One rifle for both classes works great for those that go to a lot of matches that offer both classes, shooters in WA state have been doing that since the beginning and continue to do so today. Other states like CA where I have shot for over 30 years traditionally only offer one class so you have to decide which rifle you want to use.
I agree with Jerry Webster when he states that Standard rifles have a certain advantage over Hunting rifles and all you have to do is try to shoot good groups offhand to realize its easier to do it with a heavier rifle and lighter trigger.
Shooting on windy conditions is different and several times I have used my Hunting rifle to compete in Standard rifle just because I can control the rifle better in very windy conditions.
There are some shooters like Cathy Winstead or Agustin Sanchez that can and have in the past shot phenomenal scores with the hunting rifles but when given a choice they use Standard class rifles instead of Hunting rifles.
I am of the opinion that if only one class was offered with no weight limit on rifle or trigger most of the very competitive shooters would want to go with heavier rifles and lighter triggers.

lone ringer wrote:Shooting on windy conditions is different and several times I have used my Hunting rifle to compete in Standard rifle just because I can control the rifle better in very windy conditions.

That is a great point to bring up Tony. I do the same thing and, remove the scope shade as well. The big boxy stock on my 1808 ms gets blown in the wind a lot more than the trimmer 1712.

Jerry

Used to be we had a real Hunter Rifle class, before the Equipment freaks had the rule changed. Shooters with out of the box factory guns can't compete like they used to. Exception the factory guns built for Hunter like the 1712. Now that you can use a Hunter rifle that's nearly as good as a dedicated Silhouette rifle difference between the two classes is mimimal.

Still if every shot counts extra weight and lighter trigger are going to pay dividens.

Boats