The New Snowy Mountain Rifles And Actions T
Thomas C. Tabor
o some it might seem like Snowy Mountain Rifl es got started manufacturing rifl es and rifl e actions
in a bit of an unusual manner, but I choose to look at it as being akin to the classic fable of Cinderella. While neither Jason Rigby nor Brian Goettich, of Snowy Mountain Rifl e Company, looks much like the storybook character, they were able to achieve a dream much like the young girl once dressed in rags was able to realize hers. But rather than a nice dress, a Prince Charming, and a glass slipper, Jason and Brian’s dream came in the form of being able to build highly accurate custom rifl es and actions, then market them to their fellow shooters. It all started in the unusual but very admirable business
The actions produced by Snowy Mountain provide a complete range of cartridges from the smallest varmint round all the way up to and including the largest of tactical cartridges.
The muzzle brakes produced and marketed by Snowy Mountain are capable of reducing the felt recoil by about 50 percent over that produced by a non-ported barrel and come with the following outside diameters: 0.750", 0.825", 1.00", and 1.125".
of constructing swimming pool and hot tub access equip- ment for the physically impaired. Jason and Brian operate such a business, located in the business district of Missoula, Montana, called Aqua Creek Products. For many years these two devoted themselves to helping the physically challenged and injured through the equipment that their company pro- duces. Certainly this is a commendable occupation, which still continues to this day. But I think Jason and Brian would be the fi rst to acknowledge that their real passions have always been deeply rooted in their off-hours activities. You see, they both are avid and committed shooters. Brian is a dedicated hunter and Jason’s interests lie in both benchrest shooting and hunting. Like many such shooters, these activi- ties eventually evolved into customizing and accurizing rifl es for their own use. In most situations they would begin with a typical mass-produced, production-made fi rearm, then strip it down in order to rebuild it into what they hoped would turn out to be a better overall rifl e. But, after investing a sig- nifi cant portion of their time, energy, and money into these projects they sometimes found that the fi nished product fell a little short of the anticipated performance. Then one day it dawned on them that maybe some of the very same highly accurate fabrication and machining equipment that they had been using all along to produce the Aqua Creek access equipment also could be used for machining and building rifl e parts. And from that point forward, as the old saying goes, “The rest is history.” Splitting off from Aqua Creek Products in 2009, the new operation of Snowy Mountain Rifl e Company was formed. After putting their full energy behind the project their new company soon was offering a diverse selection of rifl es, actions, and accessories, dedicated primarily to three shooting disciplines: tactical, benchrest, and varmint shooting. All of Snowy Mountain’s rifl es are bolt-action designs,
Jason Rigby shows off one of Snowy Mountain's completed tactical style rifl es.
Page 50 October — December 2011
with the actions sharing many similarities with those found in Remington Model 700 rifl es, but with major improve- ments, closer tolerances, “real” steel bottoms, and a wide va- riety of optional choices. Currently the company offers four action lengths, which are capable of handling the smallest of varmint centerfi re cartridges all the way up to, and including, such earth-shaking rounds as the .416 Barrett. A favorite of
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