Different Types of Smallbore competition

[Robert Burdge]

I am trying to understand the different types of smallbore competition available. Is it correct to say that all Olympic style smallbore is shot with metallic sights? Is there a category known as "International" (like 300m fullbore) that is different from Olympic style?

I am assuming the NRA smallbore is a seperate category. I read that NRA matches are shot with metallic sights during some stages and telescopic sights during other stages. There is also a new CMP sporter smallbore category that is shot with telescopic sights, I believe. Are there any non-US style shooting sports that use telescopic sights? Thanks.

Robert

[Sparks]

I am trying to understand the different types of smallbore competition available. Is it correct to say that all Olympic style smallbore is shot with metallic sights?

Today, yes. In Athens, no - running target had a scope on the rifle. But that event's now been dropped from the olympic programme.

Is there a category known as "International" (like 300m fullbore) that is different from Olympic style?

There are international events that aren't on the olympic programme but are governed by the ISSF; 300m fullbore shooting would come under that heading. These events go up to World Championships level in many cases.

I am assuming the NRA smallbore is a seperate category.

ISSF shoots over 50m, NRA over 50 yards from what I understand, so they would be seperate but not unrelated - the US lads here can answer you better on the rest of those points...

[mikeschroeder]

Hi

If you're serious about getting into shooting, the best thing to do is just order the rulebooks from the NRA, they cost $2.50 a piece plus shipping. There are less than 20 rulebooks total and that includes all of the highpower rifle, air rifle, smallbore, pistol, action pistol etc.

There are a LOT of variations in the way NRA Smallbore CAN be shot. Matches can be set up for different rifle rules: Any Rifle, Any sights (optical), Any Rifle Iron only, and Light Rifle. They can also be set up for different courses of fire including: Prone Only, 100 yard, 100 meter, 50 yard 3 position etc.

Hope this helps a little, but I really would order the books. See NRA.ORG

Mike

[guest]

You can also contact USA Shooting which governs the Olympic style sport.
They have events for metallic sight 50m smallbore and 300m fullbore rifles.
FYI, 300m was an Olympic event through 1972 and is still a World Championship event. Most rules, other than caliber and distance, are identical.

[Guest]

The olympic rifle disciplines all feature in the international program. However there are more disciplines available in "normal" international competitions than in the Olympics. This mostly due to there not being enough time/space/willingness to include them all, for instance there is a ladies 50m small-bore prone match at international events, but not at the olympics.

As for telescopic sights, Sparks mentioned running target. This is an international discipline, with categoires for full-bore (running deer at 100m) small-bore (running boar at 50m) and air rifle (running boar scaled down at 10m).

In Britain there are "any sights" competitions for small-bore, shot at 50m and 100 yards, but they are not so important as in the US. For full-bore there are "F" class and Match Rifle. "F" Class is shot from at normal full-bore distance (200-1000 yards) any calibre (within range safety limits) can be used though most competitors seem to use various 6.5mm's, the rifles are shot rested.

Match rifle is a very long range discipline peculiar to the UK. Its shot from 100-1200 yards and only with .308 Win rifles. Some shooters use scopes from the prone position, other use the supine (lying on your back) with a special aperture rearsight mounted on the butt.

Finally there are the various benchrest disciplines, which I think are exclusively shot with 'scopes.

Hope this has been of interest.

Tim S

Exeter UK

[mikeschroeder]

For full-bore there are "F" class and Match Rifle. "F" Class is shot from at normal full-bore distance (200-1000 yards) any calibre (within range safety limits) can be used though most competitors seem to use various 6.5mm's, the rifles are shot rested.

Match rifle is a very long range discipline peculiar to the UK. Its shot from 100-1200 yards and only with .308 Win rifles. Some shooters use scopes from the prone position, other use the supine (lying on your back) with a special aperture rearsight mounted on the butt.

Tim S

Exeter UK

Hi Tim

From what you say above, F-Class is an International event?? That's growing pretty well on this side of the pond. I'm looking at highpower for my next purchase.

Mike
Wichita KS

[milanuk]

Here in the U.S., there is 300m ISSF type competition, but it's kind of hard to find as not many ranges are set up for it.

There is NRA HighPower, which encompasses a number of classes:

First, there is Across (or Over) the Course shooting, referred to as OTC or XTC. Basically 3-position for centerfires, the course is Slowfire Standing @ 200yds, Rapidfire Sitting @ 200yds, Rapidfire Prone @ 300yds, and Slowfire Prone @ 600yds. You get a block of time equal to 1 minute per shot in the Slowfire events, but the RapidFire events require going from Standing to Sitting/Prone, firing 10 shots (including a reload) in 60 (Sitting) or 70 (Prone) seconds. There are 50 and 80 shot courses of fire (10 offhand, 10 rapid sitting, 10 rapid prone, 20 slow prone for 50rd, or 20 each stage for 80rd), and of course there are reduced versions for ranges not having the full distance available. There are basically 2 divisions: Service Rifle (think M1 Garand, M1A, or M16A2 lookalike, 4.5# trigger), or Match Rifle (no optics, no palm rest or butthook, and preferably goes bang are about the only restrictions). Anything not a Service Rifle is automatically a Match Rifle.

