Horizon Firearms Vandal Prime in 25 Creedmoor
A Dazzling Firearm Producing Tiny Groups
feature By: Patrick Meitin | March, 26
Derrick Ratliff’s Horizon Firearms first grabbed my attention with one-of-a-kind designs, but after shooting the company’s Vandal Prime, I also discovered a rifle capable of exceptional accuracy. Horizon burst onto the precision rifle scene with premium products built to be handed down through generations. Horizon, in partnership with Hornady, was instrumental in developing the 22 Creedmoor. Horizon launched iota Outdoors in 2014 to build carbon fiber stocks when outside sources failed to keep up with the company’s needs. After merging into Kaspar Companies (a 125-year-old, multi-company conglomerate), Horizon moved from a garage to eventually grow into a 30,000-square-foot building in Bryan, Texas, employing 35 people. Around 2021, Horizon acquired Stiller (the first custom action manufacturer) and later started an ammunition distribution company, Texas Ammunition.
This vertical integration means the only component Horizon does not manufacture are triggers and metal barrel blanks. This allows them to maintain strict quality standards and control lead times for their rapidly growing customer base.
From the beginning, Derrick and his brother Austin knew they wanted to build highly unique legacy firearms. This began with bold paint jobs. They then introduced wild fluting, including fluted carbon-fiber barrels. Most importantly, they were able to add these aesthetic aspects without sacrificing accuracy. Horizon’s background as a custom rifle builder enables them to deliver the personalized features and details customers want while still guaranteeing exceptional accuracy.
Horizon wares include Select Series and Core Series rifles. The Vandal Prime under discussion here is one of the latter. Horizon’s Core Series is a pre-configured factory rifle that is custom at its core. Horizon manufactures nearly every part, including iota Outdoors stocks and Stiller actions. The company’s custom-shop background also allows quick pivots to emerging trends – like being one of the first to adopt the brand-spanking new 25 Creedmoor cartridge.
I remember reading about the round in Wolfe Publishing’s Handloader magazine in an article by Richard Mann, and I admit I wondered what the point was. Mann developed the round in 2015 by necking down the ultra-popular 6.5 Creedmoor. He called it the 2Fity-Hillbilly. Hornady eventually got involved, optimizing throat and chamber geometry and then ensuring the cartridge through SAAMI (Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute) standardization. This was granted in 2025. It turns out the point was that this was to be the first standardized .257-caliber cartridge specifically designed to handle brand-new, long-for-caliber, low-drag bullets.
The 25 Creedmoor includes a now-standard 30-degree shoulder angle and a maximum case length of 1.920 inches (trim-to length is 1.910 inches). This makes it a true short-action cartridge. The 25 CM, as hinted, also inspired a new selection of spear-like .257-caliber bullets.
The traditional 1:10 rifling twist has long limited bullet choices in rounds such as the 257 Roberts, 25-’06 Remington, and 257 Weatherby Magnum. More specifically, to this point, no ultra-high ballistic coefficient (BC) .257-caliber projectiles have been offered, and even if they had been, available rifles wouldn’t have been able to stabilize them. There is a smattering of .257-caliber bullets compatible with 1:10 rifling twist that will hit or better the .450 G1 BC threshold. A far cry from a bevy of 6.5mm and 7mm bullets surpassing the .600 G1 BC mark.
Horizon introduced a 1:7.5 twist rate in their 25 Creedmoor rifles, which allows bullets with G1 BCs from .633 (Hornady 128-grain ELD-X) to .695 (Hornady 138-grain A-Tip Match) BCs that closely align with the sleekest 6.5mm projectiles. These new bullets lend the 25 Creedmoor flat trajectory and outstanding wind-bucking abilities, while recoil remains quite moderate. Long-range enthusiasts and competitors now have a 25-caliber round that goes head-to-head with popular 6mm and 6.5mm cartridges.
