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F T/R Competition Raking my brain on this F-class shooting thing....

Nushooter

Private
Minuteman
Jun 21, 2012
18
0
55
I have a Savage 12fv w 26in heavy barrel in 308. with factory stock. I shoot the Hornady 178 bthp Match loaded with 44g of Varget set at 2.80 col. On top is a Millett 4x16x50 and the rifle sits on a bi-pod with bean bags for the back. The Savage shoots a .689 at 300 yards with this setup. Question is, with this setup am I good to go and shoot a match or is there something I may want or need before I give a competition a try? The range I use only goes to 300 yards and have only tried shooting past 400 yards twice. I know experience is the best teacher but I have the itch.
Help!!!!
 
Re: Raking my brain on this F-class shooting thing....

remembering back to my first match my advice is....GO DO IT! get that "first" match over and done with. the "unknown" is the toughest thing to deal with. get there early, get set up, LISTEN to range officers and put your rounds downrange. you may come back pleasantly surprised. use that as a base line to compare future scores. do not get discouraged. try to find a mentor as that really helps. fdr was right when he stated, "we have nothing to fear but fear itself."
 
Re: Raking my brain on this F-class shooting thing....

Other than a shooting mat or something else to lay on the ground, you should be GTG. Enjoy!
 
Re: Raking my brain on this F-class shooting thing....

I don't know if it really helps or if it's all in my head, but I usually bring a couple hand towels with me to cover my ammo and barrel between strings when it's really hot out to keep the sun off them. A pen, clip board, sun screen, bug dope and plenty of water are handy to have also.
 
Re: Raking my brain on this F-class shooting thing....

Bring along a GOOD spotting scope. I hate looking through barskas...
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Jump in and enjoy! We all had our "first match". As others have said watch and listen. Ask if you have any questions.

Good Luck!
 
Re: Raking my brain on this F-class shooting thing....

but my spotting scope is a Barska!!!!
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Re: Raking my brain on this F-class shooting thing....

You shouldn't have any worries about your rig at all. It should be fine to get started in an F-Class match, leaving <span style="font-style: italic">you</span> as the limiting factor. IMO, that's exactly where you want to be.

As you mentioned you can only practice out to 300 yd, it will be very important for you to get the best muzzle velocity data you possibly can, along with your actual drops at multiple distances out to as far out as your range allows. It's a little more difficult to match MV and drop data at such short range because the drops are quite small (a click or two to one side or another is very difficult to determine precisely at short range). However, you can use this data input at JBM ballistics online to get predicted drops from 600 to 1000 yd, depending on what range(s) the F-Class event(s) you're interested in shooting are. At the same time, you can generate windage data (also with the JBM ballistic calculator). If you have good data for your drop and windage at a specific range, your chances of being on paper with your sighting shots will be greatly increased. If you're not on the target to start, it's that much more difficult to get dialed in, particularly if the match has a limited number of sighting shots.

Bottom line is that to get feedback from the target puller (scoring/shot markers), you have to be on the target. Once on, dialing in will depend primarily on the wind conditions. From your description and accuracy numbers above, your rig is plenty good. Your ability to read the wind conditions is what will make the difference in your final score. Use the wind flags, trees, etc., and look into learning how to use mirage as a wind reading tool.

If you take these simple measures before your first comp, you should do fine. You'll learn a lot the first time about what you might want/need/do differently the next time. Just get out there and do it, and have fun while you're at it. It's really a blast and you'll meet some good folks along the way. Best of luck to you.
 
Re: Raking my brain on this F-class shooting thing....

+1 for all that was said above. you will never be able to shoot out to 600 or 1k sitting on the couch. go out there, have a lot of fun, listen and learn.
everyone i have ever met at a comp. has always been really nice and helpful. you'll be fine. just have fun. that is what it is all about
 
Re: Raking my brain on this F-class shooting thing....

Yep, get out there on your belly in the sun and put some rounds down range. After about 10 matches you'll have worked out what works for you.
 
Re: Raking my brain on this F-class shooting thing....

Thanks for the input guys. Keep them coming please. I just spent the evening Loading 50 rounds of the Hornady Match 178s. Now to get out and shoot some of them, hopefully tomorrow. A buddy has a shooting mat with a strap on the end to help hold the bi-pod in place, is this legal? If so, I'm getting one to use.
 
Re: Raking my brain on this F-class shooting thing....

Check around, see if anyone in your area has any MR-63FC targets they can spare. They are the MR-1FC targets reduced for use at 300 yards. The degree of difficulty is higher at 600 yards, shooting on the reduced targets is a challenge.