Dan Hanus slid a round into the chamber of his .30-06 and snugged his cheek tight to the comb of the McMillan fiberglass stock adorned in a stylish Kryptek Highlander camouflage pattern.
The crisp Timney trigger was set to break at three pounds of pressure. Hanus centered the scope's crosshairs and squeezed, sending the bullet through the premium Bergara barrel directly to the bullseye 100 yards distant.
"Looks good. Let's go hunting," announced Chad Schearer, our Montana-based guide and also the director of marketing for BPI Outdoors, owner of the Bergara brand.
The long-awaited trip was an opportunity to use custom-built rifles on some big Montana mule deer – rifles built by Hanus and his small team at the Bergara Custom Rifles shop.
The hunters
Hanus is a retired Marine master sergeant and multi-tour combat veteran, having served 22 years on active duty. His last duty assignment was at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, where he was chief of the section that built firearms for snipers and the Marine Corps Precision Shooting Team.
BPI Outdoors recruited Hanus to join their team. The company was just setting up a custom rifles program, and a guy with Hanus' credibility in terms of building rifles and handguns that people used – not only in competition but also in combat – was seen as essential to a quick, successful launch.
"When we first decided to expand our Bergara brand into custom rifles, we knew we had the high-quality barrels we needed, because our barrels were already being used by many of the world's top gun makers," said Dudley McGarity, BPI Outdoors' chief executive officer.
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"We also knew that we could purchase other premium components – triggers, actions, bottom metal, etc. – directly from the manufacturers," McGarity said. "What we did not have was a proven rifle builder who could bring all of these components together into a rifle worthy of the Bergara name.
"When we first met Dan Hanus, we knew we had the man who could do that for us. The expertise that he brought to Bergara from his years overseeing production at the Precision Weapons Section was exactly what we needed. Bringing him on allowed us to jump start our custom rifle business, avoiding the 'learn from experience curve' that could have taken us years on our own," he added.
Retired Marine Dan Hanus, right, who now runs the operations at Bergara Custom Rifles, looks over a MyTopo custom map to review potential hunting areas with Chad Schearer, the Montana-based guide for the hunt and also the director of marketing for BPI Outdoors, owner of the Bergara brand.
Photo Credit: Ken Perrotte
The hunt
Our hunt took us near Great Falls, Montana, just north of Lewis and Clark National Forest and the impressive Little Belt Mountains. Minuteman III nuclear missile silos belonging to nearby Malmstrom Air Force Base also inhabited this ranchland habitat.
While Hanus had his .30-06, I was shooting a Bergara custom .300 Win. Mag. Both rifles were lightweight sport hunter models and, as the cliché goes, tack drivers.
Schearer, a world champion elk caller and former Montana outfitter, slowly nudged his Ram crew-cab truck along grassy two-track roads. We stopped frequently to glass hillsides and shrub-choked coulees. Coulee is the name for just about any water drainage in the area, and coulees provide excellent cover for deer.
Dan Hanus moves in on a downed buck during the Montana hunt. Hanus, a retired Marine, now runs the operations at Bergara Custom Rifles.
Photo Credit: Ken Perrotte
Schearer scanned the hillside with his Konus binoculars, explaining that the area always harbored does and fawns and that as the pre-rut began heating up, big bucks soon would be moving down from the high country.
"Whoa, there's a buck … a nice buck!" Schearer announced.
The buck was high on the opposing hillside, thudding his hooves into the turf as he trailed a doe.
"Two-hundred and forty-four yards," Schearer called out after laser-ranging the deer. "One of you guys should shoot that deer."
Earlier, it had been determined I'd get first crack at a deer if I chose to take it. Examined through the rifle's scope, this deer appeared to be built like a tank. Its neck and front shoulders were immense. The antlers looked high and respectable; not the biggest, but taken in the context of the animal's body size, they appeared substantial.
When the deer turned broadside and stopped, I centered the crosshairs and squeezed the trigger.
The 180-grain Hornady bullet thumped home and the bruiser buck tumbled down the hillside. The shooting portion of my Montana deer hunt was over in less than an hour!
Hanus' opportunity came the next morning, and he closed the deal just before 9 a.m.
Dan Hanus poses for post-hunt photos. Hanus, a retired Marine, now runs the operations at Bergara Custom Rifles.
Photo Credit: Ken Perrotte
A large group of nearly 20 muleys in a shaded pasture included one mature buck sporting a unique six-by-six head of antlers. Hanus crept into a shooting position, set his shooting sticks, and patiently waited for a shot.
Each time a shot looked forthcoming, a doe stepped in the way. The trophy buck ambled away another 30 yards or so, offering nothing but its buff-colored rear-end for a shot. Finally, it turned broadside and gave Hanus a quality poke at his first-ever mule deer.
Later, holding the buck's head as he posed for photos, Hanus cracked a smile that seemed to remain on his face for the next two days of waterfowl, pheasant and grouse hunting.
Taking home your first mule deer is one thing, but doing so with a custom rifle you personally assembled ... well, that's the gravy on the Thanksgiving potatoes.
Military discount
Bergara is offering a 20 percent discount off the 2014 catalog retail pricing for any custom-built rifle to holders of Defense Department ID cards, including reservists, civilian employees and retirees, Schearer said. It takes about six months to fulfill an order. A number of guns also are in various stages of pre-build and available for faster shipment. The Bergara Custom Rifles shop also can work with existing guns, making repairs and improvements.
