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October 5th, 2011
 Shiraz Balolia has recently been appointed as Captain of the U.S. F-Class Open Rifle Team. Balolia served as Vice Captain of the previous team and was one of eight American shooters at the last World Championship held in England in 2009. He was also one of four shooters in the International Team matches in England where Team USA won the Gold Medal. The step up from Vice Captain to Captain brings new responsibilities, but Balolia told us he accepts his new role “with honor and a fierce passion to lead the team to gold in the 2013 World Championship”.
USA Will Host 2013 F-Class World Championship
With the 2013 F-Class Championship being hosted by the United States for the first time ever, Balolia and the U.S. team are determined to win the Gold Medal on home soil. Team tryouts commenced in 2010 and will continue until the complete Development Team is selected in early 2012, from which the main 2013 team will be chosen. Balolia added: “I am excited to have been given the opportunity to lead this team into the next World Championship. The shooters we have are absolutely incredible, and everyone has a single goal in mind… and that is to Win!”
2013 F-Class World Championship | Raton, New Mexico (USA) | August 23-27, 2013
The next F-Class World Championship will be held in Raton, New Mexico, from August 23 to 27, 2013. This will be the fourth F-Class World Championship and first time it is being held in the United States. Previous F-Class World Championship venues were:
2002 – Ottawa, Canada. Won by the USA.
2005 – Bloemfontein, South Africa. Won by South Africa.
2009 – Bisley, England. Won by Great Britain.
As you can see, historically, home teams have won in the past two events. This bodes well for Team USA’s chances in 2013.
U.S. F-Class Championships Will Precede Worlds at Raton
Preceding the World Championship, the 2013 US F-Class National Championship will be held from August 18 to 22, 2013. All F-classers are welcome to register. With the U.S. and World Championships scheduled back-to-back, August 2013 should offer the most memorable 10 days of F-Class competition ever conducted in North America.
To learn more about the US F-Class Open Team, visit www.usfclass.com.
October 2nd, 2011
The 2011 F-Class National Championships in Lodi, Wisconsin are now history. Hail the new Champions: Jim Murphy, F-Open (1331-55X) and Jeff Rorer, F-TR (1315-41X). Hosted by the Winnequah Gun Club, the Nationals were well-attended, with 61 F-TR competitors and 90 F-Open shooters. The F-Open race was incredibly tight, with just four (4) points separating first through fifth positions. In F-TR, runner-up John Weil shot incredibly well in the crazy conditions on Friday. John made up a bunch of points, but it wasn’t enough to grab victory from Rorer, who shoot well all three days. CLICK HERE for Complete Match Results. Sorry, we don’t have an equipment list at this time.
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Final Results for F-Open (TOP 10):
1. JIM MURPHY: 1331-55X
2. DON J NAGEL: 1330-46X
3. DAVID GOSNELL: 1329-61X
4. JOHN BREWER: 1328-62X
5. ROBERT BOCK: 1327-64X
6. RICK JENSEN: 1326-62X
7. DAVID MANN: 1326-57X
8. CHARLES BALLARD: 1325-59X
9. DANNY J BIGGS: 1324-62X
10. BOB PASTOR: 1324-47X |
Final Results for F-T/R (TOP 10):
1. JEFF RORER: 1315-41X
2. JOHN H WEIL: 1308-42X
3. LAURA PERRY: 1307-39X
4. CHRIS OZOLINS: 1305-34X
5. JOHN CHILTON: 1303-39X
6. DARRELL BUELL: 1300-49X
7. IAN KLEMM: 1300-43X
8. DANIEL POHLABEL: 1296-43X
9. MARK HOUSEMAN: 1296-35X
10. MICHELLE GALLAGHER: 1292-35X |
Forum member Darrell Buell provided Match Reports for our Shooter’s Forum. Darrell, who finished sixth in F-TR Class at this year’s Nationals, explained that conditions were erratic throughout the week — changing from one day to the next:
“The first day in Lodi was the 600-Yard stage. The winds were relatively light, no more than two minutes, but they had some tricky pick-ups and let-offs, and some vertical thrown into the mix. The weather was excellent, temps in the mid 60s, with rain threatening most of the day, but only producing a few sprinkles for the last two (of six) relays. Day two saw the Shooters move back to the 1000-Yard line. The weather was beautiful, temps in the mid to high 60s, with partly sunny skies. Winds were stronger than they were at 600 the day before, and there was a good deal of vertical noticed by the competitors.
