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Help me transform my LRI Mausingfield from a PRS into Hunting rifle w/o losing my shirt

bluto77

Gunny Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Sep 18, 2012
1,156
5
Houston, TX
Chad built me a bad-ass PRS rifle on a Mausingfield, in a Manners T5A Carbon Elite blank that has the LRI custom inletting job with all bells and whistles. I have more invested in this stock than you have in your kid's college fund. The barrel is from Chad's guy and it uses Chad's preferred controur, ergo, any other rifles being built on Mausingfield actions with one of his barrels would also be a perfect fit for the stock (if my assumptions are correct). Hopefully, the man himself will pop in here drop some knowledge on us plebes.

Now, this rifle can shoot. When I say it can shoot, I mean it can fucking shoot! Here's a pic of 4 different types of factory ammo. I repeat, this is all FACTORY ammo. Mind you, it's only 3 shot groups, but i was trying to show the skills of the rifle and not my lack of skills. All 3 shot groups at 100 yards. Note the Hornady 140 ELD.
[IMG2=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","src":"https:\/\/i.imgur.com\/CMtpjeR.jpg"}[/IMG2]

So, for whatever the reason (which I'm not trying to debate here....there's another thread about it) I'm having another PRS rifle built. Another thing to note, I have yet to shoot in an actual PRS match. But that is changing soon. My initial plan was to possibly sell this rifle to help fund the new project, but I was given good advice, which I'm inclined to take, to not get rid of the Mausingfield action. Ok, the Mausingfield is a helluva an action. There's documentation ad nauseam to support this. So if I wanted to keep it and have something different built on it, that would be a good idea. At first I was thinking, how can I do this without losing my shirt? As previously stated, there's a ton of money tied up in the stock itself. If you don't know about the LRI custom inletting and precision bedding system, you need to check into it. See pics above as evidence of it's value.

What I would like to do is have Chad build a new rifle on this Mausingfield that is geared more towards hunting than PRS. What do I do with the existing stock and barrel though? Obviously, two very important components in a rifle that shoots really well. I want to swap out the bolt head for a magnum bolt head and have a 6.5 SAUM built, using a lighter contoured barrel and one of the Manners EH Carbon Fiber hunting stocks to cut down on the weight, and get the entire action DLC'd in the process. That's the easy part. Figuring out what can be done with the existing stock and barrel is what my questions here are about.

I am assuming, if a guy were to get a different Mausingfield action, he could use the same custom inlet stock I have in conjunction with one of the barrels from Chad's guy that has the same contour, LRI chambers it in 6.5 Creed, threads it for the Mausingfield, and it should fit right back in the exact same place as the previous barrel. Same headspace and everything. So it would be a perfect fit in the custom inlet, custom bedded stock that has helped achieve such great accuracy from factory ammo. Are my assumptions here correct? If not, what would need to be done differently to achieve the same results?

The bottom line for me is: Does the custom inlet/custom bedded stock and barrel retain all of it's value in the proposed scenario?
 
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You take a bath on both. Stock inletting and bedding is a total custom fit... even another action of the same make is a bit iffy to swap around. It will fit yes, but if things are off a tiny bit then that "stress free" bedding job isn't so stress free anymore. You sell the stock and the buyer is likely going to mill it out and rebed it, no added value to them. Maybe the stock sells for $600-700.

Barrel is also questionable, no guarantees that it headspaces exactly the same on another Mausingfield. Buyer is taking a bit of a chance on that, so probably a $500ish selling price.

You just turned your $5k dream rifle into roughly $2500 worth of parts.

Smart play is to shoot the crap out of it, enjoy it, burn up the barrel and wait on the new PRS rig. Or sell the gun complete, build 2 new rifles one hunting and one PRS. I say do the former... If you actually get into PRS you'll find your tastes/needs changing enough that this second PRS rifle you want to build won't be right either. Might as well spend the time shooting and getting to know the sport before building another purpose build rifle.
 
Just hunt with it as is. I hunt with my 6.5x47 lapua match rifle and have no major issues with it.
 
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Or just sell the entire rifle and don't break it down.

