I was looking at getting a 6.5 PRC in the Bergara HMR Pro but now I am thinking I could possibly just get a custom barreled action for the price and go the custom route. However, do I really need a custom rifle for something that only will be shot out to 1200 meters max or can a factory rifle suffice? This will be used for a multi role rifle target and some hunting.
Should I go custom action or buy a factory rifle
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Your caliber of choice isn't one that is extreme but not especially easy on barrels compared to the smaller 6.5mm offerings so take barrel changes into consideration.
If you go with some of the custom actions being offered you can just order a shouldered barrel of your choice and swap barrels yourself.
But I believe Bergara offers the service for a reasonable fee but you get what they sell and you are out of the rifle while the work is being done as well as being at the mercy of whatever mouth breather shipping service you choose to ship it there and back.
If you go with some of the custom actions being offered you can just order a shouldered barrel of your choice and swap barrels yourself.
But I believe Bergara offers the service for a reasonable fee but you get what they sell and you are out of the rifle while the work is being done as well as being at the mercy of whatever mouth breather shipping service you choose to ship it there and back.
The chance of getting a lemon of a factory rifle far exceeds that of a custom rifle!
M700 footprint action, like the G1.1 Nucleus on sale for $800, Shilen select match barrel, go and no go gauge, Trigger Tech trigger, Chassis of choice = awesome.
Spend that extra $, in a short period of time you'll have the custom paid for which puts you well ahead vs selling the unsatis >"factory" rifle at a loss.
M700 footprint action, like the G1.1 Nucleus on sale for $800, Shilen select match barrel, go and no go gauge, Trigger Tech trigger, Chassis of choice = awesome.
Spend that extra $, in a short period of time you'll have the custom paid for which puts you well ahead vs selling the unsatis >"factory" rifle at a loss.
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This, but in 6.5 Creedmoor instead. Inside 1200 really the only major difference the PRC will get you is significantly lower barrel life, significantly more powder consumption, and more recoil.
PRC adds a little bit of effective range on game than the Creedmoor, but neither are ideal long range hunting rounds if that’s what you’re after. Either will drop a deer or elk inside 600 if you put the right bullet in the right spot.
Bighorn Origin would be my choice. If you hand load you could hot rod a 6.5 Creedmoor and get close to the prc with reloader 26.
Ive been in the same boat ive got a cert for an action but still contemplating a factory rifle i like to build so thats where the custom gets me but a factory rifle would easily suffice for my needs as well
At the end of the day its all in what you can justify.....for example i want a carbon barrel...i dont need it for weight or anything other than i like the look lol but its gona cost me $300 more just for that
At the end of the day its all in what you can justify.....for example i want a carbon barrel...i dont need it for weight or anything other than i like the look lol but its gona cost me $300 more just for that
I haven't regretted getting something that was maybe more than what I need or want. But I have regretted getting less.
You can get a blueprinted Savage target action from NSS or a big horn origin (preferred) and just build off that. You have to have some tools to out whatever barrel you want on, but then you don't have to wait for a gunsmith or anything like that ever again. My prefits are 0 MOA capable and probably average 3/8 MOA, except my 244 valyk which is a lemon.
If you get a Bighorn Arms Origin, and a PROOF Research prefit barrel just your barreled action will be right at, or slightly above the price of that Bergara Premier HMR Pro. Then you'll still need a trigger and a chassis, or a stock and miscellaneous nice to haves you might want, i.e. muzzle brake, cheekriser pad, ... don't forget the glass and mounts but you would need those for the Bergara as well. Mostly a question of do you have time to wait for parts, how much tweaking and customizing do you intend to do, and of budget.
6.5 PRC barrel life at full pressure is no better than a 6.5-284 ask me how i know lol... I always go the custom route but really thinking about a new AI rifle.
As described with the prefits you can do your own barrel changes without problem. The Bighorns have the interchangeable boltheads so you can change caliber by changing out the bolthead and barrel as long as you stick with whatever calibers your action will accommodate, short action, or long action with corresponding caliber barrel. and bolthead.
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I negated the "factory lemon" possibility until recently, when I discovered my Tikka T3X Varmint in .223 had a 10-20% failure to fire rate with CCI 450 primers and 10%FTF with Winchester SRPs (no problem with the couple of brands of factory ammo I used for months before reloading). A highly-regarded local gunsmith and LGS both agreed the issue was with the rifle, not my handloads... Beretta kept the rifle a month and sent it back, whereupon it was "better" with a 5-10% FTF rate. Gunsmith fixed it by rounding the thick, almost flat tip of the firing pin to a more standard rounded profile.
Here's the point: Beretta insisted I send the rifle in, kept it a month, and sent it back in essentially the same state in which it was sent out. The Tikka is as smooth to cycle and as accurate as one could ask, but from now on, any new rifles will be assembled from custom components - I had what seemed to be weird issue with my custom action and got an instant fix on the phone; there was nothing wrong with the action at all; the scope was mounted so low that empty cases were bouncing off the windage turret and right back into the breech!).
EDIT: @2aBaCa is right if this is your first rifle... unless you, like me, are fortunate enough to have easy access to a great gunsmith who can help directly with assembling a custom build.
Here's the point: Beretta insisted I send the rifle in, kept it a month, and sent it back in essentially the same state in which it was sent out. The Tikka is as smooth to cycle and as accurate as one could ask, but from now on, any new rifles will be assembled from custom components - I had what seemed to be weird issue with my custom action and got an instant fix on the phone; there was nothing wrong with the action at all; the scope was mounted so low that empty cases were bouncing off the windage turret and right back into the breech!).