The final day of the Nationals saw wild conditions, with unpredictable gusty full value winds. Congratulations go to John Weil for a superb performance in difficult conditions Friday. Thanks go to the Liebetrau clan for running another Nationals.”
September 18th, 2011
September 11-17, the Bald Eagles Rifle Club hosted the 2011 Spirit Of America rifle match, at the NRA Whittington Center in Raton, NM. This match serves as U.S. National Fullbore Championships, but there are also F-Class divisions. The match consists of conventional sling (TR) class, as well as F-Open and F-TR, and the event is shot at distances of 300, 500, 600, 800, 900 and 1000 yards. Approximately 80 shooters, including about 20 F-classer attended the event.
Bryan Litz won the Fullbore TR (sling) competition with a 1782-105X overall score, with runner-up Andrew Wilde (1780-101X), just two points behind. Sean Morris finished third with 1776-85X, and Jim O’Connell shot 1772-81X to claim the High Senior title.
Photo by Randy Pike
In F-Open Class, familiar names topped the leaderboard. Larry Bartholome earned his chair ride as F-Open winner, shooting an impressive 1776-98X. Second in F-Open, five points back at 1771-96X, was past F-Class National Champion Danny Biggs. In the F-TR division, Michael Smith topped the field with a 1738-69X, followed by John Killen, who shot a 1720-52X. NOTE: F-Open and F-TR competitors shoot a target with smaller-diameter scoring rings than the Fullbore Target.
Conditions Were Mild… Then Wild
Bryan Litz tells us the conditions weren’t so bad … until the final day: “We dodged some rain throughout the week, but wind conditions were easy to moderate for the most part. That is until the last 1000-yard string of the last day when Raton finally showed its evil side! The most wind I had used all week was just over 3 MOA. That last relay on Saturday, it was running between 7 and 12 MOA with very quick changes. There were many misses, and just keeping all shots in the black was an accomplishment.” Rick Hunt concurred that the conditions were arduous on the final 1K stage: “At 1000 yards, there was a 9:00 o’clock wind running between 9 1/2 and 13 1/2 MOA. As seen by the scores, two shooters really nailed it. Other than that, it was pretty disastrous for most shooters with the really fast velocity changes.”
When the smoke had cleared, the standings were all jumbled up compared to what they were the rest of the week. Litz added: “An experience like that really drives home the importance of wind shooting skills. To be honest, I had no particular strategy going in other than to stay calm and positive no matter what. A big part of shooting in adverse conditions is managing yourself mentally. I dropped 10 points that last relay, more than I’d lost in the entire tournament up to that point. But given the conditions, I felt good about it, knowing I’d done my best.”
Berger 155gr Hybrids Work Well in Fullbore Competition
Bryan Litz credits his 155gr Berger .308-cal Hybrids for his strong performance: “I was shooting the new Berger 155 grain Hybrid bullets which played a part in saving some points in that nasty wind (on the last day). Due to their length, these bullets require a 1:12″ twist to stabilize and have a higher BC than any other .30 caliber 155 grain bullet. The hybrid ogive makes them length tolerant (insensitive to seating depth) and as the results of this tournament show, they are very effective”.
Complete Final Scores On SOA Blog
You’ll find complete interim and final SOA Match Scores linked from the Bald Eagles Match Blog.
Saturday and Final TR (Fullbore Sling) Class (PDF).
Saturday and Final F-Open and F-TR Class Results (PDF).
At the match the USA Young Eagles unveiled the new uniforms the American team will wear at the World Fullbore Championships in Australia next month. On opposite sleeves, the uniforms feature logos from both major bullet sponsors — Berger and Sierra. Bryan Litz observerd: “Historically teams have been sponsored by ‘one or the other’, but there’s no reason a team can’t enjoy sponsorship by multiple brands, and this is a very positive step in that direction.”
June 27th, 2011
The Creedmoor Cup F-Class events in Ireland have come to a close. The Irish hosts ran a great match and the American shooters proved their prowess — winning both team and individual titles. Here’s how the events were scheduled so you can keep things in order: after several practice days, the two-day NRA-Ireland F-Class Individual Championships was held Wednesday and Thursday last week. Then, on Friday, competitors divided into F-Open and F-T/R squads to shoot the USA vs. Europe matches. On Saturday and Sunday, the main event, the two-day Creedmoor Cup Match was held. All of these matches were conducted on the brand new 1200-yard range in Tullamore. The Irish are to be commended for constructing such a great range in a relatively short time.
