OzFclass

Mick,
Stocks are only a handle on a rifle,sure some fit better than others and make firing a good shot easier,there is no doubt about that. Bedding is important,I am using Barnard actions with a V block,so simple and gives results.Same action,five different barrels,seven years since purchased.no need to re bed when changing barrels.Simple and easy.Good to see you are keen on long range shooting.
Mike.

What stock you choose and how well the action is bedded is the one thing that many overlook when accuracy is not up to scratch.
The best tuned load/barrel/ action will not compensate for a poorly fitting stock that is unsuited to your body type,(tall, short, long arms, short arms, etc.).
Consistent accuracy is highly dependant on repeatability of position and stock fit. More so with shotguns, but, still a major part of your rifle shooting.
I shoot a standard TR stock with bipod because that what I have been shooting for years. It works for me (and I am too bloody minded to use pedestal rests).
As Mike has said; go to a club and don't rush in. See if members will give you a trial shot or too with various setups so that you can evaluate just what suits you.
And, yeah, no rifle will give accuracy without a quality bedding job which is kept clean and tensioned properly.
The stock needs to fit you, not you compromise your comfort zone for an ill fitting stock.

Razer wrote:What stock you choose and how well the action is bedded is the one thing that many overlook when accuracy is not up to scratch.
The best tuned load/barrel/ action will not compensate for a poorly fitting stock that is unsuited to your body type,(tall, short, long arms, short arms, etc.).
Consistent accuracy is highly dependant on repeatability of position and stock fit. More so with shotguns, but, still a major part of your rifle shooting.
I shoot a standard TR stock with bipod because that what I have been shooting for years. It works for me (and I am too bloody minded to use pedestal rests).
As Mike has said; go to a club and don't rush in. See if members will give you a trial shot or too with various setups so that you can evaluate just what suits you.
And, yeah, no rifle will give accuracy without a quality bedding job which is kept clean and tensioned properly.
The stock needs to fit you, not you compromise your comfort zone for an ill fitting stock.

yes I agree I want to shoot with a bipod but will that automatically put me at a disadvantage in f standard?

mick6220 wrote:

Razer wrote:What stock you choose and how well the action is bedded is the one thing that many overlook when accuracy is not up to scratch.
The best tuned load/barrel/ action will not compensate for a poorly fitting stock that is unsuited to your body type,(tall, short, long arms, short arms, etc.).
Consistent accuracy is highly dependant on repeatability of position and stock fit. More so with shotguns, but, still a major part of your rifle shooting.
I shoot a standard TR stock with bipod because that what I have been shooting for years. It works for me (and I am too bloody minded to use pedestal rests).
As Mike has said; go to a club and don't rush in. See if members will give you a trial shot or too with various setups so that you can evaluate just what suits you.
And, yeah, no rifle will give accuracy without a quality bedding job which is kept clean and tensioned properly.
The stock needs to fit you, not you compromise your comfort zone for an ill fitting stock.

yes I agree I want to shoot with a bipod but will that automatically put me at a disadvantage in f standard?

No, a lot of very good shooters use bipods (FS and FO). As a shooter/hunter with some 60 years of shooting experience, I find shooting from a bipod more natural and enjoyable .
There are varying opinions as what is best to use re: pedestal Vs bipod, and to discuss the pros and cons would probably start WW3.

If you want to get technical in WA at the moment, there is no current F/TR competition... yet Im working on that.

At club level nobody is going to stop you shooting. If you work a load that complies to FS and your rifle complies to FS limits there is no reason you cant shoot in FS prize shoots. If you work a load up with heavier bullets then you can shoot FO with us until F/TR gets up and going. Im trying to get more and more FO shooters up and going in WA and I would be stoked to get another.

Yeah right that all sounds pretty good. So loaded right a .308 will do ok against a 6.5?

Wind drift wise it won't keep up, but accuracy wise It will be good. It's all wind reading at the end of the day I think. If you can read the wind well then you will do fine. You can have the best rifle in the world, won't help if you can't read wind.

I started off shooting off a bipod with 308 in both FS and FO until I bought my 6mm FO rifle. It's good practice and bipod shooting makes you use your body a lot more then normal FS rifles on pedestal rests. Your shoulder control is very important as well as pressure. I used an atlas bipod instead of a normal F-Class bipod. That's just the way I've been taught to shoot off bipods, recoil management is also important.

Adam Davies with his 308 in FO pushed Alan Fraser with a 7mm all the way to the end a year or so ago, with Fraser winning it at the last range from memory. Nothing wrong with the 308. There are a few people in Aus that know how to steer them so they are competitive with FO shooters.

It all depends on your load and rifle as to what division you would be in prize shoots, but specifically for F/TR there isnt any division here yet. If you bought an action and had a 308 barrel done up, you can always look at getting an FO barrel done up as well too.

Ok now here's my new theory, how bout a 308 omark 44 and fit a scope and bipod to that? Surely they are accurate enough, considering they are shot with iron sights? Not to mention I can get one for $500

Nothing wrong with an omark to get you into the sport. A club 223 omark here is more than capable of shooting 60's

mick6220 wrote:Ok now here's my new theory, how bout a 308 omark 44 and fit a scope and bipod to that? Surely they are accurate enough, considering they are shot with iron sights? Not to mention I can get one for $500

I have one (ex TR) in the gun safe with a flat $15 Weaver rail and an old Leupold EFR scope with a 40mm tube, it would shoot out to 900yds before running out of elevation.(or 1000yds with 'no' windage left) Is stocked with a beautiful piece of Walnut and well bedded. Stock is worth more than the barrelled action.

Just make sure that you get one with the adapter so that you can get another barrel fitted easier, if needed. The original barrels had the locking recess lugs 'in the barrel' and were screwed into the action.
I believe that you can still get these barrels (TSE) but you would be restricted to length and choice. http://www.tsengineering.com.au/barrels/

Also it would cost you about $200+ for an adapter, plus fitting costs before you can get a new straight screw in barrel fitted.


Original Omark stocks were very basic, restocking is an expensive job. Better to pay a bit more and get an Omark, with adapter, and with a decent stock.
When looking for 'Omark' also look under 'Sportco' as they are the same, just different brand name.
If you do go this way, get the pin that holds the bolt head/lugs in place checked/replaced as with a lot of work these pins 'can' fracture and the when you close the bolt the head may not turn so affectively the bolt is not 'locked'. Don't let that put you off, it is just a precaution.

http://usedguns.com.au/ is a good place to look.

Cool how much for yours?

Sentimental value, not for sale.
I have a couple (?) of rifles that are taking up storage space but just cannot bring myself to part with those that have given me so much pleasure and good memories.

Well at least I tried. My grandad used to do the iron sight shooting he had an omark but I was too young to get it when he passed and I'm a boilermaker so my eyeballs are fried so I couldn't shoot iron sights like him anyway. But surely to get one and as you say do some mods it should be accurate enough, well more than me anyway.