Aero Precision Solus Bravo

[OldSWAT644]

So I’ve been lurking here for a bit and reading. I went to a local gun store and had a chance to look at both the Bravo Model and the competition model. The Bravo in 308 is on sale for $1,300.00 I really liked that specific. It felt balanced to me the bolt was pretty smooth and the trigger wasn’t bad. I know it can be replaced with a trigger tech or timmney.

I also understand that the barrel is a Ballistics Advantage so it’s okay it not a high end barrel. One of the gun guys at the counter who is into PRS said they have sold about 11 of them in both 308 and 6.5 CM and the guys that have bought them have had positive experiences with the Solus.

Now a salesman is exactly that regardless of commission or not. Those of you who have a Solus what is your opinion on them.

The last bolt gun I owned was probably 10 years ago or so. I had a Rem 700 LTR in 308. I hane a 15 1/2 inch LOP so I put it in an AICS Chassis system from Mile High Shooting as they used to be a sponsor here. It’s been so long since I was a member here that the Mega 10 AR was the latest and greatest. I had a NF NXS that I also bought from another site sponsor so it’s been a while and a lot has changed. I sold that Rem 700 set up years ago.

So those of you that own them what do you think? I will probably end up with a FFP of some sort like a Razor for and optic and an Atlas bipod or the likes. and with a 1:10 twist 20 inch barrel there are plenty of 308 ammo options besides FGGM like the Hornady ELD Match.

 

[Varminterror]

I had a chance to handle one a new shooter student brought to a train up class, and it really wasn’t my cup of tea. For $1300, it’s a good rifle, but it was underweight and balanced far rearward.

 

[CobraCharmer]

Solus barreled action in a Woox chassis. 6 shot group with 6mm Creedmoor hornady match ammo. No complaints.

 

[ironhiide]

I had a chance to handle one a new shooter student brought to a train up class, and it really wasn’t my cup of tea. For $1300, it’s a good rifle, but it was underweight and balanced far rearward.

DId it have the chassis or the stock? But good thing that can be easily fixed with some m-lok weights or similar.

 

[Ann Ominous]

I was originally going to build an ARC Coup de gras. However work is slow money is tight and at 40 y/o I have a new kid. (I’m still learning how it works). So the compromise was a Solus bravo. The purpose was to be a new hunting rifle… holy shit she a heavy bitch. I went with the bravo because of the offered barrel lengths and I lied to myself thinking I was still a tough guy. Aside from the weight I’ve been impressed with the gun especially for what I paid. I agree the balance is slightly rearward but that suits my purpose. Offhand shots with this beast is not ez.

 

[Ann Ominous]

I’ll still build a coup de gras but it’ll have to wait a couple of years. I’m thinking 7mm prc or 300 prc with 18” barrel.

 

[Henry Breeze]

Aero Precision Solus Bravo M24 308 with the 20” barrel.
Is this what would be expected from this rifle?

I recently purchased the Solus Bravo. The only thing I did to the rifle were clean it and mount a Bi-pod and optic. Trying various quality factory ammo there was only one I found so far that shoots okay if 0.91 MOA is okay.

These are all 10 shot slow fire groups from a bench at 100 yards.
0.91 MOA, Federal 175 gr Gold Medal Sierra Matchking (picture attached)
1.23 MOA, Federal 168 gr Gold Medal Center Strike OTM
1.51 MOA, Hornady 168 gr BTHP Match
2.14 MOA, Hornady 168 gr ELD Match

Anyone have suggestions for other quality factory ammo I should try? I shot some other stuff but the above is the only match ammo tried so far. I want to get into reloading but haven’t gone there yet. My goal is to get good enough to compete with others so I can learn from people who know what they are doing.

 

[FuhQ]

Aero Precision Solus Bravo M24 308 with the 20” barrel.
Is this what would be expected from this rifle?

I recently purchased the Solus Bravo. The only thing I did to the rifle were clean it and mount a Bi-pod and optic. Trying various quality factory ammo there was only one I found so far that shoots okay if 0.91 MOA is okay.

