The UK's Finest Independent Forum for Shooters and Gun Owners. Est 2010.

Hello everyone!

I'm looking to get into F-Class and would welcome some advice on where to purchase a custom built rifle. Also, what kind of price should I expect to be paying? I would also want to start reloading - something I have no experience with. Is there a set which includes everything I need to get going?

I have seen a factory rifle, Savage Arms 12 F-class at around £1700. Are they any cop?

One last question, I would be looking at joining a club based at Bisley to start F-Class. Do any of you know which clubs offer F-Class 600-1000yds? I have been advised to have a look at Dorset Riflemen which I plan to do on my next Bisley visit.

Sorry for all the questions guys! I'm quite eager to get started.

All the best,

Peter

PJH99 wrote:Hello everyone!

I'm looking to get into F-Class and would welcome some advice on where to purchase a custom built rifle. Also, what kind of price should I expect to be paying? I would also want to start reloading - something I have no experience with. Is there a set which includes everything I need to get going?

I have seen a factory rifle, Savage Arms 12 F-class at around £1700. Are they any cop?

One last question, I would be looking at joining a club based at Bisley to start F-Class. Do any of you know which clubs offer F-Class 600-1000yds? I have been advised to have a look at Dorset Riflemen which I plan to do on my next Bisley visit.

Sorry for all the questions guys! I'm quite eager to get started.

All the best,

Peter

watch out for Maggot he's been known to bite

Dolphin Gun Co in Lincs build the cheapest custom F-Class rifles, around £2,500 for a Nesika action job using Dolphin's alumium alloy chassis stock and a choice of good match barrels. Optional extras and other actions can add several hundred pounds, some of it for bling like spiral barrel fluting, but the base model performs really well to 1,000 yards. Tim Stewart (EagerNoSkill on this forum) and Steve Thornton used Dolphin rifles to get into the top ten league positions over the last couple of years and were members of last year's GB F/TR team that went to the F-Class World Championships at Raton. Dolphin also does a very good bipod at £175.


http://www.dolphinguncompany.co.uk/


The Savage F/TR is a superb design that can shoot way above its price category. The only problem is that even though button rifled, the barrels are very rough inside, the basic boring being done quick and crudely compared to a custom made match barrel. The upshot is that most shoot well, some shoot far better than they should, and a small minority are 'dogs'. There are a lot around that have been rebarrelled, some through wear and tear, some because the owner wasn't satisfied with the factory original. But, the scarcity of advertised secondhand examples tells you something - their first owners either hang onto them or they sell quickly through word of mouth to fellow club members. Factor in a 20-MOA taper scope rail into your costings (~£100-120) as they don't come with one unlike custom rifles. The match Accutrigger is as good an example as yopu'll get on any factory rifles and works well set at ~12oz pull, but some people never get to like the design. The Savage single-shot PTA action used in the F/TR, F-Class and BR models works extremely well, but operation is a bit agricultural compared to equivalent custom actions like the Nesika, Stolle Atlas, and Barnard 'S', the 'timing' being a bit problematic in some examples.

Talk to Stuart Anselm (http://www.ospreyrifles.com/) who has built a lot of Savage based rifles as well as supplying off the shelf models and who shoots them himself. He knows more about these rifles in F-Class competition than anybody else in the UK, probably Europe.

Thanks for your detailed reply Laurie, I have read some very good and some very bad reviews of the Savage and I do like the looks, but I'm worried that I'd end up with the 'dog', especially as I have very little experience with buying such a rifle. I will visit the Dolphin and Osprey sites tomorrow and will write back on this thread.

Thanks again,

Peter

kennyc wrote:

PJH99 wrote:Hello everyone!

I'm looking to get into F-Class and would welcome some advice on where to purchase a custom built rifle. Also, what kind of price should I expect to be paying? I would also want to start reloading - something I have no experience with. Is there a set which includes everything I need to get going?

I have seen a factory rifle, Savage Arms 12 F-class at around £1700. Are they any cop?

One last question, I would be looking at joining a club based at Bisley to start F-Class. Do any of you know which clubs offer F-Class 600-1000yds? I have been advised to have a look at Dorset Riflemen which I plan to do on my next Bisley visit.

Sorry for all the questions guys! I'm quite eager to get started.

All the best,

Peter

watch out for Maggot he's been known to bite

I was only sucking the poison out Kenny....you know that tesnews

Its all a slur on an otherwise clean record...

Hi again,

I looked at the dolphin and osprey websites and I'm very impressed with both. I will hopefully be visiting Bisley tomorrow to check out the clubs, maybe also check out a couple of rifles while I'm at it :).

For some reason I can't receive private messages on here. I read the FAQ section and apparently I have not been given access to this feature. Can a mod help me with this?

Most likely haven't met the required post count, I think it's 20 or 30

You need fifteen meaningful posts before you gain access to certain forums and functions.

I suggest that you get round to reading the rules in the new member section.

Hi

I read the entire FAQ and completely missed the rules section! sorry, I have now read this and all is crystal clear.

Many thanks

Peter