American Shooters Dominate Team and Individual Events
We don’t have all the scores yet, but we do have key results. We’re proud to announce that the USA won the main Creedmoor Cup event! Prior to that, on Friday, the Yanks prevailed in the Europe vs. USA Challenge match (sort of like the Ryder Cup). Forum Member Erik Cortina reports: “I’m not 100% on the numbers but I know we beat them by about 110 points shooting in the rain! We have a very strong team and excellent wind coaches!”
In the individual competitions held during the week, American shooters also topped the podium. In F-T/R individual competition, Darrell Buell won the championship with a solid performance. Larry Bartholome shot superbly in windy conditions to win the F-Open match. (Larry was using a Precision Rifle & Tool Low Boy stock, Nightforce scope and a SEB Neo Rest.) Larry’s compatriots also shot well — there were nine Americans among the top 11 F-Open shooters. That is definitely a dominant performance by our talented F-Open squad.
Here are some reports from Ireland that came in from Forum members Erik Cortina and TonyR over the last few days:
Sunday, 6/26: “The second day of the Creedmoor Match was completed today and the USA has won the Gold Medal. I haven’t seen the score but I’m sure it will show up at some point. Shooting conditions were again tough with high speed fishtail tail winds that switched rapidly but our wind coaches, Bob Mead, Nancy Tompkins, Michelle Gallagher, Dale Carpenter, Jim Murphy, and Ricky Hunt were up to the challenge. The Irish Team were great hosts and we all had a wonderful time. They put together a new range with this event in mind in just a few months and it is something to be proud of.” — TonyR
Saturday, 6/25: “Shot the first day of the Creedmoor Cup today. Winds were tough! We had a fishtailing wind from 5-7 o’clock and we were being pushed into the 3 ring with ease, the F-T/R guys were going into the 1’s! We didn’t have a good day, we dropped 434 out of 4,000, but they had a worst day than we did, they dropped 648 points! So to say winds were tough is an understatement! We are having tons of fun regardless.” — Erik
Friday, 6/24: “We just finished shooting the Europe vs. USA Challenge. I’m not 100% on the numbers but I know we beat them by about 110 points shooting in the rain! We have a very strong team and excellent wind coaches!” — Erik
Thursday, 6/23: “Larry shot great today [to win the F-Open Championship]! In F-Open, there were 9 of us in the top 11. This is an awesome range! We have been shooting in 25 +- winds for two days and it’s fun when you can stay ahead of the wind, but if you get behind it, it’s not fun at all…” — Erik
Want to see more photos from Ireland, and read more reports from the competitors? You’ll find more info about the Creedmoor events, match results, plus linked photo galleries on the USA
F-T/R Team’s new Facebook Page. Log on to: http://www.facebook.com/us.rifle.team.
May 21st, 2011
One of our Forum members is new to the F-Class game, and he wanted some “reduced-distance” targets he could use at 300 yards for practice. There is an official reduced-distanced standard for 300-yard F-Class matches. This utilizes the NRA No. MR-63FC – F-Class Target Center which is pasted over the MR-63 target. It provides a 1.42″ X-Ring, 2.85″ 10-Ring, and 5.85″ Nine-Ring. (The dimensions of F-Class targets are found in the NRA High Power Rules, Sec. 22, part 4.)
CLICK HERE to Download F-Class 300-yard Target Centers (.Zip archive with three targets)
To duplicate the 300-yard target, Forum member SleepyGator has prepared a printable version of the MR-63FC Target Center, along with a pair of training targets with two bulls and five bulls. The two-bull and five-bull targets mirror the scoring rings on the MR-63FC, but they display only the innermost three rings and two rings respectively. All three targets are Adobe Acrobat files that can be easily printed. You may need to adjust the scale (sizing) on your printer to get the dimensions exactly correct. As noted above, when printed, the 10-Ring on all three targets should measure 2.85″. This should provide some handy practice targets you can use between matches. Thanks to SleepyGator for providing these targets. You can download all three as a .Zip archive. After downloading the .Zip file, just click on the .Zip archive to extract the individual targets.
