For many years, bolt-action competitors and hunters have desired a semi-automatic with the precision of a bolt-action rifle. Now, RTH Firearms makes that possible with its new semi-automatic rifle. Incredibly beautiful and well-designed, it’s the first semi-automatic to be chambered in high-performing 6.5x47mm Lapua or 6.5mm Creedmoor cartridges.
This rifle not only offers sub-MOA precision, it also blends beauty with a powerful firing platform. Three years ago, Ralph Hicks, president and CEO of RTH Firearms, and his team set out to develop a precision semi-auto rifle that would perform with the 6mm family of rounds. His goal was to create a rifle that looked as good as it performed. To achieve this goal, Hicks and his team took an integrated approach, marrying hand-crafted components into a single firing platform.
“There was not one single component of the platform that could solve all the issues associated with chambering in 6.5mm,”Hicks says. “We had to take a holistic view of how each component would interact with all other components.”
He turned to Aaron Cayce, CEO of Phoenix Weaponry, and his team to design and machine the precision components of the rifle platform. Cayce, a former aerospace and defense industry expert had to meet the exacting tolerances required of the firearm. It was a strategic alliance that gave birth to a precision rifle platform that hits a consistent .2 to .4 MOA (Minute of Angle is approximately 1 inch at 100 yards). This is a level of performance rarely seen in semi-autos. And with its unique titanium muzzle brake, the recoil feels more like you’re shooting a .22 rifle than a high-power cartridge. The design aesthetics are also unique. A carbon fiber octagon handguard travels along the barrel and a stainless-steel match grade barrel disappears into a unique multifaceted end-cap. Beyond the end-cap is a beautiful gas block that can be adjusted to accept a suppressor.
Another of Hicks’ goals was to build a rifle that could serve the precision shooting needs of both the military and police and dispense with the need for a scout sniper to carry two rifles into combat —today, a sniper carries both a carbine for close-quarters combat and a bolt-action long gun to engage long-range targets. The RTH Firearm rifles can engage long-range targets, yet are nimble enough to be used up close.
We may see these rifles in the hands of special forces — particularly in Europe where the 6.5mm is better known. Because the 6.5×47 Lapua cartridge has a similar trajectory to a 300 Winchester Magnum, it has an effective range of 1,400 yards. The rifle is very comfortable to shoot offhand as well as in the prone position. Its buttstock is fully adjustable and provides a solid cheek weld. It has a fully adjustable length of pull, and a vertical adjustment to the recoil pad blends the rifle to the rifleman’s body for a comfortable fit.
Each rifle comes with a tactical case similar to a Pelican case, a unique paracord sling, a handsome owner’s manual the likes of which we have never seen before, and a signed copy of Hicks’ Fundamentals of Long Distance Shooting .
To own one of these firearms visit htpps://RTHFirearms.com
Photo courtesy of rth.com
