F-TR rifle

S

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Today I shot my 2nd F-CLASS match. 600 yards. The conditions were tough with the wind blowing from behind switching frequently from L-R and R-L at 7-15 mph.

While I am still unclassified so I had to shoot master, I'm going to be in the marksman (avg 90-91) class once they finally get me classified. Right now I'm shooting a Ruger SR 556 Varmint .223 AR with Harris style bipod and 20" stainless bull barrel.

If I am going to stick with it, I'm going to need a rifle. The .308's and open rifles dominated in the conditions today, and with a new son on the way, I can't afford two rifles so I'm going with the .308. I was wondering if anyone had any experience with the Savage 12 F-TR in .308.

I ask because it leaves a lot of money left over for a Nighforce or SB scope... They are selling on gun broker for around $1200 new.
While I cannot quite out shoot my match grade AR yet, the the only guys shooting .223 are shooting the Berger 90 great Vlad's out of 30" barrels at 2900 fps or more....My gun cannot do that and most of those guys have two guns, .308 for windy days and .223 on calmer days.

Anyway, the Savage seems like a decent entry level gun? If it will hold 1/2 minute at 600 yards it's better than I am right now. Anyway, just wanted some feedback.

Thanks
 
I have an older Savage BVSS-S built into something close to the F-T/R and it does OK.

I was going to mention the Ruger PR, but the .308 only has a 20" barrel which is too short for me.
Otherwise, I don't know what is available that would be competitive.
 
I was going to mention the Ruger PR, but the .308 only has a 20" barrel which is too short for me.
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Yes...Too short. I would be giving up way too much velocity (around 300 fps difference between 30" and 20") compaird to a 30" barrel which the Savage 12 F-TR has. And it's relatively light at around 9 lbs .... you are allowed up to 18lbs including total rig weight and you want to use all of it (or close to it). The 300 (sorry more like 175 fps) fps wouldn't be overly important at 600 yards, but at 1000 it could become a problem with many bullets going transonic from a. .308 at that distance.... Especially if you lose 300 fps

I gave the RPR a look but if I'm buying a gun specifically for F-CLASS, that isn't the best option I don't think.... Especially compaird to the Savage.
 
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The guy to watch out for is the guy who owns one rifle. You might want to consider a 6.5 Creedmoor instead of a .308. Bit less felt recoil. Less thump on your shoulder for all day shooting.
"...1/2 minute at 600 yards..." That's 3" at 600 yards. Anyway, at 600 yards, the X-ring is 3" diameter, the 10 ring is 6", the 9 ring is a foot. At 800 and up the X is 5", the 10 is 10". You don't need a rifle/ammo that will group 3" at 600. You need a rifle/ammo you can shoot into that. Consistently.
Don't see any Rugers winning matches. A Savage Long Range Precision's MSRP is $1288. Vs the $1599.00 for the Ruger PR.
A 1,000 yards isn't a problem for the .308. 1,000 yard Matches have been shot with it for over 50 years using NATO issue ammo.
 
The Savage out of the box is competitive with many custom rifles costing twice as much in terms of pure mechanical accuracy at distance. This is based off of the feedback from multiple F-TR shooters I know. One of whom has had multiple rifles tuned by John Whidden.

The caveat there is that you get a Savage chamber, so you need to know how to set up your reloading dies to make best use of that, figuring out how to tune a load to the rifle. A lot of the F-TR shooters with custom rigs are using "cheater chambers" that us a No-Go guage as the "go" and a Field as the "no-go" and set their dies up in order to cram as much powder as possible into their handloads. It's technically legal to do that, just sort of "gaming the rules." But a Savage chamber will not give you that miniscule advantage, although you could unscrew the barrel and then headspace on a "no go gauge" if you really wanted, I don't think it helps all that much.

Good luck, I hope you enjoy the Savage.

