Riflecraft LSR1

2428 miles

Well-Known Member
I was thinking of buying a rifle from Riflecraft, Norfolk. Have read good reports about them but wandered if anyone had heard the contrary and/or had any experience with there rifles.
The rifle I was looking at was the:

Light sporting rifle (LSR1) in .30-06
Stainless steel barrel, Synthetic stock thread for a mod of muzzle break.

Link below:
http://www.riflecraft.co.uk/sptmenu3.htm

Not much info on it but for £800 you could do a lot worse. Most out of the box factory rifles are over £1,000.
I was told Riflecraft offer money back if your rifle doesn’t achieve 1/2" @ 100 with FACTORY LOADS.
I think it is based on the Remington 700 with a match barrel and jewel trigger bedded in a carbon fiber stock.
Sounds great to me for less than a factory product.
What do you think?
 
Just been on about Remmy 7's in the 'Stalking vs Technology' thread. I've booked a long range shooting course with riflecraft, they seem okay.
The LSR comes from a good pedegree and is a very good basic rifle, no frills just a good working tool. The American forces and law enforcement still use the Remmy 7 for sniping (yes they also use other rifles). It worked very well for them in the Vietnam war in the most trying of environments. If I had the cash I would give it ago!
 
Thanks Bradley,
I had seen that thread, and actually that is the only bad press i have come across.
I don't know if you read the shooting sports magazine, but Pete Moore who is the chief Indian really likes Riflecraft and has had a lot of dealings with them and sings there praise.

I totally agree with you regarding the course, looks great, would love to do it, but no way would i spend that kind of money on it. i don't know how all there guys get away with charging such prices.
Miles
 
Cheers Bradley, I think I will reconsider my options. I would just like to see what distances my rifle can effectively shoot out to. In Civvy street I have only ever shot out to 100yds. Shooting deer at long ranges doesn't appeal to me but knowing that I can shoot well at 600metres would be nice. Remmy 7's are still very good in my opinion.
 
2428 miles said:
Thanks Bradley,.
I don't know if you read the shooting sports magazine, but Pete Moore who is the chief Indian really likes Riflecraft and has had a lot of dealings with them and sings there praise.

As with all things there are 2 sides to every page.

There are some who have claimed to have had dreadful experiences with Riflecraft. Whilst others have claimed to have been perfectly happy.

It could be the old "Bad news always travels fast", or "No smoke with out fire" routine.
 
Miles

One question have you ever read a article were Pete More slagged off a supplier or product? ;)

B-b
 
To be fair Thar, yes I have, he doesn’t blow it out the water and warn no one to buy it, he is a little more tactful but you know which side his opinion lies. His opinion may mean nothing to some people but just by the fact that he has shot, handled and reviewed more rifles than I have had hot dinners makes his knowledge far superior to mine regarding rifle selection. He has certainly never had a bad word to say about Riflecraft.
Like Bradley says there is always two sides to a story. I just want to hear as much as possible form both sides before I reach for my wallet!

(by the way, have you been hunting Thar? it's one of my ambitions to get out to NZ and wack a couple, maybe a goat too!)
 
Hi Miles

I am not trying to say that Riflecraft are necessarily a poor or bad company.

But even reading between the lines I have never read a article written by Pete that says this product is no good. Now the guy who does the shotgun reviews in Shooting Sports seems to tell it how it is with in the restraints of the magazine editor.

I am sure Pete gets treated well by Riflecraft (good PR), if he was my customer I would treat him like royalty. Believe me I know because I have been there both as a company supplying products for magazine articles and as a writer for these magazines. The writer unless things go really tits up is not going to bite the hand that feeds it, and the company is going to bend over backwards to get a good review, it is money.

I would post on a few more shooting forums to get a balanced view and remember even the best company can’t please all the people all the time, take note of what the company’s reaction was when things did go wrong.

Pete Moore has only “come back to stalking” in the last 5 years, a target shooter before then and I am not aware of him winning anything lately if at all, I would put money on most of the more experienced members have shot far more deer that Pete Moore has.

The above of course is just my opinion.

I have a 135/8” Bull Thar on my front room wall looking down at me, I have shot a couple of good Billy’s (does not take much doing) If you want to go to New Zealand hunting my mate is a outfitter doing trips out there.

All the best.

Thar
 
Thanks for that Thar, i will have a good look around before i make any decisions. in no great hurry as long as i have it for Scotland in Aug.

Am i right in thinking that in Nz they have similar rules as us Ie. what is on your land belongs to you and you can therefore shoot it with out having to buy tags and licenses like Canada and the US.

so, if one was to have a friend who owned sufficient land out there, one could go and stay, pop away at some Thar and the only real fee would be the flight and trophy shipping.

did you have your taxidermy done here or there? and how did shipping work out?
Thanks
Miles
 
2428 miles said:
Thanks for that Thar, i will have a good look around before i make any decisions. in no great hurry as long as i have it for Scotland in Aug.

