May 15, 2020
By Patrick Sweeney
“The wind has picked up. Hold the edge of the plate.”
I maneuvered the reticle over to the edge of the plate, which was shimmering in the morning heat. I eased back on the trigger, and at the sound of the shot the rifle pushed back a bit. I watched a new dot appear on the plate, but I could not hear the impact.
I was at Bill Wilson’s ranch, with Bill himself calling the wind for me, using a Wilson Combat Super Sniper, chambered in 6mm Creedmoor. The Super Sniper is the culmination of the knowledge base of Bill and his crew and their years of building rifles based on the Stoner system.
The Wilson Combat Super Sniper’s 20-inch barrel is heavyweight stainless with a 1:8 twist, and this particular sample had the threaded muzzle option with a Wilson Combat flash hider installed. There is also a rapid-thread muzzle brake as an option.
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The AR-10-based Super Sniper features aluminum billet receivers with a rubber bumper between them to eliminate play. The trigger is Wilson’s excellent TTU. The barrel is installed in a Wilson Combat BILLet upper, which is matched to a lower, and both are machined from pre-hardened billet aluminum. A small rubber bumper in the lower bears against the rear lug of the upper as you close it up for a wobble-free fit.
The fore-end is the company’s T.R.I.M. Rail, a free-float handguard 13.8 inches long that has M-Lok slots for mounting a bipod and any other accessories you use. The full-length optics rail up top aligns with the rail on the receiver, so there’s plenty of room for scopes, backup iron sights, night vision or other extras.
The Rogers Super-Stoc telescoping stock is standard equipment, but my sample came with an optional fixed Gen3 PRS from Magpul that adjusts for cheekpiece height and length of pull.
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The lower receiver has a Wilson Combat pistol grip, made by Bravo Company with the Wilson Starburst pattern and logo on it. The trigger on my sample was Wilson’s TTU, a two-stage trigger set at four pounds. The charging handle is Bravo’s BCM Gunfighter with its larger-than-GI left-side latch. The Super Sniper’s bolt and bolt carrier are magnetic particle inspected and then NP3 coated.
In the AR-10 version of the Super Sniper, which includes the 6mm Creedmoor chambering, the rifle feeds from M110-pattern magazines. Wilson supplied one from Lancer, but Magpuls will work as well.
The base model Super Sniper is finished in black Armor-Tuff, but my test rifle featured a burnt bronze/black camo pattern. It also came with Wilson’s T V3 Ultralight scope mount. The V3 does not use the hand-tightened wheel of the firm’s Accu-Rizer but rather three crossbolts that clamp the mount to the receiver. It is lighter and sturdier, but it requires tools to install. A Leupold VX-6HD scope was installed for testing.
The T.R.I.M. handguard sports M-Lok slots and a full-length optics rail. The finish is burnt bronze/black Armor-Tuff. The 6mm Creedmoor is a result of the competitive demands of the Precision Rifle Series, a long-range competition that requires accuracy, flat trajectory and the ability to deliver quick follow-up shots when needed. When I was shooting with Bill Wilson, I could see all my hits out to 1,200 yards, but at the longest distance I couldn’t hear them because the 108-grain bullet didn’t ring the steel hard enough to let the sound carry back to the firing line.
I don’t have easy access to such distances back at home, so I had to content myself with punching absurdly small groups at 100 yards. The clean, crisp trigger pull of the TTU made that easy. I suspect this rifle could shoot even better than I found, as the accuracy limits are getting down to my limits.
What is this rifle for? Well, for someone who wants to get into Precision Rifle Series or similar long-range rifle competitions, this would be just the ticket because it’s scarily accurate and has mild recoil.
As a hunting rifle, the Super Sniper might not be the best choice. At a book weight of more than eight pounds, it isn’t exactly a stalking rifle, and once you load it up with a bipod, scope and ammo, you’re looking at double-digit weights. But if you’re hunting from a tree stand or a blind where you don’t have to lug the rifle very far and there’s an availability of a rest, that weight won’t matter.
As a beautifully made, utterly reliable rifle that the shooters at the gun club will envy, the Wilson Combat Super Sniper gets top marks. Yes, the starting point is a bit on the high side as AR rifles go these days. And once you add in the extras, the price does tick up, but quality costs and quality lasts. If you don’t simply blast ammo into the hillside to make noise, you’ll be a long time wearing out the Wilson Combat Super Sniper’s 6mm Creedmoor barrel.
The Super Sniper demonstrated terrific accuracy, which makes it a good option for those looking to get into the long-range precision game. Wilson Combat Super Sniper Specs Type: AR-15, AR-10 (tested)
Caliber: .223 Wylde, .224 Valkyrie, 6mm Creedmoor (tested), 6.5 Creedmoor, 6.5 Grendel, .260 Rem., .308 Win.
Capacity: 20-round Lancer magazine supplied
Barrel: 20 in.
Overall Length: 40.5 in.
Weight: 8 lb., 11 oz.
Receivers: Billet aluminum, burnt bronze/black Armor-Tuff handguard T.R.I.M. free-float M-Lok
Stock: Magpul PRS Gen3 fixed; Bravo Company grip Wilson starburst
Sights: None; full-length optics rail
Trigger: TTU 2-stage, 4 lb. pull (measured)
Price: $3,020 (base), $5,525 (as tested)
Manufacturer: Wilson Combat,
wilsoncombat.com Wilson Combat Super Sniper Accuracy Results Notes: Accuracy results are averages of three five-shot groups at 100 yards off a Champion shooting rest. Velocities are averages of five shots measured on a LabRadar chronograph set to read 15 feet from the muzzle.