The Stag Arms Pursuit joins an honorable lineup of quality precision rifles that won’t break the bank. This well-appointed bolt action is enjoyable to shoot, delivers good precision, and has a street price of $1,600.
It is a stout gun, tipping the scales at just about nine pounds and has a feature set optimized for long-range shooting. One of the rifle’s sterling attributes is the quality of the feedback it gives the shooter. Not only does the heft of the rifle mitigate the recoil of this 6.5 Creedmoor, but the stock geometry and other ergonomic design elements make it easy to call shots and control the recoil impulse of rifle while shooting prone or from supported positions.
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Stag Arms Pursuit Specs
- Action: Three-lug bolt
- Stock: Synthetic
- Cartridge: 6.5 Creedmoor (Also available in .308 and 6.5 PRC)
- Capacity: 5+1
- Weight: 8 pounds, 15 ounces (measured)
- Trigger: 2 pounds, 14 ounces (measured)
- Barrel: 20 inches, 1:8 twist, threaded 5/8-24
- Length: 39 ¾ inches
- Price: $1,600
Key Features
- Three-lug action with 60-degree bolt throw
- Synthetic stock is easy to adjust and configure for long-range shooting
- Toolless bolt takedown
- Full-length Picatinny rail has 20 MOA declination
- User adjustable trigger
Jeff Price
Review Highlights
- Smooth cycling action
- Well thought out ergonomics
- Rifle provides excellent shooter feedback
Stag Arms Pursuit Accuracy
The rifle delivered sub-1-inch average 5-shot groups with multiple types of ammo, including:
- AAC 140-grain SMK (.888 inches)
- Berger 130-grain Hybrid OTM (.923 inches)
- Federal 140-grain Berger Hybrid (.964 inches)
- Federal 140-grain OTM (.903 inches)
The overall average of all ammo shot (34 groups with nine types of ammo) was 1.036 inches.
20-Shot Group Data
| Ammunition | 20-Shot E.S. | 5-Shot Group Avg. | Mean Radius |
| Berger 140-gr EH | 1.59 inches | 0.706 inches | 0.43 inches |
John B. Snow
Operating the Pursuit
The Pursuit has a Remington 700 pattern action and, if you’ve ever shot one, you’ll find getting behind the Pursuit as comfortable as donning a favorite pair of slippers.
The rifle feeds from a detachable AICS-type box magazine — Magpul’s popular 5-round polymer P-Mag — that slips easily into place in the machined aluminum chassis. Deep cuts on either side of the magwell provide a lot of surface area on the magazine for the shooter to hold onto. This makes inserting and removing the mag nearly foolproof.
The oversized double-paddle magazine catch in front of the trigger guard is easy to reach with the trigger finger and when pushed forward the magazine falls free on its own. The catch has plenty of spring tension to keep the magazine from releasing accidentally but isn’t overly stiff.
The bottom lug on the bolt rides at the 6 o’clock position and has no trouble picking up the top round off the magazine and guiding it forward and into battery.
During our evaluation we never had any failures with the feeding, extraction, or ejection of rounds, though we found that if you put pressure on the underside of the magazine the bolt would slightly catch on the magazine feed lips. This isn’t an uncommon hiccup in rifles that run off AICS magazines, but it is worth noting.
Stag Arms equipped the Pursuit with a TriggerTech Primary trigger. It is a single-stage design with a flat face that is user adjustable — and sports a traditional Remington 700 two-position safety. It flicks back and forth from safe to fire in an easy, positive manner.
The trigger has no creep or take-up and ours broke at 2 pounds, 14 ounces, a good weight for general precision rifle work.
John B. Snow
Stag Arms Pursuit Ergonomics
The butt stock on the Pursuit has a cheekpiece that adjusts for height, a wide blocky grip that orients the hand nearly vertically, and a pronounced cut on the underside that creates a hook for the off hand to control the rifle and accommodate a rear shooting bag. To raise or lower the cheekpiece you loosen a fastener with an Allen key.
