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.
bad_primer wrote:...The next change that will hopefully draw people to keep coming is that scoring is as per TR...
Yes, I've seen evidence of this already. We've had a shooter battling away in F/TR with a sporting .223 for a couple of years, only shoots occasionally. Last Saturday we changed him over to SH class and he got 50.5 possibles at both 300yd ranges. I reckon he'll be coming more often now .
While this class is treated as non competitive, and used as an introduction to the existing classes, rifle restrictions should remain flexible to encourage participation. As soon as it becomes part of a club championship or prize meeting I think there will be too many variables to make a level playing field possible. Our club is due to discuss whether to adopt this class in the near future and I will be following this discussion closely to see how it works for others. Chris.
FYI - For the clubs using Hexta, the Sporting/Hunting discipline can be found under SH-Std and SH-Open. Our club is using 308/223 for standard and any range legal caliber for open (like FTR and FOpen).
Chris wrote: Our club is due to discuss whether to adopt this class in the near future and I will be following this discussion closely to see how it works for others. Chris.
It should be our State Associations expectation that all clubs embrace this new class, not clubs having discussions about whether to adopt it...
I've been an occasional visitor to the Coolilup range shooting as a visitor once or twice a year for the last couple of years. Shooting my spotlighting rifle, a Sako A1 with Maddco barrel in 223 when a 300 or 400m shoot lines up with my days off. I had no idea about this new class when I went along last weekend, but was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed it a lot. Am now considering joining up and getting something more capable for the longer ranges. It's a great idea, there were quite a few shooters using Sporter/Hunter rifles on the day. I took a young bloke from work along and he had a great time on his first visit to a rifle range. Only 1 point behind me, with minimal coaching. EDIT:I shot a 50.4 on my second go, and a 49.5 on the first. It's rekindled my enthusiasm for shooting. And I'm never selling that rifle !
Last edited by Sam Walker on Thu Aug 22, 2019 5:47 am, edited 1 time in total.
Sam Walker wrote:I've been an occasional visitor to the Coolilup range shooting as a visitor once or twice a year for the last couple of years. Shooting my spotlighting rifle, a Sako A1 with Maddco barrel in 223 when a 300 or 400m shoot lines up with my days off. I had no idea about this new class when I went along last weekend, but was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed it a lot. Am now considering joining up and getting something more capable for the longer ranges. It's a great idea, there were quite a few shooters using Sporter/Hunter rifles on the day. I took a young bloke from work along and he had a great time on his first visit to a rifle range. Only 1 point behind me, with minimal coaching. I shot a 49.5 on my second go, and a 48.? on the first. It's rekindled my enthusiasm for shooting.
Sam, that's what this new class is all about. Getting guys like yourself to run what you have and have a good look at what we do. Stoked you guys had a great day and hopefully you get the chance to have many more on the range. Scott.
I'm new to range shooting (went along to Geelong for a try for the first time on the weekend) and the SH class is probably drawing my eye most atm. As someone who will be using the rifle as a crossover rifle for hunting as well, this seems to be the best way for me to dip my toe in and improve my shooting across the board. So I'm currently trying to get my head around classes and what can be used in what comps etc. Seems like other than PSR which looks pretty open in terms of calibre (at/below .30), I'm best to go with a 308 as it gives me the most flexibility (and will also allow me to chase Sambar with it). I had been looking at a 6.5creedmoor but I don't think that'll give me much choice other than F Open and PSR. I don't fancy shooting against full custom, big dollar rifles with what will still be a crossover rifle...
As such, I'd be interested in hearing people's opinions of what they think a good outfit might be.. and also interested in finding out if there was a list of clubs that would be running SH comps in Vic. (If the outfit question should be taken to another post then I'll do that - let me know). At this point I'm trying to limit the spend to 5k and am thinking things like the LA102 (or even 105), TAC A1 or Ruger PR might be able to perform SH, PSR, F Standard and hunting roles. But I'm yet to find anyone with decent experience of what the 105 shoots like yet...
Vicko my opinion is the LA102 in 308 would probably be my choice of rifle to use for both hunting and S/H if you want the one rifle to do it all and chase Sambar. It has a heavy ish barrel without being too heavy to carry around and has enough accuracy to do well in S/H. You could also dabble in FS or F/TR with it but that is where dedicated target rifles come into their own. A 6.5 Creedmore would probably be great for S/H class but no good for Sambar hunting.
Thanks Steve. I tend to agree that for the price they seem very well built and accurate hence they're on my shortlist. And that really could be a one rifle I'd use a lot.
I do also have access to a 30-06 for Sambar as well but its a particularly light stock so not really aimed at longer distance stuff. More a stalking rifle. I'd just get my stalking skills up to scratch with it. Figured it'd be a good pig rifle with an aimpoint... but I could re think that plan.
So with the 30-06 as a fallback rifle for Sambar, I could go a 6.5 102 that would no doubt be a better for hunting anything below Sambar - as well as better for SH and PSR - but then I couldnt use it for any other class.. so I'd stick to SH or use club F standard rifles until I could afford a custom F standard rifle...
I figure I could probably pickup a pretty well scoped 6.5 LA102 for 3k, which is a lot more justifiable as an entry level target + hunting crossover rifle than anything else I can think of right now.
No Stick with the 308 for the hunting rifle over a 6.5 esp if you were to stay with lithgow. Lithgows have a surprising similarity to a Barnard action as in they have 3 bolt lugs likley to give a more even seal. The action is just that little bit more sturdy than some others and the bolt is also just that little bit bigger as the action size allows for it. I have shot the Lithgow 308 and thought it was way ahead of a Remington 700 it might not have the same number of aftermarket parts available for it. but if you did whant to put it in a Chassis they are available. Buy a good scope, Buy yourself a target quality scope you will never sell it.
Back to the original point you cant overkill something and you will soon learn there is very little ballistic difference between them once you have to start to dial a drop an extra 1/8 MOA is not a issue.
After much deliberation SARA has decided to include hunter class in this years queens. So if you know of some people who might want to have a go, give them a heads up and let them know. More details will be available closer to the event. I look forward to seeing everyone there.
SARA was an early adopter with F/TR and now S/H. Great to see.
Will be interesting to see how they handle the long ranges however - many S/H rifles will struggle at anything past 500. We would like to include it in our OPM, but ours starts at 500yd and ends at 1000. We're thinking a dedicated event 300-400-500 might be better.
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