F-Class caliber?

[banjo318]

I know the .308 Winchester is a very good option. But it seems it is almost too good of an option. By that i mean that almost everyone has one, I want something that can shoot farther than the 308 win but hold just as good of groups. I dont want to replace a barrel every season. (trust me i shoot well over a thousand rounds from my rifles each year... hell ive already shot 400 out of my 7mm rem mag and ive only had it for 3 months... (do the math... 400x4=1600 rounds. and i dont even shoot that one in competition... so it must have a barrel life of at least 2000 rounds. How does the 260 remington fair? It seems like it would fit the criteria listed... I would perfer something in the 6mm-7mm range. How does the 7mm-08 do at f-class? What kind of barrel life am i expected to see out of a 300 wsm? How about the 7mm wsm?

Thanks,
Dylan

 

[barnesuser28]

A 284 win will do exactly what you want and will have around 2000-2200 rounds of barrel life. There are some good articles on it at www.accurateshooter.com

 

[durak]

7 SAUM or 7 WSM. .284 Win is a good choice, 6.5-284 and 6.5x47 Lapua seem to be the go-to's for the 6.5's- The question is how much recoil can you handle or want to handle?

 

[liltank]

284, 6mmBR/BRX/Dasher, 6.5x47 Lapua will give you as good or better barrel life than the .308. I'm playing with the idea of using a 1:8 Twist standard 22-250 shooting 75-90 grain bullets. Go to accurateshooter.com and do some research over on that sight. That is a competition specialty sight. You do understand that to shoot F-T/R that a .308 or .223 are the only calibers allowed. Now for F-Open you can use any caliber you want. 6.5 Creedmoor, and the 260 would be good also. Make sure you read up on the rules. F-open you are allowed up to a 22lbs. gun that includes the weight of your bipod or front rest.

 

[banjo318]

I know all the rules...... And as i shoot up to 500 rounds of 12 gauge shotgun a day out of a 9 pound gun, I can handle everything up to about a 416 rem mag... and FYI apparently you dont know the rules.... you cant shoot any caliber you want in F Open... its up to 35 caliber.

 

[banjo318]

and yes i have shot a buddys safari gun chambered in 416 rem mag...

 

[liltank]

and FYI apparently you dont know the rules.... you cant shoot any caliber you want in F Open... its up to 35 caliber.

Well then I guess you don't need our help! You already know everything!

 

[roninflag]

7 SAUM or 7 WSM. .284 Win is a good choice, 6.5-284 and 6.5x47 Lapua seem to be the go-to's for the 6.5's- The question is how much recoil can you handle or want to handle?

Durak- at 14 pounds my 6.5-284 has some recoil ; that, over time ( most matches i shoot in are 66 rounds) can be felt. my brother's true F-class rifle in 6.5-284 is 18 pounds; nothing; and i have fired 7wsm a buddies no problem.

 

[roninflag]

BANJO - I have competed in f-class. 500-1000 yards. where i shoot the matches are 6o rounds. the number of rounds and distance determine the answer to your original post. i have two 6.5-284s. if i shot regularly at 1000 yards i would get a 7wsm. the 308 is at a disadvantage against 6.5-284 . i would not well with it. it is required in ftr. the ones using less powder like the 6.5x47 may have longer barrel life; but they give up velocity. if you shoot where there is no wind . no problem. there is an f-class section at benchrest.com . roninflag

 

[banjo318]

Well then I guess you don't need our help! You already know everything!

no... i know the rules. i do not know what caliber would be the one... and yes i do live in a very windy area... here your either on a mountain or in a valley... either one gets pretty windy.

 

[sendero72]

Another good article on Accurateshooter won the F-class with a straight .243 shooting the 115 dtacs. Kept it simple and effective.

 

[banjo318]

Another good article on Accurateshooter won the F-class with a straight .243 shooting the 115 dtacs. Kept it simple and effective.

243 win has been a caliber ive been looking at very closely... My wife owns one. I know what it is capable of doing at the range... I am also aware of what it does to the barrels... She just eats away at the throat...

 

[liltank]

243 win has been a caliber ive been looking at very closely... My wife owns one. I know what it is capable of doing at the range... I am also aware of what it does to the barrels... She just eats away at the throat...

Look into the 6XC. Kirby Allen was touting the 6-250 as an efficient F-class round. Also may want to look into the 6x47L.

 

[JeffVN]

Several thoughts, in no particular order:

I have been shooting F-Class for roughly 8 years, all of it with the 7WSM. When I first started, I was the onbly 7mm magnum on the line, now the line is full of 7mm cartridges. The vast majority of the bigger matches (1,000 yard) these days are being dominated by the 7mms, be they 284, 284 Shehane, 7SAUM, 7WSM, 7/300WSM (at least out west where I am currently located).

That is not to say that you can't compete and do well with 6.5, or even a 6mm, you certainly can do well with them. But, the BC advantage of the 7mm is impossible to overlook these days. We have someone who shoots a 22/250 at our 600 yard mid-range matches. They can sometimes dominate on the calmer days, but suffer when the wind shows up.

As stated above, your recoil tolerance will help determine what you choose to shoot. If you are like the rest of us who shoot both mid-range (600 yard and shorter) and 1,000 yard F-Class, you view barrels as consumables and replace them regularly. If you ultimately choose .308 you can shoot in TR class, and not have to compete head-to-head with the 7mm magnums or .284.

You probably want to take a look at the weight limits of the two rifle classes: TR class is limited to roughly 16 pounds, while the open class you can run up to roughly 22 lbs. At 21 lbs, my brother's .284 Winchester recoils less than my 12.5 lb tactical .308.

Personally I run a straight 7WSM these days, but would opt for a 7/300WSM, 7/270WSM, or 7 SAUM if I had not purchased a massive amount of brass when I first made the decision.

Jeffvn