Yes it is. I shot a 3 card 2383 agg and came in second. The first place shooter had the same agg but more X’s.

 

I would be excited to come in in the top 10% of the competition.

You guys are the tops.

 

The point being if it was about winning none of us would have lasted past our first year.

 

but shooting a UL gun is addicting. i come from nrl, prs, elr open class shooting and getting into production class ara has to be one of the most frustrating games i have ever played. last month i barrowed a UL gun to shoot at our local club and even though i lost i much rather shoot UL over production. PS only thing that was changed was the gun still used a joypod and rear bag just like i do on my production gun.

 

but shooting a UL gun is addicting

It sure is!!!

 

Being able to shoot agg that good would be same as a win to me.

 

YEP! For me I like to shoot a good target, Even if it’s only one. Still working on trying to shoot more than one. lol 😆. I have had the second or third place card in a few matches. The first place card only twice. I feel towards the end of my season I was getting better. I like to be able to shoot a good target and hope that I could get to where I could shoot more consistent good targets that could lead to a win. I personally feel UL is a blast. You sure can go through ammo fast, faster than I ever thought you could. I have a buddy who is a PRS guy. But he is going to shoot some BR matches with us.

 

The agg I posted was unusual for me. I’m usually a mid pack shooter, sometimes not even that.

 

6 target tournaments with 2 or 3 relays can be extra difficult for shooters used to 3 or 4 targets and one relay, especially if you have driven 3 or 4 hours to get there and are looking at another 3 or 4 hours getting home.

 

Then there is the gut punch. You just finished your first card, a 2100 and you feel good about it. Tough conditions and your thinking should be decent. Someone is saying someone just shot a 2450 19X. Gut punch. 😕

 

Good times, some days you win and some days you get educated, at the end everyday is a good day when you’re pulling some trigger.

JH

 

The unlimited online bench rest matches here on rfc is great practice.. and fun..

 

Yea, factory class is a piece of cake. I only had to shoot a 2400, 2450, 2500, and a 2500 to finish 1st.

 

What kind of factory gun was you shooting that scores like that on a unlimited Ara card ?

 

Only if you don't shoot. LOL!!

 

improvement is better than perfection

 

Hmm...I thought this thread was about ARA Unlimited class

 

Me too..

 

Classic drift

 

Someone’s got to shoot 2500’s 😁

 

In 2024 I shot 70 rimfire matches at our local club. I finished first or second 46 times against some pretty good shooters. But I was a winner 70 times because I had the fun of competing and the company of people I like. Being first in the match is always nice but the real prize is the pleasure of shooting and the people I shoot with.

One thing is certain; if you don't participate, you can't win... ever.

 

You just Show Up and Shoot and do the best you can.

I could be mistaken but I thought this was the point of the thread. Our factory shooters are like the ones in Bowchamps post. Only match I won this year was last months when I was shooting unlimited. The unlimited is starting to get some momentum at my PGC but some factory shooters may move over in 2025

 

My take was that ARA UL is tough

"I know a lot of shooters get discouraged over how hard ARA Unlimited can be."

 

I only took up ARA BR shooting for the possiblility of winning the big prize money.

 

I swear someone mentioned a new car

 

We’ve gone the wrong direction I think.
To go a different direction I will ask John a few questions.
Why is it hard to win ?
I only have the one Rifle one barrel and a few matches and nothing to compare it to other than score matches I shot with CF.
So really no comparison.

 

That was my goal last year, just shoot and have fun, now I do hate it when someone like Jim out shoots me with my own gun . But, I've had a ball. In Missouri where I've shot my matches I've had the pleasure of shooting against some of the better shooters in the nation. Every match I learn something new to help me improve. Everyone has been fantastic about helping me become a better shooter. 4th was my best place this year, I'm proud of that with the quality of shooters I was up against. It took a 2375 to come in 4th, Jim W. Took the match with a 2483 including 4 2500 cards. It's all just fun!!

 

That was my goal last year, just shoot and have fun, now I do hate it when someone like Jim out shoots me with my own gun . But, I've had a ball. In Missouri where I've shot my matches I've had the pleasure of shooting against some of the better shooters in the nation. Every match I learn something new to help me improve. Everyone has been fantastic about helping me become a better shooter. 4th was my best place this year, I'm proud of that with the quality of shooters I was up against. It took a 2375 to come in 4th, Jim W. Took the match with a 2483 including 4 2500 cards. It's all just fun!!

Where in MO do you shoot matches? I'm in KCMO.

 

It is supposed to be hard to win. If it were easy, then everybody would shoot a perfect score: 2500-25X. Then we would have one big tie for first place. What's the point of that?

For 99% of us, we're not going to win (if winning is defined as coming in first place). So if that bothers you, you're in the wrong place. Pick another sport. Talking about what place you came in is mostly a waste of time. It's all dependent on who else shows up that day, and you have no control over that.

I go to matches to learn how to shoot better. I win when I beat my personal best for that course of fire.

I just shot my first ARA match last Friday. I came in last. Didn't bother me in the slightest. I learned a lot about what I was doing wrong, and how to improve for next time.

 

Well it definitely is hard to win. In UL everything has been done to eliminate as much human error as possible. The Rifles have been developed with much trial and error to produce the most consistently accurate Rifle as possible. It should be easy.
but yet it’s not. I’ll say me myself, I have a fairly good understanding of the wind and what it does to my bullet. I think I’m a decent shooter. So why have I struggled to produce really good scores. I think some could be the Rifle is not as good as it should be. I think you need to be able to recognize it. A big part of it is ammo quality. You need to be able to recognize it. There is a mental factor that you need to be able to recognize it when you are making mistakes. Then there is you got it all right and you get beat by one X. So yea It is really hard to win even when you got it all right. This would be my thoughts on why it’s hard to win.

 

The farther you go down the equipment rabbit hole of eliminating the human factor the closer you get to the only thing that is left is the human factor.

 

Maybe it's so hard to win because there are so many battles you have to win. You have to win the rifle/ammo battle, you have to win the skill battle(ARA UL is the Big Leagues-the NFL-the PGA Tour of rfbr) and a lot of big matches are full of ALL STARS and HALL of FAME shooters. And finally you have to win the hardest fight of all, the fight against your own self in the mental game. And that is only the first target and now you have to do it all over again, and again, and again, and again, and again. And that's my take on why winning is hard and ARA is so hard.