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Been looking at ZTs for about a month now and researched until I had sore fingers. Thought I was settled on a Toro MX, but the Landscape center 4 minutes from my house became a Hustler dealer this Monday. I went and looked at them yesterday and decided to buy a Raptor. Got a 10% military discount to boot. I had my first mow tonight and after 14 years on a lawn tractor it was definitely "different".
I'm an Engineer so the mechanics were not too odd, but the speed & sensitivity will take a few hours to get used to. What I really like is that I can cut my grass a bit lower with absolutely no bogging of the motor. I have been cutting my lawn with a 42" Cub for 8 years and while it has performed very well, it will bog down when the grass is long. The Raptor sailed along without a hitch. The cut was nice and it throws the grass much further than the Cub.
I love the quiet KW motor. My Cub's Kohler was loud as hell and I won't miss it. I was a bit concerned about the Raptor 42" spinning at 16,700, but compared to the Cub it was night & day. I think a 42" ZT with a good motor & deck is just fine at these specs. My neighbors took instance notice of my new ride & now have "mower envy" :^)

Seems like a well built machine and at $2500 I don't think I could have done better.

Welcome to the Hustler fan club,for your needs you got just what you need,after all,isn't that the best outcome!:thumbsup: Nice pics too!

Sweet ride! The 42" Raptor is what I originally went looking for but my dealer in Petersburg sold me the 52" for only $100 more than the 42" so I pulled the trigger with the 0%-48 month offer. I believe we will start seeing more "yellow mowers" in Illinois. I served in the Corps as well so Semper Fi!

Even after I finally decide what to purchase and own something, it takes a while before I am fully confident in the purchase. I started out looking at the ZTs in the big stores, but they just didn't seem worth the price. After 7-8 mows with the Hustler I am indeed confident. Every time I go somewhere that has ZTs I check them out. Today at Farm & Fleet I looked at, sat on and checked out a few CC ZTs and a Troybilt. While not bad per say, the levers, adjustments, etc.. felt nowhere near as smooth as the Hustler. All except one were more expensive as well. Briggs & Kohlers too.
I think the Raptor is a bargain at $2799 and with the military discount bringing it to $2519, it seems a steal.

I did find a nice high back seat with arm rests and slider on sale for $109. Going to think about that.