Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Competitive Shooting F-Class Explained (4- The Optics)

When it comes to rifle optics, everybody has an opinion or five. However, here we have a very definite goal and setting. My thinking is as follows; if I am to be competitive in F-Class, I work on making my rifle suitable for F-class only, not F-class and tactical and 3-gun matches and hunting; F-Class only. This has a great bearing on scope selection since the scope will be selected to be optimum for F-class not F-class and everything else.

Let�s talk about the targets a little bit so we know what we are aiming for. Refer to the chapter on targets for complete details, but for the purposes of this discussion, I will just talk about the fact all the high value scoring rings are in one big aiming black spot; they are black on black with thin circle lines. (I will add pictures in time.)

The MR63FC target we are going after has an X-ring of .5 MOA with a 10-ring right at 1MOA. If you look at the target you will see that at 300 yards, the aiming black has a diameter of 17.85 inches and the 10-ring is 2.85 inches in diameter. So the 10-ring is a circle of 6.4 square inches in an aiming black that is 110 square inches. The X-ring is only 1.6 square inches. For comparison purposes, the MR-63 has an X-ring of 1 MOA or 6.4 square inches, a 10-ring of 2MOA or 26.9 square inches and an aiming black of 6MOA or 250 square inches.

On the other hand at 1000 yards, the LRFC has a 5 inch (.5MOA) X-ring (20 square inches) and a 10 inch (1MOA) 10 ring (79 square inches). The LR target has a 10 inch X-ring (79 square inches) and a 20 inch (2MOA) 10-ring (314 square inches). Both targets have a 44 inch diameter aiming black, (1,521 square inches). The 10-ring is of the F-Class target is 5% of the aiming black, the X-ring is 1%. Compare this to the LR at 21% and 5% respectively and you can understand that you need to be able to see the rings and be able to place your shots very exactingly on the F-Class centers.


So, what are we looking for in an F-class scope. To me, there are 3 qualities: quality magnification, surefire repeatability and minuscule reticle. A scope that can meet these criteria and that you can afford and will not take your rifle over the top in weight is a desirable scope.

Quality Magnification.
By this, I mean that while you can buy inexpensive high-magnification scopes, the clarity of the picture in the eyepiece may leave something to be desired. The other aspect of a scope is the resolution that it provides. By this I mean, can you resolve with your eye through that scope, the object that you are looking at. For example, are you able to resolve or make out the rings on the target? Are they nice and crisp or sort of fuzzy and not terribly well defined? I contend that to be competitive in F-class, one must be able to make out the rings very well on the target, at all the ranges. If you can�t you are only guessing at where you are aiming, especially when the X-ring is 1% of the black blob in your scope.

On the other hand, you can also get a lower magnification scope and see the scenery and the firing line in beautiful colors and crisp detail, except that you can�t see the rings on target. So you have to guesstimate where that 5% 10-ring is and the 1% X-ring is even more difficult. This is why you need to see the rings.

I am 54 years old and nearsighted. I have worn glasses for 45 years and bifocals for 15 years when my arms started shrinking. I am definitely not an eagle-eyed youngster so I need optical help for this discipline. It is my belief that F-Class level magnification should start in the low 20X and go up from there. I use a 36X scope currently and it allows me a very clear view of the target and the rings. Many of my fellow competitors use higher magnification, into the 40s or higher.

Surely by now, you will have read reports from some F-class shooters that complain about mirage and state they never need to go higher than the mid-teens for magnification. Well, they are either much younger and have far superior eyes to mine. The truth is that mirage is a fact of life and you deal with it but the winning competitors are using high magnification scopes and are holding on the target because they see the rings. I happen to live and compete in South Texas and I know about mirage, nevertheless I currently use fixed 36X scopes to compete, year round.

Surefire reliability.
By this, I mean that your turret adjustments must be accurate and repeatable. In my case, I was using the same rifle for 300 to 1000 yard competition until recently. The meant that when I shoot all the matches, I would go to 1000 yards on week, and then bring the settings down to 300 or 600 yard a few weeks later, only to set them back to 1000 two weeks later. The difference between 300 yards and 1000 yards zeros is 3 full revolutions minus 1 MOA. To go to 600 yards it would be 9 MOS up from 300 or 13 down from 1000. I did not have the luxury of testing the zero at each range every time; at 300 and 600, one has two sighters and at 1000 yards, each hot LR load heats up the barrel, so one wants to take as few sighters as possible. I could always depend that when I dialed in the distance setting, the first sighter would be an 8 or better, especially if I did a good job of doping the wind. In fact, the 300 yard zero was so good that I would usually get a 9 and many times a 10 or an X as the first sighter. This past weekend, I shoot at 300 yard match where all I had to do is take off to clicks (1/4 MOA) of windage to be in the X-ring, based on the prior 300 yard setting. That is repeatability that I classify as high performance. Target knobs are the only way to go and I strongly suggest 1/8 MOA adjustments. If you cannot depend of the scope for proper adjustment and to go back to its prior settings, you have a problem.


