Gunsmithing f-class build that caliber would u go with?

C

ctharv117

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Jan 23, 2011
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#1
ok guys

i am going to build a f-class bench rest rifle. the action i already have (new Bat Machine short action 308 bolt face) i was going to go with the 6.5 creedmoor but now i am having second thoughts.

what cal whould u go with that fits my action to get the best at 1000 yds?
 
#2
Re: f-class build that caliber would u go with?

Since you don't need to feed from a magazine in F class, I'd put a 284 Win (or some flavor thereof) in it. Run a 9tw with about 0.240" of Freebore and push RL17 underneath the Berger 180gr VLD's or Hybrids.

A 28-30" tube will get you the speeds needed to be able to compete with the guys running the mag bolt faces and the 7mm magnums of some flavor.
 
#3
Re: f-class build that caliber would u go with?

Go with a 284. Take a look at the 284 shehane. Very good success with that round! Basically the 284 win but it allows more case capacity thus more powder. 6.5x284 is also another nice choice, but its got bad barrel life.
 
#5
Re: f-class build that caliber would u go with?

6.5x284 is hard to beat, everyone who uses it loves it minus the barrel life, any of the 6mm stuff seems to do really well. dont forget 6.5 x 47
 
#6
Re: f-class build that caliber would u go with?

A guy set the record score with a 284, it would be a great choice with decent barrel life. A 243 Win or Ackley would also be a superb choice and is capable of better ballistics in either configuration than a 6.5x284. Or you could be like me and get a 6.5x55.
 
#7
Re: f-class build that caliber would u go with?

Just went through this with a cst. Fwiw the us team is moving towards the 7mmwsm or the 7mm rsaum. The 6.5's are great. Hard on barrels yes, but they shoot well. The 6mm Competition Match is a unique possibility. 243 turned into a hvy bullet hot rod. 115's around 3k and when loaded with H1000 you can squeeze in excess of 3000 rounds from the barrel.

Might be worth looking at. Fwiw I have the reamer.

Good luck.

C.
 
#9
Re: f-class build that caliber would u go with?

Either a 6 Dasher or 6x47 Lapua set up to run 105-108 class bullets. They do not give up much to the .284s at 1,000 and there is not a .284 on the planet that can run with one a 600.
 
#10
Re: f-class build that caliber would u go with?

I'm looking at a 6.5/300wsm AI, everything "fits", good brass available. Good print, july 2010 Precision shooting. Engel Ballistic Research, smithville TX, has been working this round. They are getting good numbers, Lupa Scenar 139-3250fps, still going 1920 at 1000 yards-only needs 20-22MOA for 1000, with a 100 yard zero. Blowing the case out for the AI, not only gives a little more space, but longer case life, worth a look-dave manson is doing their reamer work.
 
#11
Re: f-class build that caliber would u go with?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: paw print</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I'm looking at a 6.5/300wsm AI, everything "fits", good brass available. Good print, july 2010 Precision shooting. Engel Ballistic Research, smithville TX, has been working this round. They are getting good numbers, Lupa Scenar 139-3250fps, still going 1920 at 1000 yards-only needs 20-22MOA for 1000, with a 100 yard zero. Blowing the case out for the AI, not only gives a little more space, but longer case life, worth a look-dave manson is doing their reamer work.</div></div>

sounds good but i have 308 bolt face so wsm aint gonna work for me and i hate buy another action sisnce i just bought the bat action
 
#13
Re: f-class build that caliber would u go with?

The .260 Rem is a really popular chambering, but I tend to agree with some that it (and the 6.5CM) may be borderline inadequate compared to the 6.5-284 and such.

While the US Team may be moving to 7mm magnums, that won't help you with your .308 (.473" Diameter) bolt face. I do applaud the move to 7mm, but for that bolt face, the .284 Win and .280 Rem are more suited.

Yes, there's no denying the .280 is a long action cartridge. But for a long range comp rifle, magazine feeding is neither mandatory nor especially desirable.

A .30-'06 length cartridge, like the .280, can be successfully hand fed and chambered from a short action.

The fired case can be extracted and ejected, but an unfired one needs the bolt stop to be released so the longer cartridge can make it out completely.

Unless you're doing this a lot of the time, it's really not that hard to accommodate. This allows a LA cartridge to be used as a reasonable chambering option with a switch barrel SA rifle.

The .280 can work, and it matches your boltface diameter. It's not a wildcat, has reasonable bore life, and commercial hunting ammo is relatively available. A 1:9" twist will handle up to 175gr bullets, and the case will drive them and lighter bullets at very respectable speeds. For F Class it is already beginning to be seen; and from what little I've been able to read about it, the chambering is quite competitive. You can conservatively expect BC's of well over .5 and velocities well above 2850fps.

Greg
 
#14
Re: f-class build that caliber would u go with?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Silverbullet-2</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> You could always machine down the case head to fit your 308 bolt face. Just sayin. JPG </div></div>

That's a terrible idea for the structural integrity of the brass. Lightly rebated rims on cases designed for that idea works, rebating a rim almost 70 thousandths on a case with an already rebated rim and is being pushed HARD is an unsafe idea.

If you want to match the 6.5 EBR (6.5-300 WSM AI or whatever you'd like to call it) then look into the 6.5-06 running with H1000, IMR7828ssc, or Retumbo. It will show the same kind of speeds, barrel life is on par, and brass is already available with the right case head.
 