The rifle’s stock is interesting in that it has a two-piece design, and you can remove the buttstock via a retaining pin like you’d find on an AR-style rifle. When drifted to the side, you can slide the butt free of the Aluminum receiver.
The stock has a bit of wobble, but it isn’t distracting, and this feature lets the rifle be taken down quickly and stowed in a more compact fashion. You could also presumably swap the butt for other styles though as of this writing Stag wasn’t offering any replacements.
The grip has a raised textured pattern on either side and some horizontal lines molded into the front, while the forend has a beavertail profile with fine pebbling. The texturing isn’t aggressive, but it does offer a solid handhold.
Both the forend and butt have QD cups on either side for attaching a sling.
Mounting Accessories
The Stag Arms Pursuit is accessory friendly. The underside of the forend is flat and incorporates an aluminum inset with five M-Lok slots along its length, as well as another QD cup. A segment of Picatinny rail extends bayonet fashion from the end of the forend to mount a bipod.
The underside of the buttstock also has a M-Lok slot where you can add a bag rider, which is included with the rifle.
A full-length Picatinny rail with 20-MOA declination sits on top of the receiver creating a lot of real estate for a scope and other items such as levels, timers, and whatnot.
Finally, the barrel is threaded 5/8-24 for a suppressor or brake.
John B. Snow
Rifle Options and Accessory Pack
Another nice feature on the rifle is the bag of goodies it ships with. In addition to the bag rider, it includes a section of ARCA rail and a plastic spacer to alter the rifle’s length of pull.
With the addition of these items the rifle is ready to start whacking steel at the next long-range match.
Currently, the Pursuit is offered in three chamberings and three different stock colors. We tested it in 6.5 Creedmoor, which comes with a 20-inch barrel. You can also get it in an 18-inch .308 Winchester, or in 6.5 PRC with a 22-inch barrel. The color choices are black, tan, and OD green.
John B. Snow
Running the Stag Arms Pursuit
Take the accuracy of the rifle on the one hand and its solid ergonomics on the other and you end up with a rifle that is capable and a lot of fun to shoot. The undercut buttstock lets you regulate the connection between the recoil pad and your shoulder and fine tune your hold. The good trigger geometry (and good trigger) enhances this feeling of control.
Under recoil, the rifle tracks straight allowing for accurate shot calling. The oversized bolt handle and smooth action made it easy to stay in the scope while cycling the action for subsequent shots.
The dual plunger ejectors in the bolt face always kicked the empties clear of the action no matter how fast or slow we ran the bolt.
John B. Snow
Even after lots of shooting the rifle ran smoothly. The action never gummed up or became difficult to operate. To return the action to pristine condition after firing hundreds of suppressed shots, all we had to do was give the bolt a quick wipe with an oiled cloth.
While shooting the rifle prone and from various supported positions we had nothing but praise for how the Pursuit handled. It performs as well as some rifles costing twice as much.
John B. Snow
Fit, Finish and Aesthetics
The blocky lines of the stock and action didn’t appeal to everyone who evaluated it, but I like how it looks. It isn’t a flashy rifle — though the spiral fluting on the barrel does give it some visual flair — but it does have an appealing, purposeful aesthetic.
The Cerakoting on the rifle is smooth and even, while the contouring on the receiver and action breaks up the rifle’s lines without being gaudy.
Overall the rifle exhibits good metal-to-metal fit, and the juncture of metal and synthetic elements is well done too.
John B. Snow
Stag Arms Pursuit Pros and Cons
There’s a lot to like about the Pursuit and not much in the way of negatives. Stag Arms did an excellent job with this rifle.
Pros
- Great value
- Good accuracy
- Solid ergonomics
Cons
- Slight wobble where the buttstock and receiver join
Final Thoughts on the Stag Arms Pursuit
This rifle thoroughly impressed the Outdoor Life test team and handily won a Great Buy award in light of the value it represents.
For someone looking for an affordable way to get into the long-range game without compromising on essential features it is an excellent choice.
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