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November 7, 2015
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Dropped by an ARA match at the club this past weekend, dearth of the walnut and blue steel we love. Was doing a little research today and the Winchester models 52 and 75 were specifically excluded from the factory class “approved” list! All the rifles in the factory class that day were “trainers”. Seems a little odd but it doesn’t look like my cup of tea anyway. The factory class was added a few years back to attract new shooters to the sport by placing limits on the rifles, mainly to keep the cost down for aspiring shooters. Sound familiar? The Model 75 was about 85 years ahead of its time!
Mike
May 5, 2022
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That sounds like what our club added this year. It is called the woodchuck class!
It does not interfear with any of the other classes.
November 7, 2015
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Edward Kitner said
That sounds like what our club added this year. It is called the woodchuck class!
It does not interfear with any of the other classes.
In my case we’re gonna need a bigger target! All kidding aside it was interesting to see the state of the art in precision .22’s. I think ARA’s approach is reasonable and it encourages today’s manufacturers to produce a high-quality product at a reasonable price. Problem is there are no similar restrictions on scopes and all the ones I saw cost much more than the factory class rifles. And then there’s the bench rests and wind flags. I’m no longer interested in actively competing in any shooting sport but if I were I wouldn’t be able to convince myself to buy a scope costing as much as a very nice Winchester .22, maybe two. A woodchuck side match sounds like fun to me but these guys are probably a bit too focused to be interested in something along those lines.
Mike
November 3, 2022
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This Year we included vintage target rifles in the modified class, some people were pushing to go full ARA. This originally started as a fun league so I could shoot my vintage 22’s , but turned into an arms race with pro built bench guns. So now we have three classes ;
1) unlimited class use 50 yard ARA target
2) modified class use IBS 50 yard target
3) factory class use IBS 50 yard target
For the 100 yard , one class only, use IBS hunter class target
We also use to have iron sight targets but was eliminated, I was one of the only ones shooting this with vintage rifles like the 52. Now I use unertl scopes mostly. I shoot in the unlimited and modified classes.
November 7, 2015
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Robert-
That actually sounds like fun! I don’t think there would be enough interest among this bunch of shooters or our club, I’m one of very few members shooting vintage rifles. I’m all done with comp shooting and I wouldn’t want to subject any of my target rifles to the rigors of competition. The original post was mostly tongue-in-cheek and I’ve always been amused by the explicit exclusion of the 52 and 75. All the factory shooters present were shooting Bergara rifles and while a bit homely they appear to be well built and adapted to the game. I don’t think they make much money selling them under the $1250 ceiling but it’s probably a solid marketing plan.
There were some very competitive shooters in the unlimited class and as you know the targets are very unforgiving. To be competitive in this class requires a substantial investment, it’s all about the equipment.
Mike
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