By Jay Pinsky
In the last issue of The Hunting Wire I told you all about my Alabama deer hunt with a Mossberg Patriot Predator chambered in 6.5 PRC. Here’s some more information about the rifle.
The Patriot Predator uses a twin-lug, push-feed machined-steel action, which is fed from a lightweight polymer, flush 4-round box magazine. One unique detail I observed in the magazine construction was the grooves cut into the magazine to allow for the longer high-BC bullets used in a 6.5 PRC. The standard contour, free-floating 24-inch barrel features a 1:8 twist rate, straight-edge fluting and is threaded (5/8”- 24 threads per inch) for the addition of a suppressor. For this review I used a CZ-USA 7.62 Ti suppressor. The barrel is constructed of carbon steel and my rifle had a Patriot Brown Cerakote finish. Like all Patriot rifles, my 6.5 PRC featured Mossberg’s patented LBATM (Lightning Bolt ActionTM) user-adjustable trigger with a 2 to 7-pound range of adjustment. A top- mounted Picatinny rail made it easy to mount a GPO-USA 1.5-9x32i Spectra rifle scope.
I used HSM 6.5 PRC ammunition which meant I was throwing 140-Grain Berger VLD’s at my targets. I averaged 3025 FPS out of the 24-inch Mossberg barrel over two five-shot groups. My best five-shot group was .650 inches at 100 yards shoot indoors from a secure rest. The recoil wasn’t noticeable at the range or when I shot two deer with the rifle in Alabama. The 6.5 PRC is a very manageable cartridge with more than enough punch for deer-sized targets at distances much farther than most hunters ought to consider.
I had no failures to feed or extract. The trigger was consistent. The rifle carried well, and it never caused me pause when I was hauling it up and down tree stands, in and out of trucks, and through heavy brush, in the rain. Why? Because the Mossberg Patriot Predator rifle wasn’t built to improve your social status, it was built to fill your freezer and it does that quite well.
By far, the best aspect of this rifle, to me, is the trigger. But it was never lost on me that I was carrying a very affordable rifle which carried well, shot well, looked great, and handled slicker than whale snot on the range, on the hunt, and especially during the last five minutes of legal light on my last day hunting in Alabama. I’ve hunted with Mossberg rifles and shotguns my entire life and one thing I have learned is this: a Mossberg is never going to embarrass its owner where it matters most – results.
Can the Patriot Predator be improved? Sure, it can. For me, that would mean a bit wider stock for my hands, but it didn’t stop me from taking my deer cleanly, and it won’t stop you from doing the same.
MSRP: $574
