Hunting for the best rifle

A guide to selecting and building a good hunting rifle

Below are three key elements that you should consider when either building a custom rifle or purchasing a stock rifle. These questions will help ensure that you make a smart purchase and are able to use the rifle for your intended purpose.

1. What are you going to hunt with the rifle?

One of the first question you need to ask yourself is what the purpose of the rifle is. Are you hunting varmints at only a few hundred yards? Or are you hunting elk out west and might have to take a shot at 500 yards plus. A common mistake is to try and have one rifle that will do both. Building a rifle to be the “Jack of all Trades” can be a mistake. When you can, and when the budget will allow, try to build a rifle for a specific purpose.

Second, you will want to look at selecting the right caliber for the critter you are hunting. The common conception is bigger is better. When building a precision hunting rifle that may not be the case. A perfect well-placed smaller caliber shot will be much more effective than a misplaced shot or even worse a total miss. So, you will want to chamber the rifle in a caliber that is enough to take down the animal but is also comfortable for you to shoot accurately. Having a comfortable rifle is key to placing the perfect shot!

2. Where will you be hunting – location and part of the county?

Make sure you understand the laws and restrictions on what you can use based on the state and local areas you are hunting in. You need to consider magazine capacity, bolt action or semi-auto based firearms and ensure they are legal to use in the area and type of game you are hunting.

Also, terrain should to be considered. Will you be hunting in the forest, open fields, or in the mountains? The terrain will determine the weight of the rifle as well as the maximum distance to a target. The stock and barrel will greatly affect the weight of the rifle and caliber selection will help determine the maximum distance for taking down a target.

3. How will you be using the rifle?

Are you going to be using the rifle for back-county hunting, shooting from Blinds or Hides, or will you be tracking your game? This question will help determine the overall weight of the rifle. If you are tracking or back-county hunting a light rifle will be key. Were as if you are hunting from a hide this maybe less of a factor. A light rifle is fine so long as it is accurate, comfortable and made of solid construction such as carbon fiber. Also using a carbon fiber barrel will help reduce overall weight of the rifle.

To discuss a custom rifle build contact us at info@360precision.com or call us at (215) 399-3598. 360 Precision is located in Bucks County – Warminster, Pennsylvania and we offer complete custom-built rifles that can be shipped to your local FFL. If you’re considering a new rifle build give us a call and we will be happy to discuss your project with you.