Among the most popular trends in the shooting sports world today is that of long-range shooting. There’s also a ton of crossover between different genres of riflemen, as hunters look to extend their own maximum effective range on game by competing in PRS events, or simply to hone their marksmanship skills at extreme distance while enjoying a bit of friendly competition. For those who haven’t given it a try, long-range shooting is both an art and science that’s incredibly addicting. Whether it’s ranging targets, reading wind, calculating elevation adjustments, or working up proper leads for moving targets, it’s far more than employing the WAG (wild ass guess) method of shooting. 
Hornady’s long-range workhorse, the Precision Hunter in 162-grain ELD-X produced nice, tight groups in high winds, posting a best group of .56 inches.
SPECS:
- Type: Bolt-Action
- Caliber: 7mm Rem. Mag.
- Action: RevX GRB, Wyatt-Length, Remington 700 footprint
- Bolt: One-piece bolt & handle, field strippable
- Floor Plate: Billet aluminum
- Trigger: Trigger Tech
- Stock: Natural hold, vertical grip; aluminum bedding blocks; ultra-lightweight fiberglass
- Barrel: Shilen hand-lapped, match-grade, sporter standard contour
- Scope: Nightforce NXS 5.5-22x, custom G7 turret
- Weight: 7.7 lbs.
- Length: 46.25 in.
- Barrel Length: 25 in.
- Length of Pull: 13.7 in.
- Rangefinder: G7 BR-2
- Case: Custom hard case (SKB)
- MSRP: $3,995
- Manufacturer: Gunwerks; dealer exclusive at Cabelas, Scheels & EuroOptic.com
Barnes’ VOR-TX LR 139-grain LRX BT is specifically designed for long-range hunting. It was the fastest cartridge out of the muzzle, with average velocities of almost 3,300 fps. In the accuracy department, the load produced a best group of .95 inches and an average of 1.12 inches.
As more and more people take an interest in going long, there’s also been a much-appreciated push from manufacturers to provide everything from entry-level guns to custom-built Ferraris of the long-range game. While wildcatters and shooting enthusiasts have been tinkering their way to long-range perfection for many years, it’s now easier than ever to get a distance-capable rifle setup without trading away your wife’s SUV or holing away in the basement for the next decade.
Seeking to bridge the gap between affordable and custom engineered, Gunwerks has introduced the RevX, a dealer-exclusive (Cabela’s, Scheels, EuroOptic.com) long-range rifle that comes from the company’s Cody, Wyoming, gun shop pre-topped with a Nightforce NXS 5.5-22x optic, G7 BR-2 rangefinder and matching elevation turret in yardage and ¼ MOA adjustments, and custom Berger VLD loads that have been test fired before arriving at your local gun store. The rifle I reviewed was chambered in 7mm Rem. Mag., but it is also currently available in 6.5 Creedmoor, 28 Nosler, .300 Win. Mag., .300 RUM, .22-250, 6mm Creedmoor, 6.5 PRC and 30 Nosler. As the folks at Gunwerks say, “1,000 yards, out of the box.” Not a bad deal if it proved true, especially with an MSRP of a very reasonable $3,995.
The RevX proved accurate at the shooting bench with either custom or factory loads. Top among the factory loads in performance was Hornady’s Precision Hunter ELD-X loads.”
07- “The RevX features a stainless bolt with three-lug design and one-piece bolt and handle.
Nightforce’s NXS 5.5-22x scope makes easy work of shots out to 1,000 yards and comes with a G7 turret that is ballistically matched at the custom shop with G7 rangefinder and 168-grain Berger VLD loads.”
Prove It
That sounds good, at least on paper, but I decided to put their lofty claim to the test. Instead of my usual procedure — checking zero at 100 yards, testing different loads, then slowly expanding my range on steel targets while working up a dope card specific to my preferred load and rifle — I headed to the 600-yard steel target and prepped for my first shot. I setup a backpack on a distant hillside and got into the prone position, ranging the target with my G7 rangefinder at just shy of 620 yards. I dialed to 620 on the G7 turret, settled on the rifle, and squeezed off the first round.
