Extended Accuracy: The HS Precision PLR

Rifle hunting out West is hard enough. Between the increased amount of fellow hunters in the field and the seasons falling during a time when it’s harder to locate trophy-class animals  – you have your work cut out for you. So why compound that difficulty with a rifle that has “acceptable” accuracy? Why not make your life easier with a sub-MOA guaranteed rig that’s built from the ground up with the extended ranges in mind that most hunters out West find themselves shooting?

Enter the HS Precision PLR. This rifle is specifically designed and built for extended ranges. Now, I typically don’t give a lot of credence to rifles intended for “long range” shooting as nearly any rifle with MOA accuracy has the ability shoot long range. But what is long range anyway? 300 yards? 500 yards? 1,000 yards? For me personally, with my current skill level under field conditions, I consider anything beyond 500 yards to be long range and in the majority of hunting situations I won’t shoot over 400 yards.

With the PLR in hand, I quickly learned the 500-yard mark was just a starting point. I also learned it makes anything inside of my hunting comfort range of 400 almost easy. That’s where a rifle designed for longer ranges comes into its own – taking your current comfort range into the realm of “easy.” I hesitate to say that but it’s the best way I can describe it without taking you to the range. And, if you have the skill set to reach out a rifle like the PLR will take you there comfortably with yards to spare. Let’s take a look at some of the features that contribute this kind of performance.

First and foremost is the 10X cut barrel. This process reduces stress during the rifling process yielding in incredibly consistent rifling with minimal to non-existent distortion as compared to other more economical rifling methods. The stock has been customized with a vertical grip and ambidextrous palm swell, and the recoil pad meets your shoulder in the optimal position for the prone shooting. As we all know the prone position is the most stable. A magnum contour barrel features fluting to help with heat dispersion and reduce your overall carry weight. At the heart of all of this is HS Precision’s formidable Pro Series 2000 action that’s true as can be. Bed this in their composite stock with a full-length aluminum-bedding block and you have harnessed every bit of accuracy possible.

The price tag isn’t cheap at about $3,500 for the base rifle and goes up from there depending on the options you select. But if I were in the market for one gun, the PLR would certainly be on my short list. It’s a little heavy on the carry weight, weighing in between 8 and 9 lbs. depending on caliber. But, you need a heavier gun to provide the stability required to reach across expansive canyons out West. I mean how else would I have been able to explode 1-gallon milk jugs at 1,000 yards like it was nothing?

 Test Specs:

 Rifle: HS Precision PLR

Caliber: 6.5 Creedmoor

Scope: Swarovski X5-i 5-25x56MM

Ammo: Hornady Precision Hunter 143 grain ELD-X

Group sizes: Measured .496” at 100 yards, aprox. 2.25” at 550 yards and aprox. 9.5” at 1,000 yards.