Hozzie

I think the background and reasoning for this class in ARA specifically are not quite understood by most who have never shot ARA. ARA, PSL, and IR50/50 are all similar in that they are top associations with the best rimfire BR shooters in the country. It is intimidating to most who are not fully into it and two things happen when a new person goes to an ARA match. 1) They realize that the level (and therefore cost) of equipment is very high. It's nothing for most regular shooters to have at least 2 custom guns and all of the extra equipment to go with it running easily in the $6-$10k range for everything. This of course is nothing many want to or can do so they simply don't try it. It can absolutely be done cheaper, but many think it is an all or none scenario. It's a big leap for someone who even has the money to do it. This factory class is a way to get new shooters to try it and hopefully stick with it for a while and then decide if they want to work their way up. 2) For those that are willing to try, most completely underestimate how difficult this game is. They think they have a tack driver gun and are going to "compete". They quickly realize that regardless of how good of a gun they have, they typically score poorly to start and many give up before they even give it a chance. It's simply a fact that to score well, you need to shoot many times and start to learn HOW to shoot BR. One needs wind flags, a good rest, and PRACTICE. It takes the average BR Shooter 2-3 years to really understand how to Shoot Rimfire BR. Luckily for those that do stick around, they realize it is one of the best groups of people you will meet. Many come back for the people they meet as much as shooting. What does happen to those that stick around and start to understand the game is that they realize it's not about competing with the top guys at first, its about competing with yourself regardless of what gun or experience you have. When I ran some matches near me, we had guys showing up and shooting with all kinds of guns. Many came back and enjoyed shooting because they simply wanted to beat themselves. Others didn't because they couldn't accept shooting a 1300 when true BR guys were shooting 2200 or more. So back to Factory Class. Factory class is designed simply as an "entry level" for guys with lower cost factory guns to get their feet wet and "feel" like they are competing against similar guns. The challenge and reason most of the older factory rifles like the 40x's and 52's aren't included in the ARA Factory class is that on the right day in the right hands, they are capable of competing with a custom gun. They won't win often, but they can consistently shoot 1800-2200 on the current ARA Target. With the new "Factory" ARA target, even those guns would not be a fair competition. At some point, they would like to add a "vintage" class for these guns, but it will use the current ARA target, not the new factory target. As you can probably tell, I am quite into ARA and know most everyone in the game. I actually run the Rimfire Accuracy forum, so if you have any questions about ARA, just let me know. I would love to find another range in the Middle TN area to run matches. If you know of a range that may be interested in hosting matches, let me know. I am glad to help run them. I have all of the scoring software already. A couple of my customs. This is from the Triple Crown in Bristol. Next year it will be 9 days of shooting.

I am not sure he will be able to use the 82G in ARA Factory class yet. Some discussions still ongoing about what will make it. Sticking point right now is the term "currently in production". 40x's, 52's, etc won't be allowed in factory class. I think ultimately they will probably let the 82 in. It's not in the same league as a 40x or 52.

I would say the difference is simply due to the "performance" series above vs. the more general series discussed in the article.

Says Made in Italy on the left side or is that now more of a "designed" in Italy designation. I am not up on Beretta's or how they mark things. Is a sharp gun.

Dave, I don’t think you are far from me. You can come to my place and shoot both and decide for yourself if you want. Mine is a Mark III hunter but close enough. My 41 is a 5.5” Heavy barrel. My Ruger has the Volquartsen hammer and sear. I think you will still choose the 41 if your shoot both. let me know if you are interested.

I guess range would be the deciding factor for me. That said, I am an unabashed 204 Ruger fanboy. Everyone seems to default to 223 because of availability, but I guess I like something different. 22-250 and 204 Ruger are probably my two favorite rounds altogether, especially for prairie dogs. Both will have more noise than the Hornet, but the 204 will have similar or less recoil to the 223, but the speed is awesome.

Long shot probably, but anyone have any leads on a good drywall taper/mudder. I have a 14x14 room that I drywalled and would prefer to find someone to finish it for me. I can do it if I have to , but this is just one of those jobs I would prefer to hire out. Located on the North side of Chapel Hill, so probably need someone in Murfreesboro or Franklin/Columbia areas due to the drive. Any leads would be appreciated, especially if you know them. This is in my shop where I have a lot of tools, etc so a personal reference means a lot. Thanks, Jamie

Kahrman makes a good point. If you FFL is willing to ship and it can save you money, absolutely do it. It is annoying how they can get better rates for shipping the same thing. Worth at least asking if you have a good relationship with your FFL.

