Thoughts on F Class Setup

[Singo85]

G'day all,

Just recently started shooting F Class, and am now looking at purchasing my own setup, I have the ok from the MRS to spend $2000 (a little more on the sly), would like your thoughts:

Remmington 700 Varmint - .308 26" Barrel
Bushnell Trophy XLT 6-18x50 Rifle Scope
20MOA rail / Rings
Bipod Harris Benchrest 6''-9''

Any other suggestion or thoughts welcome.

Cheers
Michael

[stu_bear2002]

Straight up loose the harris and get a davies or similar bi-pod,
I started off with a harris and threw it at the end of my second detail during a prize meet at my first shoot and shot better holding the rifle than with the harris.
Brand and calibre of rifle is purely your choice however with your budget why not go for something similar to http://ozfclass.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2998&highlight= but in 308 for standard or the 6.5(good choice) for open.
FWIW i built my rifle for on a very tight budget and regret not spending more on the scope as it let go during my 3rd detail of a prize shoot at castlemaine so now im up for another one.

Hope this helps somewhat
Cheers Stuey

[M12LRPV]

The Bushnell Trophy XLT doesn't appear to have target turrets or the adjustment range that you need.

If your keeping to a budget look real hard at the Nikon buckmasters 6-18x40. They're selling locally from HPGS for around $320 at them moment which is cheaper than I paid for my ones from the US.

I would agree with getting rid of the harris except I see people shooting well with them every week so while they're not my preferred option it may work for you.

Dump that scope though.

[Hangfire]

I have a suggestion/ thought for you....Stay away from this sport..It is extremely addictive and can make you poor for the rest of your life!

On a more serious note.

If you want to buy a dual purpose rifle for the range and field I would go for a T3 Varmint/Super Varmint over the Rem any day.

Savage are also putting out some reasonable factory rifles as well, one of which is specifically for F-Class.

If you want to get a rifle specifically for F-Class only then I would suggest getting a second hand Omark actioned rifle for around $500-$1K and spending the remainder of your budget on good optics.
I am sure there would be members of your club that would allow you to use their front rest and rear bag until you could afford your own if your budget gets blown.

If you find that you don't like the sport in a years time you won't have any trouble selling of the rifle and good optics hold their value.

You quite often see good rifles for sale on this site as well as others. You should also ask around your club or place a notice expressing your interest.

Also if you are buying a Harris Bipod get one with a swivel head to take out any cant

Don't rush into it.

I am still on the steep learning curve of nutting this sport out, and can tell you it is a great equalizer when it comes to egos and abilities!

All the best.

Enjoy the sport.

Tim.

[Mike Blacker]

Michael
As someone who has been down the same road as you, these are my thoughts.
I started shooting F class with a remington VLS 308 . It was OK. But I soon found its limitations, First I replaced the stock, then I replaced the barrel. In the end I found I had paid 1500 bucks for a remington action. Not agood plan in hind sight.
As others have advised, Buy a second hand dedicated target rifle, It will serve you best in the long run.
I would think you would struggle to get a good rifle and scope setup for 2K But if you look around you may be fortunate, Keep an eye on the "Used Guns" web site and the for sale page here
Better to wait till you have the money for what you need rather than to rush in and buy what you can afford "to make do"
The advice I was given when I first started in F class and which unfortunately I choose to ignore was simply this "buy once cry once"
An OK rifle with a good scope will serve you better that a higher priced rifle with cheap optics.
It seem like a big outlay when you start, but good gear will last you a lifetime of shooting. as long as you remember barrels are consumables like ammo

[Seddo]

Mike,
I shot my first match last year with a 308 LTR and had lots of fun.

The real question is what do you want to get out of f class?

I am not in f class to win, i just enjoy shooting. If i walk off the mound with 48 or 55 it doesnt bother me because as i just enjoy shooting. I am not in the office or at home with the kids. The 2 rifles i have that are most suitable to f class are an omark (paid $300 5 years ago) with a T36 weaver and a winchester mod 70 that i had rebarreled with a 8 twist 223 pacnor barrel. Both of these rifles cost me less than $1000 before i added scopes to them. You can get a bloody good scope for $1000.

[RDavies]

I started of with a Rem 700 308 and am starting to use it again, but if it doesnt have to be a dual purpose gun, I would recommend getting a 2nd hand dedicated target rifle. Then you get something with a relativly heavy 30" barrel, a stiff, solid single shot action, and most likely with a bipod mount groove for a proper Davies bipod underneath.

Better still, do what a freind of mine did, get a target rifle with a shot out barrel and screw a brand new 6, 6.5 or 7mm barrel on it. He paid $600 for the fullbore rifle, $800 for a fitted, chambered barrel and $600 for the scope, rings and rail. $2000 all up and it shot great on his 2nd outing with it (at 1000yds).

Instead of building a dual purpose rifle, build a $2000+ target rifle and buy a $500 hunting rifle.

[LEE .308]

I have just completed the Australian Match rifle champs in Tas using a Bushnell scope. Whilst not as good as some, as an entry level scope for those working to a budget they are great.
The scope tracked perfectly and once I had fitted a suitable rail it had plenty of elevation adjustment to shoot out to 1200yrds.
It was used on a .308 Savage using fairly hot loads with no problems from the recoil.
I also use it on a .308 Ruger on Saturdays and with a minor adjustment to reset the zero ( not a problem as the zero settings are written down in my little black book) it sights well from 300 to 1000yrds.
If I was to get one again or recommend one to a new shooter the only thing I would do different or suggest is get one with a fine or multiplex reticle.

[M12LRPV]

I have just completed the Australian Match rifle champs in Tas using a Bushnell scope...

Bushnell make a few scopes. Perhaps you could be more specific about which one you have.

I say this because it's nice to know of good budget optics that can be recommended to new shooters on very tight budgets.

[LEE .308]

Yeah sorry no worries
Its a Bushnell Banner Dusk and Dawn 6-24x40.
The cost of a new one is somewhere between 6 and 12 hundred dollars depending on the model and place of purchase. For the price range , a good quality scope.

[M12LRPV]

Thanks

[Stevo]

Yeah sorry no worries
Its a Bushnell Banner Dusk and Dawn 6-24x40.
The cost of a new one is somewhere between 6 and 12 hundred dollars depending on the model and place of purchase. For the price range , a good quality scope.

Just be careful with the sort of bushnell banner scope you get, I've got a Bushnell Banner 6-18 x 50mm (not the dusk and dawn model) and it's quite good for the price (cost me around $300) however there is one MAJOR draw back, the adjustments on it are basically useless as they stick a lot and it takes several shots to try and settle it after the slightest reticle adjustment... works well for my hunting gun but not good for a range gun i've found

[LEE .308]

Glad to say I have never encounted that problem. It may be a case of built on a Tuesday compared to a Friday.

[Stevo]

could be a case of that or something similar, but that said even with not being able to readily adjust it in a hurry i'd say its still worth the $300