The best hunting rifle and ammunition can make or break your trip. The editors and hunters at Hunt Alaska have picked the gear they trust to get it done right.
Best Hunting Rifles, Firearms & Accessories
Savage 110 Ultralight Elite Rifle
Last fall Publisher Marcus Weiner acquired this featherlight rifle, chambered in 6.5 PRC. It is amazingly light—coming in at a mere 5 pounds—thanks to the PROOF Research carbon-fiberwrapped stainless-steel barrel and MDT HNT26 Chassis with forend, pistol grip and fold-out buttstock made of carbon fiber. It includes 4 LOP (length of pull) spaces to better customize the rifle to the shooter. The muzzle is threaded (5/8 x 24) and the rifle comes equipped with an OmniPort muzzle brake. The bolt is diamond fluted, with black Cerakote finish, and has a carbon-fiber knob. The rifle includes an integrated ARCA rail and a Pic rail. It’s a sharp-looking firearm built to stand up to harsh conditions.
After mounting a Vortex Razor HDT LHT 4.5-22×50 riflescope on the gun and bore-sighting it, Marcus took it to the range and zeroed the scope. First thoughts were that it shot very nicely, had little recoil, was easy to zero quickly and was loud. He used Hornady 6.5 PRC 143-grain ELD-X Precision Hunter ammunition and was quickly shooting sub 1 MOA groupings at 100 yards. After sneaking around in the woods for four days chasing blacktails, he reports that the gun is easy to carry and that the combination of forend and pistol grip allow him to get the rifle into shooting position more quickly than with other rifles he uses. He got close to firing at a buck last fall, but the spooky deer busted him in thick timber just after Marcus confirmed that it had antlers.
This flat-shooting round has plenty of energy to take animals at longer distances, as well as the compact form and fast-mounting capabilities helpful in tight quarters. Marcus can’t wait for this year’s deer season to try and notch an animal with this rifle. While he appreciates that the muzzle brake allows a shooter to get back on target more quickly with less muzzle recoil, and that’s valuable with this magnum cartridge, the added sound created is not worth the brake, so Marcus intends to remove the brake and add a suppressor.
Colt Grizzly
For many hunters looking for bear protection, the debate continues whether to carry a pistol or revolver. There are pros and cons to each. Revolvers rarely jam, but have a smaller cartridge capacity than pistols and are slower to load. If you fall into the revolver camp, then the Colt Grizzly is a good one to consider. With a 4.25-inch barrel, it’s compact and easy to carry. The stainless-steel handgun is built tough, and the .357 magnum cartridge packs enough of a wallop to be used in self-defense against the gun’s namesake. The ported barrel helps reduce recoil and allows you to get back on target faster. The 6-shot cylinder is non-fluted, adding just a bit of weight while increasing strength. The revolver grip is Hogue over-molded black rubber, with finger grooves, and pebble texturing. The gun weighs about 41 ounces empty, and
Colt Kodiak .44 Magnum Revolver
This is a very nice, compact, stout, stainless-steel, double-action .44 Magnum with a 4.25” barrel for convenient carry in a holster. Of course, you can also fire .44 Special ammunition in it. This is a fine revolver for bear protection. The cylinder is unfluted. We measured the single-action trigger pull at about 5.6 pounds, and the double-action trigger pull at about 9.5 pounds. The barrel is ported to decrease muzzle rise and recoil. It weighs 4 pounds, which is an ounce less than a Ruger Redhawk .44 Magnum with a 5.5” barrel. The overall length is just short of 10”. Recoil-absorbing over-molded Hogue rubber grips come standard. The revolver is made in the USA in Hartford, CT.
Banish Backcountry Suppressor
Editor George Krumm is a huge fan of suppressors because they make shooting much more comfortable, both at the range and in the field, due to reduced sound and concussive blast, as well as reduced recoil. The Banish Backcountry multi-caliber, ultralight titanium suppressor is designed specifically for hunters. It weighs 7.8 ounces and is 5.5” long. It’s rated for calibers up to .300 RUM and reduces sound to hearing-safe levels for all calibers up to and including .300 RUM. This suppressor is designed to be directly threaded onto the barrel to reduce weight and length, however, a muzzle-brake attachment is optional. This suppressor is not full-auto rated, but for a hunting suppressor, full-auto rating is not necessary. George used this on his custom 7 PRC this year and loves how short and light the Backcountry is.