Compare the 25 Creedmoor firing Hornady’s 128-grain ELD-X bullet (.633 G1 BC), and the 6.5 Creedmoor shooting a 143-grain ELD-X (.625 G1 BC) – both sighted at 100 yards, and the two produce surprisingly similar results. Send the .257-caliber 128-grain ELD-X at 2,950 feet per second (fps) – I was able to surpass 3,000-plus fps with handloads – and it drops 44.4 inches, drifts 14.2 inches in a 10-mph crosswind and delivers 1,378 foot pounds (ft-lbs) of kinetic energy at 500 yards. The 140-grain 6.5mm ELD-X sent at 2,800 fps drops 49.7 inches, drifts 14.5 inches in a 10-mph crosswind, and delivers 1,377 ft-lbs of energy at 500 yards. Load a similar-weight 6.5mm Hornady 129-grain SST (.485 G1 BC) sent at 2,850 fps and there is no contest with the 25 Creedmoor producing far superior numbers. I admit this came as a real surprise, but the Hornady ballistics calculator tells the tale.
The Vandal Prime sits at the center of Horizon Firearms’ Core series, and unsurprisingly is available in many cartridges other than the new 25 Creedmoor. These include Horizon’s 22 Creedmoor, the 6mm Creedmoor, the 6.5 Creedmoor, the 6.5 PRC, the 7mm PRC, the 308 Winchester, the 300 Winchester Magnum and the 300 PRC. Eighteen-, 22-, and 24-inch barrel lengths are offered, depending on chambering.
The test rifle was fitted with a 22-inch tube standard for the 25 CM. This is a premium 416R stainless steel barrel with unique three-flute/two-twist fluting, 1:7.5 rifling twist and holding an iota SIM muzzle brake on 5/8-24 TPI threads. The Vandal Prime is based on a Horizon Stiller action, which is set in a texture-painted, Midnight Grey Carboniota EKO carbon-fiber stock. It is equipped with a TriggerTech trigger, and right- and left-hand options are available. The rifle weighs 7 pounds, 4 ounces as delivered and comes with a ½-inch (MOA) Minute of Angle accuracy guarantee. For all these features, the Vandal Prime retails for about $2,999.
The Vandal Prime’s action is a round-body Stiller with a Remington 700 footprint and push-feed, two-lug bolt. The safety is a familiar Remington two-position system, and the bolt can be cycled for unloading while in the rear/safe position. The bolt became slightly chattery after about 50 rounds, but a couple drops of gun oil brought it back to buttery smoothness. Stiller actions are machined from 416R stainless steel and include impressive tolerances. The action holds a bolted-on 20 MOA Picatinny rail. The bolt’s extractor is an M16 type, and the ejector is a plunger design. A spring-loaded rocker lever on the left side of the action allows the removal of the bolt for cleaning. The bolt is forged from a single piece of steel and spiral fluted, the bolt handle threaded and fitted with a knurled, oversize knob to promote faster cycling. The recoil lug is triple-pinned and sandwiched between the action face and barrel shank.
The barrel includes a medium-heavy profile cut from 416R stainless steel. The unique Horizon fluting really makes this rifle a piece of art, and on the cool fall days when the rifle was shot, it helped it cool rapidly. I spent very little time waiting for the rifle to cool between groups, though I did utilize a Barrel Cool fan between groups and while changing targets. I would guess the fluting also eliminates a modest amount of carry weight. The barrel and action are finished with KG Gun Kote, a quality product also made in Texas. The stepped 5/8-24 muzzle threads made installing a suppressor seamless. Initial shooting was conducted with the iota SIM muzzle brake in place, which allowed me to mark my shots, and without proving terribly obnoxious.
The Vandal Prime’s bottom metal is also manufactured in house. The detachable magazine places cartridges directly in line with the chamber, which resulted in dead-reliable feeding with all rounds tested. This magazine is a molded polymer design that holds five rounds. The spring-loaded magazine release is pinned to the front edge of the generous trigger guard, an ambidextrous paddle-style arrangement that makes accidental magazine drops unlikely. Pushing the release paddle forward allows the magazine to drop into the hand even when empty – no wiggling or pulling necessary. The magazine did rattle when empty, but that annoyance ceased when the magazine was loaded. The machined aluminum trigger guard includes a port to access the trigger adjustment screw and is what I would term a “winter” design, allowing shooting while wearing insulated hunting gloves.
The trigger, as mentioned, is from TriggerTech. This is a single-stage trigger and user adjustable via a single hex screw – and without disassembling the rifle. It arrived from the factory with a 2-pound, 2-ounce break, so I found no need to fuss with it. The trigger, as would be expected from TriggerTech, is crisp and creep free.
