Review: Barrett Fieldcraft

By Tom Beckstrand

I saw Barrett’s new Fieldcraft rifle at the 2017 SHOT Show and then again at this year’s NRA Annual Meetings in Atlanta. Both times that I stopped to pick it up, I couldn’t help but think it looked like a custom job from
Melvin Forbes’ New Ultra Light Arms company. Forbes was one of the first craftsmen to turn out a high-­quality lightweight rifle when he started building them in the mid-’80s.

Dreaming up the idea and perfecting the design is a lofty achievement, but producing rifles in enough quantity to come close to meeting the demand is at least half the battle. There is also the concern of long-­term maintenance or if parts would wear out or break. I’ve never met Forbes, but I think highly of his rifles. However, he is human and one day he’s going to stop making rifles. And what happens then?

I’ve learned that Barrett’s Fieldcraft looks like it does because they brought Forbes’ rifle design in-­house and threw enough manufacturing horsepower behind it to turn out custom-rifle quality at a fraction of the price. The idea that Barrett took the most …Read the Rest

Source:: Guns and Ammo