Springfield Armory 2020 Redline Bolt-Action Centerfire Rifle

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It’s been three years since Springfield Armory introduced the 2020 Waypoint, a new direction for a company well-known and well-respected in the rifle world for its extensive M1A lineup. The Waypoint, by contrast, was a forward-thinking bolt-action rifle suitable for hunting or long-range competition.

The newest rifle built on the 2020 action—which is made right here in the U.S.A., by the way—is the Redline, an ultralight gun meant for hunters who hike high and far. The Redline shares a lot of characteristics with the Waypoint, and I’ll go over those, but let’s get right to what’s new and different.

Most notable is the stock, which is the Grayboe Trekker. Grayboe designed this stock specifically for mountain hunting, and its significantly relieved buttstock—the cut-out shape is also further hollowed out from the wrist to the rear sling-swivel stud—results in a weight of just 28 ounces.

The grip is vertical, which is the current fashion. There’s a reason for this, and it’s all about hand position. Typical sporter stocks are curved, sometimes significantly so, and this can cause your wrist to be canted—potentially inducing unwanted torque in the grip and making it more difficult to achieve a straight-back trigger press.

Vertical grips like on the Grayboe are more like the smallbore competition stocks I grew up with. Your hand and wrist are straight, virtually eliminating the chances you’ll torque the stock and promoting a better trigger squeeze.

In addition, the Grayboe features a subtle thumb shelf for righties. The principle here is the same. Placing the thumb alongside the tang, as opposed to wrapping it over top of the grip, maintains a straight wrist and is more conducive to accuracy.

The Trekker also has a bubble level inletted into the stock just behind the tang. I’m notorious for canting rifles, and I know I shouldn’t do it. I’m convinced it doesn’t matter at the “normal” distances at which I typically shoot, but canting definitely has an effect as you stretch the range. The bubble reminds me to keep the rifle level.

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The butt is adjustable for length of pull from 13.25 inches to 14.25 inches via spacers—and up to 16 inches if you buy additional spacers. While the Waypoint stock features a number of QD pockets, the Redline’s incorporates three traditional swivel studs: one at the back and two at the front to accommodate a bipod and a sling simultaneously.

The fore-end has a channel for your fingers, and the recoil pad is a LimbSaver AirTech. The finish is a handsome olive two-tone with black webbing that adds texture for a comfortable, secure grip.

The Trekker dispenses with aluminum bedding pillars, and because the stock is designed with a universal inlet, the fit around the Redline’s action isn’t super tight around the recoil lug. Without the action screws installed, there’s nearly a tenth-inch of play, which you could potentially eliminate with a dab of bedding in the recoil lug recess—although while there is full contact with the rear of the lug, the front of the recess is quite shallow so there’s not a lot to work with.

When we reviewed the 2020 Waypoint, Joseph von Benedikt rightly made a big deal out of the Picatinny rail that’s fastened to the Remington 700-pattern receiver with 6-48 screws and also pinned for rock-solid stability. I know Pic rails are all the rage these days, but I prefer standard scope mounts, so I used a Leupold VX-3HD 4.5-14x42mm mounted in Leupold BackCountry ring-mounts.

My thinking here is that unless they’re two-piece, optics rails crowd the ejection port, and I would rather have the port completely open. Rails also add height over the action, and even with low rings I can’t get scopes as close to the action as I like them.

However, rails do provide a lot more latitude for getting your eye relief just right, and that’s one big reason people like them. They also simplify the mounting process. There are like a billion rings out there that fit Pic rails—all manner of diameters, heights, types and finishes—and any gunshop is going to be able to set you up.

The Redline is available in .308 Win. and 6.5 Creedmoor in 16- and 20-inch barrel lengths. Sixteen inches? Yep. With the surging popularity of suppressors for hunting, that barrel length makes a lot of sense. I requested a 16-inch .308, with a plan of shooting it with my Silencer Central Banish 30 suppressor almost exclusively. In its short form, the Banish 30 is seven inches long. Adding that to the short barrel on the Redline brings total “barrel” length to 23 inches, which is perfect for all but dense-cover hunting.

The barrel is a BSF carbon fiber. BSF turns down a 416R stainless steel blank, then jackets it with a carbon-fiber sleeve, beginning about four inches in front of the receiver. The sleeve is loaded under tension. The company says 95 percent of the carbon fiber does not touch the steel, creating air gaps around the barrel, and openings are machined into the carbon fiber to vent heat. BSF says its design helps cool the barrel faster and is less prone to delamination.

BSF does have a recommended break-in process, and it’s simple: five shots, clean and oil bore; 10 shots, clean and oil bore; then 20 shots, clean and oil bore.

The 2020 action is unchanged from the Waypoint. It’s a Remington 700 clone, tubular in design, built of stainless steel and finished in Mil-Spec Green Cerakote. The raceways are EDM-cut for smooth travel of the 4140 tool-steel fluted bolt, which is machined after it’s heat-treated. The bolt has twin lugs, with a hefty extractor in the right-side lug and a plunger ejector at seven o’clock to kick empties clear.

The bolt handle is designed to easily clear scope ocular-lens housings, and it has a removable knob if its size and shape don’t suit you—although I found the knob to be just right. The bolt release on the left is unobtrusive and easy to operate, and the safety is the Remington-style two-position rocker that doesn’t lock the bolt, which is what I prefer.

The trigger is from TriggerTech, its Field model. I’ve been spending a lot of time with TriggerTechs over the past few years and have come to love them. This particular trigger broke exactly at three pounds right out of the box, with no creep or overtravel. It’s adjustable from 2.5 to five pounds. The finger lever is slightly curved and grooved.

