Mossberg Patriot Predator 6.5 PRC 24" 4rd OD Green Rifle

The Patriot Predator is the flatter shooting end of Mossberg's bolt action line, and 6.5 PRC is the reason to pick this one. The cartridge takes the 6.5 Creedmoor idea and pushes it harder, sending the same long, heavy bullets noticeably faster out of a case with more room in it. On game that means holding dead on at distances where a Creedmoor starts asking for holdover. A 24" barrel gives the powder charge somewhere to work, and the fluting cuts weight out of the middle of the tube without giving up much stiffness.

The muzzle is threaded, which matters more on a magnum than on a mild cartridge; a brake tames the push and a suppressor makes the rifle pleasant to shoot off a bipod all afternoon. Feeding comes from a detachable box magazine holding 4rd. The trigger is user adjustable, the metal is finished matte blued, and the OD Green synthetic stock keeps the rifle looking like a hunting tool rather than a range gun. At 24" the barrel is long for still hunting thick country, but that is the trade you make for velocity, and hunters who spend more of the day glassing than walking will not care. This is a rifle for open ground: elk across a canyon, mule deer on a far ridge, or a coyote sitting farther out than a smaller cartridge wants to reach.