The iota Outdoors carbon fiber stock is a pleasantly ergonomic and an entirely practical blend of hunter and tactical designs. It includes a vertical grip with comfortable ambidextrous palm swells and ambidextrous thumb ledges/detents to eliminate rifle torque. The wide forend sat steady on my rifle cradle, as it would undoubtedly do across sandbags or atop a daypack in the field. The textured surface should prove a real plus during wet or icy conditions, or while wearing slick gloves. The forend includes dual sling studs spaced 3 inches apart – one for a sling, another for a bipod and another found on the butt. The custom AirTech recoil pad is molded from LimbSaver’s proprietary NAVCOM material, though it is somewhat superfluous for a mild cartridge such as the 25 Creedmoor. Standard length of pull (LOP) is 131⁄2 inches, though 14- and 141⁄4-inch LOPs can be special ordered.
These iota stocks are hand laid and finished, weighing just 34 ounces on their own. Each includes custom-machined pillars, which Horizon says maintain consistent action and bottom metal dimensions, reduc-ing stock fatigue and maintaining accuracy.
To maximize the 25 Creedmoor’slong-range talents, I added a PRS-inspired Trijicon Tenmile HX 5-25x 50mm scope set in Trijicon four-screw steel rings. This is a 141⁄4-inch-long, 28.8-ounce, first focal plane (FFP) scope holding an MOA ranging reticle and backed by exposed turrets including a solid zero stop system. It features MOA turrets with standard 1⁄4-inch at 100-yards clicks. Trijicon uses top-quality, fully multi-coated, broadband, anti-reflective glass to provide exceptional light transmission, sharp detail, true color fidelity with zero distortion and complete edge-to-edge clarity. The one-piece, 6064 aluminum 30mm tube allows 50 MOA of total elevation movements and 40 MOA of windage corrections. The side parallax dial is sandwiched beneath a user-selectable LED illumination dial. A 31⁄2-inch sunshade and spring-loaded Tenebraex flip caps are included. Mounting this solid long-range scope and Dead Air Nomad Ti XC suppressor brought finished rifle weight to 10.85 pounds.
The two factory loads available at press time were, unsurprisingly, from Hornady. Initially, I purchased Hornady’s Match ammunition loaded with 134-grain ELD Match bullets from Olive’s Auto Parts in Orofino, Idaho. The Horizon struggled with this ammunition slightly, but after sounding the alarm and receiving both ammunition and bullets from Hornady, the lighter 128- grain ELD-X Precision Hunter load shot exceptionally, sending three shots into less than a ¼-inch at 100 yards.
While I awaited the arrival of the newest long-for-caliber component bullets from Hornady and Berger (including Berger’s 133-grain Elite Hunter with .613 G1 BC and 135-grain Long range Hybrid Target with .650 G1 BC), I loaded standard .257-caliber bullets that I had on hand for my 25-’06 Remington. These included Hammer Bullets’ 95-grain HHT, Barnes’ 101-grain LRX BT, Sierra’s 110-grain Tipped GameKing, Nosler’s 115-grain Ballistic Tip Hunting and Hornady’s 117-grain InterLock BTSP. Having zero experience with the 25 Creedmoor, I used my extensive experience with the 6mm Creedmoor and limited involvement with the 6.5 Creedmoor to choose powders used in handloads. This resulted in some very fine loads, with Hodgdon LEVERevolution and H-4831sc, Alliant Reloder 16, Ramshot Hunter and Winchester StaBALL 6.5 serving as benchmarks. Any of the listed loads would serve the big-game hunter well.
After receiving the heavier, and newer, .257-caliber bullets, the same best-guess load selection followed. I was in a time crunch by the time the heavy bullets arrived, which was unfortunate, as they proved more finicky than standard-issue .257 bullets. Some decent groups resulted, but a little more tweaking would undoubtedly result in tighter groups. Overall, I would say the 25 Creedmoor is a pretty forgiving cartridge, if the results from these fairly random loads are any indication. Even the worst groups from my limited testing resulted in hunt-ready groups, and Horizon’s Vandal Prime is an excellent vehicle for this new cartridge.
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