What is F-Class shooting?

How do I explain the sport?  I am fond of using analogies, so here I go. Let’s say the powers that be tell race car teams, “You can do anything you want as long as the car only weighs so much, and you don’t strap a jet engine on it.” Imagine how exciting a race would be. Welcome to the world of F-Class competition.

F-Class shooting has two separate groups. F-Open and FTR.

F-Open

In F-Open, people fire their rifles from the prone position (lying down in the dirt). The rules permit competitors to have a gun that weighs 22lb and no jet engines. You can use whatever caliber/cartridge you want. Of course, just shy of using a jet engine.

This makes things very interesting. Some rifles perform differently depending on the environmental condition. You really can’t predict what’s going to happen, and that adds to the excitement. Then to make things crazier. Some shooters designed custom calibers. It is all pretty nuts and unpredictable.

You can probably now see how having brains comes into play.

F-Open shooters can use a front rest to support their rifles, but support systems have no restrictions. You will see contraptions that are simple in design up to something that looks like they came out of the Terminator movies. Also, you are not allowed to have a muzzle brake. It’s no fun being pummeled from the pressure wave every time someone next to you pulls the trigger.

When I shot Bench-rest competition. The guy next to me, muzzle blast, blew the glasses off my face. (no joke) Other than those things, the only limit is your skill and what’s between your ears.

FTR

The next F-class discipline is FTR (Farquharson Target Rifle). Again, people fire the rifle lying in the dirt, but the gun has an attached bipod for support. You are allowed 18 lb 3oz (8.25 kg) of weight, which includes everything on the rifle when lifted straight up from the shooting position. You are only allowed to use two different calibers. (223 or 308) Sorry, there is still no muzzle brake.

There are no restrictions on scopes/optics in F-Class shooting. That’s helpful because your X-ring is the size of a softball 1000 yards away (over half a mile). Most can’t even see the target with the naked eye at that distance.

I have had conversations with several event coordinators about the popularity of the sport. They have told me that matches fill up quickly, and there are usually waiting lists to get into them. Most events are booked up in advance. (Ask me how I know.) The SWN sold out in 13 minutes. That’s 400 spots.

Why has the popularity of the sport exploded?

One reason is that the clubs don’t need much infrastructure to hold an event, making it possible for smaller clubs to get in on the action.

A second reason is that several different shooting disciplines can compete in the same match. It certainly isn’t unheard of to see Service Rifle, F-Open, FTR, and Sling all shooting simultaneously. It works out well for everyone.

I hope this article has been informative and answered the question, What is F-Class shooting?  I hope this article excited you about possibly joining this sport. If it did, you will not regret it. Still not convinced? Go to a match and watch it. That should do it.

F-Class is a great sport, but I believe all shooting disciplines are. No individual competition is better or worse than the other. Each presents its own unique set of challenges. The question isn’t if you want a challenge but how do you want to be challenged.

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