Riflecraft Carbon One

I go back with Riflecraft to the beginning of Shooting Sports, just after the handgun ban. Envisaged by owner Andrew Evans Hendricks, he set out to build some innovative hardware for the serious shooter. Two of his best creations were the LSR (Light Sporting Rifle) and the TMR (Tactical Marksman’s Rifle) a design in constant evolution as technology and needs changed.

My favourite was the LSR, and I owned an early example. Using a Remington 700 barrelled action, the action was checked and blueprinted if required and the barrel re-crowned. The trigger tweaked and the whole lot dropped into an HS Precision synthetic stock and pillar and synthetic bedded and the barrel free floated. Mine was a 22- inch in 308 Win and suffice to say with the right ammo it shot ½-inch @ 100-yards and would do so for eight shots, after which it got too hot. But given I’ve never shot eight deer in a row; no problem, though I have done four with it!

Best

My LSR was the mutts nuts and instilled confidence. The best shot I ever made with it was on a Roe Buck at 385-yards; I knew the drops and knew my rifle could do it and it did! Bang up to date I have the very latest custom build from Riflecraft, the Carbon One. And apart from the Remington 700 action, its miles away in terms of technology from my old LSR, but has been built to shoot just like the former and does it very well!

I appreciate the light weight and rigidity of a carbon fibre (CF) stock, but to me the material looks weird and almost toy-like. However, I doubt if most would agree! But the Carbon One goes a step further, as not only is the furniture CF, the barrel is also wrapped in the material!

Rifled liner

The quest for weight reduction is usually the case of just making things as light as possible. In the case of the barrel you can remove a fair bit of steel, however this does two things; first it gets hot and loses accuracy/consistency quickly and second it will kick more. However, if you are mountain hunting, then a lightweight rifle that is much carried and little shot makes some sense.

Conversely, you could opt for a CF-wrapped tube! If anything, it’s probably lighter, as it uses an ultra-thin barrel (more a rifled liner). Yes, the tube is minimalistic, but the wrap ensures strength and rigidity. After wrapping, a muzzle cap is screwed on to tension the liner and also provide a place for a thread for a moddy etc. As can be imagined, combine this with a CF stock and you have some serious weight reduction with little loss of shootability! In this case, the barrels are made by Dan Hardy of Hardy Moderators in New Zealand!

Lock, stock and…

Currently, Andrew offers both Remington 700 and Tikka T3 actions, plus will work the CF magic on your own donor action, which saves you money. On test, was a stainless steel, short action 700 in 243 Win. The CF stock is of near classic 700 BDL design, with a long angled pistol grip, palm swell, high comb and slim cheekpiece complete with a thick rubber recoil pad.

The forend is rounded and of medium width, with a slight cut-in tip, QD sling studs are fitted. My views on the visuals of CF aside, it’s a good looking and sweet handling piece!

With the 700, feed is from a box mag conversion kit from Legacy Sports. This replaces the standard bottom metal with a one-piece polymer trigger guard and mag well housing and feeds from their 5- or 10-shot mags in short action calibres. The only caveat is the location of the mag catch, which sits at the front and is unguarded. So, if carrying the rifle in the hand at the point of balance, as most of us do, then it’s too easy to accidently operate the catch and lose the mag! The Tikka option is slightly cheaper, as they already come with a box mag as standard!

The barrel is 22-inches long and threaded 5/8 x 28 UNEF, which is protected by a screw off cap. Andrew supplied two Hardy moderators; a compact and the Stealth, the latter is much longer but obscenely quiet. On top went an ATHLON 2.5-15x50 with tactical turrets and side parallax. Ammo went to Hornady 95-grain SST and Andrew’s recommended Norma 75-grain V-MAX at a quoted 3300fps/1847ft/lbs.

Featherweight

The Carbon One is a real featherweight, as unscoped it tips the scale at 5.7lbs and fully bombed up it feels light and well balanced even with a moddy. An ideal build for someone who has problems with even medium weight guns, or those wanting a dedicated light rifle. Or, those who just want something different!

The Timney trigger broke crisply and cleanly at 2.5lbs and the general quality I have come to expect from Riflecraft custom builds was also evident. I started with the Hornady 95-grain SST and it was shooting around ¾-inches, good enough, but switching to the Norma 75-grain V-MAX showed what it could do. Groups shrunk to sub-½- inch, so most impressive. Velocity with a 243 is always a question, as the calibre does not like shorter barrels and I consider 22-inches entry level. With the 75s, the average velocity was 3205fps, which gave 1722ft/lbs; so large deer legal. The SSTs were making 2850fps/1725ft/lbs. Though lighter, the 75s retain more energy at distance; taking 300 yards as a long shot for most 243 users, the Norma gives 2360fps/927ft/ lbs and the Hornady 2077fps/910ft/lbs, with the former giving a flatter trajectory.

Heat effect was also interesting. After about 3-rounds the barrel got very hot and took more time to cool than a steel tube, almost like the CF wrap was insulating it. However, impact shift, though noticeable, was minimal and nothing you could not take into account! But that’s academic, as I doubt if you would be using this rifle for extended shooting sessions!

Conclusion

At the end of the day, I do like the Carbon One, despite my dislike of how the material looks. Obviously, the price will be reassuringly high, as producing a shooting machine like this, regardless of stock material and barrel construction, it requires investment in time and materials. Remember you’re worth it!