Share Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

I recently surveyed the top 100+ shooters in the Precision Rifle Series (PRS), and this post reviews the gunsmiths those guys trusted to do work on their match rifles. For those not familiar with the PRS, it’s an organization that tracks how 2,000+ competitors place in major rifle matches across the country. PRS matches are tactical/practical long-range rifle matches shot in the field conditions. Typical ranges for steel targets are from 300 to 1200 yards, and they are engaged from prone and improvised positions, often under extreme time pressure. It is one of the fastest growing shooting sports, and has attracted some of the best riflemen in the world. So to land in this group of the top 100 you have to be an exceptional competitor. (More Info on the PRS)

This is one of several posts based on a gear survey of the top PRS shooters. Want to be the first to know when the next set of results is posted? Sign-up to receive new posts via email.

Gunsmiths The Pros Trust

There are a lot of gunsmiths out there, and many are great at what they do. As in every occupation, some are better than others. Some gunsmiths are generalists, and some are specialist in a particular niche, like hunting rifles, 1911 pistols, heavy benchrest rifles, etc. For the PRS, shooters demand tack-driving precision in a rifle that functions reliably in tough field conditions, and are light enough to carry and maneuver all day. That’s certainly a tall order!

While this is not intended to be an exhaustive or ranked list of the best gunsmiths, it is a list of the gunsmiths the best precision rifle shooters in the country trusted to chamber their match rifle. That clearly means these shooters gave them a strong vote of confidence.

There was some shift from last year’s survey data on gunsmiths. First, there was a much wider variety of gunsmiths represented, which is primarily due to the number of gunsmiths represented by only 1 shooter. Last year gunsmiths with only 1 shooter represented made up 18% of the total, and this year they made up 30%. That just means the shooters are less concentrated among a few gunsmiths, and there are a lot of new gunsmiths represented. In fact, there were 23 new gunsmiths represented in the Open and Tactical Divisions! (Note: By new, I just mean they hadn’t appeared on the “What The Pros Use” survey before. They may have been a gunsmith for 50 years, but they’re new to this list.) Because there were so many used by just 1 shooter, I had to limit the chart above to only display the gunsmiths that had multiple shooters say they used them on the survey … otherwise it would have been unreadable. But rest assured, I’ll give the FULL list in this post.

While some favorites were still represented in strong numbers like previous years, there was some shuffle in the order in terms of how many shooters each one had represented.

For the first year ever, Accuracy International was the most popular rifle builder, with 8 of the shooters surveyed running one of their rifles. Last year, AI tied for the 2nd most popular, behind GA Precision. But this year AI was able to claim the top spot. AI works differently than many gunsmiths. On an AI-built rifle, you can’t choose all the components to the same level of detail that you can with a full-custom gunsmiths (e.g. you can’t tell them you want this brand barrel, with this particular twist rate, and you want it Cerakoted in this color, etc.). But, if AI is willing to stamp their brand on it … you know it represents one of the best rifles money can buy. Their goal is to find the absolute best components for each part of the rifle, and then assemble a team of world-class experts that specialize in key aspects of each rifle. AI had 2 shooters represented in the top 20 in the Open Division, and 3 more in the top 50. There was also a shooter who finished in the top 10 of the Tactical Division running an AI rifle.

Surgeon Rifles claimed the #2 spot, with 7 shooters among the top 50. Surgeon was the most popular gunsmith in 2012 and second in 2013, but there were only a couple of Surgeon built rifles represented over the past two years. But that all changed again this year, with several of these pros running Surgeon Rifles … including Tyler Payne, the overall points leader and PRS Champion this year. Also representing Surgeon Rifles was David Preston in 3rd place, and Matthew Brousseau in 8th. So there were 3 shooters in the top 10 running Surgeon Rifles, which was more than any other gunsmith! In addition to that, there were 2 more guys in the top 20 in the Open Division, and 1 more in the top 50.