Minuscule Reticle.
Another great area of discussion. I favor a thin crosshair with a target dot. In a pinch, I will take a thin crosshair or a target dot. I think Mildots and other busy reticles only get in the way. The Mildot is usually so think it will obliterate the X-ring and probably the 10 and 9-ring also. Duplex reticles are to over powering and to thick also. Nightforce has some very nice minimalist reticles and I see a lot of them on the line, in very magnification scopes, of course. I like my reticle to be very simple, because with my high magnification I will hold on the target itself when I compensate for wind. I can hold the dot on just at the 8-ring at 9 o�clock to deal with a sudden wind coming from the west. Some people like hash marks or some kind of mark on their reticles to use for hold offs, I don�t but to each his or her own. Whatever works for you is great. You will notice that best scope for F-class is useless for hunting or tactical shooting.

I like the Weaver T-36 right now (I have one on each rifle,) they have a phenomenal track record with me regarding their repeatability ; I do wish they had a bigger objective. Sightron makes some good scopes with their fixed 36X scope, I have no idea about their repeatability. Leupold makes some good target scopes but the price starts to climb. Nightforce seems the current favorite in F-class, their 12-42X56 is awesome, and spendy. There are many other scopes out there, but just review the three desirable qualities I listed above and see if your current pick can meet those requirements and then go for it.


Bases.
The target scopes will have limited internal adjustments so be ready to get a canted rail to make up for this limitation. Usually a 20 MOA rail is plenty sufficient. It works fine for my rifle and I have a 300 yard zero with 7 MOAs to spare at the bottom and I have my 1000 yard zero pretty close to the middle of the travel, where the adjustments track best and the picture is also at its best and I still have 10 MOAs of travel beyond that. My scope has about 43MOA of total travel.

To understand how that works, let�s take my scope for example. It has 43 MOAs of total elevation. At its midway point, there are 21.5 MOAs down and 21.5 MOA up. My 300 yard zero will require about 9 MOAs, so if I just slapped on the scope, at 300 yards, I would have 30 MOAs below the zero and only about 13 MOAs to go up. As it turned out, after installing the scope on the 20 MOA ramp, the numbers became 7 MOAs down and 36 MOAs up and this was zeroed as 300 yards. You can calculate what it�s going to be in your case, but until you mount it and zero it, you have not certainty about the exact number. It depends on the load, the rifle, the mount and the rings also. We are talking about minutes of angles and a few thousands of play for each MOA.

Speaking of bases and rings, you want some quality bases and rings, and you want to get friendly with a product called Loctite. You want to know the screws will not move around on you.

Finally, let me talk about field of view and scoring. In F-class, your riflescope will have plenty of power so that you can see the scoring disk and the spotter on target and thus not need a separate spotting scope. That saves on equipment and actually allows you to shoot faster. More on this later. On the other hand, then the conditions warrant it, I will also bring up and deploy a spotting scope that I will aim either a specific flags of focus at shorter distance so that I can see the mirage. I sometimes do this at 1000 yards, I don�t remember ever doing it at 600 and never at anything shorther than that. The field of view is the area that you see in the scope at the magnification you are using. In my 36X scope, I see my target and only my target at 300 yards. Indeed, I am not interested in the other targets, because I am monitoring the conditions and 300 yards does not have lots of conditions. At 600 yards, I see my target and about half the target on either side of mine, this allows me to see if my fellow competitors have encountered some changing conditions and how it affected them. I always try to know who is shooting beside me and what their skill level is. If a newbie gets surprised by a drop-off, I don�t care, but if one of my nemeses if suddenly blown into the 9-ring at 2 o�clock, I will pay attention. At 1000 yards, I see the complete target on either side of mine with about half of the adjacent targets beyond my neighbors. This gives me a good picture of what is happening on either side of me and gives me more chance to make a correction as warranted.

I always keep the lens shade on the scope and I also use a mirage shield on the .308. You can get better scopes but they will be a lot more money and color fidelity is a not a big deal to me; the targets are black spots on tan paper and you only shoot during the day. Put your money where it matters.