Hopefully LongRifles, Inc. will weigh in on this. It's all predicated on the precision of this custom stock inlet combined with the unrealistically tight tolerances of American Rifle Co's Mausingfield production. Chad uses the CAD specs from ARC to inlet the stocks with a CNC. It should be repeatable, which is the only reason I even started the thread. If it was any other company/gunsmith doing the custom inlet with any other action, my thoughts would be the same as yall's. But Ted and Chad are both guys that take things to such extremes that the stock may actually be able to be re-used on a different Mausingfield action.
 
Here's my 2 am take;

You already have one perfect and very expensive rifle perectly suited for PRS, something you express an interest in. Leave it alone, it's already perfect.

If you want a lighter weight hunting rifle, as stated above, buy a Tikka.
 
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Chad uses the CAD specs from ARC to inlet the stocks with a CNC. It should be repeatable,
Based on the overall quality of LRI's work, it should be. But it's a mistake to assume that repeatability is a given just because parts are done in a CNC whatever.

There are plenty of opportunities for errors and non-repeatability in CNC machining and I've seen many of them.

I'm also on the camp that you have two fiscally responsible options:
1. Hunt with the rifle you have now
2. Buy a decent factory rifle to hunt

The other plan is a loser.
 
Swap out the barrel with a lighter profile cut on a cheaper blank and swap boltbheads with it.
That will dump a lot of weight.
Then for PRS swap bolt head and good barrel.
 
I have a Mausingfield in a T4A, I thought if I was going to need it for a serious hunting rig, I would just get one of the EH hunting stocks, and a light contour barrel, swap it out, hunt..... Can swap back to match configuration in 15 min....
 
I just came into a 7mm-08 mausingfield barreled action Chad built. Barrel has less that 100 rounds on it. Buy my barrel for $500 and you have a great hunting rifle. You can swap barrels as mentioned before and save yourself the extra cash of another build. That is one of the reasons mausingfield actions are bought for
 
Supersubes beat me to it. Why buy a mausingfield for a hunting rig when you have a match gun that could also be a hunting rig? Buy a tikka in a caliber that is a magnum, get a PVA 6.5 saum barrel, drop it in a light stock or chassis and be done. My Tikka serves a two fold purpose. hunting and match gun. I love a mausingfield and will probably build one next that will be a dedicated match gun, and the tikka goes straight to the hunting role. The mausingfield wont be any more accurate than a tikka, it will just be better built for the abuse of what a match rifle can see. If you have a 1 MOA rifle, it will be better than the average hunting rifle being used all over the world. The Tikka will be far better than 1 moa. Save the coin, buy a tikka for your hunting rig and keep the mausingfield the way it is. Im sure its a bad ass rifle.
 
Supersubes beat me to it. Why buy a mausingfield for a hunting rig when you have a match gun that could also be a hunting rig? Buy a tikka in a caliber that is a magnum, get a PVA 6.5 saum barrel, drop it in a light stock or chassis and be done. My Tikka serves a two fold purpose. hunting and match gun. I love a mausingfield and will probably build one next that will be a dedicated match gun, and the tikka goes straight to the hunting role. The mausingfield wont be any more accurate than a tikka, it will just be better built for the abuse of what a match rifle can see. If you have a 1 MOA rifle, it will be better than the average hunting rifle being used all over the world. The Tikka will be far better than 1 moa. Save the coin, buy a tikka for your hunting rig and keep the mausingfield the way it is. Im sure its a bad ass rifle.

This is similar to the route I'll be going. I just ordered an LRI Mausingfield build that will be used for recreational shooting and tree stand hunting where weight doesn't matter. My spot and stalk hunting will be done with a Tikka which will also probably get worked on by LRI.
 
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Depending on your barrel contour, buy a 22-24" Proof Research carbon fiber blank and send the gun to LRI and have him install a new barrel. If you have a M24/Heavy Palma sized barrel now the Proof will shave about 3 pounds off your gun and make it way more manageable. If you go with a 6.5 creed then go with an even shorter barrel around 20" to save even more weight. My 20" Proof carbom 6.5 creed barrel weights 2 pounds even.
 
I've inspected probably more Mausingfields than anyone else besides ARC. With that we've (I) have seen them do a very good job with regards to controlling the dimensions relevant to bedding/stock work. Much better than others I will say.

