Well, after a breif absence, I'm back on the Skout bus. The result of my RMAC disaster (equipment failure but not the gun) was me sending my .25 cal EPOCH back to Pennsylvania to await further barrel revisions. Although I am not directly sponsored by Skout, my agreement with them affords me priority access to the latest revisions and any changes to the gun. This is all in an effort to push the platform to the top of the benchrest heap. Three months past and at least that many barrel iterations came and went without enough success for me to have received any word that my rifle might returning home soon. In the interim, I was fortunate to be introduced to the RAW HM1000X Mini Hunter by a couple of my reprobate friends. In the absence of my Skout, the Mini quickly and easily displaced my M3 as my primary bench gun. I must say, I was having some very nice success with it (I really can't say enough good things about that gun), when unexpectedly, three weeks ago, I was surprised by a rifle box showing up at my home. It seems the EPOCH had finally returned home.
To that point, I hadn't been satisfied that the EPOCH in .25 was good enough to compete, neither in MY hands nor the hands of anyone I know. Yes the .30 cal had had some success, but I'm not a believer in the .30 form factor, and simply have little faith in it. As a .25 caliber diehard and only a fair shooter (by no means brilliant), I need my equipment to be brilliant if I am to have any hope of being competitive. Well, I can truthfully say that THIS iteration of the EPOCH .25 cal, sporting the latest valve, regulator spring and barrel stabilization paired with the 28" Sub-MOA barrel option, IS freakin' brilliant! My RAW provided a boost in my average 100 yd BR scores of about 5-7 points per card (a great story about a great gun, but for another day), but this 19lb beast of an EPOCH (nothing extra on this gun, that's just what the combo weighs) steps me up to a whole new level! This gun is crazy accurate, infinitely repeatable and a huge leap forward for the platform. Yes, the Karma RP (another brilliant new gun) has been making a lot of noise of late, but lets be honest. The RP is being wielded by guys that were use to being on the podium long before the RP arrived on the scene. The Epoch, on the other hand, has been mostly represented by competent but relatively inexperienced BR shooters. A few old warhorse types are in the ranks (myself included) but for the most part the team consistes of relative newbies, not unlike the gun itself. Even so, this relatively unproven gun has managed to make several appearances on the podium at major events beating out many a veteran pro. Now, with the availabe option of this "next level" barrel, the Sub-MOA bull barrel, as part of the package, there's a very good reason to take another look at Skout.
