High-Power-F-Class
F-Class is the fastest growing High Power Rifle Category that we have seen in a long time. Our High Power Prone matches are now predominantly F-Class! There seems to be a misnomer at the club that one must qualify before shooting at the High Power Range. That is not true. Anyone can shoot when a Range Officer is present. So let’s look at how to do that.
Okay, okay but what is F-Class? F-Class is named for Canadian rifle competitor George Farquharson. Farquharson shot in Fullbore Rifle Competition for many years. Fullbore is similar to Palma in that it is shot prone with a sling, a .308 caliber rifle, iron sights, and 155 grain bullets. Farquharson recognized that shooters whose eyesight and physical ability were impaired, or not as sharp as they used to be, had a hard time continuing to compete. There needed to be a way for them to compete alongside prone competitors. He deemed that the use of an optic (scope) and a rest would be the answer. Farquharson proposed his idea to the Canadian NRA and they not only adopted it but also named it after him. F-Class quickly spread to England, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Africa, and finally to the United States. The USA has had an International F-Class team even though the NRA only just recognized F-Class a few short years ago in their Highpower Rifle program rules.
F-Class is not prone Bench Rest shooting. Rail guns and mechanical means of returning a rifle to zero are prohibited. Bench rest wind flags stuck all over the range are not allowed.
There are two categories under the NRA rules, F/TR and Open. The F/TR is named for “Target Rifle” and must be in .223 or .308 Caliber. The weight limit for the rifle is 18.15 pounds. A bipod must be attached to the rifle and must be included in the weight. This weight must also include the scope.
F-Class Open is a rifle no larger than .35 caliber. The rifle maybe shot from a rest. The forend shall not exceed 3 inches in width and the total weight, including a scope, cannot exceed 22 pounds.
Some common rules to both classes are that no portion of the pistol grip or butt may rest directly on the ground. In F-Class, the rifle must be fired in the prone position from the shoulder of competitor using the rifle. A sling may be used in conjunction with the rest to control the rifle. Rear rests can be in the form of sand bags or a gloved hand. Mechanical rear supports are prohibited. The complete list of rules can be found at
https://competitions.nra.org/media/9386/2024-f-class-rulebook.pdf
You will then need to click on Chapter 22, F-Class rules.
The only bad news is that F-Class shoots on a target with smaller scoring rings. That means at 600 yards the X ring is only 3 inches, the size of the spotter!!! PMRPC has F-Class targets available for 300, 500, and 600 Yards.
We invite any shooters that are interested in High Power to give the sport a try via F-Class.
For more information please contact our current Rifle director at Rifle@pmrpc.com.