FN SPR A3G
- Thread starter 1911cwp
- Start date
joshb
Gold $$ Contributor
2-5 yrs. ago, they were THE tactical rifle for "out of the box" accuracy. Used by the FBI hostage rescue teams. Adored by all the gun magazine writers. I almost bought one but they were scarce and I settled on a Remmy 700 5r. I got a good one and bought 3 more. 308 s and a 223. All good shooters except the one in 223, which is a DUD.
I bought one of the first 10 .308 win SPRs to be imported to the UK. It has the McMillan A5 stock, but with a flush 4-round detachable magazine like the A3G. It shot extremely well for a factory rifle, especially for one with a hammer forged barrel. It gave me one of my best 5-round 100yd 308 groups ever off the bench at a genuine 0.1", but 0.3-0.5" would be more typical for a load it liked if shot in good conditions.
The action is superb, very smooth and pleasant to use. I wasn't a 100% fan of the traditional Winchester 70 trigger (believe they've since changed) and had a Jewell fitted, not a straight fit, needs some machining doing to the stock to accommodate it. If used, the magazine feeds superbly, but has a small capacity - not an issue for me as I'll seat bullets to the lands and single-load. Extraction and ejection are superb and with the blade ejector, you can vary the ejection force / speed according to how quickly you open the bolt.
I shot it in short-range factory class BR, McQueens (sniper) and (mostly) F-Class at a time when FTR had just started and the SPR was being described as an out of the box potential 1,000 yard FTR class winner - it wasn't then and even less so now thanks to the 24-inch barrel, but it would perform very well to 800 yards, so so to 900, and would hit the target OK at 1,000, only not very often in the middle. I had a lot of fun with it in FTR and a few good scores, but it'd benefit from the better bullets and powders now available - this was pre 185 Juggernaut and the 175 Sierra MK isn't in the same class.
I then tried it in 6.5X47 Lapua with a heavy Bartlein F-Class profile barrel - not a success, the primers extruded madly around the firing pin tip and into the bolt-face at anything much above starting loads. Had it rechambered to .260 Rem and I've shot a 99 with it in F-Open at 800 yards with Lapua 123gn Scenars (199 in US scoring). It shoots very nicely with these bullets. After a long layoff, I'm in the process of upgrading the scope and increasing the range of match round options as well as using it for various other tests this year. I'm aleady thinking ahead as to what barrel to put on it after the current one is shot out. 6.5-284 seems the most likely. That'll be single-loading of course with this cartridge, but that's not an issue - just drop the round in and it'll feed off the top of the mag follower OK. The big Mauser style extractor slips over the case-rim without any pressure or resistance.
As you can gather, I like this rifle - probably the best (equal) modern factory rifle I've owned alongside a Savage 12 LRPV. I won't be losing this one in a hurry even after 10 years of ownership.
The action is superb, very smooth and pleasant to use. I wasn't a 100% fan of the traditional Winchester 70 trigger (believe they've since changed) and had a Jewell fitted, not a straight fit, needs some machining doing to the stock to accommodate it. If used, the magazine feeds superbly, but has a small capacity - not an issue for me as I'll seat bullets to the lands and single-load. Extraction and ejection are superb and with the blade ejector, you can vary the ejection force / speed according to how quickly you open the bolt.
I shot it in short-range factory class BR, McQueens (sniper) and (mostly) F-Class at a time when FTR had just started and the SPR was being described as an out of the box potential 1,000 yard FTR class winner - it wasn't then and even less so now thanks to the 24-inch barrel, but it would perform very well to 800 yards, so so to 900, and would hit the target OK at 1,000, only not very often in the middle. I had a lot of fun with it in FTR and a few good scores, but it'd benefit from the better bullets and powders now available - this was pre 185 Juggernaut and the 175 Sierra MK isn't in the same class.
I then tried it in 6.5X47 Lapua with a heavy Bartlein F-Class profile barrel - not a success, the primers extruded madly around the firing pin tip and into the bolt-face at anything much above starting loads. Had it rechambered to .260 Rem and I've shot a 99 with it in F-Open at 800 yards with Lapua 123gn Scenars (199 in US scoring). It shoots very nicely with these bullets. After a long layoff, I'm in the process of upgrading the scope and increasing the range of match round options as well as using it for various other tests this year. I'm aleady thinking ahead as to what barrel to put on it after the current one is shot out. 6.5-284 seems the most likely. That'll be single-loading of course with this cartridge, but that's not an issue - just drop the round in and it'll feed off the top of the mag follower OK. The big Mauser style extractor slips over the case-rim without any pressure or resistance.
As you can gather, I like this rifle - probably the best (equal) modern factory rifle I've owned alongside a Savage 12 LRPV. I won't be losing this one in a hurry even after 10 years of ownership.
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