughts on heavy bullets and I understood him. But then you see the Palma guys shooting the 155.5 full bore Bergers in a 1-11T .308. At 1000
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An F-TR rifle is supported front and rear, and it is therefore much easier to take advantage of the high BCs available in heavy .30 cal bullets (i.e. 185-200+ gr) and shoot them with excellent precision. One could certainly use 155s in an F-TR rifle. Certainly plenty of big matches have been won in the past with just such a combination. However, wind calls would have to be that much better than anyone else's and I believe such a feat would be far more difficult to achieve today.
 
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