This will probably be one of those regretful decisions. Anyone who has ever held a 5 lb. 1oz. accurate long action rifle probably can relate. This is a Rifles Inc. Strata in .280 Remington. I’ve had this a while and intended to send it to Rick at ERW and have it rechambered to .280 Ackley for $175. But I’ve found another ultralight .280AI that I couldn’t live without and it delivers tomorrow. So this nice Strata is available. Some specs: barrel + brake is 23-1/2” to the recoil lug, LOP is 13-5/8”, the stock by itself weighs an amazing 15.3 ounces, and the reworked Walker trigger is very crisp with a pull of 2 lbs, 12 oz. The stock is nicely bedded as you would expect from Lex. The stock color is what I would call a forest green. It has more pigment than olive green, but definitely not a bright color. Since I’m anal about cosmetics, I’ll give you the rundown. The Rifles Inc buttpad has some scuffs, like it was once on a store rack. It’s all there and in great shape, but just has some surface scuffs. The bolt knob and crown of the integral slimbrake muzzle brake have some Cerakote loss. The BDL bottom metal is perfect. And there are a few small spots in the Cerakote on the top of the barrel about 5” from the crown.
Other features include an E series Remington 700 action that was accurized by Lex. The action is machine significantly to lighten the weight, the bolt is fluted and the bolt knob is skeletonized. The muzzle brake works very nicely. I don’t know the brand of barrel that Lex installed on this one. And as stated above, the bare rifle weighs only 5 pounds, 1.3 ounces. It weights just 6 lbs, 12.6 ounces as pictured with the Swaro Z8i 2-16x50 and Talley lightweights.
Most importantly, the rifle is a shooter. Since I was planning to rechamber to .280AI, I took the rifle to the range to confirm the barrel and action were worthy of further investment. The rifle shot ¾ MOA with some old, inexpensive factory ammo I was able to find. I do not know the round count. I don’t know the twist rate. I just know it’s accurate, which is what one should expect from a $4,000 Strata.
The Swarovski Z8i is not included in the sale. I’ll include the Talley 30mm medium rings if you want them. Price is $2,300 shipped. The rifle will be cross-posted, so first public “I’ll Take It” by timestamp prevails. I’m not really interested in trades, but if you have a Cooper 92 Backcountry in 6.5x284 or other caliber I don’t already have, I’m listening. Drop me a PM if you have questions or need more info. I usually respond promptly. Thanks for looking and good shooting!
ScrapIron, you are correct, sir. I have Strata's in 7mm Rem Mag and .30-06AI. Both are extremely accurate.
I was asked if I had paperwork for the rifle. I do not. So I called Lina at Rifles Inc hoping she had records on the rifle. Well, they had a brief record of it. The rifle was built as a .280 Remington in 1998. This explains the Cedar City engraving and the barrel has not been changed. She was 99% certain it is a Lilja barrel. No other info. Hope this helps!
AKW, go for it. It's a nice rifle and a nice price, and you need it. Chris, you can easily shift back into buying mode! Just say those three little words!
