IBS/NBRSA heavy varmint barrel clarification

C

croyleje

Guest
hello everyone, i am currently shooting F class open but wanted to try my hand at some mid and long range benchrest competitions but am a little confused by the heavy varmint barrel rule. i want to use one of my F class rifles and see if benchrest is something i would like to get more involved in before I go through the expense of having another rifle built. my questions are is there any overall barrel length restriction?

Thank you,
Jason

NBRSA RULES
The barrel shall not be less than 18” long forward of the bolt face and a
diameter of not more than 1.250 inches from the bolt face forward 5 inches. From said 5-inch
point, the diameter shall not be greater than would be defined by a straight taper between
such point and a muzzle diameter of .900 at 29 inches.
 
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Here is a link to the NBRSA long range rules.
http://nbrsa.org/sites/default/files/Long Range Rules Rev 2_2014.pdf
The information that you are looking for starts on page 20. Other than requiring a minimum from the bolt face length of 18" there are no barrel size or length rules. The HV designation is a part of short range benchrest, and is used by manufacturers to describe the dimension of their barrels without reference to their actual use. If you wanted to shoot a 2" diameter cylindrical barrel that was 45 inches long in long range benchrest, it would not be against the rules.
 
croyleje said:
hello everyone, i am currently shooting F class open but wanted to try my hand at some mid and long range benchrest competitions but am a little confused by the heavy varmint barrel rule. i want to use one of my F class rifles and see if benchrest is something i would like to get more involved in before I go through the expense of having another rifle built. my questions are is there any overall barrel length restriction?

Thank you,
Jason

NBRSA RULES
The barrel shall not be less than 18” long forward of the bolt face and a
diameter of not more than 1.250 inches from the bolt face forward 5 inches. From said 5-inch
point, the diameter shall not be greater than would be defined by a straight taper between
such point and a muzzle diameter of .900 at 29 inches.
Click to expand...

Most short range BR shooters shoot their LV in HV Tournaments....
 
Are you talking about the "Long Range Varmint Competition" as described in the NBRSA Rule Book? This is 200/300 yard completion in classes Light Varmint and Heavy Varmint.

Or, are you talking bout 600/1000 yard Benchrest. In this, you have classes Light Gun, (17 lbs and under), and Heavy Gun, which has no weight limit.

As far as I know, in 600/1000 yard Competition, there are no barrel restrictions.

So, if, for instance, your F-Class Open has a straight 1.250 barrel, it is not legal for NBRSA 200/300 yard Varmint Competition. But it would be legal for 600/1000 yard Competition. If it weighs over 17 lbs, it could be shot only in Heavy Gun.
 
Ditto IBS 600/1000 yard

jackie schmidt said:
Are you talking about the "Long Range Varmint Competition" as described in the NBRSA Rule Book? This is 200/300 yard completion in classes Light Varmint and Heavy Varmint.

Or, are you talking bout 600/1000 yard Benchrest. In this, you have classes Light Gun, (17 lbs and under), and Heavy Gun, which has no weight limit.

As far as I know, in 600/1000 yard Competition, there are no barrel restrictions.

So, if, for instance, your F-Class Open has a straight 1.250 barrel, it is not legal for NBRSA 200/300 yard Varmint Competition. But it would be legal for 600/1000 yard Competition. If it weighs over 17 lbs, it could be shot only in Heavy Gun.
Click to expand...

as far as I can see in the IBS rulebook.

Lines 230-233

http://internationalbenchrest.com/downloads/Rulebook/32017Long range Rules 2016.pdf
 
The heavy varmint barrel rule applies to the heavy varmint 13.5 pound class. Most barrel manufacturers have a barrel contour that is designated heavy varmint and meets the rule designation for a 1.250 for 5" tapering to .900 at 29". There is another rule applicable to the HV class rifles and that is the stock's butt taper rule, that the butt of the stock has to taper on a line to the barrel centerline at a certain point from the bolt face. This was to make the rifle come off of point of impact upon recoil and to make the rifle stock into more of a typical varmint hunting stock. This was coming from the early days of benchrest where the stocks looked like a railroad tie. These rules were made to make the rifle look more like a rifle that you would take prairie dog or groundhog hunting. We still have those rules for the HV and LV class in the NBRSA. Not so in the SP (Sporter class) in which it can be any stock configuration and any barrel taper, but is limited by the 10.5 pound weight limit.

If you are wanting to compete with your F Class rifle, more than likely it wouldn't make the 13.5 pound weight limit for the HV class for short range benchrest. But, it would compete in the long range classes 600 and 1000 yards as long as it makes the weigh limit for those classes. I looked at the online NBRSA rule book, but I couldn't find the rules for the 600 and 1000 yard competition online. I'll have to look in my printed rule book and see what the rules are for it. The light class is weight limited, I think at 17 pounds (not sure on that) and the heavy class is not weight limited. If your rifle is too heavy for the light class, it wouldn't be for the heavy class. The light and heavy classes are not the same classes as the LV and HV long range for the varmint class rifles. Long range for the LV and HV are 200 and 300 yards. Completely different ball game than for the 600 and 1000 yard classes.

I missed Jackie's post. Basically the same thing as what he said.
 
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I don't like to do this :), but I agree with Francis. That's a switch from what I would have once written but it serves the question well. Do this before you spend a single dime. I'm suggesting a match where there are NBRSA/IBS equipment rules. If the nearest match seems too far then you have your answer without any expense at all.
 
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Wilbur said:
I don't like to do this :), but I agree with Francis. That's a switch from what I would have once written but it serves the question well. Do this before you spend a single dime. I'm suggestion a match where there are NBRSA/IBS equipment rules. If the nearest match seems too far then you have your answer without any expense at all.
Click to expand...

Gee. I get to agree with Wilbur and Francis................see what they got....
They might let you shoot no matter what. First time anyway...
 
You are talking 600 and 1000, there are no barrels restrictions........ only a weight restriction in light gun at 17 lb and you are not given any oz. for the scale. Heavy gun no restrictions on weight but the rest must separate in IBS. and Williamsport. your 22 lb F open gun will need to go on a diet to make light gun. most light guns run 28" HV. barrels....... Jim
 
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