Montana Rifle Company factory visit

[Altitude sickness]

Good Morning, AH member Mark Ouellette and I were invited to visit the MRC headquarters this morning by lead design engineer Ian.

The rifles were very impressive on every level. The first DG models are still in development. And not entirely finished. For example I handled the Highline in 7 PRC and was very impressed with the action smoothness, trigger, overall fit and finish. And now have to have one.

So my first question was. When the new .375H&H is finished, will it have that smooth action? Ian says the DG models will be smoothed out before final release and will cycle as smoothly as the Highline which is also CRF action

IMHO these rifles will be a great rifle at a very affordable price. Filling the middle priced niche nicely.

When I get my MRC highline I will review it.

 

[gbflyer]

Nice. There is an ongoing test with one of their new rifles on another forum. The successes and failures have been well documented. It is doing well. It’s a breath of fresh air from their operation. I hope they do well.

 

[Mark A Ouellette]

It was a great visit with Ian, the MRC design engineer. Jay and I each brought in a couple dangerous game rifles for a side by side comparison and discussion of MRC and other rifles.

The two rifles on the left belong to me. Those are a .375 H&H by Jim Kobe easily identifiable by the dope written on blue painter's tape on the Leupold Scope, and a .416 Remington with 1/4 rib by Christman Arms. A MRC rifle is on the right.

Ian provided that

• MRC dangerous game rifles has a 1/4" fiberglass rod from tang to bottom of the grip to reinforce the stock. Smart, very smart.
• Also, MRC uses a Pre-64 M70 trigger but made with the much better metals available today.
• MRC optimized the ejection angle of their rifles so that brass does not hit the scope.
• MRC also has McMillian synthetic stocks available. A McMillian stock is being developed for a drop box magazine MRC.
• MRC plans to offer their 458 Lott rifle during late 2025.
• MRC rifles and laps their barrels in house. In fact they make 99% of the parts in house. I can't remember which part Ian told me they do not make...

 

[Hunt anything]

Are they still using the old MRC 1999 action on the DG rifles?
I have a .416 Rigby made before they shut down a few years ago and it is a solid rifle. I would like to be able to compare the old and the new.

 

[Doug3006]

I was fortunate to spend some time with the MRC guys at the DSC Convention in Atlanta. I was impressed by the prototype safari rifle. The team asked about my preferences and ideas about additional calibers they could offer. Here’s what I shared:

1. I love the light weight of the 375 H&H prototype. Perfect for caring all day. Not too light as to make recoil unmanageable.
2. I would prefer that the stock have a straight comb, like the one on the right of Mark’s photo above. Just personal preference. The current stock ain’t bad!
3. They asked about other calibers to offer. I think that the natural choices, given the existing action length, are 416 Remington and 458 Lott. The same lineup as Kimber had with their Caprivi’s. Since they’re producing a high-quality, mid-price rifle, sizing up the action for full magnum length cartridges doesn’t make sense. However, they must increase the weight of the rifle for the larger calibers to offset recoil.

If they would offer the same rifle in 300 H&H I would buy one and a 416 REM to match!

 

[Doug3006]

Are they still using the old MRC 1999 action on the DG rifles?
I have a .416 Rigby made before they shut down a few years ago and it is a solid rifle. I would like to be able to compare the old and the new.

Same action, but forged steel rather than casted. Much better IMO. Makes a smoother action.

 

[Mark A Ouellette]

Are they still using the old MRC 1999 action on the DG rifles?
I have a .416 Rigby made before they shut down a few years ago and it is a solid rifle. I would like to be able to compare the old and the new.

Montana made MRC rifles used cast actions.
Memphis made MRC rifles use actions milled from steel billets.
As for the design, I've never seen a Montana made rifle. I believe the designs are very much if not all the same.

The MRC factory is in Memphis, Michigan located 35 miles north of Detroit. I live on a dirt road five miles from Memphis and have several engineers and machinests as neighbors. Because of the automotive industry, lower Michigan is full of these skills, as I presume as is MRC. FYI, Ian has a background as an aerospace engineer.

PS: I asked about a MRC 416 Remington and was informed the 458 Lott has to come first.

I view MRC for rifles as Wilson Combat, Nighthawk, and Les Baer are for handguns. Not bespoke but MRC rifles will be offered without the common problems that factory rifles SOMETIMES have, i.e. magazine springs that break, actions that to not feed very well and so on...

