Re: Field Precision Rifle Class in F-Class Matches?
I think I understand what you're trying to accomplish. This is an interesting thread to read from my perspective: a former HP shooter ("Coat and sling guy") whose eyes are bad enough now that he can't see irons that well anymore. The kids are now old enough that they're not consuming every waking moment, and I am gravitating back to the rifle, this time with a scope.
F class is therefore somewhat attractive, but it seems to be "benchrest prone." Most of you probably understand why this offends the sensibilities of the coat and sling crowd: if you put a ten pound tripod under the front of the rifle (driven into the ground with stakes), and a bag under the rear, and add a 6 ounce trigger to a 17 pound rifle with a three inch flat spot on the forend of the stock, what have you accomplished other than moving the bench to the ground?
Don't get me wrong; I love benchrest shooters, they push the envelope and make eq available to the more practical among us. But I have no interest at all in benchrest shooting, no moreso if the bench has merely been cleverly moved to the ground. If I ever show up at an F Class match I'll be shooting against myself. I know that and am totally OK with it. I don't need trophies, I need to be able to hit targets at distance without having to pull a cart behind me.
I guess I'm a curmudgeon. Tough. I am the only one at my club who lays on the ground to shoot. Recent extensions to both ends of the covered benchrest firing points at the rifle range of my club resulted in my having to ask for special dispensation to keep some dirt space alongside the covered positions and some space between the new benches that were being added so that I could lay between them under the cover if I chose to.
When asked why I didn't shoot from a bench I replied: "If I could figure out a way to get the deer-sized game to reliably file past me while I was comfortably seated at a bench, then I would shoot from a bench." Does this make me an old fashioned "coat and sling" purist? I don't think so.
I shoot prone from a bipod, no rear bag. The only accommodations I sometimes allow myself are my coat and my mat, no sling. Sometimes it's just the mat, and sometimes I hose down with OFF and lay in the dirt. The guys think I'm nuts, or uncivilized, or something else. I need to find a good set of elbow pads that aren't all slippy on the bottom. Any suggestions? Buy a regular set and glue rubber on them?
BTW, on a recent outing I shot three 3-shot groups at 100 yards that measured 0.575", 0.525", and 0.550" on the same piece of paper. The aggregate of the three groups is probably 0.8". I think I'm doing OK for an old curmudgeon. But they're three shot groups, so am I even allowed to mention them?
So here's my critique of Field Precision Rifle: lose the rear support. Lose the bullet weight specifications. You've got the specs down so hard, especially the ammo, it looks to me like "State/Local Police Issue Match". Which is OK with me if that's what you want. Is that what you want?
I think I understand what you're trying to accomplish. This is an interesting thread to read from my perspective: a former HP shooter ("Coat and sling guy") whose eyes are bad enough now that he can't see irons that well anymore. The kids are now old enough that they're not consuming every waking moment, and I am gravitating back to the rifle, this time with a scope.
F class is therefore somewhat attractive, but it seems to be "benchrest prone." Most of you probably understand why this offends the sensibilities of the coat and sling crowd: if you put a ten pound tripod under the front of the rifle (driven into the ground with stakes), and a bag under the rear, and add a 6 ounce trigger to a 17 pound rifle with a three inch flat spot on the forend of the stock, what have you accomplished other than moving the bench to the ground?
Don't get me wrong; I love benchrest shooters, they push the envelope and make eq available to the more practical among us. But I have no interest at all in benchrest shooting, no moreso if the bench has merely been cleverly moved to the ground. If I ever show up at an F Class match I'll be shooting against myself. I know that and am totally OK with it. I don't need trophies, I need to be able to hit targets at distance without having to pull a cart behind me.
I guess I'm a curmudgeon. Tough. I am the only one at my club who lays on the ground to shoot. Recent extensions to both ends of the covered benchrest firing points at the rifle range of my club resulted in my having to ask for special dispensation to keep some dirt space alongside the covered positions and some space between the new benches that were being added so that I could lay between them under the cover if I chose to.
When asked why I didn't shoot from a bench I replied: "If I could figure out a way to get the deer-sized game to reliably file past me while I was comfortably seated at a bench, then I would shoot from a bench." Does this make me an old fashioned "coat and sling" purist? I don't think so.
I shoot prone from a bipod, no rear bag. The only accommodations I sometimes allow myself are my coat and my mat, no sling. Sometimes it's just the mat, and sometimes I hose down with OFF and lay in the dirt. The guys think I'm nuts, or uncivilized, or something else. I need to find a good set of elbow pads that aren't all slippy on the bottom. Any suggestions? Buy a regular set and glue rubber on them?
BTW, on a recent outing I shot three 3-shot groups at 100 yards that measured 0.575", 0.525", and 0.550" on the same piece of paper. The aggregate of the three groups is probably 0.8". I think I'm doing OK for an old curmudgeon. But they're three shot groups, so am I even allowed to mention them?
So here's my critique of Field Precision Rifle: lose the rear support. Lose the bullet weight specifications. You've got the specs down so hard, especially the ammo, it looks to me like "State/Local Police Issue Match". Which is OK with me if that's what you want. Is that what you want?