With little reservation I would say one can comfortably flip flop barreled actions in bedded stocks and go back to work. I've done it here (limited mind you, but it's been done) with no ill effects.

That said:

As others have mentioned, hang onto the rifle as it is or sell it outright. I've been on this little crusade as of late where I kind of mock the switch barrel, stock, trigger, scope, handguard (you get it) mentality that seems to have taken over the precision gun world. Treat the rifle as a single piece rather than a collection of parts. It might take you longer to do it this way, but the only thing that is better than one Mausingfield in a gun safe is TWO. :)

That'd be my choice.

Very appreciative of the kind words and glad you like your rifle.

C.

 
I've inspected probably more Mausingfields than anyone else besides ARC. With that we've (I) have seen them do a very good job with regards to controlling the dimensions relevant to bedding/stock work. Much better than others I will say.

With little reservation I would say one can comfortably flip flop barreled actions in bedded stocks and go back to work. I've done it here (limited mind you, but it's been done) with no ill effects.

That said:

As others have mentioned, hang onto the rifle as it is or sell it outright. I've been on this little crusade as of late where I kind of mock the switch barrel, stock, trigger, scope, handguard (you get it) mentality that seems to have taken over the precision gun world. Treat the rifle as a single piece rather than a collection of parts. It might take you longer to do it this way, but the only thing that is better than one Mausingfield in a gun safe is TWO. :)

That'd be my choice.

Very appreciative of the kind words and glad you like your rifle.

C.
This is on a semi-related note as to the accuracy of his build with factory ammo. How much influence is the chosen reamer going to have on how well factory ammo like that shoots? I'll primarily be shooting 130gr bullets out of the build I'm getting from you guys but I don't necessarily want to limit myself to 130gr bullets. On my build order I believe there's an annotation which says I'll be shooting Prime 130gr ammo. If a specific reamer is chosen based on that, will that limit my accuracy with factory 140-143gr ammo from companies like Hornady in any significant way?
 
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The easy answer is if you have the disposable income to build exactly what you want.

But there's no easy answer if money is a concern as anyway you go there are consequences both pro and con. I have a couple really nice precision rifles but if I had the money I'd buy more specific to exactly what I want for certain situations. The way I have it now is using multiple barrels in different cartridges for both custom actions but I find myself not wanting to switch barrels and scopes like I used to. It's not that hard but is inconvenient at times like if a match is coming up but I have the 20x47L varminting barrel on which must be removed and put back on after the match.

I advise going with a long action for your second rifle so you can choose a bigger round later if you want, like a 28 Nosler for instance. It's a significant step up from 6.5 Saum in ballistics (mostly in wind and energy, which could help on a hunt) and more suitable for ELR if you ever wanted to try that.

I have a 6.5 Saum barrel for my long action but I put the 30-375R barrel back on about 6 months ago. I like both cartridges but I had forgotten how powerful the big 30 is so I will leave that on for now, it's addicting. I might even try a ULR match with it for fun.

One thing I didn't like was having a $4000 rifle sitting in the safe for a year because I rarely shot it. I'da kept it if $4000 wasn't much to me but I turned that money post sale into a bunch of stuff I could use often.
 
The fiscally responsible option would've been to stick with golf! Would've been cheaper to join the local exclusive country club than this sport!!!

You want an expensive shooting sport, try sporting clays. A basic, quality o/u competition gun will start at $2500 and they only go up from there.

A typical small tournament is 100 rounds ( about $0.25 each) and about $60 - $80 in entry. A major tournament is anywhere from $250 - $800 depending on how many side events you shoot and what options you bet on, and you'll burn 200 to 600 rounds of ammo. Plus all travel expenses.....
 
The fiscally responsible option would've been to stick with golf! Would've been cheaper to join the local exclusive country club than this sport!!!

The only thing that I can tell that is making this expensive at this point is you. You have to invest literally zero in a rifle now to do exactly what you say you want to do. Ammo, match fees and gas is the only additional expense required. Golf gets expensive if you get a new putter before every hole too.
 
