Top Rifle Gunsmiths: What the Pros Use

Selecting the gunsmith that you just’ll belief to chamber your rifle is important. This text will share which gunsmiths the easiest precision rifle shooters within the nation flip to for his or her competitors rifles.

It’s particularly vital with this matter to start out with a balanced perspective: If a gunsmith is on this listing, they’re clearly able to constructing a bolt motion rifle that’s aggressive on the highest ranges. That’s each goal and apparent, proper? What if a gunsmith isn’t on this listing? That does NOT imply they’re second-class, but additionally simply because somebody is a “gunsmith” doesn’t imply they will construct a world-class, precision rifle. Not all gunsmiths are created equal! Like all professions, some people outperform others, due to consideration to element, degree of expertise, instruments/gear they use, processes they’ve established, and admittedly whether or not they have the interior drive to all the time enhance and hone their craft. So simply because a gunsmith lives in your space, doesn’t imply he’s the very best – that may be a bias we must always concentrate on. Additionally, simply because somebody ended up on this listing doesn’t mechanically make them higher than others – that’s one other bias we must always concentrate on.

Okay, with that out of the way in which – let’s dive into the info!

There have been truly round 67 totally different gunsmiths represented amongst this group, however virtually 50% of these have been solely utilized by 1 shooter. Due to how lengthy the listing was, I restricted the chart under to the gunsmiths utilized by 3 or extra of the highest shooters surveyed. Nonetheless, I present the total listing of gunsmiths that shooters listed on the survey later on this article.

On the chart above, the assorted colours symbolize the place a shooter landed by way of season rank within the PRS. For instance, black signifies shooters who completed within the high 10, the darkest blue is individuals who completed 11-25, and the lighter the blue, the additional out they completed in total standings. The chart legend itemizes the ranks every colour represents, however mainly, the darker the colour, the upper the shooter’s total rating.

Stuteville Precision was the preferred gunsmith amongst these top-ranked shooters, representing 15 of those shooters. That included 2 shooters within the high 10 and a complete of 6 within the high 50. Stuteville was additionally the preferred gunsmith after I final did this survey 5 years in the past (see the info), so that they have been capable of cling onto that high spot.

Stuteville Precision is owned and operated by Wade Stuteville, who was the 2012 PRS Season Champion and a real OG legend on this sport. Earlier than Stuteville Precision, Wade was a founding accomplice, designer, and Normal Supervisor at Surgeon Rifles, who constructed lots of of high-end, {custom} rifles annually. When that operation was moved from Oklahoma to Arizona, Wade determined to remain in Oklahoma and open his personal store, Stuteville Precision. Wade additionally partnered with Tate Streater to design the Influence Precision motion, which dominates the PRS world (see the info). Frankly, you’d be hard-pressed to seek out somebody extra educated about precision rifles on the earth than Wade Stuteville. That’s why so many of those high shooters put their belief in him for his or her barrel work.

Partitions Rifles was the following hottest gunsmith, with 11 shooters from this group of high marksmen, together with 1 within the high 10. Joe Partitions is the person behind Partitions Rifles. Joe beforehand did gunsmithing underneath the title Exodus Rifles, however over the previous couple of months, he launched Partitions Rifles. Like Wade, Joe is one other OG legend within the PRS. Joe Partitions has been one of many high shooters within the PRS since its inception round 2012. He positioned eleventh total in that inaugural 2012 season, he’s positioned within the high 5 within the season standings a number of years since then, and he’s additionally STILL represented amongst these professional shooters on this yr’s survey! Joe completed the 2023 PRS Season ranked 129th within the Open Division and is ranked eighth by way of lifetime PRS factors. There can’t be greater than 5 guys whole which were acting at a professional degree from 2012 right through 2023, and Joe is amongst them.

There have been 9 shooters that stated they did gunsmithing on their rifles themselves. Wouldn’t it’s cool in the event you had the gear to try this?! These have been all individuals who didn’t run a gunsmithing enterprise.