 

[Captain Munro]

I know these will be optimized for scopes, but I wish they would put more traditional express sights on their potential big bore models. Maybe sell some actions too.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

I'm really happy to see Montana Rifle Company rebuilding itself again. We need to see more control round feed big bore rifles being commercially manufactured.

Currently, we only have three such rifles:
1) Winchester Model 70 Safari Express- Available in .375 Holland & Holland Magnum, .416 Remington Magnum and .458 Winchester Magnum
2) Ruger Guide Gun- Available in .375 Ruger and .416 Ruger
3) Mauser Model 98 Magnum- Available in .375 Holland & Holland Magnum, .416 Rigby and .450 Rigby

John Boliger (of Mountain Riflery) and I (back in 2021) discussed the original Montana Model 1999 actions (particularly the Montana Professional Hunter action). We found them to be not the highest quality setup, but pretty dependable (if a little rough). John has built several big bore rifles up to .505 Gibbs by using the Montana Professional Hunter action. He has always done extensive work to the actions (squaring the bolt face, facing the receiver, lapping the recoil lugs, etc).

But the new actions appear to be far smoother, right out of the factory.

 

[Cheesehead]

I'm really happy to see Montana Rifle Company rebuilding itself again. We need to see more control round feed big bore rifles being commercially manufactured.

Currently, we only have three such rifles:
1) Winchester Model 70 Safari Express- Available in .375 Holland & Holland Magnum, .416 Remington Magnum and .458 Winchester Magnum
2) Ruger Guide Gun- Available in .375 Ruger and .416 Ruger
3) Mauser Model 98 Magnum- Available in .375 Holland & Holland Magnum, .416 Rigby and .450 Rigby

I agree. And the last option, while an excellent rifle, is about 10 times the price of the first two. It would be nice to get an option in the middle, maybe in the $3k range that is a little better finished with nicer wood than the new winchesters and rugers.

 

[Captain Munro]

The MRC rifle could fill the mid ground spot like the Caprivi did. In that $2-4k range.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

I agree. And the last option, while an excellent rifle, is about 10 times the price of the first two. It would be nice to get an option in the middle, maybe in the $3k range that is a little better finished with nicer wood than the new winchesters and rugers.

On a related subject, I know that the Winchester Model 70 Safari Express is "Officially" still in production. But have you actually seen any new ones in stock anywhere in the last 3 years ?

 

[Lone Star Bluegrass]

Did they mention if they were working on “legacy” MRC rifles?

 

[Mark A Ouellette]

Did they mention if they were working on “legacy” MRC rifles?

Sorry, we did not ask.
MRC of Memphis Michigan does NOT have a custom shop. They are a manufacturer of firearms that will offer several different models but not accept custom orders.

 

[Cheesehead]

On a related subject, I know that the Winchester Model 70 Safari Express is "Officially" still in production. But have you actually seen any new ones in stock anywhere in the last 3 years ?

I certainly haven't. I'm sure they only do a small run of them every so often, but it must not be very often.

Ruger must do the same with their African models, because you won't see any for a while, then suddenly a bunch of 375s show up. Then you don't see any for a while, until a bunch of 416s show up, and so on.

 

[Altitude sickness]

Cheesehead, I think you will be happy with the final product and price range.

 

[Northern Shooter]

What are they calling the new 375 / Dangerous game rifle?

Have any other calibers been confirmed aside from 375HH & 458 Lott?

I’m assuming it would be using a 3.6” magnum action so no magnum+ cartridges like the 416 Rigby or 505 Gibbs would be possible,

Hell I’d be happy if they offered 375HH - 416 RemMag - 458 Lott & 500 Jeffery. This could fill the vast void left by the CZ550.

Any idea what the rifle weighed?

 

[Northern Shooter]

On a related subject, I know that the Winchester Model 70 Safari Express is "Officially" still in production. But have you actually seen any new ones in stock anywhere in the last 3 years ?

Yeah I’ve seen the odd rifle trickle in here in Canada, always in 375 or 458, never 416.

 

[Cheesehead]

Cheesehead, I think you will be happy with the final product and price range.

I better start squirreling away some money then. I'd really love if they offered a 9.3x62...

 

[Altitude sickness]

Mark asked Ian and he eluded to possibly a .416 Rem after the .458 Lott