Between travel costs, entry fee, ammo, barrel wear, etc for a local club PRS match, I'm out about $250. Say you shoot 10 a year, that's $2500. A lot of guys shoot 2 a month, so it would easily be upwards of $5000 just for that. If you want to be competitive you'll shoot another 2000-4000 rounds a year for practice, and if you want to shoot a couple of the big matches you had better budget $500-$600 minimum if it's close by, or $1000-$2000 if it's out of state. You could easily be out $10k+/yr for "operational" costs, not including your initial cost of building a rifle (or rifles) and buying the gear you need, and still not shoot half of what the sponsored guys are. A $1000 loss on a new rifle would be a shame, especially if you haven't had time to shoot it how it was intended, but in the big scheme of things it's still a drop in the bucket compared to what you will shell out for just one season of shooting. I think you have taken the initial hit on the rifle and if you go shoot 4-5 matches with it you probably won't lose much more if any. You'll for sure be shelling out much more just to shoot the matches than what the value of the rifle will decline.
 
The fiscally responsible option would've been to stick with golf! Would've been cheaper to join the local exclusive country club than this sport!!!

LMAO, golf is one of the most expensive sports to play consistently.

This is why it drives me nuts to hear people say you gotta go out and buy a custom rifle first thing. Start with a GOOD off the shelf rifle and try the sport before you sink all your dollars into it. Decide if you want golf or PRS shooting, BEFORE you make that decision. Do you rent clubs before you start seriously playing golf? Most people do. Or they get a cheap set of clubs to start out with.

As it stands, you got what you need, if you want to pack it around. If you don't want to pack it around for hunting, get a lighter rifle that costs a TON less. Super accuracy is nice but not needed in hunting.
 
Ok, I'm going to be the ass and address the elephant in the room.....with a rifle that shoots that well and that you claim to love, WHY are you building a new PRS rifle before you've even shot a single match; and WHY don't you simply make the new build a "hunting" rifle instead of considering messing with a terrific rifle?

I had to read the OP several times to make sure I wasn't missing something. Seems like a bass ackward way of going about things to get a hunting rig and a PRS rig. What am I missing here?


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Ok, I'm going to be the ass and address the elephant in the room.....with a rifle that shoots that well and that you claim to love, WHY are you building a new PRS rifle before you've even shot a single match; and WHY don't you simply make the new build a "hunting" rifle instead of considering messing with a terrific rifle?

I had to read the OP several times to make sure I wasn't missing something. Seems like a bass ackward way of going about things to get a hunting rig and a PRS rig. What am I missing here?


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No, you are not an ass for asking the MOST obvious question of this thead.
 
Fair questions. First, you have to keep in mind this thread is a spinoff of another thread I started Link to "Weigh in on my future build", seeking feedback on a build I want to do. Part of that plan was to sell the Mausingfield. Many responses questioned why I would get rid of one rifle to build another one like it, or give up a Mausingfield for the a 60° action. I was looking more for feedback on the build itself, but I did welcome any and all feedback, even if it was questioning why I was doing it rather than discussing the build itself. Since I did ask for all feedback, I did take it all into consideration.

I started this thread to explore alternative options to my original plan, i.e. reconfigure the Mausingfield. I already knew that was a hard one to justify because of the LRI custom inlet stock, and I hoped Chad would give his opinion as well as get an idea on how feasible it would be for someone else with a Mausingfield to use the stock, which would give me an idea on the potential value of the stock and barrel on their own so I could fully evaluate the financial impact of going this route.

Something else to keep in mind:
I am calling it a "PRS" rifle because I want to shoot PRS with it. However, it's important to know, I can have a shitload of fun with the rifle even if I never shoot one single stage of a PRS match. I've been having fun with other PRS-Style/Tactical rifles for the last several years. So when I'm wanting to build a new "PRS Rifle" before even shooting in a single match, to me I'm wanting to build a new rifle to have fun with, and I want it set up so it could be used in PRS style matches if/when I did finally start shooting in those kinds of matches. But again, I'll have fun with the rifle either way.

Here is some insight on my mindset when it comes to things like custom "PRS Rifles".

I like nice shit. When it comes to my expensive toys, I have a tendency to want what I want. These are luxury items, to me at least, so they tend to be more heavily driven by my wants. Of course, there is a financial reality that exists. I do not have an endless supply of means. So I have to balance my wants with my means. The key word there is balance. And a key philosophy is recognizing the utility gained from yielding to the want.

