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Reading Rifle 2016 Match schedule
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Thank you.....I don't plan to win I just hope to have my "prone/bench" project done soon and would like to go beyond 200 yards with it. I can only get out to reading 1-3 times a year. Looks like I won't get out till around the MA state shoot and debating if I should bother going to that. Shooting has slowed to a crawl for me last few years.
I try to keep from rusting up completely by shooting pellet gun in yard.
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Depends... With the new NRA rules this year allowing scopes on service rifles I think (unless I'm missing something in the rules) that they will be eligible to compete in the service rifle division and the overall match in MRP just as they are across the course. Of course you're correct that there are some other divisions that scopes compete in but according to the current rules can't win the match, for example rule 3.3.2 "Any Sight Match / Tactical." (This is as of 2016 anyway. I wouldn't be surprised to see the NRA open up match rifles to scopes eventually.)
In any case shooters with scopes are absolutely welcome to come shoot assuming the shooter is safe and the rifle meets whatever NRA rules are applicable. F-class (including F-TR) shooters are also welcome but F-class shooters will shoot on F-class targets. FYI, here's the new rule book: http://competitions.nra.org/documents/pdf/compete/RuleBooks/HPR/hpr-book.pdf
("Zeke" knows me but for those following along at home I'm the match director for the MRP matches at Reading, at least until I get fired or someone else wants to take them over.)
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I think my current project falls more in line with F class. 223 rem bull barrel and still undecided on a optic. Like I said I am not concerened if I get to shoot for score. I will shoot service rifle for that. I just want to shoot my scoped rifle at more than 200
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If you shoot from a bipod it's likely F-TR, if you shoot from a sling it's probably "any sight match / tactical" or possibly the catch-all "any rifle." In any case you can shoot -we can figure out which category you belong in when the time comes.
For what it's worth I built something similar to what you're talking about that I use to shoot the occasional F-TR match. I'm more of a match rifle shooter these days but F-TR is fun too.
If you shoot from a bipod it's likely F-TR, if you shoot from a sling it's probably "any sight match / tactical" or possibly the catch-all "any rifle." In any case you can shoot -we can figure out which category you belong in when the time comes.
For what it's worth I built something similar to what you're talking about that I use to shoot the occasional F-TR match. I'm more of a match rifle shooter these days but F-TR is fun too.
Yup pretty much what I built. Except I have 18" barrel. I couldn't pass up the price on the barrel with matched bolt.
I'm just undecided on a scope. I'm leaning towards sightron 10/50/60 ? I only been able to get out to reading a few times a year since 2011. last year was a wash for me. Everything that could go wrong for schedule did.
This year I'm looking at possible state service rifle shoot and something at the end of the season with the scoped rifle.
They have a proposed Tactical rifle class now for F Class. 223 upto 308(? can't remember top caliber) limited to harris style bipods and max scope power of either 12 or 16 power, and ar based rifles. You can find it under the rule changes, Just another way to get people shooting but makes for more classes and things to keep track of
Here is the provisional rules form the new changes. My gut feeling is shoot what you have and just enjoy the sport, I do not think any match director will turn you away.
Dave
Section 23.
This probationary program will be placed in Section 23 of the Rule Book.
NRA Mid-Range (Prone) Tactical Rifle (AR)
Note: Most rules necessary for the integration of this rifle into existing competition are already in
existence and remain the same.
MID-RANGE COMPETITION FOR TACTICAL RIFLES ON THE “AR-PLATFORM”
Conceptually, this new NRA Mid-Range (Prone) Tactical Rifle (AR) program will be designed to provide
civilian, military, and police shooters with an opportunity to shoot NRA Mid-Range Prone competition
along-side of other Mid-Range Prone shooters in matches using semi-automatic rifles built on an “AR
Platform” and equipment generally thought of as being “tactical” in design and use. These rifles will be
configured so as to replicate as closely as possible the tactical rifles (semi-automatic) and equipment
used by the United States Military and America’s Law Enforcement Community in “mid-range” tactical
applications. These semi-automatic rifles will be more “off the rack” or “stock” than “competition” in nature.
They will be more of a “tactical design” than “match design” and therefore less expensive than the vast
majority of mid-range prone rifles currently in use.
These rifles will be of the “AR-Platform” variety, semi-automatic, chambered in any caliber from
.223 cal./5.56mm up to and including .308 cal./7.62mm. The courses of fire will be the same courses of
fire currently used for other NRA Mid-Range (Prone) High Power Competition (300, 500 & 600 yards) and
are designed to be fired concurrently with other forms of Mid-Range competition. The targets will be the
same targets that are used for Service Rifle, Match Rifle and Palma Rifle Mid-Range Prone competition.
