What is the next evolution of a precion rifle.

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solonvan

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I'd like to start a thread on what my peers feel is the next evolution of the PRECISION RIFLE.

Has it all been done? Every company seems to have it's own version of the perfect rifle. Market trends seem to be pointing towards modular, folding stock, carbon fiber wrapped barrels, multi caliber based on a classic Rem 700 clone. Do these rifles work? Absolutely... do I see room for improvement? Absolutely. I'd like to see a rifle geared more towards a guy like myself where money is a huge factor, but not to cheap that shortcuts are made to meet price point.

My spec.

Action
-3 lug 60deg lift
-switch barrel design, allowing the user to remove the barrel using one standard allen key and without having to disassemble the entire rifle.
-ability to go from .223 based calibers to .308 with the switch of a mag, bolt face and barrel.
-controlled feed, however allowing the user to single feed by utilizing an m16 style extractor opposed to a mauser claw style.
-mauser style manual ejector to eliminate case mouth damage caused by spring style ejectors jamming the empty case into the side of the action.
-AI footprint magazine (obviously)
-2 stage trigger for added safety, however with the ability to tune into a single stage for you single stage guys.
-A bolt stop that does not break off like all the remington clones.
-Built in MOA adjustment into the scope base with a quick release scope detachment

Stock
-aluminum framed chassis
-folding stock
-fully adjustable LOP and Cheek rise
-built in over the barrel bi pod so the gun hangs/self levels apposed to balancing the weight over a pivot
-offered in two configurations... A5 McMillan grip style or pistol grip style.


Did I miss anything?

Cheers Guys... looking forward to discusion
 
Given the rise of PRS, I see the next evolution being rifles better optimized towards barricade and positional shooting. Rifles are still optimized for prone shooting even though the majority of shots in most matches are not taken from prone. Using them for anything other than prone shooting is still awkward.

I see the following happening:

-Stocks with LOP that can be adjusted on the fly as needed, like an AR collapsible stock, but not as sloppy. (longer for prone, shorter for positional/barricades, real short for standing shots)
-Larger and more aggressive barricade stops on the front of bottom metal.
-Retractable or fold-able barricades stops along the bottom and sides of the stock.
-Either weights that can be added to the butt of the stock to balance the rifle or more affordable carbon wrapped barrels. Most of today's rifles are not balanced and do not lend themselves well to position shooting, especially standing shots.
-Bipods that are designed to work not only when used in prone, but also on barricades when folded up.
-Fore-ends or accessories to allow the barrel to be put through small openings and supported instead of having to push the bipod feed against the wall to avoid resting the barrel on the edge.
-Scope mounting solutions that allow the scope to be mounted forward (cantilevered) in a low position, but with rigidity. Current cantilever mounts are still pretty high.
 
solonvan said:
Action
-3 lug 60deg lift
-switch barrel design, allowing the user to remove the barrel using one standard allen key and without having to disassemble the entire rifle.
-controlled feed, however allowing the user to single feed by utilizing an m16 style extractor opposed to a mauser claw style.
-AI footprint magazine (obviously)
-2 stage trigger for added safety.
-A bolt stop that does not break off like all the remington clones.
Stock
-aluminum framed chassis
-folding stock
-fully adjustable LOP and Cheek rise
Click to expand...

Quite a few of your desired features like all the above are offered by AI.
 
Played with Tracking Point at SHOT a couple times. Target aquisition is still way too slow for a lot of applications.

For scopes, I foresee reticles being LCD based in the near future. They now have LCDs that are clear like glass when off. They will be put in place of store windows to show advertizing in the window itself. There is also non-volatile LCDs which are supposedly able to hold their image for over 100 years when power is removed. This would allow users to completely customize their reticles. You could also create BDC reticles that talked to the Kestrel and adjusted themselves with conditions and were calibrated for your load. With an accelerometer, they could zero out cant automatically. They could reconfigure/rotate for urban prone. If they sensed the battery getting low, they could just revert to a standard reticle pattern and lock that in before it died.
 
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All of that would be nice and not to take the discussion to off topic but after what happened this past summer at the black hat hackers computer security convention where two hackers hacked the tracking point and completely changed the intended POI of the rifle to shoot the target next to it. I don't see tracking point going to much further until that is fixed. Aside from that I think most of what you guys are talking about has already been done. As for the evolution of the precision rifle, I think current going theme is to build shorter lighter rifles that work well in confined spaces and around obstacles. I think of the "Rifles Only" mouse trap I believe it's called. But then again I'm just a keyboard commando so I could be wrong lol. Also on the idea of the fold out barricade stops I think we might have come up with the same idea of something that fits flush along the bottom that you can release with a finger tip or something lol.
 
