Whenever I have the chance, I ask people whom I consider authorities on AR-style rifles--SWAT sniper-squad leaders, gunsmiths, firearms training instructors, writers or some combination of the above--which companies make the best out-of-the-box ARs. The name Stag Arms always makes the list, often at the top.

The reasons given are many; the opinions are the same. If you want a rifle that will keep on cooking through thousands of rounds in less than optimal conditions, consider a Stag.

Now, my roots are in big game hunting and precision bolt-action rifles. I'm not an AR guy, per se. However, when Stag announced its new Model 6 Super Varminter--Stag-tough with 1/2 m.o.a. accuracy guaranteed--I sat up and took note. Accurate rifles of any genre interest me, enough so in this case that I jumped through the necessary hoops to get a legal sample shipped to me here in California (see accompanying sidebar).

I was impressed right from the moment I opened the box. I could see right away that fit and finish on the M6 is excellent. I looked for visible gaps between the upper and lower receivers and felt for play. There was none.

In fact, the upper and lower were fitted so snugly that I later called Stag Arms president Mark Malkowski and asked if the receiver halves were hand-selected for fit. He said they were, noting that as both 7075 T6 aluminum parts are forged in-house--where specs can be closely controlled--all Stag receivers are fit very closely.

The A3 flattop upper is fitted with a heavy 24-inch match-grade E.R. Shaw stainless barrel, measuring .92-inch at the muzzle and sporting a 1:8 twist and 5.56mm NATO chamber. A Stag low-profile gas block and aluminum free-float handguard speak of the rifle's intended purpose: this is a hunting rifle. There is no way to mount a back-up iron front sight.

Rarely have I felt such a fine trigger on an AR-type rifle. It is a two-stage match quality assembly that breaks at a consistent three pounds, three ounces by my Lyman digital scale--perfect for varmint hunting and target work.

As soon as I got the rifle home, I mounted a 6-18x40 Leupold Mark 2 Tactical scope with mil dot reticle, which proved to be a perfect choice for the Super Varminter--providing plenty of magnification for accuracy testing and shooting at tiny distant varmints along with a low enough power range to give versatility while hunting fast-moving critters.

The following day I was on the range, armed with a stack of ammo, and the Super Varminter shot well right off the bat. As the barrel broke in over the course of several boxes of shells and a couple of good cleanings, it got even better. Every load I tried grouped under an inch with multiple consecutive five-shot groups, with several loads pushing that 1/2 m.o.a. accuracy guarantee pretty closely.

The wind was gusting lightly around the clock, and I think on a still day those small groups would have become tiny groups and fallen well within Stag's 1/2 m.o.a. claim.