These are all 10 shot slow fire groups from a bench at 100 yards.
0.91 MOA, Federal 175 gr Gold Medal Sierra Matchking (picture attached)
1.23 MOA, Federal 168 gr Gold Medal Center Strike OTM
1.51 MOA, Hornady 168 gr BTHP Match
2.14 MOA, Hornady 168 gr ELD Match

Anyone have suggestions for other quality factory ammo I should try? I shot some other stuff but the above is the only match ammo tried so far. I want to get into reloading but haven’t gone there yet. My goal is to get good enough to compete with others so I can learn from people who know what they are doing.

The .308 Win barrels are known to have issues. Mine did, as well as about 5 other people I personally know. The 6.5CM factory barrels, however, will absolutely hammer…

 

[FuhQ]

@Henry Breeze They apparently still have these contract overrun barrels on sale for less than $200. I bought one early on, to replace my non-accurate factory .308 barrel, and it shoots in the 0.3xx” 5-shot groups with handloads. See groups and rifle above.

It might not be the solution you want to hear, but it WILL get your rifle shooting right for about $200 shipped…

20" 6.5mm Creedmoor Sporter Fluted Shouldered Barrel Custom Marked - Stainless Steel

Shop 20" 6.5 Creedmoor Sporter Fluted Shouldered Barrel w/ 1:8 Twist Rate, Stainless Steel - Custom and more at AeroPrecisionUSA.com!

www.aeroprecisionusa.com

 

[Henry Breeze]

The .308 Win barrels are known to have issues. Mine did, as well as about 5 other people I personally know. The 6.5CM factory barrels, however, will absolutely hammer…

View attachment 8567984View attachment 8567981View attachment 8567982View attachment 8567986View attachment 8567985

@FuhQ After reading through the forums I thought there might be a problem with the 308 barrel. Wish I read that before getting the rifle. That barrel is a great suggestion and I do like stainless. Guess I would need a barrel vise and a receiver tool? That is a 'prefit' barrel that just screws in?

Problem is I already have a Tikka 6.5 Creedmoor in stainless that shoots better than the solus. Something about 308 appeals to me so I wanted to work with 308 also.

 

[FuhQ]

@FuhQ After reading through the forums I thought there might be a problem with the 308 barrel. Wish I read that before getting the rifle. That barrel is a great suggestion and I do like stainless. Guess I would need a barrel vise and a receiver tool? That is a 'prefit' barrel that just screws in?

Problem is I already have a Tikka 6.5 Creedmoor in stainless that shoots better than the solus. Something about 308 appeals to me so I wanted to work with 308 also.

Same here…I bought mine last year, and found it the hard way after about 300 rounds of lead development trying different bullets and powders… It was expensive experiment.

Yes, that is a shouldered prefit, that screws right in, and torques on @ 75 ft.lbs. You will need a good barrel vise, and one of the Aero Solus action wrenches. I do a lot of swapping things and build my own rifles, so I have an SAC Modular vise. It’s expensive, but worth it, if you plan on doing your own barrel swaps in the future. The action wrench is pretty inexpensive, about $90. You will also need a torque wrench that goes up to 75 ft. Lbs. and you will need a big 24” handle 1/2” breaker bar to pop the old barrels loose. Good thing about tools like this, you can use them forever, and for other things, other than just guns.

I get it, I refused to own a 6.5CM this long, until this deal came about, now I have 2 of them, and I’m quite happy with the results. My take, is 2 sub-1/2 MOA 6.5CM’s sure beats an inaccurate .308 in my book, and I’ve been a lifelong .308 Win fan/shooter. Still got several, just not a Solus .308 anymore.

 

[memilanuk]

@FuhQ do you just hang out on the Aero website non-stop to find all these deals

I did follow that contract over-run link, browsed around a bit, and picked up a black 22" 6.5CM barrel... so thank you for that

 

[FuhQ]

@FuhQ do you just hang out on the Aero website non-stop to find all these deals

I did follow that contract over-run link, browsed around a bit, and picked up a black 22" 6.5CM barrel... so thank you for that

No, I just check things around sales times. Also, if you sign up for their emails, they’ll let you know when things are on sale, or when they have blem or overrun items on sale.

