I have always been amazed at how much money people will spend on a rifle that will barely shoot one-inch groups at 100 yards. There are only a few things that matter to me when choosing a rifle: that it shoots well, has a smooth action, and has a good trigger. Last year, I decided to take a stab at building an ultra-accurate precision rifle for a reasonable price.

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I have plenty of stock rifles from manufacturers that will shoot around half an inch at 100 yards or a touch better, but I wanted to see how much more accuracy I could get with a precision rifle build. I was not interested in spending a lot of money to do so.

My favorite action on the market is the Tikka. These actions, with their 70-degree throw and buttery smooth cycle, are a joy to operate and shoot and come with a good adjustable trigger. I have also found almost all Tikka rifles to be very accurate out of the box, with only a few bad ones here and there. Mountain Tactical also makes a trigger spring for Tikka rifles that will improve the already great stock trigger for just $10. I set my Tikka triggers to break at 1½ lbs.

I found a used Tikka T3x Roughtech chambered in 6.5 PRC for $700. The blued barrel it came with had a little rust and did not shoot well, even with handloads. This didn’t bother me, as I was planning to replace it with a custom barrel anyway. After a lot of research, I decided to go with PBB (Preferred Barrel Blanks) for the barrel.

One of the reasons I chose PBB, other than the good accuracy reviews from other shooters, was that they offered a contour that would shave a little weight off the stock barrel, even though the PBB barrel had a slightly bigger diameter. PBB calls this their taperless contour, and it’s offered in 900, 850, 810, and 750 diameters.

The number represents the diameter, with the 750 being a ¾ inch barrel (.750 inches) that tapers down immediately after the chamber. Most barrels gradually taper from the chamber to the muzzle, with the muzzle being the smallest in diameter. However, PBB taperless contour immediately tapers the barrel to .750 inches directly after the chamber.

This method shaves a lot of weight, and the barrel can end up being lighter than other barrels with a smaller diameter. Since this was going to be my do it all rifle, including backpack hunting, keeping the weight to a minimum was a high priority. The only reason I would shoot a 6.5 PRC over a 6.5 Creedmoor is for more speed, so I chose a 24-inch barrel. Since it was offered, I went with spiral fluting as deep as PBB would cut them to save on weight (PBB estimated it would save around 6-8 oz). I also opted for a variable shoulder barrel so that I could control setting the headspace.

The barrel starts at $470, but the price increases with added features. Here’s what I had done to mine:

• Barrel nut: $40

• Spiral fluting: $100

•½ x 28 thread: $80

• Wrench: $20

• Hand lapping: $65

Throw in Idaho tax plus insured shipping, and I was looking at close to $850. For an additional $150, PBB will attach the barrel to your action after you ship it to them. I waited for a Black Friday sale and was able to order the barrel for around $700. It took 12 weeks to arrive, as stated on the PBB website for custom orders. I was now into my setup for $1,400. After giving my friend at Erickson Precision Machine a Go/No-Go gauge set in 6.5 PRC in exchange for him mating the barrel onto the action, I was ready to start shooting my new precision rifle build.

I began the break-in process with factory Hornady Precision Hunter ammo. The groups with the factory ammo were unimpressive, measuring around ¾ of an inch. This did not deflate my enthusiasm, as I had only bought the ammunition for the break-in process and to use the brass for reloading. I am a huge fan of Hornady’s 143 gr. ELDX bullet, having used it extensively in 6.5 Creedmoor.

I decided to stick with the 143 gr. bullet for my 6.5 PRC load and began the frustrating process of developing a load. I immediately went for maximum seating length, as that was where the previous barrel had performed best. My first bolt cycle revealed that I was seating the bullet with the bolt. The results were horrendous, with groups averaging around 1 inch.

The manual called for a 2.950 C.O.L., so I tried that next. The results were immediately better, and I started getting half-inch groups. Custom barrels have tighter tolerances than the factory barrels I was used to. After more trial and error with seating depth and powder charges, I was shooting better than I ever had before.

During this trial, I shot a .387-inch group, tinkered a little more, got a .361-inch group, tinkered some more, and with a C.O.L. of 2.950 and a powder charge of 58 grains of H-1000, I managed to shoot a .170-inch group. I was ecstatic! While using Hornady brass I found it very difficult to repeat the group after reloading the brass multiple times.

After this, I finally bit the bullet (pun intended) and bought 200 pieces of Lapua brass. After slight adjustments to accommodate the new brass, I shot an even better group! This group was literally one hole, and I found it very hard to measure accurately. A friend I trust measured the group, and we settled on a measurement of .017 inches.

The Lapua brass liked slightly less powder at 57.8 grains and a slightly longer bullet seat at 2.952. The load averaged 2963 FPS. I could get more speed out of the gun, but accuracy is more important to me. This is by far the most accurate gun I have ever owned. I don’t consider myself a masterful reloader, but I was able to achieve a one-hole group after some trial and error. I know shooters who spend two to three times as much on a gun that doesn’t shoot nearly as well.

Although I built this precision rifle for hunting, I would have complete confidence entering it into a PRS-style match. If only I had an unlimited stock of H-1000, I definitely would! Custom barrel manufacturers offer any style of barrel you could need for your specific shooting needs. If you’re planning on sending lots of rounds downrange in a short amount of time, I’d suggest a heavier barrel for competition shooting.

After the precision rifle build and handload were complete, it was time to try the rifle on something other than paper. I had a depredation cow elk tag that would be perfect for its first test. My buddy and I decided to make it extra challenging by bringing our sons, who had a combined age of seven.

We found the elk at first light, making their way up to their bedding area. We tried to cut the distance, but little kids can only go so fast and stay so quiet. When the elk began disappearing around a corner into a deep draw, I told my friend he needed to shoot. He looked at me and said, “go ahead” as he did not feel confident. I ranged the last cow in sight at 580 yards, dialed the elevation, put the crosshairs on her heart, and squeezed the trigger. She took one step and disappeared out of sight after the shot. I heard the impact of the bullet and knew it was a good hit.

When we reached her, she had gone 30 yards straight downhill. The bullet had impacted exactly where I had aimed, traveling through her heart and out the opposite shoulder. The accuracy of this gun is incredible. Since then, I’ve shot several animals with it, and as long as the rest is solid, the bullet hits exactly where you want it to. I regularly shoot steel targets out to 1,000 yards—it’s almost boring!

Read More: CVA Cascade Varmint Hunter Review

Having built a precision rifle that consistently shoots groups under a quarter of an inch does a few things to you as a shooter. First and most importantly, you need to come up with better excuses when you miss, knowing it’s not the rifle’s fault. My new go-to is, “There must have been wind I couldn’t see out there.” Human error is the only factor that can’t be canceled out. Secondly, I’m now constantly on the lookout for cheap rifles with actions I like.

I’ve seen custom barrels screwed onto all sorts of actions, and they all shoot amazingly. I’m convinced it’s the barrel that makes the rifle accurate, not the action. Most importantly, you don’t have to spend a ridiculous amount of money to have a gun that shoots quarter-inch groups or smaller—which is great because you’ll need to buy reloading supplies!

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