What happened to F-Open??

[Klicker]

Sydney Fly shoot (500) is held at Hornsby Range usually around the first weekend in May.

I understand where you're comming from J70, I shoot f-class at Hornsby but there seams to be a reasonable turn out of F-Standard and F-Open.

I am also knew to the target shooting sport and I use a sporter 7mm Mag and a varmint 22-250 to get me by, learn and have fun.. and I do have a lot of fun. I don't understand why F-Open is dieing it adds a serious avenue to the NRAA to add people to there numbers and enjoy the sport, I'm a good example of what open is good for, I don't want to spend years developing my technique in full bore but with f-open I can get straight into it with the rifles I have and watch my scores go up each week as I learn, later I'll build a custom rig and build on what I learn. I find the fullbore guys in my club to be great, very supportive and have a deep knowledge of their sport and I've drawn a lot from this already after about 4 or 5 weekends at the range. If there is a beaurocracy (spelling?) at the top causing issues here, I hope they're retired in a few years as Open has the potential to be of serious benefit to the shooting community. Even my missus is thinking about gettting her license and having a shot, she was a gunphobe before she met me! I think the comment was "it looks like great fun!".

the SSAA gives me the irits a bit, the Fly once a year in Sydney is not enough, I am absolutley addicited to this long range stuff and I'm happy to be doing it from the bench or belly flopping, i don't care which association runs it, it's all fun, but if the full bore guy's want to shoot every week, I'm with them and will show up at the fly once a year for a plink and whatch Mick Farr take out the heavy gun .. again!

[Rinso]

klicker,

The problem with Fly shoots in Sydney are that Hornsby is the only range that will host them (as far as I know) and they give a weekend out of thier calender for that Sydney Cup shoot, which is very good of them.

It would be great if other ranges would host shoots but what can you do ????

If you want to shoot the Fly do the Federal Cup in Canberra in March and the Pro Cal Challenge in Canberra in September .. both shoots have a 1000yd match the day after at McIntosh range Canberra .. and with the practice ady Friday you can wangle 3 days of shooting in and be home Sunday evening. Bring your wives theres plenty for them to do in Canberra while you are shooting.

cheers
Rinso

[jump70]

Klicker - keep at it mate. Hopefully FO will outlast the naysayers, of whom I'm increasingly well aware, much to my misfortune. I can't stand stupid ignorance at the best of times but when it's shooters displaying that to other shooters, my blood starts to bubble away on a steady boil. I might come up to Hornsby one weekend to see how it compares. If it's better than Malabar for f-class, as I suspect it might be, I'll suck up the longer trip more regularly and go to Malabar for ranges beyond 600m.

I might just be able to convince the missus to take a long weekend in Canberra. She's not a shooter but supports me doing it, god bless her. Having friends in Canberra might help her along for the ride.

Cheers

[Klicker]

Sure will mate, absolutley love it. Plus I live literally 5 minutes from the range, I have no excuse and I'm lucky like you, my missus is pretty supportive. There are pleny of F-class guys there, I honestly don'y know how many are open, but the F-class targets are up quite a bit.

I'm rebarrelling my savage to 6mm Dasher (AI convinced me), pop gun or not its doing well in the BR at the moment so I'm convinced.

It makes my blood boil too mate, the Hornsby RSL RC guys where very keen for me to shoot, which I was very appreciative of, I got some funny looks when showed up with the 7mm, but they soon got over it.

[Klicker]

[quote="Rinso"]klicker,

The problem with Fly shoots in Sydney are that Hornsby is the only range that will host them (as far as I know) and they give a weekend out of thier calender for that Sydney Cup shoot, which is very good of them.

It would be great if other ranges would host shoots but what can you do ????
[quote]

Yeah, I do actually understand and I guess if one is serious enough about it and can't travel like me then they'll have to join the NRAA as well. Its just a sad thing as I asked around quite a bit about shooting more fly's, and I just don't have the time to travel, I think it was actually you who suggested to me to shoot f-class.. I think the smile just gets bigger very week after my 25 shots or so mate!

[Plasmaboy_AU]

Hi everyone , I re took up the shooting sports about 2 1/2 years ago . I purchased a second hand Full bore rifle , wacked a scope on it and shot F Standard for the first year .. Total cost about $2300.00 . Rifle , scope and basic reloading items. F standard is a great discipline and fun to shoot , but regularly shooting 59s and 60s .. got a bit boring for me so I moved over to the Fopen target .. Yes my scores went down shooting on a 1/2 Moa target but it was also good training to shoot better and to learn how to tune a rifle and load.As was told to me by another F open shooter, " if your shooting on a 1 Moa + bulls eye , your only ever going to have a 1 moa rifle , load or shooter". I decided to go to F open about a year ago .. but on a budget , a shiny new race gun was out of the question ( the handbrake insists that 1 rifle should be enough .. let alone the 6 I have ) I found a second hand Musgrave action , with a scope rail mounted it cost me $350 , true flight barrel in .284 Win .. about $825 fitted . I bought a cheaper scope for the F standard rifle and put the night force on my open rifle. I made a stock , the blank + recoil pad, alloy parts, paint and carbon fibre parts set me back about $600

