Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Competitive Shooting F-Class is freak’n cool

I shot my first F-class this last weekend…. I think I’m in love…

We used electronic targets (shot marker system), and I shot F-Bench with my PRS gun…

For the non-PRS guys
- PRS uses 1.5-3.5 lb triggers and 17-25x glass…

F-Class uses Trigger pull weights in the 3-7 oz range, and 50 X scopes…

I did make one guy laugh when the tried my rig and I told him my trigger was at 3.5…. I didn’t tell him it was lbs !! LOL..

I am all over doing F class now.. Screw PRS… I’ll shoot it for fun, but it doesn’t compare to F class.

308? I don’t know anything about it.

I was really surprised the 308’s held their velocity so well, the shot marker tells you the down range velocity at the target and the 200 grain 308’s were coming in at 1600+ FPS, so they only lost a 1000 FPS in the 1000 yards.

My 6 Creed on the other hand starts at 3700, and I was losing 2,000 fps to the target with a 103 gr VTAC bullet….

I’m building a 7 PRC specific for F class… this is going to be fun !!

If you want to see some trick F Open rifles and equipment you should check out local shooter Bryan Blake's sites. Blake Barrel and Rifle and F Class Products.

The current darling of the f class world right now is the 284 Winchester with 180gr Berger's. I got my daughters f class rifle from a f class shooter its a 308 with a 29 inch Bartlein barrel. My daughter shoots 185 juggernauts. Some are using the 6 dasher or 6 GT. The 284 will shoot clean at 600yds with the 180's.

This the other popular one in the f class world https://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/2022/05/sunday-gunday-284-shehanes-for-f-open-competition/
Eric Cortina shoots this I imagine it will pick up more steam with the way he is picking up wins this years with it .

Why is a 3.5ib trigger preferred in PRS?

Pretty sure Erik Cortina has moved up to bigger 7mm's recently. The PRC cases have given additional opportunity for wildcatting.

Some guys

In PRS you have to move the rifle up to the shooting position and often drop it into place so there is NO WAY you can have a light trigger….

3.5lbs is heavy some guys run a lot lighter, but non of them run in the ounces range.

You are correct, I just read he’s using 7 PRCW. Necking up lapua 6.5 prc brass to 7 prc. I know up here the f class guys went 284 because lapua started making brass. Looks like everyone be going towards the 7 prc.

.284 brass is very hard to come by now as well, which may have some impact.

I ordered a BAT M to build my F-Class 7 PRC -I won’t see it until next Spring, but it’s the thought that counts.

Just a little info for those not aware, there are two classes in FClass F/TR and F/O
F/TR ) target rifle)is shot with a rifle and bipod with a combined weight of 18 pounds or less.
The only two cartridges allowed are .223 or 308.

F/O ( open) is shot using a rifle of 22 pounds or less with and a front rest that is not included in the weight . Anything attached however is included, such as a bipod .
Any cartridge of a calibre of .338 or less can be used.

When George Farquarson started it , it was intended so the old guys who could not see well with irons or strap into a target rifle could still have fun. Everybody was using Harris type bipods then- he would be astounded and genually please to see how this has morphed into a huge World Class sport!
Cat

I believe you mean 18 pounds.

JEEPERS! fixed it ,Thanks. fat fingers and not enough coffee in the morning LOL
Cat

A few ranges shoot F-Bench to accommodate people who can't shoot prone anymore. Their scores aren't sent in to the NRA.

One of the clubs that I shoot at started with Silver Mountain electronic targets, switched to Shot Spotter a few years ago. We've had a lot less issues with the Shot Spotters system. There's four other clubs in the area that also use the Shot Spotter system...

What is Shot Spotter? I could not find anything on Google. Is it maybe ShotMarker?

Yup....🙄🤭

Shot Spotter is the system cops use to detect gun shoots in the 'hood. So you didn't use Google... 🤔

I guess the question is, did you mean shot marker?

He obviously meant Shot Marker, yes
Cat

I did find the Shot Spotter bullet detection on Google. I did not know that existed.
However, I was looking for (and did not find) a target system. The current ones all leave something to be desired. I have shot on ShotMarker quite a bit, I own a Silver Mountain setup, and have shot the Kongsberg systems multiple times at Talledega and Camp Perry. The worse experience has been at a match at Talledega, and those systems are nearly 10 grand a piece.

Mike70560, what did you not like about the Shotmarker system?
The biggest thing thing for me is that shooting in pairs ,on a single target you have both shooter's shots show up on the screen, and one must mark his score down immediately
It would be nice to be able to be able to differentiate between shooter one and shooter two for example.
It's a small disadvantage compared to running a butt crew system however!
Cat

The shot marker system saves me TONS of time and money…

The nearest 1,000 yard range is 2 1/4 hours drive, and when I built my 1k loads I test them at 500 or 600 yards…

You can only do that in very, very low wind conditions so it’s done at day break.. so NOT having to drive down and back to the target save immense amounts of time, and drives out to the range.

I do use a EC turner to help my barrel, but I prefer to have a good load for that barrel to begin with in the first place - that is if You want to. Place during competitions. .and you are accuracy nut, you take out as much variance as possible.


