Though the Tactical Recon looks good and features quality components, the bottom line for serious shooters is performance. Baer’s accuracy guarantee of 1/2-inch 10-shot groups at 100 yards is extraordinary performance for a factory rifle firing factory ammunition, and better than many custom rifles achieve with handloads. I recently tested Les Baer's guarantee at the range with a Tactical Recon in .308 Win. fitted with a Nightforce 5.5-22x56 mm NXS scope with 0.1 milliradian clicks, mounted in Nightforce rings. Baer advised me that the rifle shot just about all match .308 Win. ammunition well, but particularly favored loads with 168- and 175-grain match bullets. Accordingly, I assembled a collection of test ammunition, including Black Hills’ 175-grain match load, Federal’s Gold Medal 168- and 175-grain loads, and the 155-grain TAP FPD, 168-grain TAP FPD and 178-grain HPBT Superformance loads from Hornady. I trundled all this ammunition to the range, along with my Sinclair windage tripod rest, Protektor rear bag, Kurzzeit PVM-21 chronograph, Wheeler Engineering tool kit, targets, pen and paper, bottled water, ham sandwich, et cetera. (Those who aspire to be a professional gun writer should understand that a trip to the range can involve about as much equipment as an expedition across the Gobi desert.) Range conditions were good—sunny with temperatures around 72 degrees F, but with a bit of a crosswind. To give the rifle the best opportunity to perform, I removed the Harris bipod and both sling swivel studs and fired from my Sinclair rest and Protektor bag. The flat-bottomed fore-end and buttstock tracked very well on this setup. There was no need to break-in the barrel, as this was done before the gun left Les Baer Custom. Five-shot groups were fired, both to conserve my limited quantity of ammunition, and to mirror the standard test protocol used by American Rifleman. How did it shoot? Very well, indeed. Even the worst-performing ammunition yielded sub-m.o.a. groups, and the best—the 168-grain loads from Federal and Hornady—produced the accuracy claimed by Baer. Five-shot groups with these two loads averaged “in the threes,” mathematically equivalent to 1/2-inch 10-shot groups. Next in performance were the Black Hills and Federal 175-grain loads, and the Hornady TAP load with the 155-grain A-MAX bullet, all of which gave groups of around a 1/2 inch—good accuracy by any standard. Hornady’s new Superformance load, with a 178-grain HPBT bullet came in last at around 0.9 of an inch—which was surprising, as that ammunition has grouped into a 1/2 inch in several other rifles. There was a lot to like about the LBC Tactical Recon. The trigger broke cleanly at 3 pounds, and the adjustable, vertical-grip stock got high marks for ergonomics and comfort. Recoil was minimal, thanks to both stock design and the gun’s 14-pound, 7 ounce as-tested weight. No malfunctions of any kind were experienced. Firing pin indentations were centered and sufficiently deep, feeding from the magazine was flawless, and ejection was strong and trouble-free. Finally, with the scope and bipod attached, the rifle balanced perfectly just forward of the magazine, allowing the gun to be conveniently held or carried with only one hand. But what about the guaranteed 1/2-inch 10-shot group? I had just enough of the Federal 168-grain Gold Medal load to give it a try. Though the wind had picked up, I (or rather, the gun and I) succeeded in putting 10 successive bullets in a ragged hole measuring 0.491 inch, with most of the dispersion being in the horizontal plane. Clearly, sub-1/2-inch 10-shot groups are well within the capabilities of this rifle. I can’t really crow too much about my shooting ability, however. Included with this gun was a 1/4-inch group labeled “200 yards, 10 shots, Federal Gold Medal 168-grain HPBT.” It seems that Les Baer can not only build guns—he can shoot them as well. I can suggest only a couple of small changes in the Tactical Recon: the installation of flush-mounted cups for quick-detachable sling swivels on both sides of the fore-end and buttstock, and the modification of the buttstock to allow easy removal of the adjustable cheekpiece (for cleaning) and reinstallation at the exact same height. Both changes would make the rifle more appealing to professional shooters, and are under consideration by Baer. In the burgeoning realm of high-end precision guns, the Les Baer Tactical Recon rifle is about average in terms of price, but is considerably above average in every other respect. In my years with American Rifleman, I don’t think I ever tested a factory .308 Win. rifle that grouped better. On the basis of accuracy alone, the Tactical Recon is worth the price of admission. Real-world tactical shooters will additionally appreciate the gun’s moderate weight and well-designed stock. When I talked with Les Baer a few weeks ago, he mentioned a number of other bolt-gun projects on his plate, including new chamberings in 6.5x.284 Norma, .300 Win. Mag. and .338 Norma Mag.; a .338 Lapua Mag. rifle, a heavy-barrel tactical gun and possibly models for NRA High Power and F-Class competition. If these rifles are crafted as carefully and perform as impressively as the LBC Tactical Recon, Les Baer’s bolt rifles will undoubtedly become as dominant as his M1911s and AR-style guns—and justifiably so. Manufacturer: Les Baer Custom, Inc.; (563) 289-2126; www.lesbaer.com
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