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F T/R Competition Which cartridge?

boisepaw

Sergeant of the Hide
Full Member
Minuteman
Feb 20, 2020
211
38
Queenstown, MD
I’ve never shot F-Class but I’m quite interested. Which cartridges do you see on the line most often? And can you be competitive without spending an arm and a leg on the rifle and optic?
 
Like most things, it depends.

If you want to shoot from a bipod and rear bag, in a more 'limited' class, then FTR limits you to either .308 Win or .223 Rem.

Open class is pretty much anything under .35 caliber (or within limits of the facility you are at), shot from a front rest and rear bag.

If you go strictly by what's winning most big state or national level LR tournaments currently, you see predominantly .308 Win for FTR, typically a 200 gn projectile of some sort, and for F-Open you mostly see straight .284 Winchesters (or something close to it) running 180-184gn pills.

That's not to say that the right person, on the right day can't clean house with a .223 running 80s, or a .308 running 155s, or a straight 6 BR running 105VLDs, or a .300WSM running 215s or 230s. On the one end, you really have to have your wind foo dialed in tight - tighter than everyone else - and on the other end, you have to be able to manage that level of recoil and torque over an entire day or weekend with no lapse in gun-handling. Bringing things back to 'mid range' (300-600yds) opens up the performance envelope a *lot*, as you're less dependent on ballistic horsepower and wind bucking, and more on raw accuracy - and there are a lot of combinations that will shoot just fine on a calm to moderate day at 600yds and less.

Dang near anything can be 'competitive' on any given day at a local club match. A lot of times, familiarity with local conditions may trump the amount spent on gun or gear. It's when you get a number of really good shooters all together, who all have the ability to read the conditions and the experience level to apply that knowledge... that the $$$ rigs start to pull ahead. Not always, but more often than not.

You can get started, and see if you like it enough to commit more fully, possibly using something you already have. A lot of people have gotten started using a Savage 12 FTR or F-class, and just rebarreled after their first year once they had a better idea what they were looking for. Some people stick with that, others may sell it to a new shooter or keep it as a back-up / loaner gun and have a full-custom gun built to scratch that itch.
 
I shoot in f open and At 600 yards I see nearly all 6mm bullets: dasher & br unless it’s a very windy day and then I see some 284. At 1000 you see more 284 wins start to come out but 6mm is still very competitive. I shoot 6 dasher primarily at 600.

If you would like to shoot f class without spending a lot the ftr category is definitely a place to start and without needing a 1200$ rest makes entry a lot more competitive
 

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Accurate shooter forum usually has good deals on f class guns, slightly used and sometimes with all the components and extra bbl
 
there are outstanding deals to be had over there right now....there is 7/270 wsm for sale with 1000 pieces brass and 4 bbl.......even with that caliber that should last you a very long time
 
When I shot F Open, it was .260.

For F T/R MR is was 223; LR was 308, but nearly none of that.
 
If you're not shooting F T/R (.223 R - .308 W) you'll need to spend $800-$1,000 on a rest to be competitive. Not counting the rifle/scope you choose. Although people do shoot F T/R with high end equipment also.

Good Luck

Jerry
 
Most competitive shooters in the region where I compete are shooting 284's of some variety or 7Rsaums for LR, and 6 BRX, Dasher or BRA's for MR. Couple of these guys shoot on the US open team, so they know what they are doing. Equipment and calibers will take you so far, but reading wind/mirage correctly will win at the end of the day.
 
Thx for the Shooters Corner link. It's really changed for the better. It used to be just lists of stuff available.