Second, there is Long Range, which is Slowfire Prone only, shot on targets beginning at 600yds (whole lot of shooters consider that *too* easy, so the rules may be a-changin') on out to 800, 900, & 1000yds. Basically you have Palma rifles, which are normally .308 Winchester pushing a 155gr match bullet, though there are provisions now for 80gr .223 Rem as well, iron sights only, then Match Rifles (Any-Iron) which still use iron sights, but any caliber (6mm BR, 6.5-08, 6.5-284 are popular) goes, followed by Any/Any rifles, which amount to Match Rifles w/ a scope on them. A popular LR match format consists of a 'Palma' match, 15 rds @ 800, 900, & 1000yds each w/ iron sights, followed by a 20rd Any/Any round at 1000, allowing competitors to take the iron sights of their rifles and slap a scope on. A limited (but growing) number of ranges are shooting 'Fullbore' matches in a format similar to what is used in the Commonwealth countries such as Canada, UK, Oz, etc. Very similar to 'Palma', w/ some subtle but important differences, such as putting multiple shooters on one target (pair firing) vs one shooter per target (string firing) which is the norm here in the U.S. As I understand it, overseas Fullbore goes on out to 1200yds or so. Yikes!

The general 'migration' trend was people would start out shooting Service Rifle XTC while their eyes were still good enough to handle the short sight radius, and move to Match Rifle for XTC either when they achieved a number of goals or awards only possible w/ the Service Rifle, or when their eyesight no longer played nicely w/ the SR sights. As the shooters got older, they'd move on to LR Prone, being a little easier on the body, and then Any/Any when no amount of fooling around w/ lenses, diopters, etc. would produce results w/ the iron sights. F-Class was created originally to allow aging shooters that for one reason or another couldn't comfortably shoot prone from a sling anymore, allowing them to continue shooting alongside their friends on the same targets at distance. This is very much a generalization, as people are free to enter and participate at any stage they feel like, and do so frequently.

F-Class has kind of mutated, at least here in the U.S., in to a full-blown arms race. Basically it evolved into belly-bencrest, w/ some people literally using the same rifle and rests for 1000yd Benchrest competition as they do F-Class. A number of the shooters joining the ranks of F-class here in the U.S. are more of the 'tactical' ilk, shooting essentially .308 Win sniper rifles. Obviously, there's a definite performance gap btwn a top-o-the-line tactical rifle shooting a .308 Win, and a full-blown 1k BR rifle shooting a high-speed VLD wildcat, so there has become 'Open' class, which is pretty much 'run what ya brung', wide open to all comers w/ a 22 pound weight limit, and then 'TR' class (debates on whether it should be 'Target Rifle', for the Palma shooters moving over, or 'Tactical Rifle' for those folks coming in rages on) w/ a caliber restriction of .223 Rem & .308 Win, and a 18# weight limit.

I think I hit most of the high points, w/o too many gross errors (I hope). Some web sites that cater to the various venues are:

www.floridahighpower.com, w/ forums at forums.delphiforums.com/flahighpower/start (despite the regional name, top name shooters from across the country participate, both XTC and LR)

www.long-range.com (lots of top-flite competitors from U.S. and abroad in Palma, Fullbore, and F-class here)

www.nationalmatch.us (sister site to long-range.com but oriented to the Across-the-Course discipline - 'National Match' is the name of the 50rd course of fire)

And then the forums at www.benchrest.com/forums is where some of the guys crossing over from 1k BR to F-class hang out.

HTH,

Monte

[Guest]

Mike, not quite sure whether "F" class is truly an international yet. It originated in Canada, I beleive, where it was introduced to allow older shooters the chance to compete despite poor eyesight. It can be rather like 1000 yard benshrest, although many military run ranges in the UK would prohibit some of the larger calibres found in the Heavy Gun class.

Match Rifle certainly goes back to 1200 yards and longer! Back in the 50's an army officer ran a long-range even at Barry Budden ranges in Scotland. Shooting was out to 1500 yards-ish with .303"s

British long-range is very different to US stuff. Back in the late '60s our NRA changed from .303" to 7.62 nato, and the emphasis shifted almost totally to bullseye-precision. Some people do shoot Practical Rifle, a UK phenomenon. You use a 'scoped full-bore tactical rifle; courses of fire require unusual positions, rapid fire, and multiple targets. It can be considered a bit hill-billy like by small-bore shooters. Would probably be fun once, but you get cold, wet, muddy and have to fire way too much expensive full-bore ammo!

Tim S

Exeter

[Guest]

Don't forget smallbore Silhouette Competitions. They use scopes, shoot standing and at various distances out to 100m.

It's tough, casual and a lot of fun. Here is more information.

http://www.sunnyvalegunclub.com/

Lucho