Looks like a decent rifle. Hopefully its got decent QA (it has to be better than Remington). Im wary about the pricepoint and quality, especially since they will only guarantee .75 MOA.
But it does look like a good rifle and another option for people, especially hunters.
It is likely within their capability to produce a .5 MOA gun, but for the purposes for which it was intended (general purpose hunting/target rifle, sporter-ish weight barrel), coupled with the costs associated with such a stringent warranty (allowances for warranties and the projected liabilities associated with warranties are an actual item on the balance sheets of manufacturing companies), a more lax standard is just fine.
I'm not all that concerned about this product. The cheapest version's projected street price is a few hundred more than a Bergara (Bergara guarantees 1 MOA - 3 shot groups), the action is a model 700 custom action, and Springfield isn't making the barrels, the trigger, or the stock.
They're likely producing the action and that's about it. They seem to be using modern processes to make it (at the least, they're using a wire EDM for the reaceways), and if QC is consistent, modern CNC produces a good product. They aren't reproducing the wheel on the action, and in the absence of an ability to grab one, chuck it up into a lathe, and start taking measurements to ensure concentricity and lug contact, it looks to be a good action based on the features.
It isn't as advanced as a Bighorn or ARC action, but it does look like a pretty standard custom action with a lot of the goodies people want in a custom R700 footprint action. They very clearly wanted to take advantage of the existing manufacturing knowledge base for the model 700, both to reduce costs and to reduce the propensity for error in rolling out a new product.
Here's my take on actually buying one. IF the action is good and they can actually shoot once in the hands of normal shooters (none of this press gun nonsense), then for the cost of the base model with a steel barrel, I'm in as much as it costs to purchase and barrel my own action, but I get a CF stock, a DBM system, magazine, trigger, and a pinned scope rail included in the purchase price. I can torch the throat out of the rifle and rebarrel it easily with another contour if I want.
It's a good value buy if it can actually perform, and it represents quite a bit for the purchase price.
www.springfield-armory.com
www.snipershide.com
bearingarms.com