The concussion of the rifle was followed a few short seconds later by the unmistakable wallop of bullet smacking steel. With one shot, I started to become a believer in the Gunwerks claim and concept. My confidence in the rifle would only grow with more accuracy testing and time afield.
It’s All in the Build
Behind the fancy 1,000-yard claim is a rifle built from the ground up to perform at long range. The first thing I typically notice, and what really stood out on the RevX, was the outstanding Trigger Tech trigger, adjustable from 1.5-4 pounds, which has next to no creep thanks to Frictionless Release Technology (FRT), breaks with incredible crispness and features patented TKR technology to minimize over travel. This also makes for a short, forceful reset that aids in follow up shooting. The trigger can be adjusted in 1-ounce increments, and because it does not rely on the friction of surfaces for break, it feels lighter than a standard friction-reliant trigger. The trigger build is incredibly rugged and lightweight, making it the perfect option for a hunting rifle that’s bound to take abuse.
The RevX features a stainless bolt with three-lug design and one-piece bolt and handle.
The RevX features pre-fit flush cups for sling attachment, and the rifle also comes with a lightweight nylon sling for field carry.”
The action on the RevX is a custom design from the Gunwerks shop and is based on the Remington 700 footprint, while utilizing a Wyatt-length action which allows you to seat bullets farther out — something that’s ideal for maximizing long-range precision. The bolt is a one-piece stainless design and is lightweight (overall rifle weight is just shy of 8 pounds). It’s got a fluid motion for working the action, making follow-up shots with a retained cheek hold a thing of beauty. The bolt is field strippable and features three locking lugs with Borden bumps for solid lock up and bolt alignment. More than anything, the action is a thing of beauty, and I had exactly zero issues feeding any ammunition, whether it was the custom Berger VLD loads or factory loads from Hornady or Barnes.
The fiberglass-composite stock is lightweight and well designed for a custom fit and feel. The front portion of the stock features an underside and recessed Picatinny rail for mounting bipods, and it utilizes pre-fit flush cups for sling attachment on the front and rear of the stock. The hand-painted stock also utilizes aluminum bedding blocks and a vertical grip, maximizing comfort for the shooter. Because the front of the stock is flat, not rounded, it makes prone shooting from a backpack in the field extremely easy.
Perhaps one of the most important components on a long-range rifle is the barrel, and the RevX does not disappoint in this category, either. The Gunwerks crew chose a Shilen hand-lapped, match-grade barrel with a sporter standard contour, which is more than capable of producing consistent accuracy at long-range. The barrel obviously heats up quickly with a fast magnum like the 7mm, but the barrel can handle the heat and keep producing in the accuracy department, as performance testing clearly demonstrated.
For a factory load, Hornady’s Precison Hunter 162-grain ELD-X has become a proven round for long-distance rifles.”
No long-range rifle would be complete without a quality optic, which is where the Nightforce NXS 5.5-22x comes into play. The scope is more than capable of conquering the 1,000-yard barrier, with side parallax adjustment, a second focal (SF) plane reticle and external wind and elevation turret adjustments. While a SF reticle isn’t ideal for PRS competition—your reticle remains the same at every magnification, which means the markers are different at every magnification—in my opinion, it’s more than adequate when you’re dialing to max magnification, something you can easily get away with when shots are 200 yards and farther. It also saves you in the cost department over a first focal plane scope.
The other feature I fell in love with on the scope was the G7 turret, which utilizes ¼ MOA adjustments and yardage markers that are matched with the G7 rangefinder. This means instead of having to worry about bullet drop at any given distance and calculating your MOA adjustment, you simply range and dial.
The custom radial muzzle brake from Gunwerks helps dampen the recoil of a loaded up 7mm Rem. Mag., making it an enjoyable, relatively lightweight rifle to shoot, especially for a magnum.
