The new Australian-made Wedgetail Orion Hunter bolt-action rifle will hit gunshops in November, chambered in .223 and .308, weighing just 3kg, guaranteeing sub-MOA five-shot groups and costing a competitive $3290-$3390.
And it’s not just another Remington 700 variation but a distinctly individual design based on the NZ-built Hardy Rifles turn-bolt action.
The Orion will be available in left- and right-handed configuration, and will be followed soon by a heavy-barrelled Varmint model in a suitable carbon-fibre stock, and a long-action magnum version.
Wedgetail is also developing its own chassis to underpin another model based on the Orion action.
The Orion Hunter is “built for the future, not the past,” and is not built on the Remington 700 footprint, says Ben Jarrett, business development development manager for Victoria-based Wedgetail Industries.
“We’re pretty excited about the gun,” he says.
“We chose a design that prioritises the engineering and accuracy of the firearm over some legacy footprint that was originally derived to be easy to manufacture.”
The Orion incorporates a mini-chassis that mates to the flat-bottomed receiver with a large front lug, a pin at the rear and two action screws.
“This effectively turns the receiver and bottom metal into a single piece,” Ben says.
Wedgetail developed the Orion in conjunction with Dan Hardy of Hardy Rifles, which supplies some components while Wedgetail makes others under licence.
The mini-chassis and bottom metal, as well as the stock, are all Wedgetail designs.
The action includes a lightweight aluminium alloy receiver and bolt body, while the strength of the action is contained in the hardened steel barrel extension and steel bolt head.
“It gives us a solid, very rigid action but if we used steel for all that metal it would weigh a ton,” Ben says, adding that the company is very familiar with barrel extensions because it uses them in its other designs.
“We’re very fortunate that Dan was willing to share that with us,” Ben says. “It meant we were’t coming to the market with something new and experimental.”
The Orion’s barrels are made by Lithgow Arms, not only ensuring greater Australian content in the rifles but guaranteeing quality.
“Lithgow barrels have ridiculously long life,” Ben says. “The barrel is cold hammer forged out of the best barrel making steel available, to our profile and specifications.”
Initially, those barrels will be made in .223 and .308, with .243 and 6.5 Creedmoor following fairly soon. When the long-action model is ready, it will be chambered in 7mm and .30-calibre magnums.
The Orion’s carbon-fibre stock is made externally to Wedgetail’s design.
It helps keep the Orion Hunter’s weight to 3kg. Ben says this weight is a conscious choice by Wedgetail to suit Australian conditions: heavier than the Hardy rifles that are built for mountain hunting in NZ, but still respectably light for stalking hunters here.
“Australians still cull a lot of ferals here, so it’s not uncommon to fire 20 or 30 shots in a day, so we wanted a rifle that wouldn’t belt you,” Ben says.
The rifle will come with a 10-round detachable box magazine made by Magpul.
“Any AICS double-stack single-feed (DSSF) magazine will work,” Ben says. “We chose to use the AICS pattern magazine in DSSF format for two reasons. Firstly, it offers the greatest overlap of the cartridge base and the bolt face to ensure reliable feeding; and secondly because these magazines are available from a range of manufacturers, often at very competitive prices compared to OEM specific magazines.
“This is also the same philosophy that drove the decision to use a Rem 700-type trigger and equipping the Orion with a high-quality TriggerTech trigger.”
Wedgetail has been specialising in Category D firearms for many years now, extending its range to pump-action Cat B rifles to expand its appeal, but the bolt-action Orion represents the beginning of a significant expansion of the business.
“Until now we couldn’t sell anything into NSW — the biggest market in the country — because of the state’s appearance laws,” Ben says.
“And in Australia, if you’re not making a bolt-action rifle, you’re dooming yourself to limited sales and always watching over your shoulder in case the laws change and restrict you further.”
Ben says Wedgetail’s experience also made it look closely at the pricing of the Orion.
“Where we believe we ended up was a rifle family that offers the quality, technology and performance that goes head to head with Sako,” he says.
“We’ve priced our rifle modestly because we know that Australian shooters are looking for the quality, technology and performance the Orion provides; but most serious Australian shooters still find it hard to justify spending the big money that some premium European OEMs and boutique US brands demand.”
Orders for the Orion can be placed now through gunshops or directly on the Wedgetail website, and first deliveries are expected in mid-November.
The Orion will make its public debut at the Wild Deer Expo next month.
For specifications and other details, visit the Wedgetail Industries website.
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