Omega 300 DT Suppressor
Claimed to be “The best-selling suppressor in history” by the SilencerCo website, this can features a removable anchor brake which can be replaced with caliber-specific end caps. Its intended use is for carbines, hunting rifles, and precision rifles. It’s rated for rifles from .223 up to .300 Win Mag, with minimum barrel lengths of 20” for the magnum calibers. It ships with a 5/8 x 24 direct-thread mount, Bravo Basic Tool, Bravo Multi Tool and the Bravo Anchor Brake. In direct-thread configuration with the anchor brake attached, it is 7.09” long and weighs 14 ounces. The Omega 300 is made of cobalt-6, Inconel, stainless steel, and titanium. It is full-auto rated. With the included anchor brake, this suppressor reduces felt recoil by 20-50% depending on the caliber. This is a fantastic all-around suppressor.
Aero Precision 15” Competition Chassis, FDE Cerakote
Editor George Krumm’s first impression of this chassis was that the fit and finish are impeccable. Functional features include a Remington 700 footprint, V-block bedding to ensure consistent lockup with a variety of actions, numerous M-Lok slots on the sides and bottom of the forend, a full-length ARCA rail, bag rider, and several QD cups. At the butt stock, the mechanisms to adjust length of pull and comb height were precise and easy to use. Aero Precision sells complete rifles as well as components, and their open-source parts allow the end user a lot of choices in configuring a rifle. The chassis is available in anodized black, Magpul FDE Cerakote, Magpul OD Cerakote, and Sniper Grey Cerakote. George used this stock with an Aero Precision SOLUS Short Action and 22” barrel chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor. This chassis forms the basis of a great competition rifle. It’s made in the USA in Lakewood, Washington.
Aero Precision 22” 6.5 Creedmoor, Sendero Barrel – Black Cerakote
This is a heavy, shouldered pre-fit barrel that fits perfectly in Aero Precision’s SOLUS short action as well as Zermatt/Bighorn Origin actions. It’s a stainless-steel barrel finished with black Cerakote, so it looks great. Our test barrel came with 5/8 x 24 threads to attach a muzzle device and a 1:8 twist to stabilize heavy-for-caliber bullets. Aero Precision barrels are honed and lapped at the factory to ensure consistent accuracy. We spun the barrel into a SOLUS short action, checked headspace, installed a trigger, then dropped the barreled action into a SOLUS Competition Chassis. Aero Precision makes barrels in other finishes, with or without fluting, and in a variety of lengths and calibers.
Aero Precision SOLUS Short Action
The SOLUS Short Action is a cost-effective alternative with the same high-end features of the much more costly custom actions on the market. Aero’s short action has a Remington 700 footprint, so it fits in any stock or chassis that fits a Remington 700 action. The similarities end there, though. The SOLUS has a 60-degree bolt throw for quick cycling and follow-up shots. It uses a 3-lug interchangeable bolt head, so you could use the action with typical short-action calibers like 6.5 Creedmoor or change the bolt head (and barrel, of course) to use it with short-action magnums like the 6.5 PRC. Available bolt heads include .382 (small), .455 (PPC), .478 (standard), and .540 (magnum). It has a machined, integral 20 MOA biased top rail, integral, machined recoil lug, magnum-sized ejection port, dual ejectors, “cock on lift” bolt design that is compatible with both AICS and AIAW detachable box magazines, and a trigger hanger allowing you to install Remington 700 triggers (no-bolt-release versions). The action is smooth thanks to the black nitride coating. It’s compatible with Savage small-shank barrels with barrel nut, and shouldered Zermatt Origin pattern pre-fits. Editor George Krumm used this action to build a competition 6.5 Creedmoor using Aero recision’s 15” Competition Chassis, one of their 22” Sendero barrels, and a TriggerTech Primary trigger.
MDT HNT26 Chassis System
“So light it almost floats.” That’s what the box says, and it is, at 26- to 31 ounces depending on what version you get. The black carbon fiber and magnesium chassis looks great, is warm to the touch in cold weather, and for the version we tested, the buttstock folds so you can shorten it up for carrying on your pack. This is a chassis specifically designed for hunting. We built a 7 PRC using this chassis, adding an Aero Precision SOLUS Lightweight Long Action, Oregon Mountain Rifle carbon-fiber barrel, a Leupold Mark 5HD 3.6-18×44 scope in the new Flat Dark Earth color, attached to the action with Leupold Mark 4 Flat Dark Earth medium aluminum rings.
The only weakness on this chassis is the recoil pad. For magnum calibers, you are going to feel it. So, we changed the stock recoil pad for the new Backfire Backstop recoil pad which is custom made for this rifle. The HNT26 version we tested has an integrated ARCA rail; foam-filled buttstock to decrease recoil impulse; v-block bedding; adjustable length of pull and comb height; AICS magazine compatibility; foldable buttstock; M-Lok slots on both sides, top, and bottom of the forend; low profile mag latch integrated into the trigger guard; front and rear sling-swivel mounts; and 4 QD flush cups. It is available in black and Cerakote cobalt green and can be ordered to fit a wide variety of actions. If you want to make an ultralightweight hunting rifle, the HNT26 is an outstanding choice.