The G7 BR-2 rangefinder is a little beefy, which makes deep wilderness hunting a bit more cumbersome, but it’s well worth the extra weight, especially if you’re hunting in pairs. It’s definitely more accurate than your run-of-the-mill box store rangefinder, and when it comes to shots at 1,000 yards, the slightest change in distance makes a huge difference. The rangefinder also features windage estimates in 5 mph increments. You still have to read the wind, but once you have that, the G7 BR-2 will tell you what your wind adjustment is at that distance.
Range Data
When it came to accuracy testing, I shot everything off of a Caldwell B.R. Pivot shooting bench with a Lead Sled and sandbags at 100 yards. Group sizes were measured with a digital caliper from four three-shot groups.
Not surprisingly, the 168-grain Berger VLD loads were the top performers, which is exactly what you’d expect from handloads. Group sizes would have been smaller had there not been that shot, roughly one in five, with a more drastic spread in velocity (extreme was 21 fps, while the average was a minuscule 8.5 fps). The average group size was still an impressive .78 inches, with the best group of .31 inches—one of the best groups I’ve shot out of any rifle. It’s obvious that the folks at Gunwerks know what they’re doing with handloads, including the way they’ve seated the VLDs as far out as possible (something aided by the Wyatt-length action).
The factory loads also shot reasonably well, especially when the wind picked up to an average of between 10-15 mph. The Precision Hunter loads from Hornady, with the 162-grain ELD-X bullet, produced the best group of .56 inches, very impressive, while the Barnes VOR-TX LR 139-grain LRX BT came in at .95 inches. The Barnes bullets averaged a velocity of 3,280 fps, whereas the other loads hovered around the 2,900-fps range.
Gunwerks sent the RevX with custom 168-grain Berger VLD loads that proved extremely accurate, with a best group of .31 inches. Average velocities hovered around 2,900 fps, with overall group sizes of less than .8 inches.
PERFORMANCE
(Accuracy data collected from 100 yards at a Caldwell B.R. Pivot bench, using lead sled, at 6,200 ft. elevation, and taken from four three-shot groups. Velocity measured with ProChrono digital chronograph from Brownells based on five shots of each load. Winds averaged between 10-15 mph.)
Gunwerks Custom Load Berger 168-gr. VLD
Avg. Velocity: 2,932 fps
Extreme Spread: 21 fps
Standard Deviation: 8.5 fps
Avg. Group: .78 in.
Best Group: .31 in.
Hornady Precision Hunter 162-gr. ELD-X
Avg. Velocity: 2,949 fps
Extreme Spread: 74 fps
Standard Deviation: 32 fps
Avg. Group: 1.17 in.
Best Group: .56 in.
Hornady American Whitetail 154-gr. InterLock SP
Avg. Velocity: 3,001 fps
Extreme Spread: 29 fps
Standard Deviation: 17 fps
Avg. Group: 1.27 in.
Best Group: .95 in.
Barnes VOR-TX LR 139-gr. LRX BT
Avg. Velocity: 3,280 fps
Extreme Spread: 21 fps
Standard Deviation: 14 fps
Avg. Group: 1.12 in.
Best Group: .95 in.
Parting Shots
While it isn’t the cheapest rifle on the market ($3,995), the Gunwerks RevX strikes a happy medium between custom-built rifle and something you can actually afford without selling one of your kidneys. It lives up to the Gunwerks claim that it’s 1,000-yard capable out of the box, and it is as turnkey a distance rifle as you’re likely to find in that price range. While some folks would rather tinker with their own loads, build their own dope cards and prefer a more DIY approach to the whole process, the RevX is perfect for the individual that wants long-range performance with a minimal investment of personal time. As time crunched as we all are in today’s fast-paced world, that’s a feature I can certainly get behind.
For more information about GunWerks, click here.
*** Check out GunsAmerica for your next long-range rifle.***
The REVX does not come with the $2000 Nightforce G7 scope as written.
The rifle comes with a SHV $1000 .
The above specs also include a G7 BR-s Rangefinder– A $1500 item. For $3900 -probably not.
Mr. Conn should’ve done the math, then realized this is a phantom rig for the price.
Sadly I have to call BS on this package rifle. It does not exist at Euro Optic or Cabela’s, very worrisome to read such an article that is such a lie. I can no longer have confidence in Guns America.
