A Question About Rifles at the World Finals

[jackie schmidt]

The World Finals uses the Light Varmint -Heavy Varmint Format. That means any caliber can be used.

This being said, of all the shooters, who actually shot something besides a 6PPC.?? Was there a 22 present??

And, how many Shooters actually changed to a true "Heavy Varmint" when the time came to shoot HV, and how many just stayed with what they shot in the LV Class.

Here is the reality. While the Format might be LV-HV, the vast majority of the Shooters probably shot a legal NBRSA Sporter the entire week. Of course, this is in keeping with the way the majority of Registered Competition has evolved. We are all shooting Sporters.

Anybody got a run down on this??. I do know that our new World Champion, Gene Bukys, shot his Sporter.......jackie

 

[CYanchycki]

What is

if anything the defining difference between a Sporter and LV?

LV can be less than .223 where Sporter cannot be. Basically same rifle with just a caliber restriction.

I personally consider my rifle a Sporter versus a LV. Why? It looks more like a sporter with the lighter weight barrels that I use. Muzzle dia of .800 at a finished length of 22".

Is the term one uses in this day one of preference?

Calvin

 

[jackie schmidt]

Calvin

Actually, I do not own a true LV. I own a Unlimited Rail Gun, a 6PPC Sporter, a 30BR Sporter, and a 30BR Heavy Varmint.

We run into this occasionally, it is a matter of definition, or perhaps semantics.

By definition, a Rifle that meets all of the requirements of a HV, but does not exceed 10.5 pounds, and is barreled in a caliber not less than .23, is a Sporter.

So, whether we want to believe it or not, the vast majority of Shooters shoot LV with a legal Sporter. Sure, if you are shooting LV class, you can call it a LV, I doubt the Rifle cares one way or another.

This is just another example of the screwy rules structure. I am sure that way back when the Powers that Be decided to make Sporter .23 or larger, they didn't dream of a 6mm actually taking over Benchrest. Afterall, anybody with a brain knew that a 22 would always out shoot a 6mm.



Yeh, I know. This all sounds stupid. But, it is the reality of the situation. In my opinion, when you see an add in the classifieds that says, "for sale: 6PPC LV", that is not correct. What he is selling is a Sporter.........jackie

 

[Cheechako]

Jackie

As you know, rules often have a way of generating unintended consequences. Whether it's Benchrest, or NASCAR, or Marbles. When the Sporter Class was first introduced the Directors actually envisioned a rifle completely different from the LV, maybe not in appearance, but in terms of accuracy and difficulty to shoot. Since there really were no good 6mm bullets or accuracy cartridges at the time they figured 23 caliber and above would do. Of course, they couldn't see the future and they would probably do it differently if they could go back.

The same thing happened with the Hunter Class. They really were looking at what most of us today would call a Factory Class but today's HBR rifles are anything but that.

I see a similar trend in NBRSA Long Range where more and more shooters are using one rifle, a Light Gun. If the cartridges are capable of long distance accuracy there really isn't much, if any, advantage to shooting a 50 pound rifle. If I have a Light Gun that can shoot 2.5 or 3" groups at 1000 yards you can bet that's what I'll shoot for the entire weekend.

If there's anything I find fault in, it's the Board's reluctance to adapt to the changes. LV Class should be eliminated. HBR should get rid of all the silly restrictions on case capacity, magazine cut-outs, etc. Long Range should increase the weight limit to maybe 25 pounds and let shooters take it from there.

But, we've talked about all these things before and I have a feeling that both of us will be sitting in our rocking chairs before they happen.

JMHO

Ray

 

[JJ-IA]

Actually, I do not own a true LV. I own a Unlimited Rail Gun, a 6PPC Sporter, a 30BR Sporter, and a 30BR Heavy Varmint.
<snip>

Actually Jackie, you own a Sporter legal Light Varmint rifle.
If sporter rules (weight, caliber, scope, stock) change in the future, you will still own a legal "6PPC Light Varmint rifle".

The 6PPC is also a wonderful live “varmint” caliber, but if you want to “score” something bigger than a deer, a 30 is better….

Jim