#15
Re: f-class build that caliber would u go with?

In essence, the .280 Rem is a 7mm-'06. I think it works more efficiently for the '06 case, much the same as the .260 Rem does for the .308 case.

I have throat life reservations about the 6.5-'06, but really can't substantiate that from personal experience.

Greg
 
#16
Re: f-class build that caliber would u go with?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Greg Langelius *</div><div class="ubbcode-body">In essence, the .280 Rem is a 7mm-'06. I think it works more efficiently for the '06 case, much the same as the .260 Rem does for the .308 case.

I have throat life reservations about the 6.5-'06, but really can't substantiate that from personal experience.

Greg </div></div>


I've owned both, Greg is quite right, the 6.5-06 is a throat burner. The 280 or an AI variant will get you very close to WSM or RSAUM capability with the 7mm bullets.

My suggestion on a 6.5-06 was based on the idea that you might be considering the 6.5 Engel setup.
 
#17
Re: f-class build that caliber would u go with?

I shoot a F-class and use a 6 mm BR barrel on my switch barrel for mid Range (300 - 600 yards) matches, and a 6.5 x 47 L for longrange (greater than 600 yards).

The 6mm BR is hard to beat for midrange, it reloads amazing well there are great bullets and brass for it, limited recoil that will keep you on the bags. When I developed a load for my last 6 BR barrel I ran a ladder test from 29.5 to 31 g Varget under 108 gr Precision Ballistics 108 VLDs. Out of the 30 rounds fired only 2 were out of the 10 ring at 300 yards, an amazing sweet spot.

I have fired most of the 6.5's the 6.5 WSM was fun while the barrel lasted (about 550 rounds), this round would be a great long range gun if the QPQ process does double the life of the barrel. The 6.5 x 47 L is a great round and a good starter round. If you shoot F-class much you will probably treat barrels as consumables due to the number of rounds fired and the rate of fire in a match so your first chambering does not matter all that much.

One issue that others have found with the 7mm short mags is the recoil is not a lot of fun. You can easily fire 100 rounds in LR match in a day and the recoil may matter.

All of the above is focused towards F-class Open.

One thing you did not mention is whether you want to shoot F/TR or Open. If you want to shoot off a sling and compete with others shooting off a sling you want to shoot FT/R and the choices of chambers are .223 Rem and .308 Win. I would choose the 308 if you go FT/R.

Build something that fits your budget allowing a good budget for optics and get out and shoot and have fun.

wade
 
#19
Re: f-class build that caliber would u go with?

In the matches I have attended, the current trend for F-Open is to straight 284 with 180 bergers. Everyone was resizing Lapua 6.5-284 brass as 284 brass is not very popular.

An up and comer is the 6.5x47. With 142s and Re 17, I have heard of really good velocities. General consensus was that this cartridge is superior to the 260 for accuracy.

If you don't have experience, I would say start with 308. F-open is an arms race. F-TR is straight up shooter vs shooter. You will also maximize barrel life. You will also get much better at reading the wind rather than relying on cartridge performance to correct your mistakes.
 
#20
Re: f-class build that caliber would u go with?

straight 284, pushing heavies to buck the wind better. Got my butt kicked by two guys shooting straight 284 at 1000yds at the rattle snake range, they barrely made any corrections and were cutting the X all damn day.
I still hate those two nice guys.:)
hope this helps
 
#21
Re: f-class build that caliber would u go with?

I agree with the guys saying to stick with a 308 and learn on the F/TR class. I had already built a 260 for Tac comps so i am stuck in Open class. It is absolutely true that open is a money pit. I actually shoot quite well but cant compete with bags and heavy rests shooting off my bipod. I am looking at putting on a 308 barrel so I can move to the TR class but I figured I would continue to shoot in open till I learned everything i could then make the switch. Oh, and by the way, I love that i can shoot 60 rounds in a match without even noticing recoil, I cant even imagine trying to shoot a magnum recoil through that many rounds. But then again i'm a pretty small guy- (140 lbs.)
 
#23
Re: f-class build that caliber would u go with?

Shooting can be a real moneypit, I couldnt agree more. I am amazed what you can spent chasing the ultimate BC/Velocity/brass combinations. Dont even start on who's barrel is better.

I'd second the recommendation to go F-TR and shoot the 308 if you have a standard boltface. The Open class is insane, I have noticed alot of people dropping the 6.5x284 barrel burner for the 47 series. 6mm or 6.5 in that case is amazing beyond its size, though it really shined up the thin air of Raton. Never watched it work near sealevel.

Anyway, 308 in F-TR matches would be a highly competitive rig and venue.

Good Luck
 
#24
Re: f-class build that caliber would u go with?

Got mine back from the GS last week:
RSR single shot action,
McMillian Baker stock,
30" Border Barrel (from when JR worked there),
Timney trigger;
In .260 Remington

Waiting for ice storms to pass to try it out!

Jerry
 
#25
Re: f-class build that caliber would u go with?

For 1000 it would be best to try to push the heavy 7mm's. 284 shehane would be my suggestion. I shoot a 6brx and really like the round and it would be just fine for the 1000 yard game, but gets bettered ballistically by the heavy 7mm's.
 
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