When I first moved to South Dakota back in 2021, my biggest goal was to embrace the "Western" hunting culture. Watching shows like MeatEater, and other various shows on the Outdoors Channel, it can really implant a strong desire to hunt here out west. The wide-open skies, the vast plains, the heart-pounding stalks, the miles upon miles put on each day... the list can go on forever. What I didn't know was how much gear went into this style of hunting out here, and along with that comes with money. I knew I needed to upgrade to a versatile cartridge to hunt game from Antelope to Mule deer, so after research and getting opinions from people I set out for my local Cabela's. I was scouring their gun rack not super impressed with rifles in my price range such as the Savage Axis series, but when I saw this Winchester XPR and got my hands on it, I was hooked! The one I had looked at is composite material designed in the "Strata" camo pattern. The bolt handle and the barrel are coyote tan perma-cote. It was outfitted with a Vortex Crossfire II scope, and after some hard thinking on it I filled out the paperwork and walked out the door with it!