I’m more impressed with Savage’s model 12 Long Range Precision rifle; its price is $1300, it comes in a few calibers, it is a purpose-built thousand yard gun for less than half; nearly a third of the cost of this gun.
The $4K price tag is for the gun alone and possibly two boxes of ammunition. The gun described in this article with the scope and ballistic computer as stated lists on the manufacturers website for $9800. It would be nice if Gunwerks allowed someone to test their product that understands that the ballistic rangefinder/ scope combination is more than what was listed in this article.
Four thousand dollars for this rifle? What planet you from? I can see flying off the shelf!
I am truly serious about the following question: why is “ a short, forceful reset that aids in follow up shooting” important in long range shooting.
4K for an out of the box 1,000 yard capable rifle and you tested it at 100 yards? Seriously?
When the Ruger American was released a few years ago, there were reports and videos of one in .30-06 ringing gongs at 1,000 yards right out of the box, and for less than 10% of the cost. I am not impressed by anything but the high cost of this thing. I, too, used to have a 700 BDL in 7mm Rem Mag and it was good out to 500 yards, too. After that I shot a Browning 1885 High Wall in 7mm Rem Mag with a 26 or 28 inch barrel. It would get the job done out to 600 yards, but I did not like to shoot at game that far out. Just did not think it ethical.
I agree with JD – $4K for a rifle that will only be shot a couple of times per year is ridiculous. I have a Kimber Adirondack in 7mm08 and a Kimber Mountain Ascent in .300 WinMag and both shoot sub MOA and are light has hell. However I bought both of these rifles brand new for under $1000 each (gotta love the internet). I bought my daughter a Marlin XL7 in .270 (NIB) and put a Bushnell DOA 3-9 on it and walked out the door of Cabela’s for only $250. This rifle shoots .5″ groups at 100yds and will reach out and touch a critter way past that. The point is what I am really paying for if a $200 Marlin shoots sub MOA out of the box – what do I get for that extra $2,700 (I am excluding a $1000 for the NightForce Scope)??? Is it made out of gold, will it make me look cooler out in the field? Do animals drop dead at the mere sight of a $4000 rifle? Plus GunWerks really irritated me this year with their photo contest – basically it was rich people, doing rich people stuff with a professional photographer in far off and exotic lands on a hunting trip that probably cost at least a few months salary (at least for me – I am a teacher) – so once again some rich A-hole wins again, they basically got another rifle or optic or training that they could already afford. In the words of Col. Townsend Whelen “Only accurate rifles are interesting.” I would like to amend that to “Only accurate and affordable rifles are interesting.”
A quick search of the 3 retailers as well as Gunwerks website revealed no listings for the RevX on the morning this article was published.
$4k is affordable? That must be nice. I will have to admire this one from afar.
\”…as hunters look to extend their own maximum effective range..\” Okay, I\’ll join a any chorus anywhere and say that hyper-distance shooting takes real skill and practice and my hat\’s off to those who have access to a range of more than 200or 300 yards, the time, the patience and the money t get the job done.. But hunting? No, this is not hunting. It\’s shooting.. In hunting the game is about getting close, about woodsmanship, about knowing your animal and its habits – not sitting on some hillside and firing at an animal far enough away that it may very well not know you are there or its instincts saying you pose no threat. No. A thousand times no. That\’s great shooting but as hunting? Nah.. That stinks and is a sham on the it very idea and ideals…
Totally agree with Jeffery.
If you’ve ever watched The Long Range Hunter T.V. series put on by GunWerks, that’s exactly what it is, shooters (not hunters) picking off unknowing animals from +/- thousands of yards away while utilizing just about every electronic doping device ever imagined. It’s more comparable to long-range steel silhouette target shooting than actual hunting.
While doing such things may interest certain people (and that’s fine), it still kind of pisses me off every time I see it.
they make a 22-250 but no 308 ?
I have a Rem 700 BDL and love it, Mine is accurate 0ut to 500 yds. Reload foe it, Just never used it for Elk Or Moose, Could not afford .Too much for whitetail deer\.