May 16th, 2011
In our Shooters’ Forum, French shooter Aurelien posted some spectacular 400m groups shot with a “6×47″ built by Christian Salva. (We believe that is the 6mm based on the 6.5×47 Lapua cases, and not the RUAG 6×47, a separate cartridge.) If you want to see some cool-looking precision rifles (and target pistols) built with a continental flair, check out Christian’s website. Christian has built some wild-looking silhouette pistols, and we are intrigued by his barrel-block F-Class rifle, and thumbhole Varmint rifle.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE PHOTOS
April 11th, 2011
Forum member Jerry Tierney reports that the Sacramento Valley Shooting Center (Folsom Shooting Club) had a great turnout for its 600-yard high power prone and F-Class match this past weekend. There were 55 shooters total, with more F-Class shooters than prone shooters, and the 20 F-TR shooters was the biggest . That’s impressive attendance for this early in the season.
 
Noma Mayo Wins Prone, Pete White Wins F-Open, Sean Mattson Wins F-TR
Jerry Tierney reports: “I really hate to say this but, Lane got beat by the girl again. Prone winner was Norma Mayo with a 599-43X, edging runner-up Lane Buxton who shot 598-40X. That is a bunch of Xs!” Interestingly, If Noma had shot on the F-class target (using iron sights and sling) her score would have been 582.
F-Open winner was Peter White, who posted 592-33x to edge Jerry Tierney on X-Count. Jerry shot 592-20X for second place. Jerry was shooting his 7mm SAUM (with Berger 180gr Hybrids) while Peter was shooting his 6BRX with Varget, Berger 108s, and CCI BR4s. Forum member Sean Mattson shot 555-16X, finish first in a large F-TR field. With 20 shooters, F-TR was the most popular class.
NBRSA 600-Yard and 1000-Yard Nationals Coming Soon
One reason this Match was so well-attended by F-Classers is that the NBRSA 600-Yard and 1000-Yard Nationals plus a 1K F-Class Bench Match will be held later this month in Sacramento, so this weekend was an ideal “tune-up” match. The entry/information forms are now available for the NBRSA 600-yard Nationals (Sloughhouse 600: April 20-21, 2011), 1000-Yard F-Class Bench Match (April 22, 2011), and 1000-Yard Nationals (Sloughhouse 1000: April 23-25, 2011). All three major events will be held at the Sacramento Valley Shooting Center, located outside Sacramento, California.
February 2nd, 2011
The Berger SW Nationals at the Ben Avery Range outside Phoenix concluded this weekend. Congratulations to: Bryan Litz (Overall Champion — sling), Trudie Fay (Palma Rifle Winner, 2nd Overall), Danny Biggs (F-Open Winner), and John Hayhurst (F-TR Winner). Among sling shooters, Bryan shot a 1441-77X, Trudy scored 1432-63X, and Gary Eliseo and Leo Ahearn tied with 1430-74X, with Gary getting the 3rd place spot on a tie-breaker.
Photos Courtesy Rick Curtis. CLICK HERE for more match photos.
Bryan Litz and Gary Eliseo Loads
For the Palma matches, Bryan Litz was shooting a .308 Win with 185gr, .30-cal LRBT Berger bullets, seated .015″ off the lands in Lapua brass. The load, pushed by Hodgdon Varget and CCI BR2 primers, ran slightly over 2800 fps. For his “Any Rifle” stages, Bryan shot a straight .284 Winchester at “about 2850 fps”, using 180gr Berger Hybrid match target 7mm bullets seated about .015″ off the lands. Bryan’s .284 Win load used Hodgdon H4831sc powder, CCI BR2 primers, and Lapua 6.5-284 brass, necked-up to 7mm. While Bryan favored a 7mm “Any Rifle” chambering, Gary Eliseo did well with a 6mm solution. Gary told us that, except for the Palma match, he was shooting his regular Across-the-Course load: 6mm BRX, 107gr Sierra MK jumped .025″, running about 2940 fps. This is a mild load for the 6BRX and it proves the little cartridge can be competitive at 1K even in tough conditions.
 Biggs Breaks F-Class Record
In winning the F-Open Division, Danny Biggs broke Charles Ballard’s 1000-Yard F-Open National record twice with two 200-15X scores. This was an amazing performance by Danny, who finished with 1439-76X Agg, five points ahead of runner-up David Mann. Forum member TonyR, who shot in the match, reports: “The big story is really Danny’s second 200-15X. He shot that through several big switches and most of us can’t figure out how he did it. I shot the same relay he got the first one on and I wasn’t surprised that someone broke the record on that one, but I was scoring another shooter on the relay when he set the second one and I was just amazed that he did what he did under those conditions.”
