Springfield Armory 2020 Heatseeker

A Nice Addition to the 2020 Series of Rifles

I recently got my hands on brand new Springfield Armory 2020 Heatseeker rifle chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor. It is a lighrweight bolt action rifle in a very solidly built chassis. They currently are available in only flat dark earth and only with a 16” carbon fiber barrel. Your only option in the Heatseeker is the caliber. They come in 6.5CM like the one I shot, or in .308 WIN.

The 2020 series of guns are based on the Remington 700 action so it makes finding optic mounting solutions easy as they already exist. The bolt is very smooth cycling and the trigger is from Triggertech and is adjustable from 2.5-5 pounds.

This gun was loaned to me. It was brand new in the box and had never been fired. It had no optic or any accessories on it, so I had to equip it before putting some rounds through it.

I recently picked up an Arken EP-5 5-25x56 first focal plane optic for a rifle of mine and it seemed the best option in my inventory to take advantage of the capabilities of this rifle. The Arken optics use very clear Japanese glass which is housed in a sturdy body. They are a very solid choice, especially if you are cheap bastard like me.

Also, I do not own any 6.5CM rifles, so I immediately had to start tracking down ammo if I wanted to shoot it. A friend who has a similar rifle from Springfield told me they like lighter bullets, like in the 120 grain range.

The day I took this rifle to the range happened to be a fairly windy day. There was a pretty consistent left to right breeze of about 8 miles an hour, with gusts up to 15 or so. Less than ideal conditions to try and print groups on paper. Despite the wind, I still managed to shoot several groups smaller than the guaranteed 0.75 MOA, with my best group being a 0.639” which I shot with Federal American Eagle 120 grain.

Overall, it was a very nice shooting gun and I had a great day at the range with it. My only complaint with it is that as the barrel warmed up, once my rate of fire picked up, I did notice my groups opening up slightly. With a warm barrel and shooting the cheapest ammo I had (Winchester white box), the groups opened up to about 1.75”.

My understanding in talking to a few folks more knowledgeable than me is that it is fairly common in guns with carbon fiber barrels for the groups to open up as the barrels get warm.

If anyone from Springfield Armory is listening, throw a 24-26” all steel bull barrel in this and you will have a really nice target / PRS type rifle. That is honestly the only change I would want to see if I were going to purchase one.

As it sits, it is a great rifle, especially for those who only want to shoot a very slow pace or only a few rounds at a sitting, like hunters.