In other words:
- I want a rifle built by Omar on a 60° action set up for PRS competitions. I want it because I want it.
- My financial reality is, in the long run something has to be sold to fund the new build.
- I can temporarily fund the new build long enough to see if I want to go through with it.
- I have a FTR Rig that can be sold to address the long term means for the new build.
- Will the new build on the 60° action make me happy (utility gained from yielding to the want)?

I'm going to test the waters on the new build before completely committing to it. I have a Manners PRS-1 and a Manners T6A coming in the next week, along with a fully DLC'd Curtis Axiom. I can at least pull a trigger out of one of my rifles, put it on the Curtis Axiom and drop it in one of the Manners stocks to see how it feels to run the action. This will give me considerable insight on if I want to proceed or scrap the project. It'll be easy to sell off the components if I scrap the build. Then I can keep the LRI Mausingfield and start competing with it. If I fall in love with the way the action feels, then I can get the build completed. In the meantime, sell the FTR rig, and then make some decisions on how bad I want a dedicated hunting rig. If I go with the new build though, I can't see justifying to myself holding onto the Mausingfield. There's only a few hundred rounds down the tube, and it does shoot really well, so I could sell it for a fair price.

If not, then maybe at that point it would make sense to evaluate having it re-barreled into something else that would provide the happiness utility for me. That's what it's all about right!








 
My first question would be what kind of hunting? You already have a rifle that shoots and seems to do pretty well. Are you going to be hunting Dahl sheep and shooting across a valley at the silly furry thing on the next peak? Stalking Elk. Why the need for so much HP? If it is just deer or even antelope, you have enough gun as is. Yeah, it might be a tad heavy and a little clunky with a long barrel but it will do the job.
I would just buy a quality Tikka or Sako for the hunting task and call it a day. It won't be a hell of a lot more money than converting your Mausingfield into a hunter and you'll wind up with 2 sweet rifles.
 
I don't need any of it. TX whitetail at no more than 200 yards is mainly what I would hunt. A $400 Ruger American rifle/scope combo .243win would be plenty. I wouldn't have much fun with it though.

Transforming the Mausingfield wasn't much more than a thought, with zero true consideration applied to it when starting this thread. The outcome of that rifle I think will largely depend on how I feel about the Curtis Axiom once it's in hand + if I have sold the FTR rig at that time. That will shape my rifle "needs"!

Conclusions of thread:
1. I got 1st world problems. ,
2. The "What do you need all that for" crowd [/think guy at range preaching to everyone how his Savage 110BA and Vortex HST 2nd focal MOA can do everything any fancy pants custom can do] is easily agitated by anything gun related that is not deemed practical, and feels compelled to cast their scorn upon the money wasting fools who do not take themselves as seriously as they should.
 
More food for thought... you admit this is a luxury purchase simply because you *want* it. I'll reiterate my earlier comments about going and shooting a few matches before you decide anything.

You'll find that what you *want* will change because 1) damn that guy's rifle is cool and now that's what I want. or 2) damn that guy just beat me and he's running xyz gear and I totally think that would give me a leg up so next time I won't do as badly.

I bet most everyone here has experienced that, if they were being honest with themselves.
 
More food for thought... you admit this is a luxury purchase simply because you *want* it. I'll reiterate my earlier comments about going and shooting a few matches before you decide anything.

You'll find that what you *want* will change because 1) damn that guy's rifle is cool and now that's what I want. or 2) damn that guy just beat me and he's running xyz gear and I totally think that would give me a leg up so next time I won't do as badly.

I bet most everyone here has experienced that, if they were being honest with themselves.

Something to think about if you go and shoot a match or two, even if you just go where there are 'PRS rifles', you will get eyes, and often "hands on" the "I did this this way" and "I did that, that way". So with hands on you'll at least be able to see and feel the differences that we here can only tell you about.
 
Fair questions. First, you have to keep in mind this thread is a spinoff of another thread I started Link to "Weigh in on my future build", seeking feedback on a build I want to do. Part of that plan was to sell the Mausingfield. Many responses questioned why I would get rid of one rifle to build another one like it, or give up a Mausingfield for the a 60° action. I was looking more for feedback on the build itself, but I did welcome any and all feedback, even if it was questioning why I was doing it rather than discussing the build itself. Since I did ask for all feedback, I did take it all into consideration.

