F-Class Match Resources
Courses of Fire
The classical F-Class course of fire in US tournaments is referred to as "String fire". Each shooter completes all sighting and record shots in sequence (a string) before surrendering the shooting position to the next scheduled competitor.
A tournament typically consists of 3 matches, shot on the same day. Each match consists of 20 rounds for record and a specific number of sighting shots. final results are based on the aggregate of the scores from each match or a total of 60 shots for record. A "clean" score (where no rounds strike outside of the 10-ring) is therefore 600 points. The X-count is appended to the score and is used to break ties.
At CTSA, the first match of the day permits unlimited sighters, and the last two matches only allow 2 sighters each. Shooters are not required to use all permitted sighters.
"Big" tournaments (such as state championships) often extend the number of rounds in the aggregate by including additional matches. For example, some tournaments consist of 3 matches on one day, followed by 2 additional matches on the following day. First match of each day permits unlimited sighters and subsequent matches permit only 2 sighters each. Check with the Match Director to familiarize yourself with the specific course of fire for the tournament you will be competing in.
An alternative course of fire is often used in international competitions, and is becomming more popular in the US as well. This is referred to as "pair-fire" or "Bisley style". See the section below for a description...
Squadding & Responsibilties
In most tournaments, there are more competitors participating than there are targets/shooting points. There are also multiple "jobs" that need to be performed during the match. So, Match Directors typically group several shooters into a "squad", and assign that squad to a specific target/shooting point. Squadding takes place before each match begins.
Typical squads consist of 3 competitors. Their roles are divided between Shooter, Scorer, and Pit duty. The Match Director will assign each shooter a "relay position" within the squad (basically designating the order of shooting). In each relay, the Shooter shoots (obviously), the designated Scorer watches the Shooter and maintains the paper record of the Shooter's shots, and the squad member assigned to Pit duty travels to the target pits to physically "pull" (physically manipulate the target frame, repair the target face, and report the shot's position and value). When all shooters assigned to a relay complete their shooting string, the positions with the squad rotate. The Shooter moves to Pit duty, the Scorer becomes the next Shooter, and the squad member who was pulling targets comes back to the firing line to serve as the Scorer. The specifics of roles and how they rotate may be different than this and will be defined by the Match Director prior to the tournament start.
CTSA utilizes the ShotMarker system of electronic targets. (e-targets) One advantage of using e-targets is that the physical pulling of targets and reporting of shot scores is eliminated. Therefore, no squad members have to serve Pit duty, making the tournament less physically demanding, and much safer as no one is downrange of the firing line during the matches. When e-targets are used, the squad member normally serving pit duty simply gets a break.
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Pair-Fire or Bisley Style Matches
In the pair-fire or Bisley style of competition (hereafter referred to as pair-fire), two shooters are assigned to the same target, and both shoot at that same target in a relay. The shooters take turns shooting, and each serves as the Scorer for the other. Pair-fire matches typically permit only two sighters, but those are "convertible". Once a Shooter has completed firing both sighters, he/she must decide if they want to convert neither of the sighters, just the last sighter, or both sighters into record shots. Scores for the sighters the Shooter elects to convert are crossed out of the sighters spaces and then entered as Record shots. The Shooter then proceeds with Record shots until the total number of shots for record are completed. For example, if the shooter elects to convert both sighters, scores for both sighters are entered as scores for the first and second shots for record. The Shooter's next shot becomes their third shot for record.