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Posted: 6/4/2026 7:12:22 PM EDT
[Last Edit: AR-Zen][Edited]
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I've never participated in competitive shooting, so I don't know what to expect. I get decent accuracy with my AR-15 (in the range of 0.4-1.0 MOA), so I thought I would register for a match, in particular an NRA 3x600 rifle match. I've read the rules: https://competitions.nra.org/media/10581/2026_high_power_rifle_rules.pdf However, I am not sure I am interpreting the rules correctly. My rifle is AR-15, 16" barrel, chambered in 223 Wylde (.223/5.56), a trigger with a very light pull (about 1 pound or so), 4-16x44 scope, a bipod, an electronic anti-cant device, and a suppressor. Will this exact configuration qualify for the 3x600 match, or do I need to remove something?  Thanks in advance. |
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3x600 is three strings of 20rds at 600 yd with sighters These matches are shot with service rifle or match rifle prone with sling. Your rifle falls more in the match rifle side you can go to CMP or NRA and find the service / match configuration rules. Most matches these days won't turn you away and will let you shoot out of competition or they may have a any sight any rifle class from bipod quasi F class. |
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Edit...... Last i heard there were no supressors allowed in FTR. Maybe that changed. You are going to need a good suppressor cover to avoid mirage or your sight picture is gunna be trash after your sighters and going into record rounds. Hopefully the match director would put you on the far edge of the line, to avoid hitting people with brass. But just in case, order a brass goat brass catcher. Thats the only one that doesnt suck. U can also look at long range benchrest. For FClass and Benchrest you will need to single feed. A sled might be helpful. However. Just know, you will be the only gas gun at these matches, in a sea of $10,000 bolt action single shot rifle setups. Not trying to deter you from joining a match, I just want you to know a ahead of time what to expect. |
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Originally Posted By WillieTangoFox: Last i heard there were no supressors allowed in FTR. For FClass and Benchrest you will need to single feed. A sled might be helpful. Here are the F-class rules for 2026: https://competitions.nra.org/media/10591/2026-f-class-rulebook.pdf There is a new subclass, called "F-Class Precision/Any Rifle", which relaxes the rules. Rounds can be magazine-fed, and suppressors can be used.  |
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Originally Posted By WillieTangoFox: You are going to need a good suppressor cover to avoid mirage or your sight picture is gunna be trash after your sighters and going into record rounds. Yes, the rifle as shown in the first post already has a suppressor cover. It's silicone, so it may not be noticible. |
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Originally Posted By AR-Zen: Here are the F-class rules for 2026: https://competitions.nra.org/media/10591/2026-f-class-rulebook.pdf There is a new subclass, called "F-Class Precision/Any Rifle", which relaxes the rules. Rounds can be magazine-fed, and suppressors can be used. https://i.imgur.com/wCojXZk.png Cool. I havent seen any of those pop up. But i also dont shoot in sanctioned matches for points. More like F class based matches, you could say. I am not building a rifle with no muzzle brake, lol. So for paper punching, benchrest is easier for me to slide into. If it was easier to post pics here, i would post some targets from last weekend. I was shooting a suppressed howa 1500 factory rifle in a krg stock, against very nice rifles. My best group was like 4.05" at 600. Where as best group of the match was a 1.2" at 600 yards. So the equipment gap is large, lol. |
| You might check the match rules for the match you plan to attend or check with the Match Director regarding any ammunition restrictions. Lots of ranges do not allow lighter bullets for mid-range and long range. For instance, one local range requires 75gr or heavier for .223/5.56 on the 600 yard line. Another range local to me requires 62gr or heavier beyond the 300 yard line. |
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OP, your understanding of the rules is a little muddied. First of all, a 3x600 match is not an F-Class match. it's a Mid-Range Prone match and it could be fired under any of these rulebooks with a variety of rifles: NRA Highpower NRA F-Class NRA Fullbore CMP Highpower (Frequently 3X600 matches are fired under mixed rulebooks to accommodate the hodgepodge of rifles that show up.) The rifle you posted is what would typically be called an AR-TAC rifle. AR-TAC is not in the NRA F-Class rules. That being said, you could shoot yours under any of the rifle categories they have but you would shoot on the MR-1 FC target that has 1/2 MOA X ring and 1 MOA 10 ring. If it's fired under the NRA or CMP Highpower rulebook, it would be an AR-TAC rifle, and you would shoot on the MR target at 600 yards. The MR target has a 1 moa X ring and a 2 moa 10 ring. Your understanding of the loading procedure is incorrect. In all slow fire matches, you must only load a single cartridge in the rifle at a time. If you are confused by that, it's probably because you are looking at the section of the rulebooks that cover rapid-fire in what are called across-the-course matches. There is no provision for loading multiple rounds in a slow-fire match. Lastly, I want to say that it's not your fault for being confused. I've been doing this for almost 40 years and find it unnecessarily confusing. The people on the rules committees that have created this monstrosity deserve a nasty case of anal syphilis for their utter incompetence. |
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Originally Posted By bpm990d: If it's fired under the NRA or CMP Highpower rulebook, it would be an AR-TAC rifle, and you would shoot on the MR target at 600 yards. The MR target has a 1 moa X ring and a 2 moa 10 ring. I admit that I am confused about the rules, thus the reason for my post. If the match is 3x600 under the NRA Highpower rulebook, and I am in the AR-TAC rifle class (which I assume means "AR-Tactical"), is there still a single-fed round rule? It sounds a little silly to fire a "tactical AR" as if it is a bolt-action rifle, one hand-placed round at a time. |
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Originally Posted By AR-Zen: I admit that I am confused about the rules, thus the reason for my post. If the match is 3x600 under the NRA Highpower rulebook, and I am in the AR-TAC rifle class (which I assume means "AR-Tactical"), is there still a single-fed round rule? It sounds a little silly to fire a "tactical AR" as if it is a bolt-action rifle, one hand-placed round at a time. Yes, it's AR-Tactical and yes there is a single loading rule. These types of matches go back to the 1870s and that's the way it's done for slow fire matches. It's about tradition and from a practical standpoint, it's about control of the range and firing point. Back when targets were pulled, it was very easy for scorers to lose track of how many shots were fired. Typically it was an absent minded shooter or noob that was paying attention to a different target. Scorers could look down at the shooter's cartridge box and know how many shots they have fired. That's probably not the case nowdays since we have more ranges with electronic targets, but it was a real issue not too long ago. Under other types of practical matches, you have a single shooter with a range officer assigned to them. With NRA/CMP bullesye type shooting you have have the potential to have 150+ shooters on the line all at the same time like they do at Camp Perry. Trying to manage a mixed line with some doing one thing, and others doing another makes things awkward. As it is, the scorers are supposed to be range safety officers, but I've seen plenty of them paying attention to recording the score before making sure their shooter has made their rifle safe. There is going to be about 800+ people shooting ARs, M1s & M14s in the next two weeks at Perry and nobody has a problem with it. There are at least half a dozen other reasons, but at the end of the day it's just the way things are done. |
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Originally Posted By AR-Zen: Another question: are the electronic anti-can’t devices allowed in either AR-tactical or F-class? F class does not allow electronics on the line, other than a tablet if shot marker targets are used. So a bubble level is fine. An electronic light up anticant is not fine. |