Customize Your Bolt Action Rifle For Maximum Accuracy

At some point you will want to get the most out of your bolt action rifle, but how do you start customizing your rifle to maximize your accuracy? There are some simple upgrades you can make to get more out of your rifle.

That being said we won’t be covering ammunition or scopes today because we will be focusing on the mechanical aspects of improving accuracy in your bolt action rifle. If you get to the point of wanting more accuracy, you’ve probably figured out a working ammunition/scope combination and just want to get more for your efforts.

Let’s get into customizing your rifle

Bolt Action Rifle Upgrade By Importance

With the precision rifle market there are a lot of options out there that don’t require a rifle to be built from scratch by mystic gunsmiths. A decent smith with the products currently available can fit/upgrade the various parts of your rifle easily.

Just make sure all of the parts match the caliber and action of your bolt action rifle. This sounds like it should be obvious but we all have made a mistake by forgetting the simple things. Speaking of caliber, this brings us to the first upgrade that will maximize your accuracy: the barrel.

Barrel

The barrel is the heart of the bolt action rifle ’s accuracy. This is because it spends the most time in contact with the projectile imparting the appropriate velocity to stabilize the bullet over the distances you’re shooting.

If you are focusing predominantly on accuracy, heavier profile barrels are going to be your primary option to upgrade your rifle. These heavy barrels add weight to the system to help the rifle stay level under recoil in addition to being less impacted by increasing temperatures.

You are less likely to fire dozens of rounds as quickly as you can with a precision rifle which means a heavier barrel that can hold more heat won’t introduce a heat shift for the handful of shots you will make.

Bartlein barrels are a good option for bull barrels in addition to their carbon fiber options. Carbon fiber barrels provide enough rigidity while being slightly lighter than a barrel of similar diameter. This means you can have similar accuracy with a lower weight if you plan on carrying the rifle for long periods.

Barrel Length

The ideal barrel length for your build will come down to your ammunition and the recommended twist rate for that caliber. Generally, some longer barrels with older ammunition options (.308, .30-06, and some magnum cartridges) will bring better velocities and more stability. Newer options like a lot of 6.5/.243 calibers will have different results.

Again, at this point in the process, you probably know which barrel length you need for the best results for your preferred caliber in your bolt action rifle.

Stock

The stock is the next major aspect of the rifle that will help you with your accuracy for your bolt action rifle. This comes from two things: barrel bedding and shooter consistency.

Barrel Bedding

A good stock will provide a solid place for the barrel to rest. With little to no play in the barrel, your accuracy will reach levels that can easily outstrip your shooting ability. This is achieved today by having some form of aluminum bedding in the rifle to mount the barrel to.

This can be achieved by one of two ways. Using a chassis system or using a modern synthetic/composite stock will provide the necessary bedding surface to keep your barrel and the action in the place they need to be.

Shooter consistency

Most chassis systems and some composite stocks come with options to have adjustable cheek rest and lengths of pull. This helps with consistency for the shooter. What we mean by consistency is that you are more likely to be accurate if you are in the same or similar position each time you are behind your scope.

A stock/chassis that you have tuned to be in the same, comfortable place will allow you to have a better shooting experience, lowering your variables in the environment. The less variables the better, since shooting at distances is already challenging enough with wind, temperature, etc.

Trigger

Once your barrel and stock are situated, you can move to less important accuracy maximizers. This is usually the trigger. An accurate rifle with an okay trigger can get the job done with practice, but a good trigger helps make it that much better.

Low pound or “lighter triggers” are a great way to fire the gun exactly when you want to. This is usually achieved with either a “somewhat heavy” single-stage trigger or a very light two-stage trigger.

The single stage allows you to break the shot immediately without you having to take up any slack. However, it can be a risk if you go too light with a single stage trigger. A two stage trigger allows for better overall trigger control in addition to very light trigger pulls. You can pre stage the trigger and take your time with the shot rather than immediately trying to fire the gun.

Which option you choose comes down to preference, but generally speaking, most long range shooters opt for two-stage triggers for accuracy.

Accessories

There are some accessories that you can use to take advantage of your rifle’s mechanical accuracy. These are bipods and tripods. Keeping the rifle stable will help make sure that the shot is not thrown off by some of your body movement or other motion that can be imparted to the rifle.

Tripods with appropriate clamps for your rifle can be set up and stabilized in a way that makes it almost impossible for you to impart sway into the rifle. Can you still pull a shot using one? Absolutely, especially if it was not set up properly. But it is a world of difference when compared to shooting off a bag or a barrier.

Similar to this is using a bipod with your rifle. It’s not going to be as stable as the tripod, but it is another way to stabilize the rifle when you’re using it. Bipods are more convenient to use than a tripod, because they can be kept on the rifle. 

Bipods are hampered by how limited they are when it comes to the environments and positions they can be used in.  These are best used when sitting or lying down while the tripod can be used standing or sitting. The environment will determine which accessory is going to be the better option.

Shooting sticks are an option but those are geared more towards hunters rather than precision shooting. You could use it, but it isn’t as good of an option when compared with tripods and bipods.

Conclusion

Your precision rifle is an investment to achieve greater accuracy. This means you are better off getting a good quality barrel if you have to piece out the upgrades. If it is properly mounted, the rest won’t really matter as much.

Getting a barrel and a good stock is even better. But the ultimate goal is replacing the barrel, stock, and trigger for optimal performance. We have a number of options to help you achieve this at whatever part of the process you are at. So find what you need in order to push the limits of your rifle’s accuracy.