Good read on optics. While I tend to disagree on the cross hair size making a real difference, the eye will center things just fine, the mental part of it says fine is better.

Probably exactly why I don't like fat crosshairs on my deer rifles either.

Jeff

If I may touch on reliability..................................

Some F-Class matches are ran in conjuction with Palma matches. You may find yourself shooting two sighters and then fifteen shots for record at 300 yards, 500 yards and then 600 yards. Or you'll start at 800 yards, move out to 900 yards and then finish up at 1000 yards. The last thing I want is a scope that takes two shots to "settle in". The first shot HAS to be true to correct of off, the second will confirm the adjustment. Every shot after that counts!

Nice job with the write up FTR!!!!

Jeff, my experience has been that a thick crosshair has a nasty habit of being too coarse and it can prevent one from being shall we say, surgical, on the target. This is especially true at the longer distances. I like my crosshairs very fine.

AJ300MAG, you are so right and that's a good comment. I have also shoot many Palma type matches in F-class and it's exactly as you say. The last time was the LR Palma, with unlimited sighters ar 800, then just 2 at 900 and 1000 yards. When you get that far, the additional 100 yards makes quite a difference in the drop and the wind can really throw you off, so you want to precious 2 sighters to be with a positive adjustment on the scope.

Thanks for the nice comment and I am working on the other sections.

Yeah but the other side is I can call my shots at 600 to within an inch or two with irons that cover 36 inches of target..... so a wide cross hair is only a mental deal to get over. You know from shooting irons what I mean, and then you get the same shot calls from Tubb/ and others with aperture irons out to 1000, there is NO crosshair or reference point there at all and they can be surgical.

That doesn't mean, like I said, that I like thick crosshairs... Not even for hunting..

Scopes have to be repeatable. At least in this folks get two cheating sighters... just think if it were leg matches... even a tad bit more important there.

Good read!

Jeff

I have shot Service Rifle extensively and I have shot Palma quite a bit also. When I started F-TR, I figured I could do it with a 10X scope and a Mildot reticle. We have all been told that Snipers do it with 10X. If snipers can do that, F-class competitors should be able to get high scores with a 10X scope also.

Not so.

The games are very different between snipers and F-classers. The game is also quite different between iron shooters or slingers as I call them and f-classers. Please refer to the second and third paragraph of the OP. In there I explain that for the same aiming black, the f-classer needs to hit the middle 5% to get a 10 or better, whereas the slinger needs to hit the middle 21% to get his or her 10 or better. There is a factor of four (4X) in play here. With my 10X scope, I could not quite discern the rings but I thought I would be able to more or less place the (rather thich) crosshairs in the proper location on the aiming black.

All I ended up doing was playing a game I call, "chase the spotter." I was forever adjusting the scope and trying to hold dead center of the aiming black because that was about all I could do with this thick reticle. It was madenning and futile; especially when the new F-class centers were introduced. I almost gave up.

When I swapped the 10X for a 20X scope with a duplex reticle, my scores jumped and I stopped playing the spotter chase game. I decided to go for the 36X scope with the very fine crosshairs and target dot and it was an epiphany. I may play with windage for the first sigther, I usually dial it in before I ever shoot the first round. After sighter 1, I may refine it, but after that, I do not change the windage for the remainder of that match. I do all my hold offs on the target itself.

I need to add some pictures of targets and through the scope to give the reader a good flavor of what I am talking about.

Jeff, if you ever pick up F-class shooting, you will understand what I mean and then I can say "I told you so." Service Rifle is all about rebuildng the position every time and getting the proper sight picture; F-class is all about pure accuracy and shooting the best you can without moving the rifle. Both are all about reading the conditions, which is why if you are a good slinger, you have an obvious advantage in F-class but you also have one serious disadvantage that must be overcome.

I shot a 300 yard match last week and I did fine, except for the first match. I wanted to take some pictures through the scope, but I forgot my camera. (Age and mileage.) I have a 1000 yard match next weekend, I will try to remember the camera.

I think pictures will really explain the issue.

And thanks for the very kind words.

I sure hope I can get back to shooting at least 1000 in time to get told you so.

I don't doubt the larger X on scopes helps, heck the target is half the size of ours.

Still lots of what folks get hung up on is mental.

Being that I have come really close to a 20x clean at 600 with a service rifle and knew when I quit it was only a matter of time.... thats holding MOA with an iron sight covering 6moa of target... I suspect 10X could get it done.

