Hill Country Rifles is a lot like the Psalmists in the Old Testament. They restoreth my soul.It isn’t that high-tech, synthetic stocked rifles aren’t tough, reliable, deadly accurate and good looking. It’s that they have no warmth, no soul.
They’re like a runway model. Botox, silicone and makeup. Careful, measured performance. Pretty to look at. But hardly the warm, friendly, naturally gorgeous girl next door you want to throw in the truck and take deer hunting.
The fraternal twins featured here are a Genesis and Genesis Classic by Hill Country Rifles. They represent how the best rifle artisans can combine high-tech precision with fetching, quarter-sawn Turkish walnut to create hybrid rifles that make you want to take them shopping. For venison. Their siren calls are impossible to ignore. Fear of scratching is the only thing I can imagine that could keep you from dragging these from Africa to Alaska.
Well, dragging might not be the right word. Cradling, perhaps. But no, on second thought, walnut stocked rifles do not have to be babied and mollycoddled. I understand the “new truck” impulse to avoid cosmetic damage, but the rest of this wimpy walnut mythology we’ve been parroting has gone too far. Warped wood? Forget it. The stainless steel Stiller Predator actions of both these 280 Ackley Improved Genesis rifles are pillar- and glass-bedded. Their 24-inch, match-grade, stainless steel, #3 contour Benchmark barrels are free-floated. How’re they going to shift point-of-impact?
One glance at the straight grain in their forends tells you all you need to know. Those Hill Country boys know how to select and lay out their nicely figured walnut blanks. A hand-rubbed oil finish only enhances their inherent stability. You’re going to need a lot more than a quick dunking in the Yukon to change point of impact on either.
For the record: dense, hard, high-quality, highly figured walnut was, is, and will remain an outstandingly rugged, durable, stable platform for controlling a barreled action. Long live walnut!
Hill Country Rifles Custom Genesis Classic.
As received, these rifles were placing three consecutive Nosler Trophy Grade 140-grain Accubonds in clusters spanning less than ½ MOA, helped, no doubt, by their Trigger Tech triggers set to break at 2 1/2 pounds. Crispy critters, those Trigger Techs. But if you have a love affair with a Jewell, Hill Country can accommodate you.
Much of these rifles’ accuracy must lay at the feet of those Stiller Predator actions, too. Stillers are known for their tight, straight, smooth actions. Extraction is assured via strong, reliable M-16 style extractors. The Predator action also sports an extended magazine well and loading/ejection port, perfect for this 280 Ackley chambering because you can seat today’s long, high B.C. bullets farther forward to maximize velocity in handloads.
The bolt body is hand lapped and fluted for slick, clean field function under dirty conditions, and even the firing pin, fully supported within the bolt body, is fluted to increase lock time. Hinged, stainless steel Pacific Tool and Gauge floorplates with release lever in the trigger bow hold rounds in place. Classic English-style cheekpiece, two-panel hand checking on grip and forend, steel grip cap, and comfortable, classy Pachmayr Decelerator pad complete the Genesis rifle.
Hill Country Rifles Custom Genesis.
The black metalwork of the Genesis Classic might lead you to believe this model is a blued chro-moly setup, but it is stainless steel finished with a waterproof, rustproof, black Cerakote finish. You get the look of a traditional blued rifle but the protection of one of the toughest metal coatings on the market.
Both of these rifles are, appropriately, directed with Swarovski scopes set in Talley Signature rings. The Classic wears a Z8i 2-16×50. The stainless steel Genesis accessorizes with one of my favorites, a Z5 3.5-18×44 BT Plex.
Matt Bettersworth at Hill Country summed up his Genesis rifles best: “Our main goal with the Genesis rifle is to produce a striking, accurate rifle in a gorgeous walnut stock that has stability and reliability similar to what you would expect from a synthetic stocked rifle. While not ready for the drenching rains of Alaska or the Northwest, it will withstand “normal” hunting conditions quite well and it will certainly look great in the photo with your next trophy.”
