Introduced in 2019, this class is defined in Chapter 23 of the SSRs. It offers shooters with factory sporting rifles the opportunity of participating at NRAA ranges alongside TR and F-Class.
Drop shot wrote:I think it's important that we establish a rules committee around people that actually shoot these types of rifles, as opposed to a committee that is making decisions based on a philosophy.
Ideally yes, but you also need rules that keep a harmonious relationship with the other disciplines who may be shooting concurrently, so a broader view than just the equipment specs is required. This will involve compromises e.g. the ICFRA target, restrictions around muzzle brakes etc.
Realistically there should be a mix. Let's not forget SH is new, a lot of assumptions had to be made with the rules because it was new. Now we have people on board who have experience it's only fair they get a say in the disciplines direction BUT there are a lot of rules that underpin everything we do that many (if not most) people are unaware of. That knowledge needs to be in the mix too. I'm not keen on 2 disciplines/grades, but it is a fast growing discipline. So that may justify itself in the short term. My perspective on the rear bag is that it puts a set differential between what we already have. It is certainly challenging, but good scores are still possible. With the bag, it's just an open calibre FTR. Which begs the question why we spend upwards of $8k on custom rifles. Oh! That's right, if we don't were gong hunters!!!
Drop shot wrote:I think it's important that we establish a rules committee around people that actually shoot these types of rifles, as opposed to a committee that is making decisions based on a philosophy.
Ideally yes, but you also need rules that keep a harmonious relationship with the other disciplines who may be shooting concurrently, so a broader view than just the equipment specs is required. This will involve compromises e.g. the ICFRA target, restrictions around muzzle brakes etc.
This interests me, can you please itemise how Sporting Rifle has caused disharmony on your range with other disciplines, and what you have done to mitigate this disharmony?
Drop shot wrote:This interests me, can you please itemise how Sporting Rifle has caused disharmony on your range with other disciplines, and what you have done to mitigate this disharmony?
I didn't actually say there was disharmony, and don't think its helpful discuss it in those terms. My comment comes from experience with F-Class in its earlier years. The differences between the new F-Class and the existing TR meant that rules compromises were needed from both sides. Probably the main one for F-Class has been the retention of the ICFRA full bore target design. For TR, the speed of shooter throughput increased significantly as F-Class numbers rose. With sporter discipline rifles, there are already issues around muzzle brakes and breech clear safety requirements that have needed special attention. I served on several F-Class rules committees and yes it was important to have experienced F-Class shooters on them, but there was also a need for a good overall knowledge of all disciplines sharing the range.
Drop shot wrote:This interests me, can you please itemise how Sporting Rifle has caused disharmony on your range with other disciplines, and what you have done to mitigate this disharmony?
I didn't actually say there was disharmony, and don't think its helpful discuss it in those terms. My comment comes from experience with F-Class in its earlier years. The differences between the new F-Class and the existing TR meant that rules compromises were needed from both sides. Probably the main one for F-Class has been the retention of the ICFRA full bore target design. For TR, the speed of shooter throughput increased significantly as F-Class numbers rose. With sporter discipline rifles, there are already issues around muzzle brakes and breech clear safety requirements that have needed special attention. I served on several F-Class rules committees and yes it was important to have experienced F-Class shooters on them, but there was also a need for a good overall knowledge of all disciplines sharing the range.
Ah understood. We are booting up our range with an emphasis on Sporting rifle and thought there might have been some traps to avoid.
There's only issues around muzzle brakes because people would rather ban them than put up baffles from my experience. The clearing for the firearm isn't complicated. It baffles me that making sure a magazine is removed is causing so much contention but if people's only experience is F-Class i guess it's understandable that more modern designed or practical rifles would be confusing.
This might have to be bought up at an RO qualification level. There might need to be a bridging course for RO's to show how to clear a firearm that can magazine feed.
Visual, Manual, Visual, Clear, Clear, Clear..... That said i HATE that i have to remove my bolt. So i'm guessing it's just an exposure issue and what we are used to.
I think for the most part the Rules have been great with Sporter class… folks working on them have done a terrific job…
Sporter Standard and now Sporter Open was another great move - Open allowed me to bring in one of my rifles that was over 6.5Kgs and now with more experience i prefer to shoot open with the other guys who also have more experience now and allow the new folks to come up starting in Standard…
In competitions I’d rather see NO MUZZLE BRAKES - as folks can tend to be close to each other, i remove mine out of respect for other shooters… club matches people are usually separated with more room so its not a drama…
At shooting competitions I’ve never felt any hostility from any other shooter and most experienced shooters are willing to help if you ask them questions - with new shooters coming in everyone should help them to make sure they know the rules etc… give them a bit of a hand so that we keep them in the sport…
In the Recent VRA shoot - sporter class shot on F Class Targets - (to everyones surprise) - im not sure where this came from but it was a great move which separated the shooters by POINTS rather than V-Bulls
It as a great move for the sport IMO and i hope they embrace it Australia WIde
Having just returned from Raglan I have to say that whilst muzzle brakes come with issues, they can certainly be managed. The opportunity they present is for young, small, shooters to compete with calibres that are competative. And for those shooters to be competative with those calibres in multi stage, multi day competitions. Take the brake off and you may lose those youngsters.
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