DREAM 6MM DASHER BUILD

When building a custom rifle, we reflect on the ideals of form and function, but we rarely regard it as a work of art. We concentrate on the pillars of accuracy and become fixated on optimizing every detail of performance. But we only consider the rifle as a mere tool. People obsessed with accuracy and precision tend to think in binaries—we focus on 1s and 0s. We only focus on the outcome. But what if you can have all that and still craft a piece of functional art? That the process, in itself, can be art. That's what separates Piet of Impact Shooting. He turns rifle builds into visual art that inspires others to follow suit. That's even more apparent when the backdrop is the grasslands of South Africa.

In a recent video, Piet takes viewers on a journey of building his dream hunting setup in a 6mm Dasher. And for a man obsessed with precision, you can imagine this build oozes premium parts.

BUILD OUT

The parts list is a who's who amongst the best precision rifle components. For action, Piet selected the BAT Machine TR, his favorite. For the barrel, he went with International Barrels, featuring a heavy Palma profile in a 1/7 twist. Since this is a hunting rifle, Piet chose the MDT CRBN in Veil dip camouflage because of its lightweight construction and precision rifle features.

On top sits a Vortex Razor LHT optic, with the Vortex Impact 4000 sitting atop a diving board. This gives Piet the important ranging information he needs without having to come off the rifle.
All combine to make a laser-accurate rifle that performs.

THE EXPERIMENT

While this rifle already existed from a previous project, Piet wanted to take the build and morph it into his dream 6mm Dasher hunting rifle. To do that, he shortened the barrel from 26" to 18". Of course, shortening a barrel by 8" will have a degrading effect on performance—but how much? That's what Piet is seeking.

First, he walks us through the disassembly and preparation process to ready the barrel for the gunsmith. It's really as easy as it looks—barring you have the right tools. All this is captured in a beautiful cinematic montage that is sure to fire up any rifle shooter. The gunsmith then parts the barrel on a lathe, threads the muzzle, and cuts a new target crown. Assembly is as easy as the teardown. Once assembled, the rifle is the perfect blend of beauty and function. It is both handy and capable, and it is ideal for hunting game in the savannah.

ZOOMING OUT

But how does it perform? Well, that's for you to watch. However, bear in mind that this barrel already has an excess of 3,000 rounds on it, which makes the results all the more impressive. If you like this video, make sure to check out the rest of the Impact Shooting catalog here.