By: Friedrich Seiltgen

Springfield Armory has finally brought back the bolt action rifle! Springfield produced the 1903 rifle, and after a 100-year hiatus, there is a bolt gun with the Springfield name: the Springfield 2020 Waypoint.

The Waypoint is geared towards hunting, but has all the features of a competition or sniper rifle. It’s available in four different calibers: .308 WIN, 6MM Creedmoor, 6.5 PRC, and 6.5 Creedmoor. Depending on your needs, the Waypoint is available in 32 possible combinations!

The Waypoint stock is an AG Composites carbon fiber, which is hand-laid with an optional three-axis adjustable cheek comb. It features a Pachmayr Decelerator recoil pad, a 4” picatinny rail for a bipod, 5 QD mounts, which allows the rifle to be slung in a variety of conditions, and it is hand-painted in Evergreen or Ridgeline camo.

The bolt is a precision machined action, using new manufacturing processes for superior accuracy. The raceways have been “cut” using the EDM (Electrical Discharge Machining) process, where electrical discharges or “sparks” are used to remove metal material. The recoil lug is machined integral to the receiver. The Waypoint boasts a hybrid dual plane feed ramp, an enlarged ejection port, removable bolt knob, and the fluted bolt and action have been machined after heat treating. The action comes with a 15 slot picatinny rail for optics.

Springfield worked with TriggerTech and equipped the rifle with its adjustable trigger pack allowing pull to be set from 2.5 – 5 pounds.

The fluted barrel is =manufactured from 416 stainless steel, with the option of carbon fiber wrapping. Due to the fluting, the wrapped version provides space and cooling beneath the wrap. The barrel is equipped with Springfield’s Radial Brake. The brake, which is removable, reduces recoil by directing gasses in an outward direction. The carbon fiber barrel sleeve has a shoulder nut that keeps the sleeve assembly tensioned, and the nut also serves as a stop for the radial brake.

SPECIFICATIONS

Action Type: Bolt Action

Caliber: .308 WIN, 6mm Creedmoor, 6.5 Creedmoor, and 6.5 PRC

Magazine capacity: 5 round, AICS pattern

Barrel Length: 20” to 24”

Overall Length: 41.5” – 45.5”

Barrel Material: Fluted Stainless Steel or Carbon Fiber Wrapped

Weight: 6 lbs 9 oz – 8lbs 2 oz

MSRP: $1,699 – 2,399

Springfield Armory guarantees the Waypoint will shoot at .75 MOA – for a three-shot group at 100 yards with quality match grade factory ammunition, in the hands of a skilled shooter.

It’s a high-tech, quality bolt gun with features that you would find on pricier guns. In the words of Springfield Chief Dennis Reese, “The Waypoint sets the standard for precision manufacturing performance and accuracy from an American-Made, custom-grade rifle.”

That’s all for now folks! Please keep sending in your questions, tips, and article ideas. And as always – “Let’s be careful out there.”

Friedrich Seiltgen is a retired Master Police Officer with 20 years of service with the Orlando Police Department. He conducts training in Lone Wolf Terrorism, Firearms, First Aid, Active Shooter Response, and Law Enforcement Vehicle Operations in Florida. His writing has appeared in The Counter Terrorist Magazine, American Thinker, Homeland Security Today, and The Journal of Counterterrorism & Homeland Security International. Contact him at [email protected].