Like the Waypoint, the Redline feeds from AICS-type magazines. While I’m still a hinged-floorplate kind of guy, at least the three-round MDT magazine that comes with the rifle fits flush, which makes the rifle nicer to carry in the hand. Plus the magazine can be top-loaded, which I think is mandatory for a hunting rifle.

The magazine release is a lever on the inside of the trigger guard at the front. It’s easy to operate, and since it’s on the inside—where your fingers won’t be unless you’re ready to fire—you won’t activate it accidentally.

When I tested the Redline from the bench, I broke our own testing protocol. We get our baseline accuracy without a suppressor because they often affect group sizes. And since not everyone owns a suppressor, I think it’s important to present accuracy results on the gun as-is.

However, I can’t imagine anyone buying the 16-inch Redline without plans to use a suppressor. In fact, Silencer Central is offering a free $200 tax stamp with the purchase of a Redline to get that company’s suppressor. This was in effect at press time, and Springfield told me the plan is for the offer to be active for quite a while—although Silencer Central reserves the right to end the promotion at its discretion.

I have that company’s Banish 30, and I spun it on the Redline’s threaded muzzle for the majority of the testing. The Redline comes with a 0.75 m.o.a. accuracy guarantee, and I achieved that with two of the loads, with a third load coming in under one m.o.a. at 100 yards.

One thing I will note is that with the Grayboe stock’s configuration I found it difficult to get it completely stable on my rear bag. That’s because basically the only spot the butt can rest on the bag is at the toe, and there’s not much real estate there. I mention this because I believe the rifle has better bench accuracy potential than what I achieved, but the results shown in the accompanying chart are nothing to sneeze at.

Off the bench I found the rifle to be a dream to shoot. I fired it with and without the suppressor—and with and without Springfield Armory’s radial brake, using just the supplied thread protector for some strings—from a variety of field positions.

The rifle feels a little muzzle heavy with the suppressor in place when you’re in unsupported positions like sitting, kneeling and offhand—I think in part because the butt of the Grayboe stock is so light.

However, I have moved away from unsupported positions (sling but no other rest) for most hunting I do these days. If I can go prone, I’m shooting off my pack. Sitting and kneeling are from a Bogpod or old-school folding sticks. I shot the Redline from those supported positions, and the addition of the suppressor didn’t affect my hold.

While I’m not a big bipod guy, I did throw one on the Redline and shot it at 200 yards with the Berger load and the muzzle brake installed. That effort produced a sub-m.o.a. result.

The stock delivers on all it promises. The grip made proper hand position a cinch, and while the thumb shelf is not overly prominent, that little extra space was appreciated. The fore-end is a nice size, and its channel provides a firm hold. The 16-inch Redline is a little snappy without the brake or suppressor, but the overall ergonomics make it quite manageable.

Fluted bolts don’t always have the smoothest travel, and while the Redline’s is one of the better fluted bolts I’ve used, it does bind a little when you’re trying to work it super fast from field positions. It was never an issue, mind you—as in it wouldn’t have slowed follow-up shots on game to any significant degree.

It’s kind of my job to find fault in any firearm. The bolt is a minor gripe, and I do question the lack of aluminum bedding pillars and the probable difficulty of doing a traditional bedding job. As to the latter two quibbles, I’ve been conditioned over the years to believe that one or the other is a necessity. But some knowledgeable people will tell you that’s not always the case these days thanks to advancements in materials and designs.

The bare, stock Redline with the 16-inch barrel weighs a mere six pounds. As outfitted, the rifle weighed seven pounds, 11 ounces, including the 11-ounce Banish 30. That company’s Banish Backcountry suppressor would cut six ounces off the overall weight, and there are a number of other light suppressors out there.

The rifle retails for $2,299. I think that’s a deal when you consider that premium actions—and I would count Springfield’s 2020 as one—start at a grand. The Trekker stock alone goes for $500, the BSF barrel for $750, and add a couple hundred bucks for the TriggerTech trigger plus the bottom metal—not to mention the well-designed black soft case that comes with the gun. And those are just the components. You still have to figure in assembly and fitting, which is all done in-house at Springfield Armory’s Geneseo, Illinois, facility.

I know some readers wince at the thought of spending so much on a hunting rifle, but here’s something else to consider. In our September/October 2023 big game rifle roundup, of nearly 40 guns only five were under a grand. One in four were between $2,000 and $3,000. So viewed in the perspective of the current market, the Redline is right on the money. It’s a premium gun built of premium components, an American-made light rifle that’s ready to tackle the high country and deliver the bullet where it’s supposed to go.

SPRINGFIELD ARMORY 2020 REDLINE SPECIFICATIONS

• TYPE: Bolt-action centerfire
• CALIBER: 6.5 Creedmoor, .308 Win. (tested)
• CAPACITY: 3-round MDT magazine supplied
• BARREL: 16 in. (as tested) BSF carbon fiber, 1:10 twist; threaded 5/8x24; radial brake and thread protector included
• OVERALL LENGTH: 36.5–37.75 in.
• WEIGHT: 6 lb.
• STOCK: Grayboe Trekker composite w/three sling swivel studs; LimbSaver AirTech recoil pad; length adjustable via spacers
• TRIGGER: TriggerTech Field adjustable (2.5–5 lb.); 3 lb. pull (measured, as received)
• SAFETY: Two-position non-bolt-locking
• SIGHTS: None; optics rail
• PRICE: $2,299
• MANUFACTURER: Springfield Armory, springfield-armory.com