August 13th 2023: Sunday GunDay: F Open Rifle Chambered For.284 Win ImprovedEmil is one of the best F-Class shooters. He won the United States F-Open Championship in 2014, placed second at the USA Nationals in 2015, and finished second again at the Canadian F-Open Nationals in 2016. Emil was most recently a member of F-Open Team USA, which won the World Championships in South Africa this spring. He knows what it takes for top-tier F-Open guns. This feature story was first published a few years ago. Today, there are more options for stock and optics, but it is still an impressive F-Open rifle. Emil Kovan’s Daily Bulletin article, Cartridges For F-Class – Rise of the Magnums, provides more information about the latest F-0pen Magnum options.Kovan Match Rifles LLC www.matchrifles.com What are the best components and why? This is a question I am asked all the time, and will attempt to answer it in this article. Duane contacted me two months ago. I had met him at the 2015 F Class Nationals. He wanted to build a rifle using the impressive Master Class Low Profile F Open Stock, created Carl Bernosky of Master Class Stocks and Alex Sitman. I have known Alex Sitman since many years and use his stock exclusively, but wasn’t familiar with his Low Profile F Open Stock. After a short conversation with Alex, i placed an order and had the stock bedded and inletted at my shop within a month. My first impression of the stock was “Wow, that’s a big stock” – the forearm measures much longer than the original Master Class F Class prone stock. When I bolted in the barreled action and squeezed together the end of the barrel and forearm, the stock flexed, but not nearly as much as some other designs I’ve tested. I think it’s because there is “more meat” on the receiver. The full depth of the stock continues further forward than on some other “low-profile” designs. This makes the stock stiffer vertically, reducing the hinging effect forward of the action. The customer requested that the stock be finished in gloss black. The multiple layers of paint and the clearcoat stiffened up the stock quite a lot.
Low Center of Gravity Tames Torque
The barrel is about an inch lower than the original Master Class F-Open Stock. Lower center of gravity means less torque and this is important when shooting heavy ammunition in barrels with fast twist. The toe of stock is parallel and flat to the forearm. This is a significant improvement. I added a 3/4″ track rail in the rear. The pistol grip is one of the reasons I like Master Class stocks. I don’t shoot with “free recoil”, so a comfortable grip is very important to me. The new Master Class low profile stock has the same grip as its predecessor. This allows the stock’s “hard hold” or “free-recoil” style of shooting to be accommodated, depending on the owner’s preference. Master Class stocks are recommended because of their design versatility. Shooters can experiment with either style of shooting to find out what suits them. Cartridge Choice — A 40 or a.284 Win Improved? Cartridge Choice — A 40?
Duane decided that he would chamber the barrel for my 284 KMR (Improved). wildcat. Why choose the.284 KMR over a straight.284 Winchester cartridge? Improved means “made better”. I modified a great cartridge to increase capacity, reduce the pressure, and increase brass lifetime. There are many “improved variants” of the original.284 Winchester, such as 7mm Walker, 284 Shehane and.284 Ackley. My version, the.284 KMR IMP shares the.010″? The.284 Shehane has sidewalls that are blown out to a.010? The 284 KMR IMP lets you match magnum cartridge speed in a standard bolt-face action. If you want to shoot 7mm bullets with 180gr class over 2900 FPS it is more convenient and cheaper to get a barrel chambered for 284 KMR than to spend $650 on a magnum.
The 284 KMR seems to have two nodes. One is around 2820 fps, and the other is at 2940 fps. My match load clocks in at 2935 fps, with a single-digit ES. Note: I chose that load based on accuracy and NOT raw speed. Many novices (or hard-headed shooters) make the mistake of pushing their cartridges to maximum velocity and ignore more accurate loads with lower velocity. The sport of F-Class has been growing rapidly, and equipment is improving constantly. I remember that a few years ago an F-Open that could shoot under one inch of vertical at 300 yard was considered competitive. We are now pursuing sub-one inch vertical at 600 yard! It takes a good rifle to get close to that goal, but the shooter must also learn and experiment to achieve success.
The challenge of obtaining high-quality dies has been one of the most difficult aspects of campaigning for a wildcat cartridge. It almost feels like the odds are against us when we try to find custom dies. The biggest problem is the wait time. Custom die orders can take up to months to complete. Most custom die makers also want you to send two or three cases that have been fire-formed three different times. I find this funny, because I wouldn’t need a die if I could properly size the cases to allow for three fire-forming cycle. I had one “custom” case sizing die that did not size the bottom enough. This made it very difficult to remove fired cases. I think that the best option for shooters who want wildcat chambers (if available) is to have their gunsmiths create the dies. I also offer barrel chambering and die-making services.
Duane chose a BAT action M for this rifle and I believe that he couldn’t have made a more excellent choice. Barnard, BAT and Borden are just a few of the many match-quality receivers we have available. All of these receivers are well-made, and they are suitable for F Class. BAT Machine Co.actions M, MB and 3LL are my favorites. Jewell triggers are my preferred choice. Other good options include: Kelbly (good 2-Stage), CG Jackson (best 2-Stage), Anschutz (best for Bat and Kelbly action), Bix’N Andy and David Tubb.Barrels: Duane also made a good choice. He chose a Brux cut-rifled, 1:8.5?-twist barrel with 4 grooves. You will notice that cut-rifled breechs are the most popular in the F-Class and Long Range Benchrest equipment lists. Both button-rifled and cut-rifled.22 barrels have been used to shoot many records. I have shot both and prefer cut-rifled. I’m not saying button-rifled or cut-rifled aren’t capable of shooting well. But, on average, I have found that four out of every five cut-rifled (from top manufacturers) barrels will shoot well compared to three out of every five buttoned barrels. Brux Barrels does not produce the only very accurate cut-rifled barrels. We also know that Krieger Bartlein Satern and Hawk Hill Custom make excellent cut-rifled bars. This optic is extremely clear and lightweight (28 oz). This optic is super reliable and has 1/8 MOA clickings, which you need for F-Class competitions at long ranges. I prefer the DDR-2 in this 15-55X model because fine crosshairs (FCH) can be difficult to see when there is heavy mirage. The DDR-2 reticle has a thicker horizontal line with a dot in the center. March scopes are very popular, and well-made.
Emil Kovan is a highly respected gunsmith and a successful F-Class competitor. He was the U.S. F-Open National Champion of 2014 and placed second at the U.S. F-Open Nationals of 2015. He was most recently a member of F-Open Team USA, which won the World Championships in South Africa this spring. He knows what it takes for top-tier F-Open guns. Emil Kovan
Kovan Match Rifles LLC
www.matchrifles.com Emil Kovan Competition History: – 2014 F-Class Open National Champion
2015 F-Class Open National Championship Silver Medal
– F Class Open National Championship Teams 2015, 2014, 2013 Shooting Team Member
– More than 15 victories in Regional and State Championships at Palma, FTR, FOpen
– 2013 U.S. National Team member
Bonus Reading: F-Open Magnum Cartridge OptionsThinking of building a new F-Open Rifle? Not sure which chambering to choose? Click HERE to read Emil Kovan’s article from July 2023 outlining the most common magnum cartridges used in F-Open competition. The.284 win is still a good option, but larger magnums have some advantages.
Similar PostsTags:.284 Shehane,.284 Winchester, 7mm Walker, Alex Sitman, BAT action, Brux Barrels, Carl Bernosky, Emil Kovan, F Class, F Open, Low Profile Stock, Open Class
