Sports Hunter Cheats

[Lithgow]

And a question, which I've framed from comments made on another SH thread.
Are there any off the shelf hunting style rifles, shooting factory ammo, capable of:
1 remaining supersonic, and
2 holding the black on an ICFRA target, at
A 700m
B 800m
C 1000 yds.?

I can only answer for my own rifles which are 6.5 and 223, but I handload for the 6.5, 140 Hybrid @ 2630fps, could run hotter but it shoots too well to waste components.
Yes, supersonic to 1170m with the 6.5 but only 590m with the 223.
Easy to hold the black with both, my best to date 60/6 at 800m NSDRA on the 6.5 and a 56/3 at 600m with the 223,
The furthest I have shot is 900 yards at Lockhart with no issue.

[Tim L]

And a question, which I've framed from comments made on another SH thread.
Are there any off the shelf hunting style rifles, shooting factory ammo, capable of:
1 remaining supersonic, and
2 holding the black on an ICFRA target, at
A 700m
B 800m
C 1000 yds.?

I can only answer for my own rifles which are 6.5 and 223, but I handload for the 6.5, 140 Hybrid @ 2630fps, could run hotter but it shoots too well to waste components.
Yes, supersonic to 1170m with the 6.5 but only 590m with the 223.
Easy to hold the black with both, my best to date 60/6 at 800m NSDRA on the 6.5 and a 56/3 at 600m with the 223,
The furthest I have shot is 900 yards at Lockhart with no issue.

What make/model are they?
I have a 6.5 screwed into a Tikka running 140s. I've not measured velocities yet but run it in a chassis anyway.

[Lithgow]

What make/model are they?
I have a 6.5 screwed into a Tikka running 140s. I've not measured velocities yet but run it in a chassis anyway.

Both Lithgow LA102s, my LA105 is 7.2kgs so I can only shoot Fopen with it.

[Tim L]

What make/model are they?
I have a 6.5 screwed into a Tikka running 140s. I've not measured velocities yet but run it in a chassis anyway.

Both Lithgow LA102s, my LA105 is 7.2kgs so I can only shoot Fopen with it.

Ah! Righto.
I'm actually wondering if anyone has an off the shelf, traditional hunter. Tikka T3/ CTR, Howa 1500 etc, that can do it.
I might drop my 6.5 back in the CTR stock and see how it goes.
I know Tikkas can be made to shoot very well indeed. I just want to see if a "standard" rifle can.

[Rogue22]

And this topic is exactly why we introduced our own Sporter/Hunter rules at our club (into our RSO’s). We had 12 year old kids with $1200 howas competing against seasoned shooters with $7000 high end factory rifles…
We split it into standard and open classes to allow the kids and novice shooters to have a fair competition as well as the experienced shooters who just want to have fun and those who can afford nice gear to also have a fair competition. And so far it has been working great with no complaints. This discipline has increased our participation rates from 4-5 shooters twice a month to 12-14 shooters 3 times a month and has breathed new life into the club so it’s definitely here to stay. And it is doing exactly as the SSR’s intended as we have now had 3 (4th coming shortly) SH shooters move into FTR and FS.

[Rogue22]

What make/model are they?
I have a 6.5 screwed into a Tikka running 140s. I've not measured velocities yet but run it in a chassis anyway.

Both Lithgow LA102s, my LA105 is 7.2kgs so I can only shoot Fopen with it.

Ah! Righto.
I'm actually wondering if anyone has an off the shelf, traditional hunter. Tikka T3/ CTR, Howa 1500 etc, that can do it.
I might drop my 6.5 back in the CTR stock and see how it goes.
I know Tikkas can be made to shoot very well indeed. I just want to see if a "standard" rifle can.

We have a young lad at our club with a howa 1500 (in a krg bravo chassis) that regularly shoots high 40’s with the occasional 50 at 8 and 900m.

We’ve also got a new shooter with an S20 in .308 who has shot multiple 50’s at 8 & 900m.

Both are under 6.5kg and meet our standard rules for SH, albeit with hand loads.

