Bolt-Action Model 2020 Boundary Evolves From Waypoint Family
By John Geiger, SAFARI Magazine Managing Editor
Springfield just released its new Model 2020 Boundary rifle to the hunting market. SAFARI Magazine editors were among a handful in the industry who got to test it out in advance.
The Boundary is a welcome evolution of the Model 2020 family, which started with the Waypoint in 2022, a fine rifle in its own right.
The Model 2020 Boundary straddles the classic look of a deer gun — with its hinged floorplate and clean lines — and features of a modern precision firearm. The bolt-action would be at home anywhere there is big-game hunting in the world, from red stag in New Zealand to whitetails in Kentucky.
Perhaps the most significant aspect of this rifle is the rigid action it inherited from the Waypoint family. It’s based on Remington’s 700 push feed but is made with precise electronic discharge machines (EDC). EDC is used to make highly accurate cuts to the world’s toughest metals. The bolt is fitted to high tolerances, thanks to the EDM-cut raceways in the receiver.
The rifle comes with either a fluted stainless steel or carbon fiber barrel. The one we shot was carbon fiber. Interestingly, the carbon fiber does not touch the steel below except for about 5% of the steel’s surface area. Springfield says this creates an air gap between the two elements that aid in cooling. We did notice the barrels cooled quickly between shot strings at the range.
At the range, the rifle was at home on the bench, sitting, prone and offhand. It has a wide, flat forend that is a hybrid between a bench gun and a walking gun. There were no malfunctions or trouble feeding or ejecting. It printed a session-best 0.861-inch group at 100 yards. Among the six cartridges that we tried, the gun preferred Federal Premium Terminal Ascent cartridges. Muzzle speeds were where we expected them to be, as recorded by a Garmin Xero chronograph.
The TriggerTech trigger broke cleanly at 3.5 pounds and is adjustable from 5 to 2.5 pounds. It’s hard to measure, but Springfield claims the lock time — the moment between the trigger break and primer ignition — is an amazing 1.9 milliseconds. That helps reduce operator error — a heartbeat or any movement that could move the point of aim from your target.
The 2020 Boundary is built in Geneseo, Ill., and is now available in .308, 6.5 Creedmoor, 6.5 PRC, 300 PRC, .300 Win Mag, 7mm Rem Mag and 7mm PRC. $2,173 for the steel barrel version and $2,599 with the carbon fiber barrel. springfield-armory.com.