I started this thread to explore alternative options to my original plan, i.e. reconfigure the Mausingfield. I already knew that was a hard one to justify because of the LRI custom inlet stock, and I hoped Chad would give his opinion as well as get an idea on how feasible it would be for someone else with a Mausingfield to use the stock, which would give me an idea on the potential value of the stock and barrel on their own so I could fully evaluate the financial impact of going this route.

Something else to keep in mind:
I am calling it a "PRS" rifle because I want to shoot PRS with it. However, it's important to know, I can have a shitload of fun with the rifle even if I never shoot one single stage of a PRS match. I've been having fun with other PRS-Style/Tactical rifles for the last several years. So when I'm wanting to build a new "PRS Rifle" before even shooting in a single match, to me I'm wanting to build a new rifle to have fun with, and I want it set up so it could be used in PRS style matches if/when I did finally start shooting in those kinds of matches. But again, I'll have fun with the rifle either way.

Here is some insight on my mindset when it comes to things like custom "PRS Rifles".

I like nice shit. When it comes to my expensive toys, I have a tendency to want what I want. These are luxury items, to me at least, so they tend to be more heavily driven by my wants. Of course, there is a financial reality that exists. I do not have an endless supply of means. So I have to balance my wants with my means. The key word there is balance. And a key philosophy is recognizing the utility gained from yielding to the want.

In other words:
- I want a rifle built by Omar on a 60° action set up for PRS competitions. I want it because I want it.
- My financial reality is, in the long run something has to be sold to fund the new build.
- I can temporarily fund the new build long enough to see if I want to go through with it.
- I have a FTR Rig that can be sold to address the long term means for the new build.
- Will the new build on the 60° action make me happy (utility gained from yielding to the want)?

I'm going to test the waters on the new build before completely committing to it. I have a Manners PRS-1 and a Manners T6A coming in the next week, along with a fully DLC'd Curtis Axiom. I can at least pull a trigger out of one of my rifles, put it on the Curtis Axiom and drop it in one of the Manners stocks to see how it feels to run the action. This will give me considerable insight on if I want to proceed or scrap the project. It'll be easy to sell off the components if I scrap the build. Then I can keep the LRI Mausingfield and start competing with it. If I fall in love with the way the action feels, then I can get the build completed. In the meantime, sell the FTR rig, and then make some decisions on how bad I want a dedicated hunting rig. If I go with the new build though, I can't see justifying to myself holding onto the Mausingfield. There's only a few hundred rounds down the tube, and it does shoot really well, so I could sell it for a fair price.

If not, then maybe at that point it would make sense to evaluate having it re-barreled into something else that would provide the happiness utility for me. That's what it's all about right!

10-4. I'm sort of following your reasoning. I definitely wasn't trying to denigrate your process - we all have our own and it obviously doesn't matter what I (or anybody else) thinks. Lol! I was just trying to get a better understanding to see if I could offer any input. I surely understand "wanting what I want" and liking the finer things in life - we have that in common!

I wish I had something constructive to offer but I really don't. Lol! Hope you figure it out and end up with something you like.

Since you're from here in Texas and are interested in competitive shooting, I'll suggest looking into the North American Long Range Shooting Association. They are a new organization that are holding lots of really great LR shoots that have a beginner-friendly format that's a great stepping stone to PRS shooting; and they have great payouts that even lower tier shooters can share in. https://long-range-shooting.com


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Sheldon and Sandwarrior - Yall both make a good point. I plan on shooting in a match the 2nd weekend of Oct, and will likely be able to shoot in a 2nd one before work would begin on the new build. I've tried a variety of actions, stocks, scopes, etc. Enough to think I know what I like at least, but never in that kind of shooting environment. I'm sure what I like will likely shift a little after experience. I figured this was going to be especially prevalent with shooting bags and such.

Sendit6.5 - Thanks for the lin to NALRSA. That looks pretty cool. Our place is down in Uvalde, so I'm down there often enough to work in a match. Looks like yall had one at CCC too. That's where I plan on starting to shoot club matches.