bruce moulds wrote:match rifle in aust has been trying to promote long range fclass for many years. i am sure they would welcome any attempt to join them.
As sometime secretary of the national MR association, I can only say, "Amen!"
Historically, the two have been shooting over the MR distances since 2000, when Ken & Man Mountain Larkin & John Skinner shot alongside during the MR Nats in Brisbane. Participation since has been a tad patchy & seems to depend on where the match is being shot (getting there again), who's there to stir up interest (Nick Sims, where are you when we need you) and the course of fire. I've noticed that the likes of Ken Melgaard, one of the LR F class regulars, is inclined to restrict himself to the state championships closer to home when you can about get by with a hundred rrounds or so, rather than the nationals, which will cost you the best part of 200.
We understand that a four day could run an F classer out of barrel if he's got a Queens or three planned, so we're happy when we can get down to it & see whether the horsepower F class guns or the big .30 MR barrels are on top during any competition. One of the plusses of this discipline is that while scoring is different, it's no problem to convert a 5V score to a 6 down F class one, if you want to get that competitive feeling.
Incidentally, in Britain Match Rifle is shot in Bisley pairs usually, not threes. I suspect that it's some concession to the extra degree of difficulty experienced back of 1000 yards. It doesn't make it seem any easier though.
John Kielly