PENNIES AND MILS

Building a Precision Bolt- Action Rifle on a Budget

- Tom Marshall

Having a dedicated precision rifle in the safe can be an invaluable addition to a well-rounded preparedness plan. The ability to project firepower to 500 yards and beyond is a capability that can be directed to both game-getting and property protection. For those who are interested in building a skillset, the proliferation of the Precision Rifle Series (PRS) has made competing at these ranges more accessible than ever.

The flipside of that coin is that the popularity of precision shooting and the purpose-built rifles that go with it has driven a market expansion that, on the surface, seems to have significantly raised the cost of entry. It’s frighteningly easy to spend five figures on a long-range rifle, quality scope, and ancillary equipment. While this may be a worthwhile investment for dedicated competition shooters (or those who are professionally sponsored), prepared citizens who are simply interested in expanding or rounding out their long-range firepower capabilities may be left in the dust. The temptation to dismiss a long-range rifle as simply too expensive to consider is great.

So, we wanted to see exactly what kind of performance we could get for a fraction of that price. Notice we didn’t say “cheap” or even “inexpensive.” We set an all-inclusive project budget of $2,000, and came in pretty much right on the money, with some optional go-fast parts that could be sacrificed to pinch pennies if needed. That’s still a lot of money for most of us. But because we built our test rifle part by part, it’s easy to spread the cost over a period of months — or even a year or two — and make a project like this more attainable. The payoff for us was a dedicated long-gun capable of nearly 900 yards on a regular basis, and 800 yards consistently with just a little bit of training and practice.

How We Built It