You wont be getting it from Riflecraft then if thats your delivery requirements,
 
Well, I’m having second thoughts about that! Have read some bad press on other sites and they certainly don’t seem to be flavour of the month. But I am going to ring them tomorrow and see what they say!

What I have gathered is that they are slow and bad at time management with alterations and that sort of work, so I am hoping that they have a stock of LSR 1 and I will go over and see them, choose the rifle and come home with it. I might well have to pre order it but will find out the morrow. Worst come the worst I will have a good day at the game fair to find something that suites. And if not then I will just have to take the .243 up to scotty!
Have you had any experience with Riflecraft, Bradley?
 
2428 miles said:
Have you had any experience with Riflecraft, Bradley?

I have but not for some time. Like most I am always interested in new riflesmiths. I went over with a good friend who was having some work done. Delayed of course which seems to be the most common complaint. Had a long look around decided I would stick with my intended builder and have never regretted it. I know several guys who have brought semi custom or to be precise slightly reworked factory rifles from them. They are nothing that a competent riflesmith couldn't have done.

I looked at their courses when they first started and quietly went away shaking my head at the content and cost.

Its all about what someone considers to be value for money, and that is only something you can decide for yourself.
 
2428 miles said:
Am i right in thinking that in Nz they have similar rules as us Ie. what is on your land belongs to you and you can therefore shoot it with out having to buy tags and licenses like Canada and the US.

so, if one was to have a friend who owned sufficient land out there, one could go and stay, pop away at some Thar and the only real fee would be the flight and trophy shipping.

did you have your taxidermy done here or there? and how did shipping work out?
Thanks
Miles

Hi Miles

Yes if you have somebody that has a Station (farm) then go and shot what you want on there, no closed seasons no restrictions on what calibre you can use.

The Thar are only found in the Mountains in the South Island and the Government is culling them from Helicopters and poisoning them with something they call “1080” to restrict them to a predetermined area so they do not spread out any more.

There is also public access land that anybody can go and hunt on free, but don’t get too excited as anything that you can gain access to from the roads easily is pretty much shot out. If you hire a chopper you can get to some more remote areas but it will cost in chopper fees and you would need some good local knowledge to know were to hunt.

You would need to get your taxidermy out there as you need the right import documentation to get it back in the country, this is no problem as there are some big taxidermy companies out there who’s work is first class, these show at the big taxidermy shows in the USA ect.

I had mine shipped in by air a big crate with all sorts of trophies in, as my mate wanted it quick for a show so it cost quite a bit more than shipping it by ship.

If you want to shoot goat’s I would think that getting permission would be no problem some farmers pay to have them shot, in truth they are not that difficult to stalk. The Thar are though of as N.Z. top game animal so for a good bull the land owners know there worth to hunters. There is some good Sika stalking in the north Island around Upper Hutt, North of Wellington. There are Chamois in the Southern Alps as well.

I will see if I can post some photos if you like.

Thar
 
2428 miles said:
I was thinking of buying a rifle from Riflecraft, Norfolk. Have read good reports about them but wandered if anyone had heard the contrary and/or had any experience with there rifles.
The rifle I was looking at was the:

Light sporting rifle (LSR1) in .30-06
Stainless steel barrel, Synthetic stock thread for a mod of muzzle break.

Link below:
http://www.riflecraft.co.uk/sptmenu3.htm

Not much info on it but for £800 you could do a lot worse. Most out of the box factory rifles are over £1,000.
I was told Riflecraft offer money back if your rifle doesn’t achieve 1/2" @ 100 with FACTORY LOADS.
I think it is based on the Remington 700 with a match barrel and jewel trigger bedded in a carbon fiber stock.
Sounds great to me for less than a factory product.
What do you think?
 
Hi Thar,

I would love to see you photos, sounds great. I have got a contact who said that he does have Thar and goats on there farm. I had no idea they had such a problem with them!!
Did you shoot any fallow or red when you were there? I hear they have some massive stags out there. Will try and get there soon, probably next summer as I’m all booked up this year. I lived in Australia for a year but never quite made it to NZ, shame but gives me an excuse to go now!
 
2428 miles said:
I hear they have some massive stags out there.

Due mostly to the infusion of Wapati genes into the gene pool at the beginning of the last century.
 
2428 miles said:
Oh wicked, so a kind of hybrid of Red stag and bull elk?!!!

I never hunted Red or Fallow deer while in N.Z. couldn’t see the point in travelling ½ way round the world to shot Fallow when they are in the field next to my house and Reds are only up the road. ;) I saw the biggest stag I have ever seen in the flesh out their, and have only seen a couple in photo’s that were bigger than him. Didn’t shoot him mind. :D

If you visit any of the Country Fairs this summer my mate will have a stand there, I will probably be helping out on the stand. We will have representative heads (well a bit better than that :lol: ) on display of Red, Wapati and Hy-bred red/Wapati.

PM me for more details.

Regards

Thar
 
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