5X5 Precision was the third hottest gunsmith, with 9 of those high shooters sporting a barrel that he chambered, together with 2 within the high 50. Chad Heckler is the proprietor of 5X5 Precision. Chad has a mechanical engineering background and is a world-class PRS competitor. Chad received the 2021 AG Cup, which is the match with the best money payout yearly (that means the competitors is excessive). He has completed within the high 10 in total season rankings a number of years and landed twenty fourth total within the 2023 PRS Season Open Division. Chad can be the host of the Miles to Matches podcast alongside Francis Colon.

5X5 Precision hasn’t been round lengthy, so it’s spectacular how shortly they climbed to be one of the common gunsmiths among the many pro-level shooters within the PRS. So, the place does the title “5X5 Precision” come from? Here’s what Chad instructed me: “The time period ‘5X5’ is rooted within the communications inside navy forces by WWII to imply ‘I perceive you completely.’ The primary quantity represented the sign energy of radio communication, and the second quantity represented the sign readability on a scale from 1 to five, with 5 being the very best. Whereas the time period 5X5 will not be used a lot anymore, it’s synonymous with ‘Loud and Clear’ – that means the very best transmission of communication and understanding. My clients are asking me to make one thing very particular, and it should meet their expectations for efficiency and reliability. I named the corporate 5X5 Precision as a result of I need them to know that I perceive them completely and I plan to ship one thing that meets or exceeds their expectations.”

Preece Precision additionally had 9 shooters represented amongst these high 200 ranked shooters within the PRS Open Division, together with 1 within the high 10. Garret Preece is the Grasp Gunsmith and proprietor of Preece Precision, and he additionally competes, inserting 141st within the 2023 PRS Open Division. Preece Precision is predicated out of Ogden, Utah, which is simply north of Salt Lake Metropolis.

Subsequent up, now we have GA Precision (GAP), with 7 shooters represented and a pair of of these within the high 50. GAP has been on this listing of gunsmiths the highest professional PRS shooters have been utilizing longer than anybody else, all the way in which again to the inaugural yr of the PRS in 2012 (see the info). They have been the preferred gunsmith among the many professionals for a number of years in a row and all the time has a number of shooters represented. GA Precision is a family title within the precision rifle neighborhood, so I doubt they want extra of an introduction.

Brian Allen of ATeam Precision constructed the rifles for 7 of those top-ranked shooters, together with 2 within the high 50. Like a few of the others, Brian is an achieved PRS competitor who has been ranked as a pro-level shooter since 2014, along with his high end at fifth total within the 2017 PRS Season. Brian is predicated in northeast Louisiana.

TS Customs had 6 shooters represented amongst these high PRS opponents, together with 1 within the high 50. TS Customs is owned and led by Travis Stevens in South Dakota. TS Customs was one of many high gunsmiths the final time I revealed this information, and I lined them intimately in that article. Travis has positioned within the high 20 within the PRS Season standings in prior years. Travis is likely one of the youthful gunsmiths on this listing, however as your complete business appears to be transferring over to computer-controlled gear that wants a programmer as a lot as an operator – being from a youthful, tech-savvy technology might be a bonus. Travis went to gunsmithing faculty but additionally went to high school for CNC programming. So, TS Customs is a “full CNC store.” Travis has invested in some superior gear and instruments, together with an 8,000-pound Doosan CNC Lathe. It’s not simply the gear that’s superior although. TS Customs may be very agile as an organization, with a typical turnaround time on a {custom} barrel of simply 2-3 weeks.