EDIT: @2aBaCa is right if this is your first rifle... unless you, like me, are fortunate enough to have easy access to a great gunsmith who can help directly with assembling a custom build.
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You can change barrels on any rifle. People like to make changing out a shouldered barrel as if it's rocket surgery, but in concept it's no more difficult then changing a light bulb.
Just need minimal tools and it can be done in 5 min or less. Shouldered barrels are easy to change. Perhaps not as convenient as some of the quick change setups, but a non-issue if you aren't changing barrels every 50 rounds.
Plenty of good actions to go with these days that are held to such tight tolerances that you can order a shouldered barrel without sending your action off. Hell, even Tikka can do this. No need to spend $5k+ on an AI just for the ability to change barrels.
The difference between an AI and the others is that you’re never pulling an optic, never pullingan action out of a stock and it’s so repeatable that that you can have your POI shift from X barrel to Y barrel recorded and you literally dial that on the optic and it will cut the center out of the target. You can also perform a barrel change on a AI anywhere without the need of a barrel vise or other tools other than a 4mm hex key (ideally a torque wrench/tool) and a wrench for the flats.
There’s some others that offer easy to change barrels too, but none that have the repeatability of the AI.
I say go the custom route with something like the bighorn origin. They are solid and just plain work, now if you don’t want to mess around with putting a barrel or getting the tool right away I’d look at keystone accuracy. They do a barrel action with either cut or button rifled barrels for a very fair price.
I agree the AI is nice, no doubt about it.
But you don't need an AI in order to change barrels.
Yes, an AI would be nice if you want to regularly swap barrels in the field. Most don't, and there are tools like the Ross vice available for those that want to swap out shouldered barrels in the field, but definitely a bit more of a pain in the ass and more tools required.
If you want the capability to occasionally swap barrels, you don't need a quick change setup like the AI. I swap between 6BRA and 6.5 creedmoor occasionally on my shouldered barrel rifle, takes 5 min and my zero doesn't change. Yes I take my barreled action out of the chassis, but no messing with the scope.
I won't argue that the AI system is the most convenient, but it's not necessary.
I'm sure I probably could, I know the Ross vice is intended to be used with the action still in the stock/chassis for barrel changes in the field.
Next time I change out barrels I'll leave my action in the chassis for the hell of it.
This is the right way. Barrel changes are for shot-out barrels.
I've never met anyone with a switchbarrel setup that actually used it. Most all of them maybe changed the barrel a few times a year to go from a target setup to a hunting setup. Most I've talked to admitted they'd shoot both calibers more if they just had one ready to go rifle in each.
I like to setup a gun and leave it knowing full well it's 100% where I left it. This means I only need to dick with barrel changes every few years on the frequently shot ones, and there will be some that become my kids problems.
I tried the barrel swapping thing, and still have some extra barrels hanging around that sit in the shop rarely being used, but I too eventually bought other rifles, rings and scopes, for those other intended purposes. Some rifles didn't need to be expensive, nor did the scopes.
What I do like most with the barrel nut/prefits is saving nearly $400 of GS fee's compared to a shouldered barrel when rebarrel time comes. With the savings, I can buy another prefit barrel or enough powder and primers to almost last one barrel.
After a while I decided that I didn't need, or even want anymore, a bunch of different calibers and cartridges, because certain ones covered so many bases reasonably well.
I also learned my expensive lesson of exploring extremes. Push bullets too fast and suffer the consequences. Better off going up in caliber and relying on BC instead.
I like the PROOF Bighorn prefits without the barrel nut because they give me the option of installing the barrel myself without added expense, how, when, and however fast I want it; that the interchangeable boltheads give me the option of changing caliber when I rebarrel is just a secondary bonus to me. My barrels stay on until they are shot out. Frequent changes back and forth to me are just another way of possibly screwing up a good action, not saying the barrel nut process is unreliable, just that any time you take something off, or put something new on there always is a possibility oi something going wrong and getting damaged, accidents, just like life do happen.
I definitely do a ton of barrel changes. My AI has a .308, 6.5cm, 6cm, .25cm, and getting a .25BR barrel spun now.
My JHR has a 6BR, .223, and a 6.5PRC barrel. All barrels have their places and get swapped out a lot.
6.5 Saum throated out in a long action, 140 hybrid at 3240 fps in a 29" barrel. Have a 30-375R for the same rifle but that's on it's last legs, it's pretty much the first 300PRC that I had done in 2008.
6x47L on it's last legs.
6mmBR
20x47L barrel but I sold the rifle without this barrel.
20-221AI
I contemplated the same question you are and went the custom rifle route. No regrets.
I ended up getting a American Rifle Company Nucleus, it was worth every penny. They even sell complete rifles set up for prs.
Theres just something really nice about a smooth well made action that is really hard to find in a factory rifle.
I ended up getting a American Rifle Company Nucleus, it was worth every penny. They even sell complete rifles set up for prs.
Theres just something really nice about a smooth well made action that is really hard to find in a factory rifle.
Only a handful of shooters need a custom action. 1200 yard utility rifle? A middle of the road Bergara, TIkka, or Howa will do more than enough. Now, if you want to show off a bit, have some features that probably wont show up on paper/steel/deer, a mid range custom will not be regretted (Nuke ARC, Zermatt Origin, Defiance Rukus, etc.)
