Luxury long-range performance out of the box.
Gunwerks has carved out its niche in the custom, high-end, you-better-have-enough-money-to-pay-for-it market. And their approach makes sense. They know their customer and tailor products toward what that guy wants. And if you can afford to be that guy, we commend you.
Gunwerks is a one-stop shop to get you everything you need to hit targets near and far. They make stocks, suppressors, ammunition, and recently added Revic scopes to the lineup. Over the past 10 years, Gunwerks has established their claim to fame for delivering a weapon system that’s capable of shooting 1,000 yards out of the box. To test this theory and the quality of their weapon systems, Gunwerks sent us a custom rifle based around the Magnus stock. Chambered in the whomper stomper 6.5 PRC, we were excited to see how it performed.
The rifle shipped with the Revic scope mounted, data preloaded into the scope, and a printed sheet outlining what Gunwerks staff used to zero and true the data. The data included everything you’d need to build out the rifle in a ballistic calculator. Also provided was a chart with dope out to 1,000 yards. The only part of the chart that didn’t make sense was the wind values given, because it showed minute of angle (MOA) holds instead of mils — considering the Revic scope mounted on the rifle is in mils, all hold values should be in mil measurements.
Gunwerks Magnus Specs
Caliber: 6.5 PRC
Barrel Length: 20 inches
Overall length: 39.5 inches
Weight, empty: 12.2 pounds
Capacity: 10-round box magazine
Accessories: Revic PMR 428 Smart Rifle Scope
MSRP: $6,850
Pros
- Exceptional Accuracy
- High-Quality, Lightweight Components
- Ready-to-Shoot Long-Range Capability
Cons
- High Cost
Magnus Additions
Yes, we know Gunwerks rifles are supposed to make hits right out of the box. But we won’t shoot unsuppressed unless it’s illegal — because we’re civilized. Due to attaching the suppressor, and the fact that we used different ammo than what Gunwerks used to zero, we had to reconfigure the Revic scope. The rifle didn’t ship with instructions on how to use the scope, so we drove by feel until we crashed into the right answer.
Revic PMR 428 Smart Rifle Scope
To set up the scope, you have to “build your gun” in the Revic app, and then upload the profile to the scope via Bluetooth. The process is fast and straightforward. The scope has an internal ballistic solver and sensors that include compass direction, temperature, pressure, incline, cant, and turret position. All of those features give the scope the ability to show your distance in the heads-up display (HUD). The HUD makes engaging targets simple — you don’t have to know how to adjust in mils or MOA, all you need to know to make hits is the distance to your target.
To use the scope in the innovative way it’s intended to be used, first range your target and then, while looking through the scope, turn the elevation turret until the distance to your target appears in the HUD. If there’s wind, you can input the wind vector in the scope, but we found that to be slow and not useful because wind changes frequently. Even if you don’t want to learn how to use mils or MOAs, you do need a basic understanding so you can make wind corrections. If the battery dies, you can still use the Revic as a basic first focal plane, variable power scope.
We were stoked to try out this scope and to discover that it actually worked, but there’s room for improvement. A significant downside to the scope is that if it sits out in the heat, the internal sensors will be affected and it will not give you a correct elevation. Another area that this scope has the potential to better is building in a laser range finder. The Burris Eliminator has been out for years and rocks at ranging targets and displaying your hold, but it doesn’t have environmental sensors like the Revic. Some people have complained about the weight of the Revic being heavy, at 47 ounces, but we say fill that baby up with all the bells and whistles — and we won’t give a damn how much it weighs.
Magnus Stock
Gunwerks also owns Stockwerks, which is their stock manufacturing side of the house. The silhouette of the stock is traditional with a vertical grip that overall feels comfortable when shouldered. Geared toward hunters, the stocks are constructed from carbon fiber, making them lightweight.
It’s clear this stock was designed by people who actually shoot. A flush-mount Picatinny rail is up front for your bipod, and this rifle also came with an arca rail mount forward of the magazine. Over the past couple of years, it’s been a growing trend for rifles to be able to clip directly into the tripod, and this rifle does. Mounting a rifle directly to a rigid tripod like a Really Right Stuff makes shooting standing almost just as stable as prone. The stock has two QD sling mounts at the rear, but we’d improve upon this by adding two up front for easier sling attachment. The buttstock is adjustable for length of pull, and the recoil pad can be moved up, down, and canted. And if we had it our way, we would’ve included an adjustable cheekpiece to ensure consistent eye relief every time we got behind the rifle. But we can appreciate Gunwerks likely didn’t include that because it would add weight to the gun.
To keep the system lightweight, our test rifle had a 20-inch Proof Research carbon-fiber-wrapped barrel. A Gunwerks stainless steel action was the heart of the rifle; it had a 90-degree throw and wasn’t ground-breaking, but felt smooth right out of the box. Gunwerks opted for the single-stage, curved Triggertech Primary trigger. No corners were cut with this rifle; all of the components are top-notch.
Gunwerks Magnus Range Test
We didn’t have a chance to hunt with this rifle, but we shot a lot of Hornady’s Precision Hunter 6.5 PRC 143-grain ELD-X ammo through it. And it hammered. There’s no doubt about it; this rifle is a sub-minute gun all day long. We tested accuracy with five-shot groups, and the rifle averaged 0.38 MOA.
RECOIL’s Editor-in-Chief Iain Harrison has taken a lot of animals with a 6.5 PRC. “The PRC provides a hunter with significantly more energy on target for not much more recoil — at 300 yards, it’s doing what the Creed does at the muzzle,” said Harrison. “In a recent South African hunt for Carnivore, it racked up 100-percent one-shot kills.”
Final Thoughts
A Gunwerks rifle isn’t for everyone — it’s for the guy who wants to open the box and make hits without the fuss of setting up the rifle. Or it’s for the hunter who wants a rifle that undoubtedly shoots better than he does — narrowing the chances of a miss. Our gripes about this custom rifle are so minor that we’d be thrilled to put it into rotation as a dedicated hunting partner.