 

[Henry Breeze]

Anyone have a recommendation for a barrel vise that will only be used a few times? @FuhQ recommended a SAC vise which looks great if you will be changing a lot of barrels, it is $475. Aero Precision vise is out of stock. I purchased an Aero Precision Over Contract barrel and would like to find a vise that didn't cost more than the barrel.

 

[WeR0206]

@FuhQ do you just hang out on the Aero website non-stop to find all these deals

I did follow that contract over-run link, browsed around a bit, and picked up a black 22" 6.5CM barrel... so thank you for that

No, I just check things around sales times. Also, if you sign up for their emails, they’ll let you know when things are on sale, or when they have blem or overrun items on sale.

You can also note the model or UPC # of a product and use a site like gun.deals to show you the prices of various websites for it. Super handy during holiday sales for price comparisons.

 

[memilanuk]

Anyone have a recommendation for a barrel vise that will only be used a few times? @FuhQ recommended a SAC vise which looks great if you will be changing a lot of barrels, it is $475. Aero Precision vise is out of stock. I purchased an Aero Precision Over Contract barrel and would like to find a vise that didn't cost more than the barrel.

If you do a search for 'barrel vise' in this forum, the other one you'll see come up a fair bit is the Viper. You can order them direct, or through Brownell's.

Like most things SAC makes... they are very, very nice and if you have the reason/means to treat yourself, by all means do so. But there are plenty of more affordable options that work just fine. In this case, perhaps a bit slower. I have a simple four post barrel vise that is even more... spartan... than the Viper (raw aluminum, no anodizing, no springs), that I got years ago from Russ Haydon's Shooter Supply (long since out of business). That was what the bench rest and HP Rifle shooters in my area used. It works well enough, but there are times when I wish it was a little faster. Not enough to make me go spend another $3-400 just yet, but still.

 

[WeR0206]

If you do a search for 'barrel vise' in this forum, the other one you'll see come up a fair bit is the Viper. You can order them direct, or through Brownell's.

Like most things SAC makes... they are very, very nice and if you have the reason/means to treat yourself, by all means do so. But there are plenty of more affordable options that work just fine. In this case, perhaps a bit slower. I have a simple four post barrel vise that is even more... spartan... than the Viper (raw aluminum, no anodizing, no springs), that I got years ago from Russ Haydon's Shooter Supply (long since out of business). That was what the bench rest and HP Rifle shooters in my area used. It works well enough, but there are times when I wish it was a little faster. Not enough to make me go spend another $3-400 just yet, but still.

Good point re: barrel vices. Here's another one with similar price to the Viper you linked to:
21st Century Innovation Universal barrel vice (anodized aluminum) for $72

 

[FuhQ]

Good point re: barrel vices. Here's another one with similar price to the Viper you linked to:
21st Century Innovation Universal barrel vice (anodized aluminum) for $72

@Henry Breeze This unit listed above ^^^ looks to be a very nice unit. It's got a spring-loaded top, which is a nice feature, especially for that price. If you can't find the Viper, then that appears to be a solid option.

Here's another nice unit I stumbled upon on Amazon, and it comes with some nice leather inserts to protect the barrel's finish, and to help grip the barrel to avoid it from spinning. It has very positive reviews, too. MechForce Professional Grade Heavy Duty Barrel Vise

Dave Manson has the Viper vises in stock for only $69.99... He makes some of the best reamers and chamber gauges you can buy, so he's a legit company in case you have never heard of him before. https://mansonreamers.com/product/barell-vise/

 

[memilanuk]

you sign up for their emails, they’ll let you know when things are on sale, or when they have blem or overrun items on sale.

I really wish they had options to separate out the email list for gas gun vs bolt gun. Yeah, I'm in the same state as they (Aero) is, but with the current state laws, I can't hardly buy any of the gas gun stuff anymore. So 99% of their emails are useless to me