I bought one in 6.5 Creed at the very end of 2019 with the idea of shooting a factory rifle with factory ammo for the following hunting season. I was not disappointed.
I've put 368 rounds through it (sorry, a little OCD) - all factory ammo. Not a single hiccup with the rifle. Fit and finish is excellent. Trigger is very good as-is at just a hair over 3lbs.
I don't really get the need for the muzzle break on it, but it's no big deal. I didn't do the barrel break-in CA mentions. I just dry patch after 1 box, add powder solvent after 2 boxes, then add testing/cleaning for copper after 3 boxes. Happy Camper.
This barrel likes both the Precision Hunter and Black Hills Gold 143 gr. ELDX factory fodder. They're essentially the same round, but with the BHG seated about .015" deeper than the Precision Hunter. They both leave the muzzle at about 2560 fps. 5 shot groups are consistently between .75 and 1 moa out to 400 yards (as far as I've tested).
There's really nothing I want or would do differently to the rifle at that price point. As long as factory fodder quality is there, I'm not going to handload for it.
After this hunting season is over I'll give the Superformance 120 gr. GMX a workout with any eye to Pronghorn in 2021. Initial tests of other factory 120 gr. GMX showed the barrel wants that bullet weight going as fast as possible.
Pud
Last edited by Puddle; 09/26/20.