Jimro
 
You might want to consider a 6.5 Creedmoor instead of a .308. Bit less felt recoil. Less thump on your shoulder for all day shooting.
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You are absolutely right T'Oheir....The only problem with the 6.5 is that it forces me to shoot in the "open" class, against guys with $3000 mechanical front rests, crazy wild cat cartridges, etc. F-TR limits you to either .308 or .223 and you can only use a bipod (though the bipods I saw Saturday were only loosley considered bipods).

I'm a fairly big guy, 6'2 and 255, and not really recoil sensitive. And at 18 lbs, a .308 won't thump that hard. But, your point is valid, and it is why some guys have .223's for calm days and .308 if there is any wind.

#5
Jimro
Senior Member

The Savage out of the box is competitive with many custom rifles costing twice as much in terms of pure mechanical accuracy at distance. This is based off of the feedback from multiple F-TR shooters I know.
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That's what I kind of wanted to hear. I can get the Savage, put a nice Nighforce scope and F-TR bipod on it for under $3k. That would be a nice entry level setup and if it is 1/2 moa or less at 600 yards in calm conditions, then the gun won't be my limitation for a while, the wind and elements will be! .Which is all I can ask.
 
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I think you can do well with a less expensive scope than a Nightforce.
I have Leupold 8-25 and although I have twiddled them trying to see through the mirage, it isn't by much I think a decent fixed 24X would suit me as well as anything, although the top shooters are using more magnification.
 
. I think you can do well with a less expensive scope than a Nightforce.
I have Leupold 8-25 and although I have twiddled them trying to see through the mirage, it isn't by much I think a decent fixed 24X would suit me as well as anything, although the top shooters are using more magnification.
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They really don't use much more magnification down here in the south. The mirage from all the humidity and wind makes really high magnification mostly irrelevant. The guys I was talking to had 25x scopes for the most part...One guy had a 32x but he said he usually shoots at 22x.

I was also thinking about the Burris XTR F-CLASS scope. It is under $1k and I hear the glass is pretty good. It is an 8x32. With that scope, the rifle, and bipod I would be in it $2500. I already have bags and all the other gear...And I already have RCBS GMM .308 dies and Redding competition bases for .308.


I think it would be a while before I'm good enough that my gun/gear is holding me back with that setup?
 
I use a first generation, F-Class bipod sling swivel mount, from Sinclair International; on my Savage Model 12 single shot in 223. The fifth generation one's are a tad better, which has a vertical elevation knob.
 
I have a T36 which is a good scope, especially for the price, but it is too much magnification for the amount of shooting I do. I should have bought a T24.

A friend got the similar Sightron SII 36X and says it is slightly clearer than Weaver but the adjustments are not as crisp.
 
Yes, I like it very much. It is repeatable and the 1/8minute dot is fine. It isn't camera quality lenses. No taking pictures of target frames anyway, so no problem. You can see the spotter well enough to stomp on it if everything else is working. Mirage can be a problem occasionally and you're stuck. I would recommend the Weaver V 24 for that situation since you can dial it down to 16 or 10 even lower but the varmint dot is way too small. Hard to find anyone to increase them anymore for rational $$ but they are pretty good scopes too. Mine is 1/4 minute which for me is easier to concentrate on than 1/8. I really liked 600 more than 1000. It's a thrill when your ammo is good, sights right, trigger working and your wind calls are close enough. Weavers are a well known secret. Too cheap and reliable to excite anyone.
 
I would consider the 6.5 Creedmoor or 6.5 Lupua. As others have suggested, less recoil and shoots flatter. After 400-500 yards, the 6.5 excels over the .308. I went with .308 since I already reload that caliber. But as soon as I wear out the barrel on my Savage 10, it will have a 6.5 Creedmoor barrel on it. Check out some other scopes. I use the Vortex PST 6-24. Nothing wrong with a NF scope. Excellent quality but pricey.
 
Problem with 6.5 Whatthehellever is that it puts you in F Open and the cost of being competitive increases considerably.
 
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