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Welcome to F Class UK - the official website of the GB F Class Association
Merry Christmas to our many F Class friends in Europe, America, Canada & South Africa
Have a great Christmas but don't drink too much!!
f-class.org.uk
Les Holgate, Webmaster. Click here to e-mail me. 
F Class is the fastest growing shooting discipline in the UK and we have just completed our fourth year of competition - read all about our last shoot under 'Competitions' and check out our 'News' page regularly.
The latest edition of www.targetshooter.co.uk carries a write-up of the Europeans plus other F Class stuff
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What exactly is F Class shooting?
Canadian George Faquharson is the 'F' in F Class. About ten years ago, George was finding it increasingly difficult, due to age and failing eye-sight, to shoot Target Rifle with iron-sights off the elbows. He loved his sport and didn't want to have to stop shooting with life-long friends so, he put a scope and bi-pod on his rifle and hoped that the Dominion of Canada Rifle Association would allow him to keep shooting. They did more - they adopted George's Class and made it official and included it in their national championships and in 2001, Canada hosted the first world F Class championships and the rest, as they say, is history.
Mik Maksimovic is the prime mover behind the formation of the UK F Class League and Mik represented the
The GB F Class League gets underway on a very frosty morning - Bisley Nov 2005
Mik is determined to field the very best possible team of
The targets and course of fire may vary from range to range but the International F Class rules will generally apply to equipment. Briefly:
1. Any rifle up to a maximum weight of 22lbs or 10kg. including scope (and bi-pod if used). Any safe trigger is permitted; muzzle brakes are not.
2. Any sights - no limit on power.
3. Any calibre up to 8mm - providing that it complies with range safety rules - it is up to the individual shooter to verify this.
4. The rifle may be supported front and rear on sand-bags. The front sand-bag may in turn be supported on an adjustable pedestal. The rear bag must not be attached to the front support but a combination of sandbags may be used. A bi-pod may be used in place of a front sand-bag.
5. Also, check out the F/TR Class for rifles limited to 308Win cartridge - see 'F/TR Only'.
Although some of the above rules may seem a little daunting, it really is possible to compete with quite modest kit and you should not be discouraged. However, rifles are becoming noticeably more exotic as the sport develops. Originally, as George envisaged, a 308 Target Rifle equipped with scope and bi-pod would do the job but now, a cutting-edge F Class rifle will be built to near the weight limit. The barrel will be 28 - 30 inches in length and of a very heavy profile. Competition triggers offering a much lighter let-off than the TR's 3.5lbs. are favoured. But old George would not be dissillusioned - he wanted F Class to reach beyond the scope of the 308Win. cartridge and push the boundaries of long-range rifle accuracy.
There are several dedicated F Class stocks now available and if you are building a rifle from scratch, I would suggest having a look at a few of these. The new fibreglass stock made by McMillan and Robertson are ideal and wood-laminate Richards stocks are worth a look. The wood-laminate version is heavier but with a 22lb. weight limit, this is a plus not a penalty. All these stocks have a three-inch wide, flat fore-end - as permitted by the rules - offering the best possible set-up with a front benchrest pedestal.
Fancy adjustable butt-plates and cheek-pieces favoured by Target Rifle shooters are not necessary - remember - only the nut behind the butt can disturb the rifle so avoid contact - except for a little shoulder-pressure to control recoil. Go for a SEB or Farley 'joystick' type front rest which is easier to manipulate from the prone position.
What about calibre? Although the 308 Win is still an effective 1000 yard round as the F/TR shooters are proving, there are much better options for the Open Class and most competitors are going for 6.5 or 7mm calibres. Of these, the 6.5-284 is perhaps the most popular but the straight 284 (7mm) is well worth considering. As well as offering comparable ballistics to the 6.5, a much better barrel-life can be expected with the 7mm.
If you really want to be ballistically superior, why not go for a 7mm WSM or BooBoo - but do not expect more than a season from your barrel! And that barrel needs to be a good one, installed by a benchrest-quality gunsmith. If you really enjoy a good kicking, you could even follow our 2007 GB League winner with a 30-338! Remember, with a half-minute of angle V Bull, we are looking for 'benchrest' accuracy. Caution - remember, all ranges have muzzle velocity and energy limits - ensure your super-duper wildcat does not exceed these! Be aware - certain ranges may have special requirements for HME (high muzzle-energy) firearms.
What about sights? A good scope is essential and if possible, go for eighth-minute adjustment rather than the more usual quarter MOA. At 1000 yards, a quarter-minute is half the width of the V bull. Would any Target Rifle shooter be happy with half MOA clicks?
Having said that, most F Classers tend to aim-off once they get a good central V bull - hopefully after three or four shots. From then on adjustments are made by altering your aim-point - unless there is a drastic wind-change - and reticles with stadia lines or mildots can help in doing this more accurately. Whatever crosshair you choose, it needs to be very fine - otherwise it could obscure the V bull completely!
As most of the GB League shoots are at longer ranges (800 - 1000 yds), you will need plenty of scope-adjustment. A tapered scope-rail is a good idea (a 20 MOA taper is usually enough) or alternatively, use the Burris Signature rings which take different shims and thus permit additional elevation.
You will benefit from a scope having at least 25X magnification and a zoom is preferable to fixed-power as it can be useful to reduce power if there is a strong mirage. Nightforce, Leupold and March variable scopes are used by the majority of competitors.
Putting together a decent F Class rig is not too difficult but using it effectively is another matter. The greatest influence - as always for the rifleman - is the wind. Wind-reading cannot be learnt from a book, it can only be mastered out on the range but if all other matters are not 100% your wind-reading efforts will be wasted. Target Rifle shooters are avid plotters but the practise does not transfer readily to F Class. Some form of shot-plotting is however desirable if you are to gain information from your previous shots. Check out the Bisley Training Course in 2010 - see Calendar page.
A good set-up which will permit every shot to be perfectly fired is therefore essential and providing you have read the wind correctly, your bullet may find that tiny V bull. Even though most F Class shooters use 'benchrest' equipment, we cannot always take full advantage of this as we are not shooting from a solid concrete bench, the F Classer must shoot off an uneven, unstable grass platform.
Yes, we can get the front-rest well spiked in to the ground but it is the rear sand-bag supporting the butt which causes the problem. Some shooters even compound the problem by placing the bag on a thick rubber shooting-mat. Get yourself a thin groundsheet - it will keep you just as dry and use elbow-pads if you need to. Remember, it rains occasionally and Cordura front and rear bags are preferable to leather when it does.
Shoot F Class and see the world! We sent a team to Canada in 2006.
Maybe you are already shooting F Class at your local range. If you enjoy long-range rifle shooting and have any aspirations whatsoever of taking your shooting to the next level, then please come and shoot with the League. There is none of the stuffiness or elitism you may meet in some shooting disciplines, just a great bunch of guys and gals out to enjoy their sport.
The dates and venues for the six shoots which will count towards the GB League in 2010 can be found under the 'Calendar' section of this website.