Plus, the fiber is laminated on via an aerospace resin with superior thermal conductivity and an expansion rate that plays nice with the expansion rate of steel, meaning no separations between core and carbon fiber. Starting with a slender 416R stainless-steel core that’s been cut-rifled, handlapped, and borescope-inspected, Proof wraps on carbon fiber that shunts heat-via photon transport-from the hot spot in front of the chamber down the length of the barrel. As far as I know, only one company builds barrels that are light like a mountain-contour tube but consistently accurate like a benchrest barrel, and that’s Proof Research. Picking components took some head scratching, but as with any custom project, that’s one of the most enjoyable parts. He’s a wizard, and precision accuracy is his specialty. I’ve called on Steve Pratt, owner of Elk Meadow Performance, for several rifle-build projects in the past. Premium, specialized parts, assembled by a savvy gunsmith renowned for perfection, were called for. The 6.5 Creedmoor is accurate, efficient, and potent, and plenty of factory loads are currently offered.From the left to right: Barnes 120-Gr. Cartridge choice for Joseph’s custom crossover rifle was critical, but the choice was easy. Most importantly, it’s an extremely capable hunting cartridge, ideal for deer-size game, versatile enough for elk, and deadly on predators. It offers tremendous accuracy and long barrel life, and it hammers PRS steel targets with noticeable effect. I’m not a proponent of long-range hunting, but I know guys that are more ethically capable of center-punching a buck at 500 yards than most folks are at 250 yards because they practice constantly.Ĭartridge choice was a critical decision, but it wasn’t difficult.

When you-as a competitor-learn to achieve high hit rates on vital-size steel gongs from 400 to 800 yards, you become very capable and confident when firing at big game even at long hunting distances. This forces you to test, validate, and become very familiar with your rifle and your load’s long-distance trajectory. Most PRS matches include several long-distance stages, sometimes stretching as far as 1,400 yards, and most stages include at least one target between 400 and 800 yards. Vast canyons, knife-edged ridges, and gnarly country cut by cliffs and basins often dictate long shots. Sometimes even when you stalk as close as possible, that’s still 300 or 400 yards from your quarry. In the West, a third dynamic often comes into play and puts the kibosh on hunter success. Hunters can switch to five-round versions if that’s their preference or if they are legally required to do so. For practical reasons, a PRS-type rifle must use 10-round magazines such as these. Nothing teaches the ability to read local terrain and use it quickly to achieve a stable position as effectively as PRS shooting. Some stages are shot from very steep slopes. Logs, fences, tripods, boulders, stumps, trees, and other naturally occurring supports are often incorporated. The dynamic stages of PRS competition require the shooter to improvise a position, shoot, move to another position, shoot again, and so on. What could be better practice than that?Īnother challenge while hunting is the struggle to get steady when laboring against a tsunami of adrenaline, with just brief seconds before the opportunity is gone. PRS-type matches teach shooters to acquire a target, shoot, acquire another, shoot again-up to five different targets per two-minute, 10-shot stage. In the field, struggling to find the animal in the scope at the moment of truth is commonly the number one reason for failing to cash in a shot opportunity. And think of the adaptability ingrained by the vast spectrum of target distances and improvised shooting positions common to PRS matches. Imagine how deadly a hunter could be with a lightweight bolt-action rifle capable of maintaining sub-half-MOA accuracy over 10-round strings-a rifle optimized for practical precision from field positions, one that a fella had shot hundreds or thousands of rounds through in high-pressure competitions. By regularly competing with such a rifle, I would build unprecedented capability with it. It would require a very special lightweight version of a PRS rifle. Eventually, I decided it not only was possible, but also was a concept worth pursuing. Some time ago, while lugging my 18-pound PRS competition rifle between stages, I glanced longingly up at the Wasatch Mountains peaks above me and wondered if I could ever develop the same level of competence with a hunting rifle as I have with my competition gun.

Ion bonding barrel and action