F-Class Centerfire Prone Shooting & the F-AR15 Rifle

Typical F-AR15 Competition Rifle

F-Class Shooting is an outgrowth of Palma shooting which requires the shooter to use micrometer aperture (iron) sights firing a 7.62 NATO cartridge (.308 Win) at ranges from 600 to 1,000 yards.

The goal of F-Class (originating in Canada in the 1990’s) was to allow shooters who no longer had the vision or physical strength for Palma to continue shooting at a competitive level for many more years. It is also an ideal way to interest younger shooters and new shooters to high power shooting. F-Class shooting is divided into two categories:

• F-Class Open: The most flexible as it allows the shooter to use any target rifle with a bull barrel and scope to shoot off a front rest with a rear bag in calibers up to .338 Win.
• F-Class/Target Rifle: This is referred to as F/TR and is restricted to the .223 Remington and .308 Winchester. In this category, shooting is off a bipod, rather than the front rest, but still with a rear bag. Most F/TR shooters shoot the .308 Winchester in order to be competitive at 1,000 yards. Hence, the .223 Remington, although allowed, is rarely used by serious F/TR competitors.

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  by John Dink and Jim Clary | Ammoland Shooting Sports News