What does, heck I can't think of that gentlemans name from Bayou, use, 48X.... I know he had one heck of a scope and also told me it was not a negative...

Perhaps you are thinking of Carl. He doesn't come out much anymore, which is too bad.

It's a different game, I tell you. The X-ring area is 1% of the aiming black. You need to come out sometimes, I will be happy to tell you "I told you so."

I'm pretty much a rookie f-tr competitor. Your posts here ftr are great. I do shoot a t24 w/ dot. My first match last fall was with a 10x40 mildot 3200. Besides fixed parallax on that scope the thick hair was a liability. The t24 is a huge improvement. I may adjust elev or wind after first sighter of first match. Then hold off for remainder unless wind changes significantly.

The 1/2 moa X ring we f class shooters look for I've come to believe is a greater challenge than the 1 moa X ring the others shoot for. My rifle will shoot 0.268 three shot at 200 yards off a pod. Nice, but when on the line at 600 making all 20 land in the X is a huge challenge. For me anyhow.

Third match (second this year), was the La Crosse WI Fathers Day weekend two day 600 yard four matches per day, 20 shots for score, I finished second overall two day aggregate, winning one match, 195.07. Even got paid a bit of money for the win, cool.

Imo for the f-tr shooter the bipod is of great importance. A good pod setup sure helps. I believe that unlike the f-open shooters who can have very consistent recoil tracking as they may use a machine rest, a pod setup that allows consistent recoil tracking is a must. I also believe that sling shooters benefit from consistent recoil tracking if their setup is consistent.

Next 600 mid-range match for me is my states championship. going to give it a go.

It's a huge challenge for any one. On a calm day, one can get very high scores and actually believe they can shoot only to be slapped down at the next match when the wind starts to blow.

At 300 yards, when the shooter is in the 10 ring, we switch from golf tees to white pasters for spotting the hit. Golf tees keep getting hit and they make a mess of the target. The accuracy and the repeatability of the shooters is dramatic and this is for round, after round, after round...

I have see only one guy with a 200-20X and I was pulling for him a few years back. And that was at 300 yards. In F-TR, cleans are extremely rare and, let alone all 20 shots in the X-ring. In F-open cleans are infrequent and a perfect score (200-20X) is cause for an event.

As you say, shooting three shots together is common, now put 20 together, and that includes ALL 20 rounds in succession, with no "called" or "uncalled" or "so-called" flyers; all shots count.

Good for you on those results, and keep at it.

The bipod and other accessories are the subject of an upcoming chapter and you are correct, the bipod is critical and how it is used is what helps win matches.

Good luck on your state match. For me the next state match is the LR (800/900/1000). I took third overall last year in F-TR. Not bad for a guy with an AR-15 in .223 at those distances. This year I will be using my .308, which has already produced personal bests the first time I used it last month.

I really appreciate your posts.

Super thanks!!!!

SU-35, thank you very much; that's very kind of you. I have some more stuff coming shortly, I'm just a little overwhelmed these days; too much travel.

BTW, I'm doing the chapters in no particular order, so feel free to request the ones you would like to see ASAP. This is a work in process and there are other F-class shooters who can jump in and add their thoughts.

You'd have to loan me a shooter.... and probably ammo.....

Yep it was Carl, Dieze??? last name... Nice fellow, decent shooter too.

BTW reading more.... I'd think a normal bipod would suck as far as follow through which is HUGELY important in producing indentical centered shots.

The times I"ve shot a scope a bit, you can call a perfect shot out of the gun but if the recoil tracks to one side or the other you can bet thats where the shot will come up at. Took me a number of years and ignoring the sling advice of your hand has to fall asleep and hurt, to come up with a solid sling position.

Half MOA targets are some tiny targets. Without going back and looking then I'm assuming the 10 ring is basically MOA then. And we know how many 200-20x have been shot in highpower with a sling. Heck I was just looking today at how few 495s where shot in a list a friend sent me when he saw my name, and how very few were leg matches... Scopes would make that a bit easier as you can see the changes coming and going.. easier than with irons anyway, and the placement can be easier on the eyes too. But anyway you cut it a 200-20x in highpower is rare, and to do it in F class would be even more rare IMHO. Partially that the target is so small, and factor in ammo variability and a slight puff of wind... ouch.

Gosh, I would have thought you had an accurate rifle or two.

I'm a poor working stiff, but if you don't have a stick that you think will be able to get to the paper, we can probably work something out. What's your pleasure, 300, 600 or 1000 yards? Can you shoot an AR-15?

The bipod is very important and its usage is critical. It will be covered in an upcoming chapter.