Transcript XXXXX - Alberta Provincial Rifle Association

A Crack at “F” Class!
Sept 15, 2012
Intro
The art of shooting long range has fascinated generations of shooters. One often hears of
heroic snipers like Carlos Hathcock who during the Vietnam war would touch the enemy
with his M70 sniper rifle chambered in 30-06 at over 1,000 yards.
F-Class shooting was the brainchild of Canadian George Farquharson and the "F" was
derived from his last name.
Mr. Farquharson came up with the idea of F-Class to enable he and other older shooters to
continue competing alongside "iron sight" shooters who used a sling. Basically, he replaced
the iron sights with a scope and replaced the sling hold with the option of using either a front
bi-pod or a rest. F-Class is shot from the prone position where the shooters lay on a mat.
He convinced the Canadian NRA (DCRA) to approve his idea and F-Class was begun as an
official shooting sport in Canada in the 90's.
This idea caught on fire and very quickly spread to the British Commonwealth, Germany,
France, Netherlands and to the United States.
As the sport grew in the United States, NRA officially accepted it and today F-Class has tens
of thousands of shooters in the United States and the rest of the World and is, by far, the
fastest growing shooting discipline in the United States & Canada.
Currently, F-Class shooters shoot on targets that are half the size of the targets used by iron
sight shooters, which raises the bar for shooters dramatically and increases the level of skill
required to reach the top. This sport is enjoyed by young and old alike. The number of
women shooters and family participation has also increased in F-Class shooting.
In Southern Alberta, the F class club operates under the umbrella of Alberta Provincial rifle
association (APRA) and has its own private Homestead range in the foothills, just West of
Calgary. In order to be a member with full access, one needs to own competition grade
equipment and compete in at least 4 matches per year.
This is the turn off on Trans Canada highway.
While there are guys chasing Elk & Deer with their bows, I am
spending my Saturday punching paper. Oh well, its all good.
Turn off to the homestead range.
You first come to the Rosebud range which is a
Silhouette range with a maximum distance of 300 yds.
Turn off to the Full Bore range, the real deal!
Beautifully located 1,000 yard range.
We first got an introduction on the range, rules
and safety by the executive members.
A Detail or Two about “F” Class
Divisions…
F Class competition has four Divisions:
F-Target (F-TR);
Sights = Iron Sights, long range micrometer rear sight and long range front sight with appropriate iris
Calibre = 308 Win or 223 Rem
Bullet Weight = 156 grs for the 308 Win and 81 grs for the 223 Rem
Rifle Weight = max of 8.25 kg
Trigger Pull = min of 500 grams
Other equip required = shooting mats, shooting jacket, spotting scope and target sling
F-Class Open (F-O);
Sights = any scope, usually high power variables such as 6.5 x 20’s or 12 x 42’s
Calibre = Max APRA 900m Range Template is a 338 Lapua Mag
Bullet Weight = no restrictions
Rifle Weight = max of 10.0 kg
Trigger Pull = any safe trigger
Other equip required = shooting mats and bipod or front BR rest with a rear sand bag
F-Class TR (F-TR or F-FTR);
Sights = any scope, usually high power variables such as 6.5 x 20’s or 12 x 42’s
Calibre = 308 Win or 223 Rem
Bullet Weight = no restrictions
Rifle Weight = max of 8.25 kg
Trigger Pull = any safe trigger
Other equip required = shooting mats and bipod with a rear sand bag
F-Class Factory;
Any unaltered factory rifle (glass bedding, re-crowning of the barrel & trigger adjustment are allowed)
Sights = any scope, usually high power variables such as 6.5 x 20’s or 12 x 42’s
Calibre = 308 Win or 223 Rem
Bullet Weight = no restrictions
Rifle Weight = max of 8.25 kg
Trigger Pull = any safe trigger
Other equip required = shooting mats and bipod with a rear sand bag
Competition
In F class competition, shooting is done at 300, 400, 500,
600, 700, 800 and 900 meters (Not Yards). For each distance,
two convertible sighter shots are taken. The word
“convertible” here means that the shooter can choose to
include or exclude these two sighter shots as the first
counting shots if he/she chooses to. Then a string of 10 or
15 shots are taken at the prescribed distances for the day.
The scoring is based on a scale of 1 to 5 with the bulls eye
counted as “V” bull which also counts as a score of 5. The
target size is changed from ½ MOA to a 1 MOA from 400 to
900 yards and it is also different depending on whether
open sights or scopes are used.
3 zone
2 zone
4 zone
1 zone
“V” bull and 5 zone
This is an “Open” sighted Target Rifle; The real Mc Coy!
We drove to 400 meter (437 yards) to shoot.
Today we will be shooting at 400 meters first. Everyone
is getting set up.
For yours truly, my gunsmith was kind enough to
loan me his tack driver in 6 Dasher.
The 6 Dasher is a tiny but inherently accurate
cartridge. It is based on the blown (forward
0.10”) 6 mm BR-Norma case. Gunsmith Dan
Dowling is credited with its invention. It offers
about 3.5 grains (10%) more case capacity than
the standard 6BR--good for an extra +130 fps
with a 105gr bullet. Effective out to 1000 yards,
the Dasher holds the NBRSA 6-target 1000yard world record Aggregate.
The yellow bolt stick you see here will only be
removed when the range officer has announced it.
Let the fun start. Some of the best shooters
in the world are ladies!
You always shoot with a partner and score each other so
that there is no cheating involved.
You will also have a score card that allows you to keep a track of
where your hits are and how much correction/hold over you
used to hit bull’s eye.
After I finished my relay, I also fired 3 shots from my El
Gordo (300WSM) and the 190 grain Berger VLD’s. My
second B&C cross line matched with the yardage. My
group was 3” (2 touching and one 2 ¼” away), giving
me confidence in the load and my scope’s reticle.
Lets now go to the pits…
One group shoots and the other are in the “Pits”, raising and
lowering the targets for scoring. Radio contact is maintained with
the firing line for safety and questionable scores.
After we had shot our first relay at 400 meters, it was our
turn to be in the pits. Targets are being placed as you can
see and they are in the lowered position.
The target is
mechanically
raised by hand.
After each shot is made, the target is lowered and a “Red” strike indicator is
placed in the point of impact. Then the previous hole is plugged with a black
dot and a score (black circular gizmo) is placed on the lower bottom edge to let
the shooter know his/her score.
We then
moved to 800
meters (875
yards) for our
second relay.
All shooting in F class is done off a bipod and a
rear sand bag. Prone on the ground over a mat.
(Yours truly in the middle)
It is at these long distances that wind
plays havoc with your shots. You can
correct for wind by observing the
various wind flags along the line by
either your turrets or just manual hold
over. Remember to only “half” correct
as the natural tendency is always to
over correct. This is where you learn to
be humble and not to take long shots
on game if you can get closer.
After all shooting ended, we summed up our score cards
and headed to the club house for the closing session.
As luck would have it, I did not do too bad and kept all
my shots in the black with a total of 6 “V” bulls and an
overall score of 86.
That earned me the top spot on the F_O for today and
a $2 trophy . On the other hand, I learned lots and
my respect for the wind is now three fold.
In due time, I will build an F class rig
and do some competitive shooting in
the F_TR class.
Alpine Outdoors Productions-2012 Copyright