Memphis, Michigan’s, Grace Engineering has resurrected the Montana Rifle Company (MRC), which was shuttered in 2020. Grace Engineering also owns and operates G5 Outdoors and Prime Archery, makers of first-in-class archery equipment. Grace Engineering, a third-generation precision machining manufacturer, has been in business 50 years, including providing components for many leading firearms companies. The purchase of MRC allows Grace Engineering to turn their talents to creating finished rifles.
In very short order Grace Engineering has enhanced the performance, quality, reliability and accuracy of the original Kalispell, Montana, Montana Rifle. This includes a fully machined receiver milled from a single billet of 416 stainless steel. The MRC 2022 receiver is an upgrade of the original Keith Sipe MRC 1999 design and includes refinements allowing for tighter tolerances and greater control over the finished product, compared to cast receivers of the past.
MRC enters a highly competitive marketplace, but is determined to stand apart with rifles promising something innovative, aesthetically pleasing, and consistently accurate. To help relaunch the MRC brand a pair of exciting new rifles were introduced combining classic styling, modern manufacturing applications and hugely appealing features.
Most of all, while the rifle market increasingly embraces “Black & Decker” synthetics and metal chassis systems, at least one of these new MRC rifles sticks to traditional and aesthetically pleasing high-grade walnut stocks, including a graceful Monte Carlo design.
MRC’s new Junction rifle hits the scales at just 7.5 pounds, while offering the old-school look and feel of fine walnut and steel. It is based on a stainless steel receiver sporting the company’s renowned adaptive controlled round feed, three-position safety and adjustable trigger. An integrated aluminum M-LOK forearm rail gives the wood stock a modern touch, allowing the seamless adaptation of a Picatinny accessory rail or M-Lok adaptable components. The barrel is thread to accept a brake or suppressor. The Junction’s comes with a ½-MOA guarantee and includes a retail price of just $2,495. It can be ordered in 6.5 Creedmoor, 6.5 PRC, 270 Winchester, 280 Ackley Improved, 7 PRC, 7mm Remington Magnum, 28 Nosler, 308 Winchester, 300 Winchester Magnum and 300 Remington Ultra Mag. A 375 H&H Magnum chambering and left-hand models are being promised soon.
The Highline includes features mirroring those of the Junction, but it is bedded in a lightweight, speckled McMillan carbon fiber Game Hunter stock and includes Burnt Bronze Cerakote metal. It also includes MRC’s ½-MOA guarantee, user-adjustable trigger and integral M-LOK rail. The speckled McMillan handle provides a firm grip in wet weather or while wearing gloves, and the Cerakote finish protects against wear and corrosion. The muzzle-threaded barrel, like the Junction, is hand lapped for faster break-in and greater accuracy. The Highline shares the Junction’s $2,495 MSRP, but comes in at 6.8 pounds out of the box.. It is chambered in the same lineup of cartridges as the Junction. Both rifles ship in a branded hard case.
Grace Engineering brought the iconic MRC brand back to life with guidance from some longtime industry leaders, including Ronald Petty, MRC’s former CEO. Grace engineers are all about precision, in addition to owning the modern machining equipment that the original MRC lacked and that prevented them from meeting overwhelming customer demand. Grace Engineering also has the pull to ensure continued raw material delivery that the original company lacked, especially during the supply-chain difficulties experienced during the COVID pandemic.
MRC rifles have always stood out primarily based on their Mauser-style controlled round feed bolt-action systems, refined in a modernized design to provide increased reliability in a slimmer system. The newest upgrade includes MRC’s Adaptive Control Round Feed, which combines the attributes of both controlled and push feed—meaning it allows bypassing the magazine and single feeding the rifle if desired. Stout claw extraction is still a part of the picture.
Grace Engineering manufacturers Model 2022 receivers in-house, drawing from both MRC original and classic Winchester pre-‘64 Model 70 design features. Receivers start as a 10-pound block of 416 stainless steel and ends with a sub-1-pound receiver including precision tolerances. While some of MRC’s original machinery is still in use, a larger percentage has been replaced or updated to ensure tighter tolerances. MRC still utilizes the Mauser ’98-style barrel ring and feed cone. While original MRC 1999 receivers were cast, new 2022 receivers are milled to maintain increased precision and ensure parts remain 100 percent interchangeable.
The company’s patent-pending inset anodized aluminum M-LOK inset rail allows the adaptation of modern accessories, namely bipods that enhance field accuracy. This rail also includes a traditional front sling stud and QD socket (both also located in the butt) for quick-detach sling options. Every MRC rifle is accuracy tested before being shipped, any rifle not meeting the ½-MOA benchmark sent back to remedy the problem. Montana Rifle Company is offering/taking orders for: 6.5 Creedmoor, 308 Win, 300 Win Mag, 6.5 PRC, 7 PRC and 375 H&H with additional calibers coming soon.
Grace Engineering ensures Montana Rifle Company will not only survive, but thrive, and that MRC rifles will continue to be manufactured to the strictest standards and enjoy continued upgrades. Learn more by visiting montanarifleco.com.