Mid-range telescopic sights will be allowed, but not required. Because this is prone competition, shooters
may use tactical front rests such as Harris-type bipods and limited rear rests of the type one might find
used in military or police tactical situations.
This new style of competition is designed to be more “tactical” in spirit and for that reason
equipment normally found in other types of High Power Rifle Competition such as Match Rifle, Palma
Rifle and F-Class Rifle will not be permitted. In order to understand the spirit of this new sport one might
think of this sport as “prone Service Rifle with a bipod and a scope”. This IS NOT designed as another
version of F-Class competition.
As a practical matter, Match Directors wishing to provide this competitive shooting opportunity
within their programs will simply integrate this rifle with others already provided for within their standard
Mid-Range program. In other words, this will simply be another category of rifle to be added to those
already in existence.
These Rules should be “Provisional” to be revisited after three (3) years of operation; i.e., January
of 2020 – if approved.
3.3.3 NRA Mid-Range (Prone) Tactical Rifle (AR) (PROVISIONAL)
Any semi-automatic rifle constructed on an “AR-Style Platform” chambered in any caliber from
.233/5.56mm caliber up to and including .308 caliber/7.62mm similar in outward appearance to the
“Service Rifle” described in 3.1(c), above, equipped with the standard 10-, 20-, or 30-round box
magazine, having not less than 4 ½ pound trigger pull, with standard type “tactical” stock (Military or
Police); barrel length not to exceed 20 inches; total weight of the rifle including one empty magazine,
bipod and/or sling, if any, and sighting system (scope) may not exceed 14 pounds.
a. Stock – Must be of the type and design commonly issued to and/or used by U.S. Military or
U.S. Police; may be straight (solid), folding, or collapsible; competitive style stocks such as
those commonly found on Match Rifles, Palma Rifles, and F-Class Rifles are prohibited.
Tactical stocks with an adjustable cheek piece and/or an adjustable butt plate are permitted.
Tactical rail and/or equipment attachment system are permitted. Tactical adjustable stocks
fitted with rear monopods are permitted but the rear monopod may not be used for support.
See below and see Rule 5.2.
b. Sights – Telescopic sights, either fixed or variable, not to exceed 12x magnification. Standard
metallic, holographic and other tactical sighting systems are also permitted. Laser sighting
systems are prohibited.
c. Tactical Front Rest – detachable and collapsible (folding) tactical-style front bipod of the
“Harris-type”; or, separate soft roll or soft front bag of the type and design commonly used in
military/police “field-expedient applications” are permitted. Mechanical/machine front rests
and non-collapsible and/or mechanically adjustable bipods of the types(s) otherwise legal in
F-Class competition are prohibited. A field-expedient front rest consisting of a back pack or
range bag may be substituted, but only one such item may be used. The front rest, bipod or
otherwise, must be in direct contact with the ground. No boards, mats, rugs, clothing, towels,
or other devices may be used to level the firing point under the front rest or to support the
front rest.
d. Tactical Rear Rest – Use of a soft roll or soft rear bag without “ears” is permitted but not
required. Field-expedient rear rests consisting of one back pack or one or more items of
clothing may be used. Solid, adjustable and/or rigid rests of all kinds are prohibited F-Classstyle
rear bags with “ears” are prohibited. Neither the butt of the rifle nor any attachments
thereto (such as monopod) may touch the ground while firing or during recoil. Rear rest may
be placed on the shooter’s mat/ground cloth, but no board or other device may be placed
under the rear bag/rest or used to solidify support for the rear bag/rest, if any. See Rule 5.2.
e. Sling – Shooter may choose to use a sling permitted by Rule 3.13(b). Competition-style slings
and sling systems of the types commonly used in Match Rifle and Palma Rifle competition
are prohibited. Tactical slings and sling systems specifically designed for tactical field
applications with “AR Platform” tactical rifles may be used. Slings are not required.
f. Shooting Mats – See Rule 3.10
g. Magazine – Standard 10-, 20-, or 30-round magazines must be used. Reduced capacity
magazines and “sleds” are prohibited. Magazine may not be used for support and may not
touch the ground during firing or recoil. See Rule 5.2.
h. Barrel Accoutrements/Devices – Standard, factory installed “flash hiders” are permitted.