Keith Baker of ICE Rifles constructed rifles for five of those shooters, together with 1 within the high 10 and one other within the high 25. Keith Baker has shot 140+ PRS matches and has extra lifetime PRS factors than some other shooter – by an extended shot! So, he’s one other OG legend within the PRS world. And Keith remains to be successful national-level, two-day matches – together with a win simply a few months in the past on the 2024 MDT Frostbite. Keith is the Head Gunsmith and Design Engineer at ICE Rifles, which stands for Modern Aggressive Engineering. When you requested Keith why it is best to select ICE Rifles, here’s what he says, “A rifle constructed by ICE Rifles is a rifle constructed by me. I’ll use my experiences, my obsession with element and dedication to high quality, and my drive to always consider, innovate, and advance to construct the very best rifle and gear I can. Each time.”

Roberts Precision Rifles additionally had 5 shooters represented, together with 1 within the high 10 and one other 2 within the high 50. That’s one other title that has constantly been on this listing of high rifle gunsmiths for 10 years. Aaron Roberts is the gunsmith behind Roberts Precision Rifles, and he’s acquired a particularly spectacular resume, together with an intensive navy profession adopted by turning into a lead teacher on the world-renowned Blackwater Coaching Heart and the Captain of the Blackwater Taking pictures Group. He’s a type of guys who has a excessive consideration to element and calls for lots out of his firearms – which sounds just like the making of a terrific gunsmith! Roberts Precision Rifles is predicated out of Spring, TX.

RIP Precision Rifles had 4 shooters represented out of this group, together with 1 within the high 25. RIP is predicated out of Leander, TX. It’s led by Wes Ripley, who has 20+ years of expertise in {custom} firearms design and manufacturing. Wes can be one in all these high 200 ranked shooters, ending 2023 at one hundred and thirtieth within the Open Division.

Brief Motion Customs (SAC) additionally had 4 rifles represented, with 1 of these ending within the high 50. SAC was based by Mark Gordon in 2009, they usually’ve been a mainstay on this listing since 2014. A few years in the past, Mark approached me to assist him analyze and publish a ton of bullet bounce knowledge that he’d gathered over years of constructing rifles and testing masses (see the bullet bounce analysis right here). I acquired to know Mark as we labored on that venture collectively, and I’ve by no means met anybody with the identical ardour and obsessive strategy to optimizing each side of the rifle system. He’s extraordinarily clever and brings a methodical and artistic strategy to troubleshooting points and figuring out root causes. For instance, one rifle that SAC constructed had occasional flyers. By an exhaustive course of, Mark finally discovered that it gave the impression to be associated to inconsistent ignition. By merely swapping the set off, the bullets abruptly all went into the identical gap. However, many gunsmiths would have stopped there – the rifle now shoots, ship it, and transfer on! As a substitute, Mark purchased a rail gun, rigged it up with high-speed sensors, and used his digital goal system to judge quite a lot of triggers with the intention to perceive what it was a couple of set off design that prompted inconsistent ignition. It wasn’t ok to know that it labored or actually have a concept as to why; he needed to resolve it and show it with knowledge and a scientific course of so he may keep away from that drawback from ever cropping up once more on a rifle along with his title on it. That could be a excellent instance of Mark’s relentless and unconventional strategy to his craft of constructing precision rifles. For extra examples, simply go to the SAC YouTube Channel and watch his movies about processes and merchandise they’ve developed.

And I’ve to level out that the Military Marksmanship Unit (AMU) had 3 shooters represented, together with 1 within the high 10 and one other within the high 25. The gunsmith on the AMU is Ben Gossett, who has been excessive up on the leaderboard within the PRS for a number of years now. Ben received the 2022 AG Cup in dramatic style by cleansing all of Day 3. That’s the match with the biggest money payout of the yr, and it solely consists of the highest professional shooters. So, the levels are designed to problem these top-tier shooters, that means they’re onerous! They’ve tiny targets and tight instances, and Ben Gossett earned the nickname “Mr. Clear” by actually hitting each goal on each stage of Day 3 to win the AG Cup! You may watch Ben killing it on the Taking pictures USA episode under:

Ben is the gunsmith who chambers AMU rifles. Whereas nearly all of those different shooters are doing this as a pastime, the AMU guys are competing as their full-time job. So I might guess that group of shooters may be very demanding, however clearly, Ben does a terrific job on their barrels and organising their rifles.

