Lainaus The Tactical Intervention Special The Search For The Perfect Medium Range Sniper RifleFor years I have been preaching the perfect medium range sniper rifle needs to be :1. Accurate with repeatable results2. Light enough to carry3. Durable and able to last 10,000 plus rounds between barrel changes4. Affordable with parts that are easy to get.5. With capability to hit to 800 yards (Field Unknown Distance) with ease and to 1000 yards under good field conditions or on a Known Distance Range.Now the GA Precision "Rock" does all of this and more but as I get older I wanted even lighter with slightly more range capability. Looking at the Rock, we see a rifle that’s as tough as any rifle on the planet and capable of everything listed above. It does weigh 12 lbs with a scope and a barrel that’s 22". My goal is a 10 lbs rifle with 24" barrel. I also want a McMillan A5 Stock, not the A1 that The Rock uses. Hard shoes to fill. I want a longer barrel with larger stock and for it all to weigh less. Then throw in the durability of the Rock Rifle.To start this project I contacted GA Precision and talked with George Gardner. George is a mastermind when it comes to weapon design, so I knew he would have some answer. After talking at great lengths we came up with several ways to go.1. Remington 700 Short Action in either Titanium or Steel. Now this was a hard choice as several things came in. Titanium is about four ounces lighter than steel but costs is three times as much and Titanium does not have the wear resistance of steel. In short the lugs would wear faster. I picked steel for the receiver.2. The barrel. I wanted to stick with a larger diameter bbl. Originally we looked at Carbon Fiber wrapped barrels but after many delays in the manufacture to provide one and just too short a track record to put my life on the line with one, George and Mike Rock came up with a solution. Mike Rock took a M24 Taper 1x11.25 twist 5R barrel and heavily fluted it. I picked a 24" length, as this adds about 40-50 fps onto the caliber picked (to be discussed later) This turned out to be a great thing and I see no reason for not doing this on all future projects. Mike, made another great barrel for me. The 22" length is still an option and better for LE Activities. The second part of the lightness was with the addition of new technology to a McMillan stock. I picked the A5 stock with no external adjustment, as anything that can be adjusted will adjust when you don’t want it to. The stock had to be light but just as tough as the standard McMillan stocks. Talking with Kelly McMillan brought a solution to the stock. McMillan had been playing with the addition of Graphite to stocks for a few years but never made an entire tactical stock out of graphite before. This was to be a first and it was a great choice. The finished stock came out at under two pounds and very tough. I do not believe its any less tough than a regular McMillan stock. The only two draw backs to using Graphite through out the stock are: A) added cost of around 100.00 per stock B) The stock can only be painted as its not possible to mold in colors. This is not a problem for me as all my rifles get nice coats of various paints to get a matching finish for wherever I am at.The scope base and rings are Badger Products and the same in looks as the steel Badgers only these are Aluminum (Note rifle shown has US Optics scope base because at time of shoot Badger was out of stock of Medium rings the NXS scope needed for mounting and USO’s base was high enough to permit the use of standard rings and the NXS scope. It has since been changed to Badger rings and base.3. The floor metal. I wanted far stronger than a standard aluminum Remington floor plate but not as heavy as the steel Badger floor metal. The answer was already available. Badger makes a copy of their floor metal in heavy duty aluminum. It fits in any stock cut for the steel Badger floor metal and is tough as hell! No worries about this part failing. It has already been used in real world applications and proved totally reliable. The rings and base, Badger Aluminum, have also shown they will hold up to what ever can be dished out. They save 60% over the weight of steel.4. When we talk affordable and custom rifles, the only true way to save cost is through group purchases. This we have done so the rifle is available for a limited time only, at 2700.00 completely finished with Badger Scope Base and Badger Scope rings. Available directly from GA Precision as the "Tactical Intervention Special" Comes in either 22" or 24" barrel length. The metal and stock finishes are OD Green but can be painted by the operator any color they wish. It comes in 308 Winchester only at this time.5. Accuracy of this piece is far beyond what I had dreamed. It is capable of sub ½moa accuracy. I did not notice any muzzle flip or increase in recovery between shots. It shot alongside all my best rifles but at a much lower weight. I gave up nothing but the weight and a slight increase in recoil. I say slight because I did not notice it but a the weight is lower so you do get more felt recoil, even if my body did not notice it. Accuracy and range limitations are that of the 308 round itself 800-100 yards depending on shooter and conditions.This rifle will be available from Mike Miller and GA Precision. Package is this:Remington 700 SA Action. Trued/Lapped22 or 24" Hevaily fluted Mike Rock 5R barrel 1x11.25 twistBadger Aluminum Floor metalBadger Aluminum Scope BaseBadger Aluminum 30mm ringsMcMillan Graphite A5 stock with four flush cup mounts (Two bottom two on left side) Fixed comb and LOP with recoil padAny Tactical Intervention sling in any of the colorsRifle, stock and metal finished in either Tan or Green.Under .50moa groups2770.00 shipped
