Our first of firsts comes from Springfield Armory. That’s right, the maker of the M1A, 1911 and popular XD line of pistols. Heck it wasn’t long ago that they dropped their first AR platform and now they are taking on bolt-action rifles. We must say that the Waypoint is phenomenal right out of the gate. Springfield did their homework for sure, working some three years on the Waypoint before its release. They took their time and it shows in a rifle with fit and finish that you’d expect to see on rifles three times the cost of the $2,200 Waypoint.
Carbon-fiber-jacketed barrel, a true carbon-fiber stock, steel receiver featuring a EDM cut raceway, integral recoil lug and recoil pins on the top rail are components for the serious rifle and shooter. The Waypoint is a hunting rifle by true definition, but that’s no mark against it. The action is exact and smooth, if not a little tight. There is no slop, and it feels like quality throughout.
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Two of us loved the camo pattern, while our resident pistol/AR shooter didn’t initially dig it. It shot great—delivering a 0.6-inch group with Hornady 108-grain ELD M, although we tried true hunting loads in it. Recoil was tamed by the radial brake, and if there was a consistent gripe that was it. That radial brake spit dirt and debris in every shooter’s face and arms, and all over our shooting mats. It’ll be fine up off the ground, but shooting close to the dirt is asking for it. Yes, you could change out the brake, but in Ballistic’s Best we are taking the products on their released merit and this was really the only thing we could come up with on the Waypoint that was a negative. The Trigger Tech trigger is set a little heavy, too.
Although the Waypoint came as a package deal with a Leupold VX-6HD 3-18×44 optic, we changed it out for a finer reticle found in the Tract Toric HD 4-20x50mm with PRS reticle. This allowed us to coax out the best groups, further revealing that the Springfield is a real shooter and likely a consistent sub-half-MOA rifle with more time to get used to it.
All in all, it’s a solid performer and in no way reveals itself as a new kid on the block.
