MDT MENTION: ANTHONY AMANTINE DISCUSSES HIS REMINGTON 700 MDT ESS RIFLE

Author's Note: Anthony Amantine is a well-known subject matter expert in the night vision hunting community. A former collegiate track star, Anthony resides in Texas, where he farms, ranches, builds night vision devices and conducts research and development on night vision technology. Anthony is also an accomplished long-range shooter and expert at night hunting, specifically leveraging night vision (image intensifier) and thermal technology to eradicate feral hogs that are damaging the ecosystems of the Southern United States.

The YouTube channel of a.amantine owned by Anthony Amantine, has amassed 56K+ subscribers for his expertise on night vision, thermal technologies, and their applications for managing feral hogs and predators. We have previously covered one of his thermal builds, which used an MDT XRS Chassis system. This article will highlight a video made by Anthony where he discusses the finer details of a custom Remington 700 build, which is mated to an MDT ESS Chassis system.

According to Anthony, the ESS Chassis from MDT was chosen for this build because it boasts a full monolithic rail on top, ideal for thermal or clip-on night vision devices. The ability to customize with grips, ARCA/Swiss rails was also a huge benefit. For optics, Anthony topped it off with a Vortex Razor HD Gen II 4.5-27x56mm FFP with a Horus Tremor3 reticle (MRAD) and silenced this rig with a Dead Air Armament Nomad .30 Cal suppressor.

Photo Courtesy of Anthony Amantine.

The complete build was not on the light side, tipping the scale at 18 lb with the Vortex Razor and over 21 Lb when coupled with a PVS-30 for night vision shooting. According to Anthony, heavy rifles are not bad since most shooting is done off a tripod; you can spot impacts and quickly make follow-up shots.

Anthony does the majority of his night hunting off tripods. His ESS was optimized for tripod work via an ARCA/Swiss rail. Photo Courtesy of Anthony Amantine.

To test the salt of this rifle, Anthony pushed it out to 800 yards in his video and immediately made contact on steel with his first shot. A verbal confirmation was uttered as a sly grin of confidence and success caressed his face. He continued to send rounds downrange, eventually emptying his magazine with subsequently confirmed hits out to 800 yards on an unpredictably windy day afield.

The monolithic top rail of the MDT ESS is perfect for clip-on night vision devices. Photo Courtesy of Anthony Amantine.

For a lightweight thermal rifle, Anthony used an MDT XRS Chassis System. Photo Courtesy of Anthony Amantine.

Overall, the 6.5 Creedmoor built by Anthony Amantine represents the benefits of chassis systems when leveraging night vision or thermal technology. Anthony is a fountain of information when it comes to shooting. Hit him up if you have questions about night vision or night vision hunting. Please follow him on Instagram, and check out his YouTube page!