TriggerTech Rem 700 Primary Trigger
This single-stage trigger is adjustable from 1- to 4 pounds and is a huge upgrade over most factory triggers and in general, will improve your accuracy. Many hunters struggle with rifles that have too-heavy triggers, or creepy, inconsistent triggers. A quality trigger can breathe new life into a rifle you simply haven’t been able to shoot well. We chose the Rem 700 model, with no bolt release, and dropped one into both an Aero Precision SOLUS Short Action and SOLUS Lightweight Long Action. Upgrading a rifle’s trigger is probably the easiest way to improve accuracy.
Aero Precision SOLUS Lightweight Long Action
The lightweight SOLUS long action has all the features of the standard SOLUS action but is lighter at 33 ounces. This is accomplished primarily through fluting the bolt and cutting out the center section of the machined-in, 20 MOA rail. Like the standard SOLUS action, it has a 60-degree bolt throw for quick cycling and follow-up shots. It uses a 3-lug interchangeable bolt head. Available bolt heads include .478 (standard), and .540 (magnum). It has a machined integral recoil lug, a magnum-sized ejection port, dual ejectors, “cock on lift” bolt design, is compatible with both AICS and AIAW detachable box magazines, and includes a trigger hanger allowing you to install Remington 700 triggers (no-bolt-release versions).
Editor George Krumm used the lightweight long action to build a custom 7 PRC. He fitted it with an Oregon Mountain Rifle carbon-fiber Sendero-contour barrel, installed a TriggerTech Primary trigger, and dropped it into an MDT HNT26 chassis. With this rifle, 5-shot groups average about .5 or .6 inches at 100 yards with factory Hornady Precision Hunter ammo. The Solus Lightweight action is a great, affordable foundation upon which to build a custom hunting rifle.
Oregon Mountain Rifle Carbon-Fiber 7 PRC Barrel – 22”
Oregon Mountain Rifle produces match-grade, button-rifled, hand-lapped, stress-relieved, carbon-fiber wrapped barrels, complete custom rifles, and accessories. They produce both standard prefits (which use a barrel nut) and shouldered prefits (no barrel nut). OMR carbonfiber-wrapped barrels are very, very stiff and this contributes to outstanding accuracy. We attached this barrel to an Aero Precision Lightweight Long Action, added a TriggerTech Primary Trigger, and dropped the barreled action into an MDT HNT26 Chassis to produce a really sweet rifle. We used OMR’s barrel nut to attach the barrel to the action. So far, we have about 45 rounds down the tube and this rifle produces 5-shot groups that average .5 or .6 MOA at 100 yards. This is the second OMR barrel we’ve used. The first was a 6.5 PRC. Both produce accuracy in the .5 or .6 MOA range with Hornady Precision Hunter ammo. We are very impressed with the quality of OMR barrels.
MDT LA Polymer Magazine (3 round – 7 PRC)
George Krumm put together a custom build using an Oregon Mountain Rifle carbon-fiber barrel, MDT HNT26 Chassis, and Aero Precision SOLUS Lightweight Long Action. Since this is a hunting-rifle build, he chose to run MDT’s polymer magazines for their lightness, quietness, and flusher fit than metal 5-round magazines. Though George has both this 3-round polymer magazine and a metal 5-round magazine, he prefers the poly magazine for hunting.
Magpul PMAG 5 7.62 AC
Editor George Krumm purchased a couple of these magazines for use in his 6.5 Creedmoor which he mounted in an Aero Precision Competition Chassis. This is a 5-round AICS polymer magazine designed to hold .308-caliber rounds but is compatible with many short-action calibers. Compatible with short action AICS (Accuracy International Chassis Systems) pattern bottom metal and cartridges built on a .470” case head such as 7.62×51/.308 Winchester, 7mm-08 Remington, 6.5mm Creedmoor, .260 Remington, .243 Winchester, and others. We used it for a 6.5 Creedmoor. From a hunting perspective, PMAGs are attractive because they are light, and quiet, compared to metal magazines.
MDT Metal AICS Magazine (.300 Win Mag)
This long-action magazine has a 5-round capacity based on magnum rounds. It is compatible with .300 Win Mag, .338 Win Mag, 7mm Rem Mag, and 7 PRC. MDT Metal 300WM AICS magazines are manufactured from high-strength steel and finished with Cerakote Elite for the ultimate in durability and corrosion resistance. Compatible with AICS pattern DBM chassis and bottom metals. Double stack to single-feed transition design for reduced overall height compared to the industry standard. We used this magazine in a custom 7 PRC in an MDT HNT26 Chassis. We like that this magazine has room to seat long bullets farther out for calibers like the 7 PRC.