NEWBIE QUESTION

[J T S]

I have shot rifles for a good while now, love my long range varminting but one thing I know very little about is the target shooting world, this leads me into my question(s).

 

What is the difference between 'target' and 'F-Class'?

 

What, exactly, does 'V-Bull' mean?

 

And, last but not least, what sort of ranges do you shoot in these disciplines?

 

 

 

Cheers

ACKLEYMAN

[1967spud]

f class is named after a my faquarson i beleive and is target shooting

 

the v bull is a sort off bull middle with in a bull , handy for sorting out dead heats when people hit the bull i.e. 15 bull shots and 4 dead centre i.e. v bulls

 

its shot at 600 800 and a 1000 yards i am not sure wether they shoot it at 1200 as well

[1967spud]

more info here

 

 

http://www.freewebs.com/fclassuk/

 

 

scroll down

[J T S]

Thanks for that link Spud, it is appreciated.

 

 

 

Cheers

ACKLEYMAN

[Ronin]

Target shooting is just that - shooting targets!

 

 

Within the target shooting umberella are a whole mulitude of disciplines:

 

Benchrest

 

F Class

 

Palma

 

Target Rifle

 

Match Rifle

 

Pratical

 

Tactical

 

Gallery

 

etc etc etc

 

 

 

F Class, is usually shot (in the GB League) at 800 - 1200 yards

 

The scoring area for a Bull (5 points) is 1 moa wide at 1000 yds (just over ten inches)

 

A V bull is half MOA and forms the centre of the bull - 5 inches diameter.

 

 

Its usually shot over four matches at various distances in 15 or twenty shots.

 

A perfect score on a 15 shot match would be 75.15v (75 points and 15 V bulls)

 

 

F Class is split into two sections - Open and FTR

 

 

Open - anything goes calibre wise up to 8mm and a weight of 22 lbs inc scope? Using front "machine" rest and rear bag.

 

FTR - 308 or 223 chambering using bipod and rear bag. (lighter weight limit too)

 

 

 

Both are expensive to start if you want to be competative, BUT a major part is wind reading, if you cant read wind, you will get blown out of the scoring area with whatever calibre you choose to use.

 

 

It helps to have an accurate rifle, disciplined loading technique and the means to travel around the country to shoot...

 

 

 

 

 

The Tactical comps in europe are excellent too, but thats another story entirely :)

[J T S]

Thanks for that Ronin.

 

It's a lot clearer now.

 

 

 

Cheers

ACKLEYMAN

[baldie]

Its for bummers G

They use vaseline for summat.

[Gun Pimp]

Ackleyman

 

Ronin gave an excellent description of F Class competition but you also mentioned target - or Target Rifle.

 

This is an entirely different discipline to F Class and is perhaps the 'cornerstone' of British target shooting. Until F Class came along, the only valid competition for the long-range rifleman was Target Rifle (capital T capital R).

 

A Target Rifle can only be chambered in the valid military calibres - 308 or 223. 308 is by far the mosr popular for obvious reasons.

 

The rifle is of single-shot configuration and can only be supported off the elbows - no bi-pods etc. Sights must be 'iron' though quite sophisticated aperture sights are used which permit very precise aiming on the Target Rifle target. A sling may be used to aid support.

 

Target Rifle has an immense following in Commonwealth countries and the Bisley Imperial meeting every July sees around 1400 Target Rifle shooters.

 

Vince

[Laurie]

Ackleyman,

 

one other thing I'd add to the good replies from Ronin and Gun Pimp is the issue of distances. Both Target Rifle and F-Class can be and are shot over any range from 200 to 1,000yd, with the sole exception of 700 for some historical reason. Target ring sizes are varied according to distance so they remain more or less constant in terms of the necessary grouping / wind reading abilities. So while the F-Class Bull is ten inches in the 800/900/1,000yd centre, it reduces to a little under 2 inches (around 0.95-MOA) in the version used by PSSA at Diggle for instance. The same applies to Target Rifle only it uses larger ring sizes being shot off the elbows and with iron sights as Gun Pimp said, so its Bull runs at 2-MOA or a bit more, so just over 4" at 200yd and 24" at 1,000yd.

 

GB F-Class League rounds are all shot at long ranges, normally 800, 900, or 1,000yd with the exception of one short range meeting each season (500/600yd) and one long-range Bisley round that includes 1,100 and 1,200yd stages.

 

However, at club / regional level, both F-Class and TR matches are shot at whatever distances are availbale on local ranges. For instance, the Yorkshire R.A. Autumn Open meeting takes place at Strensall (near York) on Saturday with 300, 500 and 600yd matches. While primarily a TR match, it has an F-Class division using standard NRA targets with smaller centres pasted on. While having a super-accurate long-range rifle always helps in such F-Class matches, many of shorter range competitions are won using reasonable quality heavy barrel sporters such as the Tikka T3 Varmint, Remington 700PSS/VS or police/military type tactical rifles such as the Sako TRG, Unique Alpine, Blaser LRS models etc. You don't have to have specialist rifle to win. A good quality and high maginification scope is a near essential though - you just can't aim precisely enough with a six or eight power sporting riflescope on a small target at even 500 yards.

 

So if you're interested, see what clubs you have in your area, what they shoot, and have a go with what you already own if it looks up your street. That's the best way to get started and see what you need to invest in subsequently if you want to impoverish yourself like us other fools!

[J T S]

Thanks for that info Laurie.

[.243happymeal]

Thanks for that info Laurie.

glad you asked akley, I`ve been wondering for ages