On its first outing on " guesstimated" loads using cheap projectiles and brass while I was waiting on the good gear , I shot a pair of 98s at 400 meters and the dropped points were my fault not the hardware. My point is .. the argument of Fopen being too expensive and too hard is a crock of s+++t .. My f Open rig cost me about $2000 . I too have heard the anti F class sentiment from the " boys club" and it shocked me .. We ALL need to be working together , no matter what shooting sport we choose, be it target rifle , pistol, shotgun or hunting. We are a small minority in an ever increasing anti gun society and internal back stabbing and denigrating of others who are not in the " inner circle" is just not on. No wonder there are certain disciplines / associations that are slowly dying while the more modern and flexible , welcoming associations are growing

[Klicker]

I'm not concerned about the cash for F-Open, I'm a lefty, so I don'thave a lot of choice in what I can buy second hand, most lefty's hang on to their gear, and second hand lefty stuff is unusual, well so far it has been.

The issue for me is like you say, attacting numbers, our sport is too policitical to ignore the benefits of greater numbers. If the boys club are this way and I am sure I will run across it soon, they'll cop a serious ear full I'm telling ya, nothing makes me more angry

[Plasmaboy_AU]

Hi Klicker I am a leftie also and shoot both my F class ( right bolt) rifles left handed .. but for me, I found the right hand bolt for prone shooting works for me and is more comfortable . My left hand stays on the grip / trigger guard while my right hand squeezes the rear bag, operates the bolt and adjusts the scope

[Klicker]

Hi Klicker I am a leftie also and shoot both my F class ( right bolt) rifles left handed .. but for me, I found the right hand bolt for prone shooting works for me and is more comfortable . My left hand stays on the grip / trigger guard while my right hand squeezes the rear bag, operates the bolt and adjusts the scope

now this is interesting, I have thought about doing this, but I gave away right handed bolts years back, I guess for a prone rig it doesn't matter if you have an ambi stock does it!

[Plasmaboy_AU]

I wont mention any names .. but lets say I was talking to an association member / insider at Malabar about 2 months before the NSW queens. I said I just started competing and if I was free I'd like to go to the Queens this year. I was told with great enthusiasm that I defiantly should come and Id be shooting against my fellow "C" graders so there is no worry about me having to try and keep up with the A graders . I told him I don't shoot C grade.. so that's not an issue . I was asked why not .. and when I said I shoot F Open , I was told " oh .. well I guess you can turn up if you want " .. and he walked away

[Plasmaboy_AU]

Klicker , send me a PM , I dont live TOO far away from Honsby .. western sydney and work in parramatta.. so if you wanted to have a look at my rifle , your more than welcome

[Rinso]

The cost of equipment has nothing to do with the distate some in the NRAA seem to have for F Open.

You can build a rifle on an old omark that will be competitive if you do your bit .. so its not the money and even if that was the case look at the TR guys shooting Omarks next to the TR guys shooting RPA's and tell me that if money makes a better gun that is not an unfair advantage.

The simple fact is certain elements within the sport are just not prepared to move with the times, open there minds or maybe they just cant stand to see anyone else having a good time I dont know .. but the resentment exists and until the general attitude changes then things will not improve.

cheers
Rinso

[Klicker]

Rinso,

Totally agreet that cost is no bearing on performance, the git driving the thing is 90% (or more) of it if you ask me.

I just don't understand the attitude, and the whole "unfair advantage" crap, isn't that what open is there for to drive new ideas for accurate prone shooting?

I see standard as more a of a type of "one design" (if I may use a sailing term) style of competition and open as an unlimited class.. with .. umm limits.. doh!

[Plasmaboy_AU]

Sadly .. I have to agree . Full bore , F standard and F open are all GREAT disciplines and ALL need to be promoted and supported equally . The fact that in general , the numbers of Full Bore shooters is declining and unless you in "A" grade and part of the " boys club" .. your shit out of luck in getting anywhere in the sport.
Combined with the sad fact that the " scopies" are almost being driven away from the sport through neglect, miss treatment and politics is beyond me . Hell .. if it were not for a couple of the F open competitors PAYING through their personal sponsorship of the NSW queens .. there would not have even been any badges for f class ! but they are more than happy to take our membership fees and entry money .. Badges for A,B and C grade are handed out pretty much so far down the rankings , just turning up almost means you'll get a badge but F class is pushed off to one side so we dont interfier with the FB guys.. almost like we are infected with something nasty they don't want to catch

[Klicker]

I'm infected.. I beleive the doc diagnosed it as the "accuracy bug".