Bullpups, I think would help a lot with barricade, length, weight bias problems. Hopefully somebody can make those that are slightly more wallet friendly.
Straight pull bolt like the Blaser would be cool if it could built into an action that is AI mag compatible.
Hopefully gear continues to get lighter, although the trend in lots of stuff is to make everything electronic, so we can put batteries in it to make it heavier again.
I am not entirely sold on aluminum chassis, they are heavy, and all the weight that gets taken out of them seems to come out of the butt, so they get more nose heavy. Carbon fiber is the answer I think. Like Kombayotch said, hopefully some reasonably priced CF barrels come out in the not so distant future.
 
I've never played with one of the precision bullpups. Fired one from a bench, sure, but never really played with one on barricades and the like. It's not so much the price of the rifles that are a turn-off, but the barrels. Over $1255 US for a new barrel? Ouch! Tough on the pocket if you're a shooter.

The LCD technology I'm talking about would simply replace the reticle. The electronics would all fit on the back of a circular board not much bigger than a 2032 coin cell, which would be the power source. I think this is more feasible than a complete electronic device like Tracking Point because existing scopes could be retrofitted fairly easily. There is already a coin cell attached to a circuit board in many scopes that have illumination. Replace the reticle with a piece of glass, add more parts to the circuit board and have a small flat cable connecting them. That's it.
 
kombayotch said:
I've never played with one of the precision bullpups. Fired one from a bench, sure, but never really played with one on barricades and the like. It's not so much the price of the rifles that are a turn-off, but the barrels. Over $1255 US for a new barrel? Ouch! Tough on the pocket if you're a shooter.

The LCD technology I am talking about would simply replace the reticle. The electronics would all fit on the back of a circular board not much bigger than a 2032 coin cell, which would be the power source. I think this is more feasible than a complete electronic device like Tracking Point because existing scopes could be retrofitted fairly easily. There is already a coin cell attached to a circuit board in many scopes that have illumination.
Click to expand...

That's pretty cool. I know nothing of the technology, I could probably be convinced to carry the extra few ounces.
 
I think smokeless powder and our current propellants, are going the way of the dodo. They are just too slow for modern day...(applications). Armour is everywhere now, and that constant barrier, is what's going to drive the change; the need to defeat it, without requiring a 25 lb rifle, or the skills of an expert marksman.

Think of an m4, chambered in .50 BMG. Nice, light handy little package, with enough punch to blast right through whatever kind of plate's in your way!

For the platform: Carbon fiber, titanium and other special materials will replace the one's currently in use. The Kriss Vector, is a good example of how technology will come into play, taking recoil issues off the table right from the get-go. Imagine an m4 with a shock-absorbing system, that can reduce elephant gun-like recoils, right down to mere "kitten punches." ;)

Round advancement: The .50 BMG is an old clunker. It needs 'dat fat ass' to accommodate all the propellant. Once the new and improved (and vastly more powerful) propellants come into play, far greater velocities can be achieved with a much slimmer cartridge, and .: higher mag capacities. Instead of copper-clad lead bullets being the norm, I expect....I have no idea.

I do know, that gone are the days of the need for assembly line style, mass production. With limitless funding and a vast talent pool to wade through, expect the 'trickle down' from DARPA and the like, to make what we have now, wholly irrelevant.

but, what do I know :) This is just what I think, and does not in any way, mean I have any idea what I'm talking about.
 
CanuckR said:
That's pretty cool. I know nothing of the technology, I could probably be convinced to carry the extra few ounces.
Click to expand...

Weight difference would probably not even be an oz. It would be similar to the guts of an iPod Nano or Apple Watch, but with less complicated circuitry.
 
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Well if you think outside the box, I would say bullets that can correct themselves mid flight, but now I think of it wasn't that actually something the military was developing? Why do I remember reading an article about mid flight correcting bullets?
 
Willybuch said:
Well if you think outside the box, I would say bullets that can correct themselves mid flight, but now I think of it wasn't that actually something the military was developing? Why do I remember reading an article about mid flight correcting bullets?
Click to expand...

http://www.defensereview.com/sandia-labs-self-guided-bullet-laser-guided-50-caliber-saboted-round-coming-for-the-u-s-ordnance-m2hb-qcb-quick-change-barrel-ma-deuce-heavy-machine-gun-hmg-meet-the-possible/

Thats why you remember

And there is a YouTube somewhere of a test, I think
 
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Lighter rifles.... 10lbs with optics and bipod should be doable today... why not 7 to 8 lbs tomorrow... and still offer stable POI with accuracy over long strings of fire.

Mid length actions with mags to support 3 1/4" OAL.

Better powders to give more performance per gr of powder.... hopefully, they will also be cooler powder so bore life is better.

Much is on the verge of being current but until it is... I will keep dreaming.

Jerry
 
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