Competition-style muzzle brakes, compensators, and barrel tuners are prohibited
Suppressors are prohibited.
i. Ammunition – See Rule 3.17
j. Spotting Scope – See Rule 3.8
k. Interpretive Intent – It is the intent of this rule that this semi-automatic rifle and the equipment
used therewith most closely resemble the semi-automatic tactical rifles and equipment issued
to and sometimes used by U.S. Military and U.S. Law Enforcement in tactical situations at the
distances utilized in standard NRA Mid-Range Prone competition. This is not meant to be
another form of F-Class competition. Rifles and equipment designed specifically for
competitive shooting applications are generally outside the spirit and intent of this rule. See
Rule 3.18.
Dave
Section 23.
This probationary program will be placed in Section 23 of the Rule Book.
NRA Mid-Range (Prone) Tactical Rifle (AR)
Note: Most rules necessary for the integration of this rifle into existing competition are already in
existence and remain the same.
MID-RANGE COMPETITION FOR TACTICAL RIFLES ON THE “AR-PLATFORM”
Conceptually, this new NRA Mid-Range (Prone) Tactical Rifle (AR) program will be designed to provide
civilian, military, and police shooters with an opportunity to shoot NRA Mid-Range Prone competition
along-side of other Mid-Range Prone shooters in matches using semi-automatic rifles built on an “AR
Platform” and equipment generally thought of as being “tactical” in design and use. These rifles will be
configured so as to replicate as closely as possible the tactical rifles (semi-automatic) and equipment
used by the United States Military and America’s Law Enforcement Community in “mid-range” tactical
applications. These semi-automatic rifles will be more “off the rack” or “stock” than “competition” in nature.
They will be more of a “tactical design” than “match design” and therefore less expensive than the vast
majority of mid-range prone rifles currently in use.
These rifles will be of the “AR-Platform” variety, semi-automatic, chambered in any caliber from
.223 cal./5.56mm up to and including .308 cal./7.62mm. The courses of fire will be the same courses of
fire currently used for other NRA Mid-Range (Prone) High Power Competition (300, 500 & 600 yards) and
are designed to be fired concurrently with other forms of Mid-Range competition. The targets will be the
same targets that are used for Service Rifle, Match Rifle and Palma Rifle Mid-Range Prone competition.
Mid-range telescopic sights will be allowed, but not required. Because this is prone competition, shooters
may use tactical front rests such as Harris-type bipods and limited rear rests of the type one might find
used in military or police tactical situations.
This new style of competition is designed to be more “tactical” in spirit and for that reason
equipment normally found in other types of High Power Rifle Competition such as Match Rifle, Palma
Rifle and F-Class Rifle will not be permitted. In order to understand the spirit of this new sport one might
think of this sport as “prone Service Rifle with a bipod and a scope”. This IS NOT designed as another
version of F-Class competition.
As a practical matter, Match Directors wishing to provide this competitive shooting opportunity
within their programs will simply integrate this rifle with others already provided for within their standard
Mid-Range program. In other words, this will simply be another category of rifle to be added to those
already in existence.
These Rules should be “Provisional” to be revisited after three (3) years of operation; i.e., January
of 2020 – if approved.
3.3.3 NRA Mid-Range (Prone) Tactical Rifle (AR) (PROVISIONAL)
Any semi-automatic rifle constructed on an “AR-Style Platform” chambered in any caliber from
.233/5.56mm caliber up to and including .308 caliber/7.62mm similar in outward appearance to the
“Service Rifle” described in 3.1(c), above, equipped with the standard 10-, 20-, or 30-round box
magazine, having not less than 4 ½ pound trigger pull, with standard type “tactical” stock (Military or
Police); barrel length not to exceed 20 inches; total weight of the rifle including one empty magazine,
bipod and/or sling, if any, and sighting system (scope) may not exceed 14 pounds.
a. Stock – Must be of the type and design commonly issued to and/or used by U.S. Military or
U.S. Police; may be straight (solid), folding, or collapsible; competitive style stocks such as
those commonly found on Match Rifles, Palma Rifles, and F-Class Rifles are prohibited.
Tactical stocks with an adjustable cheek piece and/or an adjustable butt plate are permitted.
Tactical rail and/or equipment attachment system are permitted. Tactical adjustable stocks
fitted with rear monopods are permitted but the rear monopod may not be used for support.
