Also chiming in from the Ballista crowd.
Let's see...I got mine right around the end of 2016. For people keeping score on price, I paid $5545 for mine. I've got a little less than 50 rounds through mine.
I think it's an amazing rifle. Having said that, it's also the first rifle I'd sell if I needed money.
It's a cool system but a lot of its value is basically wasted on most of us and how we shoot. Most people don't need to quickly change calibers when they are out at the range. And caliber conversion kits, last I checked, were over two grand for the full barrel, a replacement bolt head, and 1 magazine.
You're basically paying for something that can do something you probably never will, and even then only if you throw even more money into it. And a really nice Pelican Storm 3300 case with custom-cut foam that can hold the rifle plus conversion kits. Oh, and all the product pictures I've ever seen of it show it with accessories mounted, including an Atlas bipod and an optic in an FN mount. And while everyone's going to be all "Well of course that's just for show, of course it won't come with a scope and bipod included" all the pictures also show it with basically several hundred in Ballista-specific accessories that don't actually come with it and are somewhat hard to find.
So, the good: The Unique Alpine brake works really well, the grip safety is easy to remove and the rifle will accept most AR-style grips, it has a rail on top with a 20 MOA cant built into it, the folding stock is really solid, it comes with a really nice hard case, and it's definitely rather unique.
Now, the bad: It's overpriced if you just want a bolt-action rifle in 338LM, it comes with a grip safety, the full-length rail up top means you have to run taller mounts, support will probably be non-existent if you ever need it, and it's marketed somewhat deceptively.
Make of that what you will.
I can't really speak to the MRAD as it's been about 15 years since I shot a Barrett and TBH I don't think the MRAD even existed at the time.
Let's see...I got mine right around the end of 2016. For people keeping score on price, I paid $5545 for mine. I've got a little less than 50 rounds through mine.
I think it's an amazing rifle. Having said that, it's also the first rifle I'd sell if I needed money.
It's a cool system but a lot of its value is basically wasted on most of us and how we shoot. Most people don't need to quickly change calibers when they are out at the range. And caliber conversion kits, last I checked, were over two grand for the full barrel, a replacement bolt head, and 1 magazine.
You're basically paying for something that can do something you probably never will, and even then only if you throw even more money into it. And a really nice Pelican Storm 3300 case with custom-cut foam that can hold the rifle plus conversion kits. Oh, and all the product pictures I've ever seen of it show it with accessories mounted, including an Atlas bipod and an optic in an FN mount. And while everyone's going to be all "Well of course that's just for show, of course it won't come with a scope and bipod included" all the pictures also show it with basically several hundred in Ballista-specific accessories that don't actually come with it and are somewhat hard to find.
So, the good: The Unique Alpine brake works really well, the grip safety is easy to remove and the rifle will accept most AR-style grips, it has a rail on top with a 20 MOA cant built into it, the folding stock is really solid, it comes with a really nice hard case, and it's definitely rather unique.
Now, the bad: It's overpriced if you just want a bolt-action rifle in 338LM, it comes with a grip safety, the full-length rail up top means you have to run taller mounts, support will probably be non-existent if you ever need it, and it's marketed somewhat deceptively.
Make of that what you will.
I can't really speak to the MRAD as it's been about 15 years since I shot a Barrett and TBH I don't think the MRAD even existed at the time.
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