I haven't sold on GunBroker specifically, but have sold a lot of guns via other websites and shipped them. I never use an FFL to ship them. Just adds to the cost for the buyer which most don't want to pay for. Since you have to ship to an FFL anyway (assuming out of state), I have shipped with UPS numerous times without issue for long guns. Always go to the UPS Service Center and not a UPS Store. The "Store" won't take anything gun related including scopes. It's stupid. I have shipped a handgun with Fedex without issue as well. Just take a copy of the FFL with you when you go to ship and you won't have any issues. Always take a picture of the condition and how you packed it for reference should you need it.

If you are looking for a bargain, the Savage 260 that Rob linked earlier will be hard to beat. Exact same bullet as the 6.5 Creedmore, just a bit more case capacity so slightly better overall ballistics. I would take it before the Ruger any day of the week. Only downside is there is now probably more factory loads for the Creedmore but you can still find 260 as well.

If all I was shooting is deer, I would get a 243. Flat shooting, low recoil and will kill any deer in TN. Ammo available anywhere. And for the money, Tikka's are hard to beat. Savage's shoot well, they just look like crap. Here is a Synthetic with Stainless barrel for $638. Use all of the saved money for a good scope. https://www.gunsmidwest.com/tikka-t3x-lite-243win-ss-22.html

Well, taking a bit of different approach for now. Ordered a Pulsar Axion XM30 and am going to pair it with a Sightmark Wraith HD Night vision for now. I think the combination will allow me to do what I want until I decide to go further. I will probably go with the Pulsar Thermion XM50 if I decide to go ahead with a thermal scope as well. Before I spend 5k on that scope, figure I will use the monocular and see how it goes. The Wraith will be here next week. Axion will be a bit longer since it is on backorder.

I don't think I can this weekend, but if I can get some time I'll let you know (in plenty of time).

I am in Chapel Hill so I may take you up on that. I have had a lot of other large purchases this last month so trying to decide if I want to make one more now or wait a bit :).

Still not exactly sure what I am doing for the scope, but think I am going to go with the Pulsar Axiom XM30 monocular for spotting. Leaning towards the Thermion XM38 for the scope, but haven't decided yet. I have been watching a podcast of some guys who I think offer up some good takes on things. One of them brought up they would rather have a monocular and scope vs just a scope if one was trying to keep a reasonable budget. Seems to make sense to me.

I realize a 640 resolution is better than the 380 size, but is it basically just clearness? Not sure I want to pony up for a 640 unless their is a significant advantage. I probably will just be using it around the house. Could go hog hunting at some point though at a buddies in GA.

Thanks. I’ll check those out.

Thanks. I know thermals are more expensive, but not against it if I can use it on a centerfire if I talk to TWRA. I don't have animals outside of my dog so I don't expect I will meet some exemption, but doesn't hurt to talk to them. What is a decent thermal model? Again, don't need a bunch of fancy stuff, just want to see what I am looking to shoot.

I bought some land and house out in the country about 6 months ago. While I have heard coyotes around and seen them on my deer cameras, last night I had one that sounded like it was literally outside my back door. I have a dog and at night I always go out with her, but I want to remove the threat as much as I can so time to do some hunting. Knowing that we can only use rimfires at night, I am going to setup a 22 mag rifle with a night vision scope for this purpose. I may hunt during the day as well with a centerfire, but I plan to just turn all of my lights off and sit on my porch and wait at night. I know I won't be able to take a shot much more than 60-70 yards, with less than 50 being ideal. However I guess it would be good to be able to see out a bit further to see them coming into range. I know nothing about night vision in general so I wanted to ask some here that may have some experience. It seems the ATN X-Sight 4K Pro has good reviews, but seems overkill for what I need. The price isn't the major issue, but I don't care about ranging, video, etc, but if it is my best bet, not an issue either (although video could be cool). I just want something that works and that I can tell what I am shooting at. I wasn't sure if there as a device to add to a regular scope that may work well or if just going with a fully integrated unit is best (I suspect this is the case). Any suggestions? Thanks!

I haven't tested anything yet, but glad they are showing promise.

I ordered Friday and my ammo will be here today. Had Fedex tracking number the same day I ordered. I also checked for reviews and they have good reviews from what I could find.

Good price. It is nickel plated brass which I don't know if it makes a bit of difference.

I was out checking game cameras a couple of weeks ago driving through one of my fields in the middle of the day and damn near ran over one in the high grass. It started jumping like a hot bean. Pretty funny to watch and more amazing is how high they can actually jump.

Exact same reason I bought it. Will still get some heavier bullets to run the CMR-30 I am going to buy, but for pest control and plinking these should work well. I read that article as well. Already have a fair amount of the Hornady so good to have a few options.

I found that kind of funny too. Sounds like a lot but I bet it would be gone in a hurry if it was on a more known website like Midway for that price.