F Class - Tips, technique, equipment.

[USSR]

Day_um, that scope is mounted high. Yeah, both a lower set of rings and the 6-9" Harris swivel bipod are in order.

Don

 

[WNTFW]

Don,
I knew it was high, but your comment makes me think a 'bit high' is a real understatement. The stark contrast of the white fridge doesn't make em look any lower! My first pics had a lot of shadows so it didn't look as bad.
I need to get everything lower to the ground. No sense being prone & still being up in the air. My rear bag & upper body are too high with that tall bipod.
Lowering the rings should help with cheekweld and comfort.
Thanks,
WNTFW

 

[WNTFW]

Do you guys like swivel bipods? The pod locks are pretty popular here. I've never tried one.

Also holding off for windage correction is pretty much the popular method. I tried using dial adjustments for windage and found out to stay off the knobs when the wind is constantly changing. I'm not great at judging the wind any way. At first I think I would overcorrect.

 

[MCMXI]

Do you guys like swivel bipods? The pod locks are pretty popular here. I've never tried one.

I've been using an Accuracy International bipod for over a year and just recently decided to switch to a Harris swivel bipod for matches. The AI is an excellent combat bipod where you're more likely to be engaging multiple moving targets, but it can't be locked in place which is better for static targets. If I can find a way to add that feature I will. Midway just had the S-LM bipods on sale so I bought a few. I also bought nylon and stainless locking handles (BPL-NS) from t-nuts.com to replace the thumbwheel which is how they should ship from Harris in the first place. The handles from t-nuts are only $7 each which I think is cheaper than a pod lock.

I weighed my F-TR rifle yesterday (handed it to my wife on the bathroom scale) and it's 15lb with the bipod and 10-round magazine so it's well under the 18lb limit.

I agree with Don that your scope is sitting up too high so lower rings are in order. Your scope looks low compared to the scope on a rifle at the range yesterday. This rifle had a HUGE .50 cal muzzle break stuck on the end of a skinny barrel (looked like a lolly pop) and his scope must have been more than 2.5" above the barrel. Personally, I don't want any more than 1/4" between the objective bell and the barrel if possible.

Well done on all of your DIY stock fitting. Do you have any data to show that it helped with accuracy? It's always interesting to me to see before/after improvements. I was at the range yesterday working up loads and shot the rifle for the first time with the Tubb SpeedLock firing pin and spring and managed a personal best 5-shot group of 0.242", prone with a bipod. The funny thing is, with a group like that, the rest of the 5-shot groups look terrible. When I got home and ran all the groups through OnTarget, they were 0.666", 0.863", 0.864" and 0.918" ... not great, but not bad either.

 

[WNTFW]

1858,
My shooting buddy & I are grateful for the T-Nuts link. Thanks for not asking if GiraffeNuts.com is where I buy my scope rings.

Thanks for the compliment.
My biggest regret about my stock modifications are not having before and after data. In retrospect I could have at least done something at 50 yds indoor. 50 yds is just so short, but I am learning it is better than nothing.

While I have access to a few ranges I'm about an hour from each one. One range is only about a half hour drive but I have to add a 30 minute ferry wait/ride. The ferry ride can be nice or scare you to death. None are easy to get to from where I live. Some are private and not always accessible.

My shooting has been constantly improving. I was never into scopes much or bipods or bags. Learning to use them is part of the package. I have learned to load the bipod for better consistency.

I have not shot that many groups, but I plan on doing that more in the next 2 months. I can see where your .326 jumps out at you. Shooting groups is not the worst pratice there is.

I have a friend with a AI rifle. The first time I saw him shoot was with it. He puts a scope on & boresights @ 200. Shoots 4" to the right. Corrects. BAM. BAM, BAM. Nice group. I'm standing under the target watching the holes come through. He went back to 300, 400, 500 & 600. At 600 he shot a group below 1.5" Pretty amazing to see from where I was standing. He doesn't like to compete.

 

[USSR]

Do you guys like swivel bipods? The pod locks are pretty popular here. I've never tried one.

Yeah, really like the short, swivel Harris with Terry Cross' Pod Lock. I had Terry build my last rifle, and made sure he sent one of his Pod Locks along with it.

Don

 

[MCMXI]

I have not shot that many groups, but I plan on doing that more in the next 2 months. I can see where your .326 jumps out at you. Shooting groups is not the worst pratice there is.

That's an odd statement. F-Class is all about shooting groups ... in the X-ring i.e. accuracy AND precision. Load development is an essential part of the process in terms of practicing match technique while maximizing the variables mentioned. If your load isn't good at 100 yards, what's it going to do at 600 yards? As for my best group yesterday, somehow I made an error measuring the group using OnTarget ... in fact it was a 0.242" 5-shot group. It seems fitting that I managed a personal best now that the rifle is finished with all of the planned upgrades completed. Next stop is the 600 yard line on the 27th. Actually, that's not quite true ... first the 200 yard line, then the 300 yard line and finally the 600 yard line.

 

[WNTFW]

I should say shooting groups @ 100yd is not the worst practice.

I don't know what is more impressive looking at the pics or seeing the numbers. Congratulations on your personal best. Very nice.
Good luck on the load holding up at longer distance.

I have seen a lot of targets on the net where the group is .75 and they subtract .308. My bullet holes only measure about .25 depending on the backer. I guess OnTarget eliminates that problem. I'll check out that also.

Thanks again,
WNTFW

 

[MCMXI]

I should say shooting groups @ 100yd is not the worst practice.

That makes a lot more sense. OnTarget is an excellent tool for load development and group analysis. I like the horizontal and vertical offsets i.e. the distance from the point of aim to the center of the group. That information helps me adjust the reticle for a solid zero. As for group sizes, as long as the scale is input correctly (which is wasn't on my first attempt) the output is very accurate.

 

[Jim Watson]

It would be instructive to shoot some 20 shot groups and see how they hold up.
After all, that is the length of a match.