It’s an interesting query and I had much the same quandary 4-5 years ago and was in the same position as you and wanted an ultra high end rifle and looked into all those rifles.
I’ll tell you my impressions and story and you can judge for yourself whether it may apply to you and help you in the end.
After much research, I first bought a Barrett MRAD as my dealer here in Edmonton, Phoenix, had one on the shelf and I could handle it. Came in 308 and ordered the 338LM and 6.5 Creedmoor factory barrels for it. Fantastic, high quality kit, very accurate and good trigger actually too. Only sold it because of reading too much on the internet lol... I got caught up in the AI frenzy and ordered an AI AXMC from Wolverine, and ordered several calibers as well. Best 2-stage trigger I’ve shot, crazy accurate, comfortable. Then too much more time on the internet...and heard about the Desert Tech stuff, and after lots of research, decided that I’d order one in left handed, and sell my right handed AI.
Still have my desert tech to this day, and could not go back to rightie rifles now, plus the Desert Tech is easily as accurate with factory barrels as the Barrett and AI. Can’t really go wrong with any of those 3,but do your research, all are very different and see what suits you.
It cost me a ton of cash to buy new and sell those rifles, but am super happy with my SRS, and now have 7 different barrels for it.
As I burned out factory barrels, I wanted to try the aftermarket barrels and see if Canadian builders could help me out.
That lead me to Insite Arms in Lloydminster. Chatted with Harley lots, and after much discussion, sent him my SRS and bought a couple barrels from him. Low and behold they were even easier to dial in and more accurate then the factory barrels. Now I’ve ordered a whack of barrels from him and couldn’t be happier.
The precision of those barrels got me thinking last year and made me even more curious that I needed to try a full custom build and see how they compared to all the high end factory stuff I had owned. So Harley and I put our heads together, and Harley made a bunch of suggestions, and in the end, ordered two full custom builds. (MPA chassis, BixnAndy triggers, etc).
The customs are truly amazing, fit me like a glove, are decked out exactly the way, shape, profile and specs I wanted. And even custom painted groovy colours. Are they more accurate then my 3 factory rifles were? Hmmmm, I must say yes they are, but it is close. With the aftermarket barrels on my AI and Desert Tech, they run neck and neck with my custom builds. (Although factory rifles with aftermarket barrels, is not a true custom to factory rifle comparison anymore, but I digress).
They customs were no cheaper or really more expensive then those high end rifles though, so in the end, I don’t regret any of my past purchases or where I am at, or the money I’ve spent thus far. Shooting is a journey for me, and now that I am also deep down the rabbit hole with reloading and an obsession to try out all the new calibers, my present rifles are flexible enough to accommodate the way I shoot. Your expectations and usage might be quite different?
I will say though, that one other huge advantage when you order a gun from a custom builder, you get a level of fit and finish, customization and professionalism/knowledge that you can’t get from ordering a factory gun online. I have talked Insite/Harley’s and Andy’s ears off about everything gun, reloading and caliber related and without their pro input, I’d be much less informed and certainly not the shooter or reloader I am today. Don’t get me wrong though, I have great experiences with most of the big box factory dealers I’ve have dealt with too and if Wolverine had a left handed AI switch barrel in stock right now, and now knowing that I could get full custom barrels in any caliber thru Insite for it, I’d probably order one today. I am also not going to sell my Desert Tech either.
So there is no wrong answer here, any and all the rifles in this price range are going to be outstanding kit, it more comes down to what you will used it for, what suits your style, and how easy is it to get more barrels for it if you need to, etc, then actually one brand over another.
Just my thoughts....
I’ll tell you my impressions and story and you can judge for yourself whether it may apply to you and help you in the end.
After much research, I first bought a Barrett MRAD as my dealer here in Edmonton, Phoenix, had one on the shelf and I could handle it. Came in 308 and ordered the 338LM and 6.5 Creedmoor factory barrels for it. Fantastic, high quality kit, very accurate and good trigger actually too. Only sold it because of reading too much on the internet lol... I got caught up in the AI frenzy and ordered an AI AXMC from Wolverine, and ordered several calibers as well. Best 2-stage trigger I’ve shot, crazy accurate, comfortable. Then too much more time on the internet...and heard about the Desert Tech stuff, and after lots of research, decided that I’d order one in left handed, and sell my right handed AI.
Still have my desert tech to this day, and could not go back to rightie rifles now, plus the Desert Tech is easily as accurate with factory barrels as the Barrett and AI. Can’t really go wrong with any of those 3,but do your research, all are very different and see what suits you.
It cost me a ton of cash to buy new and sell those rifles, but am super happy with my SRS, and now have 7 different barrels for it.
As I burned out factory barrels, I wanted to try the aftermarket barrels and see if Canadian builders could help me out.
That lead me to Insite Arms in Lloydminster. Chatted with Harley lots, and after much discussion, sent him my SRS and bought a couple barrels from him. Low and behold they were even easier to dial in and more accurate then the factory barrels. Now I’ve ordered a whack of barrels from him and couldn’t be happier.
The precision of those barrels got me thinking last year and made me even more curious that I needed to try a full custom build and see how they compared to all the high end factory stuff I had owned. So Harley and I put our heads together, and Harley made a bunch of suggestions, and in the end, ordered two full custom builds. (MPA chassis, BixnAndy triggers, etc).
The customs are truly amazing, fit me like a glove, are decked out exactly the way, shape, profile and specs I wanted. And even custom painted groovy colours. Are they more accurate then my 3 factory rifles were? Hmmmm, I must say yes they are, but it is close. With the aftermarket barrels on my AI and Desert Tech, they run neck and neck with my custom builds. (Although factory rifles with aftermarket barrels, is not a true custom to factory rifle comparison anymore, but I digress).
They customs were no cheaper or really more expensive then those high end rifles though, so in the end, I don’t regret any of my past purchases or where I am at, or the money I’ve spent thus far. Shooting is a journey for me, and now that I am also deep down the rabbit hole with reloading and an obsession to try out all the new calibers, my present rifles are flexible enough to accommodate the way I shoot. Your expectations and usage might be quite different?
I will say though, that one other huge advantage when you order a gun from a custom builder, you get a level of fit and finish, customization and professionalism/knowledge that you can’t get from ordering a factory gun online. I have talked Insite/Harley’s and Andy’s ears off about everything gun, reloading and caliber related and without their pro input, I’d be much less informed and certainly not the shooter or reloader I am today. Don’t get me wrong though, I have great experiences with most of the big box factory dealers I’ve have dealt with too and if Wolverine had a left handed AI switch barrel in stock right now, and now knowing that I could get full custom barrels in any caliber thru Insite for it, I’d probably order one today. I am also not going to sell my Desert Tech either.
So there is no wrong answer here, any and all the rifles in this price range are going to be outstanding kit, it more comes down to what you will used it for, what suits your style, and how easy is it to get more barrels for it if you need to, etc, then actually one brand over another.
Just my thoughts....
