Analysis Paralysis

[IndianaMatt]

This always happens to me-

Forgive me this is my third thread in the last few months. I wanted to gather everyone's thoughts on what I'm currently thinking.

I have spoke to a smith in depth about what I want out of a rifle. I must add this particular smith also has interest in a gun shop. After laying out my build to him he suggested the following. He also said that if I wanted him to build a rifle I would at minimum a year out and possibly longer. He also urged me to consider 6.5 PRC. I was originally thinking 300 WSM. When I told him I didn't want to have to exclusively reload he thought the PRC was a better fit for me.

He suggested three rifles and invited me to shoot any of the three.

1. Christensen Arms FFT 6.5 PRC
2. Fierce Twisted Rival 6.5 PRC
3. Seekins Havak Element 6.5 PRC

He also mentioned HS Precision but said there would be a wait time and a higher price tag than what I had in mind. It's about a 3 hour trip one way so finding the time to make the trip may be difficult. Is this something you would consider? Would you recommend or veto one of the three and why?

To many options———
Matt

 

[7Rum Slayer]

I would ask your Smith if the rifles and ammo you would be shooting are for sale. My thought would be if one seriously speaks to you and shoots lights out I would want to buy that rifle! Ordering a new rifle may not be the same as the ones you shoot. I hope this helps and best of luck. Jason

 

[IndianaMatt]

I would ask your Smith if the rifles and ammo you would be shooting are for sale. My thought would be if one seriously speaks to you and shoots lights out I would want to buy that rifle! Ordering a new rifle may not be the same as the ones you shoot. I hope this helps and best of luck. Jason

I should have added that. All 3 are available and for sale.

 

[waveslayer]

Go Seekins Havik. The other two have quality control issues... you never know what you're going to get. Havik's have been performing well

 

[ResearchinStuff]

Sako s20 6.5 prc should be noticeably better than any of those 3 options.

 

[brcfo_outdoors]

Of the listed options go Seekins.

 

[Homebrewer]

Find another smith. One who will build exactly what you want. NOT what he might happen to have for sale.
Many highly qualified gunsmiths available.

 

[Hydra6]

I helped my two hunting partners zero Bergara HMRs in 65PRC a few days ago. Shot well. Maybe too heavy for what you need but price vs performance those HMRs do very well. They bought these for when we do not walk a lot - we have other lightweight rifles for long hikes.

 

[Mark37082]

Of the 3 I would go with the Seekins. However, get the rifle and cartridge you want. There's nothing wrong with 6.5 PRC, but don't be swayed away from the WSM because they happen to have the PRC in stock.

 

[Wedgy]

The PRC die "problem"

There are a number of people experiencing sizing issues with the PRC case. When designing a chamber, brass, and resize die there is no one size fits all. We want good hard case brass, but its harder to size. We dont want sloppy chambers either. I have experience with designing reamers with...

www.longrangehunting.com

get a new smith or buy a used custom in the classifieds

 

[L2land]

Go shoot them and see how you like them. On their best day all three are great rifles. I've heard the QC chatter about Fierce and Christiansen but no first hand experience. I'm happy with my Seekins in 6.5 PRC. The nice thing with the element and PH2 are they have stretched mag length for the SA chamberings so you can seat out as needed and you could just order a .300 WSM barrel from Seekins and screw it on yourself. Word on the street is their customer service is top notch if you ever have any issues. Seems like you should be able to get something custom built in a few months if you have a little flexibility.

 

[IndianaMatt]

Go shoot them and see how you like them. On their best day all three are great rifles. I've heard the QC chatter about Fierce and Christiansen but no first hand experience. I'm happy with my Seekins in 6.5 PRC. The nice thing with the element and PH2 are they have stretched mag length for the SA chamberings so you can seat out as needed and you could just order a .300 WSM barrel from Seekins and screw it on yourself. Word on the street is their customer service is top notch if you ever have any issues. Seems like you should be able to get something custom built in a few months if you have a little flexibility.

Do you mean Seekins offers prefit barrels? Is this a barrel nut system like Savage or prefit shouldered?

 

[L2land]

I believe all of their Havak actions accept shouldered prefits. They have their specs available to anyone that needs them. I have the HIT rifle which is slightly different and advertised as a true switch barrel. The element and PH2 may need to be torqued in. Not sure, might want to ask them at Seekins Precision for clarity. They've been playing catch-up on putting out product too for a while so they may have availability differing from their website. If you aren't opposed to a cold and heavy rifle the HIT is pretty nice. 15lbs with a scope but you can watch your bullets splash.

 

[tonyf3]

I'm probably going to make this more complicated for you.

I've gotten to the point that if I want to build a custom I don't back down, even with the wait time.
If I'm not going to reload I'll lean towards a good factory .

Since you threw the realoading comment in here don't discount availability of either components or loaded factory rounds.
I choose the 300PRC for my last build in case I didn't want to reload. I also went this route because at the time I could buy both factory ammo and get all the components to reload.