Gun Review: Seekins Precision SP10

Seekins Precision’s SP10 in 6.5 Creedmoor is a large-frame black rifle that delivers accuracy, even as distances stretch.

• The new SP10 is available in the increasingly popular 6.5 Creedmoor, a capable long-range cartridge.
• Seekins Precision's SP10 is a highly accurate rifle packed with features such as Seekins' SP3R handguard, ambidextrous controls and a crisp 3.5-pound single-stage trigger.
• At $2,650, the SP10 is expensive, but quality costs, and it's a price some shooters will be willing to pay for a quality precision rifle.

The 6.5 Creedmoor has taken the long-range world by storm over a relatively short period of time. Ammunition manufacturers have taken notice and are now producing high-quality factory ammunition for shooters seeking recreation as well as competition or hunting success. The flat trajectory, low recoil and high ballistic coefficients make the cartridge a natural for anyone wanting to stretch their limits.

For a long while, this was a bolt-action-only affair. Enter Seekins Precision.

Glen Seekins has been making great rifles in Lewiston, Idaho, for many years. The company’s reputation for quality and accuracy is as strong as anything in the industry.

Its SP10 was introduced a few years ago as a large-frame black rifle in .308. When Seekins started producing the SP10 in 6.5 Creedmoor, this writer had to take the plunge. This article profiles this superb rifle.

Feature-Packed Rifle
With many black rifles, modifications must be made to stock components in order to increase accuracy. This rifle is a semi-automatic tack driver right out of the box, with virtually nothing left for improvement by the end user. Just add a scope mount and quality optic and go shoot out to 500 yards with little effort whatsoever — and 1,000 yards with a ballistic app and some practice.

The SP10 upper and lower are CNC machined from 7075-T6 billet aluminum, and just like all Seekins Precision actions, they are perfectly mated. The fit between the upper and the handguard is tight enough to appear monolithic at first glance, but upon close inspection, they can be seen as two separate pieces. However, the top rail extends beyond the action and over the barrel mount.

At first, this seems trivial, but this extra space comes in handy for mounting a rifle level (see below). This extra rail real estate on the upper would also be useful for other optic setups, such as a clip-on thermal scope.

The controls on the lower receiver are truly ambidextrous, including the safety, magazine release and bolt release. A very nice feature is the ambidextrous bolt catch, which may be used to lock the bolt back from either side. The single-stage trigger is tuned from the factory at 3.5 pounds and is very crisp. A Strike Industries charging handle and Melonite-coated bolt carrier group round out the action.

The handguard is the 15-inch Seekins Precision SP3R, a free-float design, which is flat on the bottom for stable shooting off of bags or barriers. The version tested had KeyMod slots, although M-LOK is another option. The hardcoat anodized finish on the SP3R perfectly matches that of the action. The barrel is a 22-inch match-grade stainless barrel with a 1:8 twist.

The gas system is rifle length and uses a Melonite-coated gas tube. The Seekins Precision adjustable gas block is a set screw and adjustment screw design. The muzzle brake is the Seekins Advanced Tactical Compensator, which minimizes the already light recoil of the 6.5 Creedmoor.

The stock and grip are from Magpul, the latter being an MOE+ with a storage compartment. The Magpul PRS stock is a proven design, with tool-free adjustments for cheek height and length of pull. One 20-round Magpul magazine is included with the rifle.

Send iT Electronic Rifle Level
The Send iT electronic rifle level manufactured by Long Range Arms is the invention of longtime precision shooter Bennie Cooley. It is an extremely well-thought-out product for long-range shooters. The cant of a riflescope — how much the vertical reticle varies from being truly vertical due to tilt introduced during scope installation or by the shooter while shooting — has very little effect at short ranges. However, at 1,000 yards or more, this becomes a material issue.

To combat this, shooters commonly use bubble levels to install scopes and rifle-mounted bubble levels during shooting. “The accuracy of spirit levels is limited by the manufacturing process to 15-20 degrees max,” said Cooley in a recent interview. The Send iT electronic level is designed to detect and display deviations from vertical within 2/10ths of 1 degree.

The accuracy advantage of the Send iT is only its first attraction. The sensitivity may be modified by the user anywhere from 2/10ths of a degree to 1 degree. Five LED lights indicate whether the rifle is canted — two blue lights, two red lights and one green light in the center.

A green light indicates the rifle is level to within 2/10ths of a degree if the sensitivity is on that setting. One blue light indicates 2/10ths cant, and two blue lights mean 4/20ths off of level. The red lights mean the same thing going the other way.

Beyond increased accuracy, the LED indicators on the Send iT level are very easy to see — especially for older eyes. “We average 4-6 seconds faster shots,” said Cooley. In a precision rifle match, that amount of time per shot is an eternity. This writer can no longer see a crisp clear bubble level while behind a riflescope, but the Send iT level lights are obvious and easy to read even using peripheral vision.

The third advantage is the unit may be mounted to a rail at 12 o’clock, 3 o’clock, 6 o’clock, or 9 o’clock. Finally, the Send iT electronic rifle level can be used to ensure that scopes are installed perfectly vertically every time. ($225; LongRangeArms.com)

Testing And Reflections
Unboxing the rifle was a bit like Christmas morning the year I was 12 and my dad presented me with my first gun. The Seekins Precision SP10 had this writer grinning like a little kid.

The SP10 is gorgeous. All controls have a precision feel, and the hard coat anodized finish on the action and handguard is pure black satin goodness. This rifle is dead sexy. A trip to the range couldn’t happen fast enough.

At 10.5 pounds unscoped, one would think it handles like a beast, but that is not the case. While not a lightweight rifle, the SP10 is well balanced and easy to use.

A side focus Leupold VX6 4-24×52 was selected as an optic, and for the first run to the range, a Larue 34mm QD one-piece scope mount was used. The latter will be swapped out for Seekins Precision rings in the near future.

Hornady 140-gr ELD Match ammunition was used to sight in the rifle and to shoot a few groups. A KeyMod rail section was attached to the bottom of the SP3R rail system, allowing an Atlas bipod from Accu-Shot to be used during testing.

Sub-MOA groups from day one were produced with Hornady’s factory ammunition. The rifle performed as perfectly as it looked.

All of this beauty, precision and accuracy comes at a price: $2,650. But quality costs money, and for those who adhere to the “buy once, cry once” school of purchasing, the SP10 is absolutely worth considering. The fact that the SP10 6.5 Creedmoor is currently back-ordered on the Seekins website should tell readers one thing: This rifle is a shooter, as many people are finding out.

Editor's Note: This article is an excerpt from the July 2017 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.

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