Barrett has earned a reputation for producing firearms that can withstand the harsh conditions commonplace in combat, retaining accuracy and reliability. Barrett set out to complete a new task: build the ultimate hunting rifle, something that could be carried afield for miles without being too burdensome to the hunter, having all of the necessary qualities to make the shot and connect with great accuracy. The result is Barrett's Fieldcraft series of hunting rifles. They are absolutely loaded with features that any serious hunter will appreciate.

In the Fieldcraft series, Barrett has standardized the barrel lengths for short and long action cartridges, and have made some very intelligent decisions regarding twist rates and the somewhat recent trend of using faster twist rates to stabilize the longer, higher-BC projectiles that are now so commonplace (not only in target and tactical projectiles, but also in hunting projectiles). What this does for the hunter is provide a rifle that can be un-boxed, scoped, sighted, slinged up, and taken out into the field to stock the freezer; there is no need to shoot the factory barrel out or simply replace it with a barrel featuring a faster twist rate, as is the case with factory rifles featuring relatively slow-twist barrels (depending on the shooter's opinions on the subject). As evidence, consider the following cartridges and twist rates, as provided on the factory Fieldcraft:

• .243 Win: 1:7
• .22-250 Rem: 1:7
• 6.5 CM: 1:8
• 7mm-08 Rem: 1:8
• .308 Win: 1:10
• .25-06: 1:9
• .270 Win: 1:10
• .30-06 Springfield: 1:10
• 6.5x55mm: 1:8

Note also that barrel length for all short-action cartridges is 21", and is 24" for long-action cartridges.

If you were designing a hunting rifle, what features would you include? A Timney trigger? Carbon-fiber stock? Full bedding job? Stainless steel action and barrel? Fluted, coated bolt? It's all there, in a rifle that weighs between 5 - 6 lbs.

None of us are getting any younger, but we all dream of hiking out into the middle of nowhere, where we're not going to see another human being, where we can pursue elk, pronghorn, sheep, mulies, black tail, white tail, hogs, etc. Yeah, we could bring along Ol' Faithful, all twelve pounds of her. Or we can reach for the new guy, with the name that we all know, that the military trusts, weighing a mere fraction and giving us potentially greater trekking range and effective range (thanks to the barrel twist). Ol' Faithful might be just as happy trekking closer to home. Grab your Barrett Fieldcraft, a box of ammo, and your pack. Dinner's calling.