I ordered this rifle through a special group buy off of 24 hour campfire offered by Whittaker's Gun Shop. I picked up my rifle today from the LGS, and to be honest I'm on the fence about it. I ordered some Talley mounts that didn't make it into the box, but Whittaker's admitted the mistake and refunded the money at my request. However, they did offer to overnight them to me at no expense which was a very nice gesture.
I had dropped of a Leupold VXII 3-9X40 to be mounted in the Talley's but when they weren't in the box my LGS to the liberty of using some aluminum Weaver bases and Quad Lock rings he had on hand. It's no big deal and the mounts and rings will work for now as if this rifle shoots really well, I'll be switching out the scope for a more long range option. However if it doesn't shoot as I hope, it'll probably get reworked.
First thing I noticed about the rifle is way heavier than advertised. MRC list the X2 Extreme as 6lbs 14oz. I figured I was going to add close to another pound with the Talley's and the Leupold, making the rifle a hair under 8 lbs. Well that isn't the case the rifle came in a hair under 8.5lbs, big difference from what I was expecting.
Sorry for crappy scale picture:
I know the MRC actions are supposed to be heavy as just reading around the web you hear that. I do think MRC could lighten up these rifles a bit by changing the barrel profile especially the shank. The shank on my rifle is a good 1.75" before the barrel begins to taper. However the balance is good on the rifle as it seems to balance right at the front action screw.
Fit and finish seem to really good on my rifle, the trigger guard is flush with the stock line as well as the tang and ejection port. The cutout for the bolt handle could have used a little more attention as it's a little over sized. It doesn't feel as sevelt in my hands as my McMillan Hunter or M70 FWT stocks, but the stock does feel nice. The forearm is a little thicker than the McMillan's but the wrist, flutes and pistol grip has an excellent feel to them in my hand.
The barrel is free floated and centered in the forearm, though I'd maybe like a little more float on the barrel. It's a snug fit for an 8.5X11 sheet of printer paper to fit down the forearm. The float ends right at the shank as that is where the bedding material ends as well.
The stainless steel has a nice even matte finish all over though I haven't popped the action from the stock yet. The bolt handle feels a little small but it's still easy to manipulate. There is a ton of shipping grease in the action and on the bolt so until I can take some time to degrease everything, I can't really tell you how the bolt feels. I can tell you however, the safety works within an acceptable decibel range for those worried it might be too loud to use while hunting (another silly thread on 24 hour campfire about a M70 safety).
Hopefully I can get my 12 year old to drive me to the range on Friday after basketball practice, since it's hard to drive my pickup with my broken leg. She's getting pretty good at driving a stick and taking the backroads to avoid the law. It's a little father daughter bonding time we both enjoy.
If the rifle shoots well then I guess I'll figure out if I can put it on a diet affordably or not. I really want this rifle to perform well as I had planned to build an 8 twist .243 that would finish at sub 8 lbs all up, but jumped on this group buy as it saved me a minimum of $500 right off the bat. Needless to say I'm a little bummed about the thought of a 9lbs all up .243 Win.
I had dropped of a Leupold VXII 3-9X40 to be mounted in the Talley's but when they weren't in the box my LGS to the liberty of using some aluminum Weaver bases and Quad Lock rings he had on hand. It's no big deal and the mounts and rings will work for now as if this rifle shoots really well, I'll be switching out the scope for a more long range option. However if it doesn't shoot as I hope, it'll probably get reworked.
First thing I noticed about the rifle is way heavier than advertised. MRC list the X2 Extreme as 6lbs 14oz. I figured I was going to add close to another pound with the Talley's and the Leupold, making the rifle a hair under 8 lbs. Well that isn't the case the rifle came in a hair under 8.5lbs, big difference from what I was expecting.
Sorry for crappy scale picture:
I know the MRC actions are supposed to be heavy as just reading around the web you hear that. I do think MRC could lighten up these rifles a bit by changing the barrel profile especially the shank. The shank on my rifle is a good 1.75" before the barrel begins to taper. However the balance is good on the rifle as it seems to balance right at the front action screw.
Fit and finish seem to really good on my rifle, the trigger guard is flush with the stock line as well as the tang and ejection port. The cutout for the bolt handle could have used a little more attention as it's a little over sized. It doesn't feel as sevelt in my hands as my McMillan Hunter or M70 FWT stocks, but the stock does feel nice. The forearm is a little thicker than the McMillan's but the wrist, flutes and pistol grip has an excellent feel to them in my hand.
The barrel is free floated and centered in the forearm, though I'd maybe like a little more float on the barrel. It's a snug fit for an 8.5X11 sheet of printer paper to fit down the forearm. The float ends right at the shank as that is where the bedding material ends as well.
The stainless steel has a nice even matte finish all over though I haven't popped the action from the stock yet. The bolt handle feels a little small but it's still easy to manipulate. There is a ton of shipping grease in the action and on the bolt so until I can take some time to degrease everything, I can't really tell you how the bolt feels. I can tell you however, the safety works within an acceptable decibel range for those worried it might be too loud to use while hunting (another silly thread on 24 hour campfire about a M70 safety).
Hopefully I can get my 12 year old to drive me to the range on Friday after basketball practice, since it's hard to drive my pickup with my broken leg. She's getting pretty good at driving a stick and taking the backroads to avoid the law. It's a little father daughter bonding time we both enjoy.
If the rifle shoots well then I guess I'll figure out if I can put it on a diet affordably or not. I really want this rifle to perform well as I had planned to build an 8 twist .243 that would finish at sub 8 lbs all up, but jumped on this group buy as it saved me a minimum of $500 right off the bat. Needless to say I'm a little bummed about the thought of a 9lbs all up .243 Win.