Different Gunsmiths Used By 3 Shooters

Listed here are the opposite gunsmiths that have been represented by 3 of those high 200 ranked shooters within the PRS Open Division:

Different Gunsmiths Used By 1-2 Shooters

Right here is the remaining listing of gunsmiths that have been supplied by 1 or 2 of the shooters who completed within the high 200 within the 2023 PRS Open Division:

One of many attention-grabbing traits in gunsmithing is said to pre-fit barrels, that are mainly barrels which are pre-chambered for a selected motion and will be put in by the top consumer. When you aren’t certain what a pre-fit is, I’d extremely advocate you learn this text: Pre-Match Barrels: Every thing Your Gunsmith Needs You Knew.

Here’s a take a look at how lots of the 200 top-ranked Precision Rifle Collection shooters are operating pre-fit barrels in comparison with a barrel that was custom-chambered for his or her particular motion:

35% of the top-ranked shooters are utilizing a pre-fit barrel, and 65% stated their barrel was custom-chambered for his or her particular motion. There have been 3 guys who positioned within the high 10 within the total PRS season rankings who stated they have been operating a pre-fit on their competitors rifle: Austin Orgain, Austin Buschman, and Kyle Mccormack. These 3 guys symbolize 3 PRS Championships and a World Championship, so that they aren’t simply high shooters – they’re the very best of the very best. And people guys are selecting to run pre-fit barrels! I don’t personally know the entire high shooters, however I do know these 3 guys and may say they’re extraordinarily aggressive. They wish to win greater than most individuals can perceive. Don’t get me unsuitable, they’re very good guys who assist different shooters – but when they thought a pre-fit barrel was hurting their precision one bit, they completely wouldn’t be operating them.

So, it’s clear that pre-fit barrels are correct sufficient to win matches within the PRS. In a current interview, I requested Austin Orgain, “What sort of precision are you trying to get out of a rifle earlier than you may have the boldness to take it to a match?” He stated, “A minimum of 0.5 MOA at 900 yards. If I’m checking it on a extremely windy day, I principally simply take a look at the waterline and principally ignore left-to-right dispersion. I don’t need something that has greater than 2-3 inches of vertical at 900 yards.” 3 inches at 900 yards equates to 0.32 MOA. I additionally requested Austin Buschman what sort of teams his competitors rifle shot, and he stated his common 5-shot group was in all probability round 0.1 mils, which is 0.34 MOA. Whereas their solutions have been totally different, it’s humorous they have been each round 0.32-0.34 MOA. Now, are pre-fit barrels correct sufficient to win a Benchrest match? Many may argue no, however that’s not my space of experience, so I’ll keep out of that argument!

Let’s slice the info one other means that can present perception into what number of of these high gunsmiths are chambering pre-fit barrels, not less than in keeping with what the shooters stated on my survey. The chart under reveals each gunsmith that had 3 or extra shooters represented amongst this group, and you may see the breakdown of what number of shooters stated they have been operating a pre-fit or a barrel that was custom-chambered for his or her rifle from every gunsmith.

It seems like each barrel from Stuteville Precision was a pre-fit, which was Wade’s plan when designing the Influence motion. TS Customs additionally had 100% pre-fit barrels. Many of the others have been a mixture of pre-fit or a barrel custom-chambered. There have been additionally a number of gunsmiths the place not one of the shooters utilizing them stated they have been utilizing a pre-fit.

Lastly, we’ll slice the info yet one more means to supply some perception into the place the blokes operating pre-fit barrels completed by way of total rankings. Had been all the blokes operating pre-fit barrels decrease within the rankings? Once more, the info under is restricted to these gunsmiths who had 3 or extra shooters represented.