Stuteville Precision was the 3rd most popular gunsmith among this group of shooters, with 6 shooters represented. While the company is just a couple of years old, they’ve been a favorite among these shooters since they started. The guy running the company, Wade Stuteville, is a veteran in the PRS and in building rifles. Wade has competed with precision rifles for 15+ years, and even claimed the top spot overall as the PRS Champion a few years ago. This year Stuteville Precision had 1 rifle represented in the top 10 in the Open Division, and 2 more in the top 25. They also had another rifle represented in the top 10 in the Tactical Division.

Butch’s Reloading jumped up a few spots this year, with 5 rifles represented among the shooters surveyed. Butch Fjoser and Ed Adams are long-time competitive shooters. They’ve recruited a few other shooters for Team Butch, with 3 of them finished in the top 50 in the Open Division.

Behind those top 4 gunsmiths, there is a list that each had 4 shooters represented:

GA Precision – GAP was the most popular gunsmith for 3 years in a row, until this year. But make no mistake, they still know how to build rifles capable of gnat’s @$$ precision (yes, that’s what GA Precision stands for). GAP is one of the most experienced and respected gunsmiths in the country when it comes to tactical, precision rifles. They had 4 shooters represented, including Shannon Kay who finished 7th overall, and 2 more shooters who finish in the top 50 in the Open Division.

– GAP was the most popular gunsmith for 3 years in a row, until this year. But make no mistake, they still know how to build rifles capable of gnat’s @$$ precision (yes, that’s what GA Precision stands for). GAP is one of the most experienced and respected gunsmiths in the country when it comes to tactical, precision rifles. Masterpiece Arms – MPA is relatively new to the bolt-action world, but they’ve proved they’re fast learners! That’s pretty obvious when they have as many rifles represented among these world-class shooters as big-time players like GAP and SAC. One interesting thing that is different about MPA is they own their own barrel company. They had 4 rifles represented among this crowd.

– MPA is relatively new to the bolt-action world, but they’ve proved they’re fast learners! That’s pretty obvious when they have as many rifles represented among these world-class shooters as big-time players like GAP and SAC. One interesting thing that is different about MPA is they own their own barrel company. Short Action Customs – Led by Mark Gordon, this company has made some hard-core believers out of more than a few shooters. SAC is focused on tactical rifles, and I’ve personally seen some of their rifles that were capable of ridiculous precision. They’ve actually published a ton of videos of their process and barrel work. SAC had 4 rifles represented, including 1 in the top 30 in the Open Division.

– Led by Mark Gordon, this company has made some hard-core believers out of more than a few shooters. SAC is focused on tactical rifles, and I’ve personally seen some of their rifles that were capable of ridiculous precision. They’ve actually published a ton of videos of their process and barrel work. Spartan Precision Rifles – Spartan is gunsmith who specializes in niche of precision bolt-action rifles. Spartan had 4 rifles represented, including Regina Milkovich who used a Spartan built rifle to take 23rd overall in the Open Division, and Alton Johnson who placed 4th overall in the Tactical Division.

– Spartan is gunsmith who specializes in niche of precision bolt-action rifles. TS Customs – TS Customs is a gunsmith out of South Dakota that makes tack-driving rifles for competitors and hunters. They had 4 shooters total, which included 2 in the top 25 in the Open Division, and 1 more in the top 50.

Roberts Precision Rifles made the list once again. They seem to be a perennial favorite among a few of these shooters. Aaron Roberts is the riflesmith behind the company, and if you haven’t heard of him … you should check out his bio. Very impressive resume! Roberts Precision Rifles had 3 shooters represented this year, including Paul Reid who took 10th overall in the Open Division.

Next, there were several gunsmiths who had 2 of these top shooters running one of their rifles:

Finally, here is the list of gunsmiths with 1 shooter represented among those surveyed. And please understand I’m not trying to imply that these guys aren’t on the same level as the gunsmiths already mentioned. This post is simply intended to presenting the results of this year’s survey, not rank gunsmiths. Remember, these are all 5-star gunsmiths capable of building rifles that can obviously compete at the highest level.

© Copyright 2020 PrecisionRifleBlog.com, All Rights Reserved.