The Barrett Fieldcraft 308 is a mountain rifle, and a fine one at that.
A Barrett mountain rifle? Yes, the company that produces high-end ARs and incredibly accurate .50 BMG sniper rifles now makes a bolt-action mountain rifle for hunters. And, quite frankly, it’s one of the nicest medium and big game rifles I’ve seen in a long time.
Of course, I’m very fond of mountain rifles. But by the time you finish reading this, I think you’ll agree.
Action and Caliber
Barrett produces the Fieldcraft in two basic models — short action and long action — along with 10 different calibers.
Seven calibers are available on the short-action model: .243 Win., .22-250 Rem., 6.5mm Creedmoor, 6mm Creedmoor , 7mm-08 Rem. and .308 Win. The short action is also available with either an 18-inch threaded barrel or a 21-inch crowned barrel.
The long action comes with a 24-inch barrel and is available in .25-06 Rem., .270 Win., .30-06 Springfield and 6.5x55mm Swedish Mauser.
Barrett Fieldcraft Features
Regardless of action length or caliber, all Fieldcraft rifles feature push-feed actions, stainless steel construction and hand-laid carbon fiber stocks that are full-length bedded for accuracy and individually fitted to each barreled action.
To further promote accuracy, each barrel is precision honed, button rifled and stress-relieved twice for consistent harmonics.
Other features include a blind magazine for extra rigidity and reliable feeding; a fluted bolt and lightened bolt handle for weight reduction; a single stage target quality trigger made to Barrett specifications by Timney; adjustable single plane optics mounting; and Talley scope mounts.
The Fieldcraft Difference
Two additional features set the Fieldcraft apart from most other bolt action hunting rifles.
First, Barrett lengthened the magazine wells for handloaders. The short action version has a 3-inch long magazine box, and the long action magazine box is 3.375 inches long. This allows those who prefer to load their own hunting ammo to seat longer bullets further out of the case for maximum adjustment of the bullet ogive to barrel lead distance. So what? This allows the handloader more latitude to find the most accurate seating distance for any particular bullet.
The second feature is the pinned bolt handle. Most bolt handles are either soldered or welded to the bolt body. In rare situations, moisture can corrode the attachment and cause the handle to separate from the bolt. The Fieldcraft has a fitted and pinned bolt handle, which eliminates this type of failure for the utmost in reliability.
These are just two more examples of all of the extra care that goes into the design and construction of the Fieldcraft rifle.
The Barrett Fieldcraft 308 on the Range
Barrett brought a suppressed a .308 Win. Fieldcraft model to the 2018 Athlon Outdoors Rendezvous in Montana. It featured an 18-inch threaded barrel.
Before shooting, I examined it briefly for overall quality. No shocker that it’s incredibly well made. After inspection, I sat down on the bench to fire a few rounds at steel targets beyond 600 yards. I quickly discovered why each Fieldcraft comes with a three-shot sub-MOA guarantee.
Reliability was perfect and the steel rang with almost monotonous consistency. I just did not miss. This can be attributed to both the quality of the Fieldcraft’s construction and the fine Timney trigger and Talley mounts.
Of course the quality of its Vortex scope and the use of Federal Gold Medal ammunition helped bring out all of the accuracy built into the rifle.
The Timney trigger really stood out though. It had a light, clean pull and almost no over-travel. I would have no problem taking this rifle on a hunt in any weather conditions.
Final Thoughts
The Fieldcraft is truly the last word in bolt-action mountain rifles.
Its MSRP ranges from $1,879 to $1,929, so it isn’t cheap once you mount a high-quality optic. Then again, this is a truly custom production rifle and it clearly delivers everything its owner pays for.
For more information, please visit Barrett.net.