[Tim L]

Both Lithgow LA102s, my LA105 is 7.2kgs so I can only shoot Fopen with it.

Ah! Righto.
I'm actually wondering if anyone has an off the shelf, traditional hunter. Tikka T3/ CTR, Howa 1500 etc, that can do it.
I might drop my 6.5 back in the CTR stock and see how it goes.
I know Tikkas can be made to shoot very well indeed. I just want to see if a "standard" rifle can.

We have a young lad at our club with a howa 1500 (in a krg bravo chassis) that regularly shoots high 40’s with the occasional 50 at 8 and 900m.

We’ve also got a new shooter with an S20 in .308 who has shot multiple 50’s at 8 & 900m.

Both are under 6.5kg and meet our standard rules for SH, albeit with hand loads.

Ok so a modified Howa and an S20 which is an aluminium chassis.
The reason I'm asking is because I have my doubts that without some from of accurising a traditional hunting rifle, they simply aren't capable of shooting the longs. It doesn't matter who is behind it, the gun can't do it.
Can anyone prove that to be wrong?

[Rogue22]

Ah! Righto.
I'm actually wondering if anyone has an off the shelf, traditional hunter. Tikka T3/ CTR, Howa 1500 etc, that can do it.
I might drop my 6.5 back in the CTR stock and see how it goes.
I know Tikkas can be made to shoot very well indeed. I just want to see if a "standard" rifle can.

We have a young lad at our club with a howa 1500 (in a krg bravo chassis) that regularly shoots high 40’s with the occasional 50 at 8 and 900m.

We’ve also got a new shooter with an S20 in .308 who has shot multiple 50’s at 8 & 900m.

Both are under 6.5kg and meet our standard rules for SH, albeit with hand loads.

Ok so a modified Howa and an S20 which is an aluminium chassis.
The reason I'm asking is because I have my doubts that without some from of accurising a traditional hunting rifle, they simply aren't capable of shooting the longs. It doesn't matter who is behind it, the gun can't do it.
Can anyone prove that to be wrong?

Sounds like a challenge Tim! Factory rounds or hand loads?

I’ve got a traditional hunting .270 I’d give a go. No idea how it would perform but I’d like to see!

[macguru]

We have a young lad at our club with a howa 1500 (in a krg bravo chassis) that regularly shoots high 40’s with the occasional 50 at 8 and 900m.

Both are under 6.5kg and meet our standard rules for SH, albeit with hand loads.

Good, sounds like he is shooting a custom rifle just like mine. As I understand you can buy the barelled actions from Howa. I agree that should be allowed under the rules

[Tim L]

We have a young lad at our club with a howa 1500 (in a krg bravo chassis) that regularly shoots high 40’s with the occasional 50 at 8 and 900m.

We’ve also got a new shooter with an S20 in .308 who has shot multiple 50’s at 8 & 900m.

Both are under 6.5kg and meet our standard rules for SH, albeit with hand loads.

Ok so a modified Howa and an S20 which is an aluminium chassis.
The reason I'm asking is because I have my doubts that without some from of accurising a traditional hunting rifle, they simply aren't capable of shooting the longs. It doesn't matter who is behind it, the gun can't do it.
Can anyone prove that to be wrong?

Sounds like a challenge Tim! Factory rounds or hand loads?

I’ve got a traditional hunting .270 I’d give a go. No idea how it would perform but I’d like to see!

Go for it mate
I tried my tikka308 with 168s. Fantastiic to 200, ok to 600 not much cop from 7 though.

[Daveh]

I have a 308 RPR that struggled to get to 900 yards with a 20" barrel. I swapped a prefit Hardy barrel which is within S/H rules and while it loves 168gn slugs it won't register electronics at 900 without dropping back to 155gn slugs.

It also easily shoots 50s at 900 easily on a T/R target and has shot 118 a number of times on a F-Class target. So I believe a factory rifle that was bought for shooting pigs along bore drains near Richmond in central Qld can be very competitive in S/H class.

Yes there will always be arguments as to whether or not a certain rifle is still standard, been modified within rules or if a shooter is cheating. None of us want to be adjudicating at a shoot over a rifle in a class which is basically an introductory class.