You in all probability observed that many (if not most) of those gunsmiths additionally compete at a really excessive degree within the PRS. That isn’t a coincidence. It jogs my memory of an article that I learn in SNIPER Journal again in 2014. Right here is the excerpt:

WHEN THE MAN RUNNING THE COMPANY SHOOTS COMPETITIVELY, GOOD THINGS HAPPEN._______ heads up _______, and he likes to shoot. I’ve run into him a couple of instances at varied matches across the nation and all the time stroll away impressed {that a} man with a gun firm is on the market field-testing his merchandise in perpetuity. I don’t know what his ammo funds is, however I’m envious. … Aggressive shooters typically take day without work work and spend a complete weekend thrashing themselves and their gear whereas making an attempt to shoot small targets from varied positions as shortly as potential. They may shoot considerably extra rounds in coaching and competitors than the overwhelming majority of legislation enforcement officers and navy service members will in uniform. Typically, aggressive shooters additionally pay for every thing themselves. These are very devoted and demanding folks. _____ constructed his fame and his firm by promoting these folks rifles. If there was the smallest drawback, he heard about it. … It’s the final strategy to take a look at and develop merchandise.”

Whereas that article was truly speaking about John Paul of JP Enterprises, you would have simply as simply crammed within the blanks with lots of the names on this listing. That’s the reality!

Certainly one of my very closest buddies lately began capturing PRS and NRL Hunter matches, and he’s already run into some rifle points. He has owned high-end, {custom} searching rifles for years, however he lately instructed me, “I’ve by no means run my rifles this tough – not even shut.” He’s now firing a number of hundred rounds, out for a number of days within the mud and wind, and expects his rifle to carry out completely each time he will get behind it – as he ought to! Whereas he’s owned the rifle he’s now utilizing in competitions for years, as he began competing, he’s shortly discovering all of the weak hyperlinks in his rifle system. I imagine it is best to completely count on lots out of your rifle, however that doesn’t imply all rifles can carry out at this degree. In actual fact, most can’t.

The reality is we’re a really demanding crowd. We put our rifles by lots, and we count on them to be excellent. We is likely to be the toughest group to promote rifles to! If now we have issues, the gunsmith goes to listen to about it. It’d actually be lots simpler to promote costly rifles to wealthy hunters who may solely hearth 5-10 photographs per yr out of it. Most of these guys can’t shoot tiny teams at 800 yards – so even when the rifle was off, they wouldn’t comprehend it!

It appears evident that the individuals who serve this crowd of shooters the very best are aggressive shooters themselves. They know what we demand from our rifles, and that first-hand data permits them to supply that degree of efficiency to their clients. Like Chad Heckler stated about 5X5 – gunsmiths who shoot competitively perceive these professional shooters completely, they usually’ll ship one thing that meets or exceeds their expectations.

So, for these on this listing who’ve constructed their fame on serving a crowd of shooters like us – I tip my hat to you! 😉 Effectively performed, fellas!

Coming Up Subsequent

When you loved this content material, there’s extra to return! Over the following few months, I’ll be publishing a ton of information on what the highest precision rifle shooters are utilizing. Try the opposite “What The Professionals Use” articles which have already been revealed.

Be the primary to know when the following What The Professionals Use article is revealed by signing up for electronic mail alerts.

When you’d like to assist PRB, listed below are the 2 largest methods you would try this:

Share on Fb & Your Favourite Discussion board!

It might assist me out in the event you’d share a hyperlink to this text on Fb and your favourite rifle boards so extra folks can profit from the content material.

Donate to PRB

No strain – but it surely does price fairly a bit to help the quantity of visitors PRB will get, and I spend fairly a little bit of time creating all this content material. When you get worth from the content material and want to donate, I promise 100% of it should go in direction of maintaining this factor going!

© Copyright 2024 PrecisionRifleBlog.com, All Rights Reserved.