F-Class - F-TR & F-Open
F-Class
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.
This idea caught on fire and very quickly spread to the UK, 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.
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.
F-Class has two categories: F-T/R & F-Open. Both are fired from the prone position.
Briefly, the rules are as follows:
F-T/R
Caliber limited to .223 or .308 (unmodified).
Sling and/or bipod allowed, most people just use a bipod on its own.
Rifle weight limit of 8.25 kgs (approx. 18.18 lbs).
Rear bag allowed
F-Open
Calibre limit of .35 and under.
Rifle weight of 10 kgs (approx. 22 lbs.).
Adjustable front rest allowed.
Rear bag allowed.
Rail guns not allowed.
76mm wide forend.
Rifle must be shouldered when fired.
Tables are not allowed.
F-Class in Ireland is shot at varying distances between 600 yards and 1200 yards. Various leagues and competitions are held in MNSCI through the year along with International events such as the Creedmore cup.
FTR , although in theory, any 308 rifle can be used, to Shoot at distances of 800 - 1,000 yards with consistency it is necessary to maintain a super-sonic velocity out to 1000 yards, a muzzle velocity (with a 155 grain bullet) in the region of 2,950 fps is required. A barrel length of 30 inches is normally used to achieve this. Ammo is loaded one at a time and is not magezine fed, it must by fed by hand into the chamber one at a time.
There are two choices when it comes to getting into FTR when on a tight budget, one is the 'off the shelf' factory rifles like the F/TR rifle from Savage which is ideal and the cheapest way into the sport with a truly competitive rifle. The other would be a second-hand Target Rifle, which would simply require a scope and bi-pod and should easily make weight. These become available as shooters love to chop and change and try new toys.