Why not split into two groups. Hunter Novice and Hunter Marksman. One can only compete in Novice for 12 months or 3 shoots/comps then automatically go into Marksman group. Novice class is factory only with no mods at all. Any mod eg trigger, barrel, or stock/chassis change is Marksman class. So if you turn up with a Howa in a MDT chassis on your first event you are in Marksman class. Even a Remington 700 with a Boyd's varmint stock is not factory so your in the Marksman group. If your Savage has a Timney trigger your in Marksman etc..

Once you have shot in the Marksman class you can't go back to Novice.

If you have shot at in F-Class or T/R event you can't shoot in Novice class.

Keep the same weight restrictions and barrel length etc but don't discourage shooters from modifying or blinging their rifles. They just go into the other group. PRS rifles with custom actions in a chassis are still custom target rifles and not in S/H.

Just my 2 cents.. plus some.. Don't shoot me!

Dave

[Mick_762]

I have a .260 Tikka Tac A1,
Pulled the stubby original barrel and have an IBI rem Varmint profile @ 26”, finally had a bit of spare coin and bought a second hand 12-42 NF from another member here.
By definition - its not a SH rifle, and thats fine by me, I am learning a LOT shooting F Open.


It is more than capable of holding its own, once the nut behind the butt gets his own butt sorted:

A62BFB86-EA59-4EC5-9C31-60F73D139C88.png

BFC51A60-D2BF-4C13-81FA-A230DAAE9035.png

And I’m not using any fancy rests either, just an Atlas bipod.
Am I waaay behind in the equipment stakes compared to “normal” F Open kit? Thats a resounding Yes, however I’m enjoying the challenge and love to give the others a bit of a “hurry up” from the “poor cousin”

BD3E7337-7CA2-4A5F-90AF-8F41DDB95EF3.jpeg

Cheers.

I have no idea why that photo is upside down (if you “click on it” it opens right way up), and yes the TikTac was my normal spotlighting rifle too.

[RUSTY OMARK]

It certainly feels more 'real'

I think we need to work on the rules a bit to avoid all this silly bickering ....

Totally agree, the club i shoot with has seen membership double with sporter hunter class, we have been pushing to get better explained rules done from over 12 months ago. A few of us could see issues rising and wanted to jump on it, unfortunately after many discussions with people in power and emails sent to QLD, here we are still with nothing. It’s very disappointing being a financial member and getting brushed aside.
However there are unofficial rumours circulating that the new rules could be introduced in the near future. Let’s hope there is some truth to it.

[macguru]

It certainly feels more 'real'

I think we need to work on the rules a bit to avoid all this silly bickering ....

Totally agree, the club i shoot with has seen membership double with sporter hunter class, we have been pushing to get better explained rules done from over 12 months ago. A few of us could see issues rising and wanted to jump on it, unfortunately after many discussions with people in power and emails sent to QLD, here we are still with nothing. It’s very disappointing being a financial member and getting brushed aside.
However there are unofficial rumours circulating that the new rules could be introduced in the near future. Let’s hope there is some truth to it.

I hope we get some new rules, it great to see the tone of these posts turn around into something constructive that we can work out together .....

[Tator]

Both Lithgow LA102s, my LA105 is 7.2kgs so I can only shoot Fopen with it.

Ah! Righto.
I'm actually wondering if anyone has an off the shelf, traditional hunter. Tikka T3/ CTR, Howa 1500 etc, that can do it.
I might drop my 6.5 back in the CTR stock and see how it goes.
I know Tikkas can be made to shoot very well indeed. I just want to see if a "standard" rifle can.

We have a young lad at our club with a howa 1500 (in a krg bravo chassis) that regularly shoots high 40’s with the occasional 50 at 8 and 900m.

We’ve also got a new shooter with an S20 in .308 who has shot multiple 50’s at 8 & 900m.

Both are under 6.5kg and meet our standard rules for SH, albeit with hand loads.

Sounds like there is hope for this old bugger with his 6.5 man bun Howa in a Bravo stock after all