ARA Rimfire Winter Nationals This Weekend
The American Rimfire Assn. (ARA) Indoor Winter Nationals will be held this weekend, December 1st and 2nd in North Carolina. The event is hosted at the Rocky River Bench Rest Barn, located near Aquadale, NC (about 60 miles east of Charlotte). Cost is $50 for both days, or $25 for juniors.
In ARA rimfire competition, competitors shot a 25-bull target (one shot per bull) with “worst edge” scoring. Most ARA benchresters shoot in the “Unlimited” class, which has no weight or rest restrictions. You’ll typically see rifles with barrel tuners and 30-40X scopes, shot from high-tech rests. Shown below, on a Roger von Ahrens one-piece rest, is an ARA unlimited 22LR rifle belonging to Joe Friedrich . CLICK HERE to download the ARA Winter Nationals registration form.
If you want to keep your wind-reading skills sharp during a long, cold winter spent mostly indoors, check out 
This simulation graphically displays how wind, altitude, and temperature affect the bullet in flight. The results for distance are given in both meters and yards. The program provides a variety of atmospheric conditions and you can practice Mil Dot ranging on three targets: A 12″ X 12″ swinging plate, a 30″ X 18″ knock down plate and a regulation 72″ X 19″ knock down plate. Chose from three chamberings: .308 Winchester, (175 gr), Windrunner .338 Lapua, and 50 BMG. Each caliber has 70 different range exercises, plus an advanced stage for each caliber with 25 different timed hold-offs and moving targets. Add in different atmospheric extremes and you get almost 300 different ranging scenarios.