Sierra Spindle Shooters Top F-Open Team Events
In the team events, the Sierra Spindle Shooters’ Team did very well, winning both the Palma Match and the 1000-yard Team Match, and scoring 2558-102X overall. Team Berger (2550-97X) finished second in the Team Aggs, with Team Berger member Larry Bartholome posting a 645-24X, the best individual performance in the Team comps. In the photo below (left to right), are Spindle Shooters team members Jeff Cochran, Bret Solomon, Shawn Ahrens and Jeff Traylor. Jeff reports: “The medals are for winning the F-Open Team Agg. In the last few years we’ve won the F-Class Nationals with Nancy Tompkins or Emil Praslick coaching. At this match both of them had other obligations so Bret and Shawn co-coached. They did a great job working together beating out several teams with world class coaches. We hold both the 600 and 1K F-Open team records with and had a good shot at the Palma record in this match but came up a bit short. I think if Nancy wasn’t tied up with the U.S. Palma team we might have beat the record. She’ll be with us again soon at the Nationals this fall in Lodi, Wisconsin.”
Photo courtesy Jeff Cochran.
Three Shots under 1″ at 1000 yards
As a demonstration of the potential accuracy of these long-range rifles, Dennis Selfridge fired a three shot group under an inch at 1K yards with his 6.5X47 in conditions! Check it out:
Complete Match Results
Sling Class Individual Aggregate
Sling Class Team Aggregate
F-Open Class Individual Aggregate
F-TR Class Individual Aggregate
F-Open Team Aggregate
January 25th, 2011
New March 3-24x42mm FFP Tactical Scope
Every year, a visit to the Kelbly’s booth is one of the highlights of our SHOT Show experience. This year, Jim Kelbly showed off an impressive new First-Focal-Plane 3-24x42mm March Tactical Scope. We were impressed with this new scope. It offers a wide range of magnification in a compact design. As first glance you think you’re looking at a 4-12X optic, not a scope with 24-power on tap. The scope is intelligently laid out — with mil clicks to match the mil reticle. Notably, the elevation turret delivers a full TEN mils per revolution. That is the same as Nightforce’s “high-speed” mil turret, and the ten mils of “up” should get you all the way to 1000 yards with most popular cartridges. If you’re a tactical shooter looking for a mil-mil scope you should check out the new 3-24X March. We think it is very competitive with anything out there, and it is a lot more compact than many scopes in the 20-24X power range.
Kelbly’s Also Builds Complete Rifles
Along with March scopes and Kelbly/Stolle Actions, the Kelbly booth had a stunning F-Class rifle on display, with a 10-60X March scope on top. This red and black beauty belongs to Jim’s son, Ian Kelbly. It features a polished Stolle Panda F-Class action, pillar bedded to a Precision Rifle & Tool laminated F-Class stock. This was the stock design Charles Ballard used to win back-to-back U.S. F-Class Championships. Jim noted that Kelbly’s continues to offer a full range of gunsmithing services, from barrel chambering to building complete rifles — with your choice of Kelbly stocks or third-party stocks.
December 19th, 2010
Two Oregonians, Joe Huddleston and John Weil, have developed one of the most sophisticated bipods you can buy. The new Center Shot carbon-fiber bipod is ultra-light, weighing just 19 ounces (0.55 kg). John Weil used a prototype version at the 2009 F-Class world championships in Bisley, England. John was a member of the USA Team which won the F-TR Team Championship.
The Center Shot bipod offers a very wide “wheelbase” for stability. The bipod’s long feet, shaped like helicopter skids, help the rifle recoil straight back, rather than hop or twist. The bipod is designed to attach securely via a standard accessory rail on the bottom of the rifle’s forearm. The bipod can easily be adjusted for height and cant (tilt angle), allowing the bipod to adjust to uneven terrain. The height adjustment also allows shooters to easily adapt the bipod to their rear bag height and shooting style.
The Center Shot Bipod comes in two versions. The basic model costs $450.00, while for $465, you can get one with the shooter’s national colors on the top rod assembly (see photo below). For more information, email joe [at] censhot.com or john weil at jhw1 [at] ix.netcom.net. You can also call (503) 622-3815, or write: Center Shot Engineering, 26810 E. Elk Park Rd., Welches, OR 97067.
Centershot Bipod Specifications
Weight: 19 ounces
Full height to rail: 9.25 inches | Foot Print at 9.25 inches: 16.3 inches
Lowest height to rail: 4.5 inches | Foot Print at 4.5 inches: 20.5 inches
Materials: Aluminum, carbon fiber, stainless hardware
Continuous adjustment from lowest to highest setting.
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