Until recently, I assumed a lightweight rifle wouldn’t provide the performance of standard-weight precision rifles. Turns out I’m happy to be wrong.
My time in the military and college athletics has really skewed my perception of weight and what I’m willing to carry up a mountain. It probably sounds crazy but for years I would carry my Desert Tech SRS A1 for my western big game pursuits. After my time in the 82nd Airborne, anything that wasn’t belt-fed was lightweight and I never paid much attention to a few pounds, let alone counting ounces. That was until I was set up for a Mule Deer hunt in Utah with the guys from Operation Pay It Forward. My older and wiser self, decided it was time to change what I carried with me on these big mountain hunts.
After spending some time with Jon Beagle at Helix 6 Precision, and hearing his point of view on match-grade carbon fiber barrels, I knew this rifle needed a Helix 6 barrel on this build. Once the hunt was confirmed, I reached out to my good friend John Hakes at Pure Precision and got this long-range hunting rifle build going. The Helix 6 Precision combined with Pure Precision Rifles in Grand Junction CO have changed my perception of what is possible with these high-performance lightweight rifles.
The Build
The goal of this rifle build was a lightweight carbon fiber platform that was fully capable of long-range precision. We started out with the Titanium Summit action from Pure Precision that weighs in at 22oz. The Summit action has a Remington 700 footprint, an integrated recoil lug, compatible with Wyatt’s extended box magazine, and a fluted bolt with a toolless disassembly.
We had a light hunter profile Helix 6 Precision barrel cut to 26 inches and chambered in 300 PRC. The carbon fiber on a Helix 6 Precision barrel is actually a structural part of the barrel and the blanks can be cut to whatever length fits the customer’s specific needs. One of the more important things to consider when selecting a carbon fiber barrel is the carbon fiber-to-resin ratio. If a barrel has too much resin, the carbon fiber acts as an insulator, and your barrel will hold heat and will likely produce point-of-impact shifts as it heats up. Helix 6 barrels have a very high carbon fiber-to-resin ratio and resist point of impact shifts during long-range sessions. Being my first Helix 6 barrel I was excited to see what all the hype is all about.
The barreled action was then placed and bedded in a Pure Precision carbon fiber Altitude stock. The carbon fiber Altitude stock is a full-featured hunting stock that weighs in at around 25oz. The stock can be had with an adjustable cheek riser, flush cups, and your choice of sling or bipod attachments. I opted for a simple and lightest weight configuration with a standard cheek riser and double sling swivels.
The entire package weighs in around 7 lbs without optics.
Performance
For the hunt I used the 212 Grain Hornady Precision Hunter factory-loaded ammunition. The factory loads were giving me pretty consistent 1 inch groups at 100 yards and they were available. The hunt presented me with a great buck at 310 yards across a little canyon and the Precision Hunters put it down with a single shot to the neck. Although factory loads are the easy button, I actually enjoy the process of dialing in a good handload.
With the hunt behind me, I started some load development to see what this rifle was capable of with the 200 Grain Hornady ELD-X Bullet. Initial loads with Hornady Brass didn’t produce consistent enough results for a reliable velocity ladder test with so I transitioned to Lapua Brass. The Lapua brass cut my SDs down by half and produced good data that I used to narrow down my powder charge. After a couple of typical load development range sessions, I ended up finding the sweet spot.
In conclusion, I found that this rifle, and other lightweight builds, are able to produce exceptional accuracy when I’m able to focus on the fundamentals of marksmanship. One thing a lightweight hunting build requires is perfect fundamentals if you want to maximize performance. What I’m able to get away with behind a heavy precision rifle will not translate to good results behind its lightweight counterpart. Any deviation from these fundamentals will be exposed and produce inconsistent results down range. Do your part as the shooter and a high-quality lightweight rifle can produce results that will give a heavier precision rifle a run for its money.
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For more information about Operation Pay It Forward Click Here