See below and see Rule 5.2.
b. Sights – Telescopic sights, either fixed or variable, not to exceed 12x magnification. Standard
metallic, holographic and other tactical sighting systems are also permitted. Laser sighting
systems are prohibited.
c. Tactical Front Rest – detachable and collapsible (folding) tactical-style front bipod of the
“Harris-type”; or, separate soft roll or soft front bag of the type and design commonly used in
military/police “field-expedient applications” are permitted. Mechanical/machine front rests
and non-collapsible and/or mechanically adjustable bipods of the types(s) otherwise legal in
F-Class competition are prohibited. A field-expedient front rest consisting of a back pack or
range bag may be substituted, but only one such item may be used. The front rest, bipod or
otherwise, must be in direct contact with the ground. No boards, mats, rugs, clothing, towels,
or other devices may be used to level the firing point under the front rest or to support the
front rest.
d. Tactical Rear Rest – Use of a soft roll or soft rear bag without “ears” is permitted but not
required. Field-expedient rear rests consisting of one back pack or one or more items of
clothing may be used. Solid, adjustable and/or rigid rests of all kinds are prohibited F-Classstyle
rear bags with “ears” are prohibited. Neither the butt of the rifle nor any attachments
thereto (such as monopod) may touch the ground while firing or during recoil. Rear rest may
be placed on the shooter’s mat/ground cloth, but no board or other device may be placed
under the rear bag/rest or used to solidify support for the rear bag/rest, if any. See Rule 5.2.
e. Sling – Shooter may choose to use a sling permitted by Rule 3.13(b). Competition-style slings
and sling systems of the types commonly used in Match Rifle and Palma Rifle competition
are prohibited. Tactical slings and sling systems specifically designed for tactical field
applications with “AR Platform” tactical rifles may be used. Slings are not required.
f. Shooting Mats – See Rule 3.10
g. Magazine – Standard 10-, 20-, or 30-round magazines must be used. Reduced capacity
magazines and “sleds” are prohibited. Magazine may not be used for support and may not
touch the ground during firing or recoil. See Rule 5.2.
h. Barrel Accoutrements/Devices – Standard, factory installed “flash hiders” are permitted.
Competition-style muzzle brakes, compensators, and barrel tuners are prohibited
Suppressors are prohibited.
i. Ammunition – See Rule 3.17
j. Spotting Scope – See Rule 3.8
k. Interpretive Intent – It is the intent of this rule that this semi-automatic rifle and the equipment
used therewith most closely resemble the semi-automatic tactical rifles and equipment issued
to and sometimes used by U.S. Military and U.S. Law Enforcement in tactical situations at the
distances utilized in standard NRA Mid-Range Prone competition. This is not meant to be
another form of F-Class competition. Rifles and equipment designed specifically for
competitive shooting applications are generally outside the spirit and intent of this rule. See
Rule 3.18.
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I'm not a huge scope guy so take this with a grain of salt but for midrange you don't really "need" a lot of magnification to shoot well. In fact more isn't necessarily better, especially at a range (like Reading) that tends to get a lot of mirage. I think mine's a 6.5-20 (I'm not even sure, but it's not much more than that) and it tends to get pretty soupy cranked all the way up.
Anyway you might get some better info if you start a new thread for this.
Having not shot rifle competitively for a few yrs. I can't see going back into it with this level of rules,, do people stay up late dreaming this stuff up? I go to enjoy myself, not to get suffocated with rules, clauses, exceptions etc. What a nightmare.
They are actually loosing up the rules to get more people shooting. They still need to define what is legal and what isn't with the new shooting options.
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Yep. For the most part the new rules are just there to allow people to compete with rifles that weren't "legal" in the past (service rifles with scopes for example.) Individual shooters who are used to the more "traditional" rifles don't really have to worry about them and can just keep doing what they were doing, it's really more on the match director to know who goes in what category and all the administrative minutia that goes with that. The rules that govern the actual shooting itself are pretty straight forward and common sense, and haven't really changed all that much over the years (at least in the years I've been shooting.)
Anyway, at the end of the day pretty much any rifle will land in some category or another. The match director can help you figure which one, and if you have questions you can always email or call him or her ahead of time. I get a fair number of people reaching out to me asking "Can I shoot <fill in the blank>?", and the answer is almost always "yes."
I was using a Savage 12 FV (26" heavy barrel) in .308 w/ a harris bipod and 10x fixed power scope in TR class for F-class shoots, and doing respectable. Would that be no longer legal being a bolt gun. Strictly ARs for this new tactical class?
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The new (provisional) AR tactical class is a completely separate category. If you were shooting F-TR before you can still shoot F-TR today.
***(At least that's how I'm reading it and how I'll be running the matches that I'm match director for.)
" If you were shooting F-TR before you can still shoot F-TR today." THIS,,, I don't speak this language, need English. I used to shoot long distance high power at Cheshire Cty. in keene. Rules then were pretty straight forward.
Hi Jason,I found this site that explains all about this FT-R shooting,, http://www.bullets.com/f-class . Seems pretty straightforward, Have to do a bit more reading to see if anything in the toybox will be eligible. Thinking a 7.62x51 garand might work.