They should have better training videos for Shot marker - that system can do a heck of a lot more than most people know about.

I shot "F" class 25 years ago, and enjoyed it. I switched to shooting with a sling later on, but continued using a scope. I worked and shot with George in the late seventies. A great guy. GD

My biggest gripe is dropped shots in matches. Some ranges I shoot at fire rapids on every other target, it seems to help but has not eliminated the problem. We see dropped shots on slow fire from time to time also.

Some ranges I think it is due to set up and management of targets. I shoot at Greenwood south of Houston a couple of times a year. They use Shotmarkers. Previous to the E Target they actually had pits as in a hole in the ground where you pulled targets. They completely removed the old carriers, filled in the pit, built a stationary rack, and built the target frames out of aluminum. Extremely consistent and rigid setup. It is the best setup for E Targets around. Last time I shot there I had a dropped shot on the 300 RF. They do a great job resolving issues but the dropped shots drive me crazy.

On ECI matches in Donaldsonville we put up clean centers at every stage to resolve issues.

They are great for practice, especially for rapids.

I still like going to the pits. We shot the TSRA state championship last weekend. Three days with no issues, still use paper target.

One other thing, I know paper target pullers are not perfect, we can miss a shot on the scoring ring, we can place the scoring disc wrong, slow pit service etc.

Thanks for the explanation Mike ! We had a couple of guys who were complaining about not being able to get hits to come up on our shotmarker, but they were hitting the steel at the same distance ( 800 meters) with their 308's.
I never could figure it out until I realized that they were right on the verge or outside of the microphone range on the Shotmarker.
When I shot the same target with my mouse gun, the shots would come up, no problem, so it wasn't the cartridge, in this case it was the nut behind the bolt! LOL
About the only way to resolve it is to change the target faces , yes .
Cat

I have found Fclass John's videos on using the Shotmarkers very informative , trying to get info from Adam at Shotmarker can be a bit tough at times , yes, but Fclass John's Yutube stuff is just a keyboard away! LOL
Cat

He’s been good answering questions our club had. Also his repair on items is fast, we had a sensor hub jacket for the cables go bad he had it back to us in no time.

Mike -

If a shot is off target - hit the target button on the menu and then monitor sensors and it will tell you if you were off right or off left…

If the targets aren’t regulation size (ie smaller) yeah guys are going to complain big time.

I have a couple go off target but on the edge and it still score them - but at 1k yards you can be a half foot off… so it’s not uncommon to have one off target.

FOR those who haven’t used them yet - the sensors are placed at the edge of your target… Bigger edges all good, smaller - well things can get funky when you shot goes outside the box the sensors from… it’s science, not magic.


C in hat..

John does a great deal of work - the one video he has on the shot market where he says use X, Y, and size when drawing a box around a group - take that one with a grain of salt - the X & Y are the “size of the box” NOT the size of the group …. He probably mentioned that but I glanced it over pretty easily …

Beyond that I haven’t found any fault (not that this was a fault) in what he says at all… He’s really a nice guy…

What I found with shotmarker the velocity shown is usually off by 100fps (slower) not sure how accurate the SD is, your bullets have to be going over 1200 fps at the target. Shot marker will read them if they are around 1195ish. It’s not a perfect system but our participation in matches has gone up over the last 2 years. While some love the camaraderie in the pits. Most don’t, matches run longer ie pit changes. With shot markers we can run NRA xtc match 3 hours, mid range match at 600 3 relays about 2 hours. We start 1800 most times people are leaving 2030. XTC matches 2100 or so. But the elimination of Pitt duty has really helped with attendance.

My problem is not shots off target. I generally shoot 99 or 100 in rapids, especially at 300.


A couple of years ago we were shooting at the CMP facility in Talledega. I was scoring at 600 when on around the eighth shot it showed a miss. My shooter was down one or clean IIRC at that point. I got an official who told me he shot the frame. I told my shooter not to shoot, I ran the official down and argued until he gave a provisional. It did it again later in the string and then to me. Turned out there were a bunch of issues that day. Those are Kongsberg targets.

I read that cmp has had issues with the kongsberg system especially at talladega. Again up here what we found is having 1-2 people in charge of target setup (helping supervising) the help put the shotmarkers on. We assign one person to do the tap test. I’m usually the one running this. Once all targets are hung and shotmarkers are on I send all the help back to the line. Then it’s just me and my daughter doing tap test, and checking cables, ensuring sensor hubs are working etc. if you don’t have this in place don’t be surprised if stuff isn’t working right. I will say the guys fighting the shotmarkers are our older shooters. While our younger shooters are embracing them. Me I do miss the watching bullet trace, looking for scoring disks. But I do like only spending 2-3-4 hour at a match not all day.

79S,
When we first started using the ETargets I would catch myself calling for a mark.

It was fun marking/watching trace for the High master/master shooters watching every shot head to the X/10 ring. I spotted for guys (I'm not saying Im any better) one shot watching trace be a 8 at 10 next shot be a 7 at 3 next shot be a 8 at 6. So no real group. The F class guys are pretty easy to spot for as well lol.