deerslayer

Agreed. The guys who say “No way, that’s an hour away” can’t be very serious about buying or selling something.

Memphis to Johnson City is quite a haul, but I’ve made the 2.5-3.5 hour trip to Nashville or Murfreesboro for the right gun at the right price on more than one occasion with no regrets.

I have a lot of memories and a few funny stories of deer hunting with my dad, but what is most meaningful to me is that I realized after a few years that he wasn’t really into deer hunting, but he was taking me because I was obsessed with it.

Well that changes things somewhat. I risk ruffling the feathers of the Vortex fanboys, but I am not a fan of them for a couple reasons. That aside, that Strike Eagle is a lot of scope for a deer rifle. Perhaps too much. It is a 56mm, which means you will have to mount it pretty high. It weighs 30 ounces (it’s kind of a pig). It’s first focal plane, which means the reticle appears bigger as you increase magnification and gets smaller as you decrease it. Sometimes on big magnification FFP scopes, the reticle is almost too small to use on the lower magnification (and I suspect nobody cares because the lower magnifications are rarely used on them). I haven’t seen a Strike Eagle 5-25, but I suspect the reticle at 5x (a good general place to put it when hunting) will be less than ideal. A 3-9x40mm is about perfect for a deer rifle, but a 4.5-14 or maybe even a 4-16 second focal plane scope would work and would provide some extra magnification for longer stuff. On a rifle doing double duty in a deer stand and shooting paper targets way over there, compromise is not a dirty word. Also, don’t get hung up on all the hype about bigger objective diameters. Yes, a 50mm will gather more light than a 40mm, but it has to be mounted higher (lower is better IMO) and it’s only beneficial at high magnification. I read an article years ago that explained that you can divide the objective diameter by the magnification and calculate this benefit. In other words, a 50mm objective divided by 5x = 10mm. Your pupil (where light enters your eye) is typically 4 or 5mm in diameter, so it’s overkill until you are at 10x, which kills your field of view. Welcome to the world of getting down in the optics weeds.

Congrats on buying a solid gun! Some people change the trigger, but I bet the Hunter trigger is quite usable. Every factory Bergara trigger I’ve felt was pretty good. Tuning a handload is probably the best way to squeeze more accuracy out of it.

I would buy whatever Leupold 3-9 or 3-10 I could find within your budget range. I would avoid much more max magnification than that on a deer rifle unless you plan to shoot a deer WAY WAY out there. Most competent hunters have no business shooting at deer over 300 yards away.

A friend has one and it's ok, but it struck me as kind of cheapo. If I wanted a red dot with 3x magnifier, I would spend the extra money on a Holosun 510C/HM3X combo.

Agreed. I shot a friend’s comped G48 last weekend and the meager gain in control was offset by the LOUD report. I think most people who claim it’s a huge gain probably just need to fix their grip.

I have one of these on a CZ 455 and it’s a good one. GLWS

I was a driver for the competition.

Are they just starting the team? How has the school treated you? A friend was a coach for a local high school trap team and some of the kids starting shooting SASP. The school freaked out and the team eventually dis-affiliated with the school. Things were a lot smoother after that.

Just got a tax stamp back after 13 days (with a trust). Maybe the Dems/ATF want people like me to forget about the HPA.

This might work well if he runs a red dot: https://savagearms.com/firearms/model/64-fv-sr

For Steel Challenge, it needs to be a semi-auto with a detachable magazine.

News to me, but good to know.

A ban on 15-22s stinks and is probably based on some silly rationale. Ruger 10/22 would be the obvious alternative, and there is a big aftermarket for them. I’m seen some pretty souped-up 10/22s at Steel matches. 10-22s and 15-22s dominate Steel Challenge. Bergara makes a 10/22-ish clone that is worth looking at. The only other mag fed auto I would consider would be one of the Savages. A friend has one and it shoots well (I forget which model). Aftermarket and ability to mount dots, etc may be slim (not sure what division your kid will shoot). Not sure about mag capacity, either. You don’t really want less than 10 in the gun when the timer goes off. If money is no object, get a Volquartsen or a Kidd.

Beretta A300 Ultima Patrol

That's terrible. But hilarious

We have a neighbor who has a Christmas cactus lit up in their front window all year

Me too

I got what you said - cost is a benefit, but I also added about Glock magazine reliability vs 2011 mags - another possible benefit. This is well known in the competitive world. In fact, Glock is probably the only gun/mag that would run after dumping a handfull of dust down the mag tube. A 2011 (and a lot of others) would choke. From my experience (and lots of other 2011 shooters), 2011 magazines don’t like dust.

Glock mags are cheaper, but also are more reliable. Drop a 2011 mag on the dusty ground and you better take it apart and at least scrub inside for a few seconds with a mag brush. Most people won't drop their mags on the ground, but in the competitive world, where the Platypus will see plenty of action, it happens all the time.

I think you two should attend a Philadelphia Eagles game.

If it's like a lot of other Memphis elections, it will pass 70-30 with 3% of the population actually voting.

https://www.electionsshelbytn.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Federal State Municipal Ballot Nov 5 2024 10092024.pdf