Seekins Precision Havak PH2 - One for the hunter

//GM FEB 2024 – FIREARMS - SEEKINS PRECISION HAVAK PH2 – 4 PAGES//
The Havak PH2 is my third Seekins rifle and after the first two, I was confident it would perform. The PH2 is definitely a hunting rifle but with a little more bling than often seen on a basic gun. Read on because it’s not all show without any go.

Nice details

The rifle has a beautiful, fluted, bead-blasted barrel finished in a deep charcoal grey. It’s neatly screwcut 5/8x24 for a moderator or brake, and although concealed under the matte finish, it’s made of 416 stainless. It is 17.8mm in diameter at the muzzle, with a gradual taper up to the action along its 610mm length. It’s screwed into the steel action, which has a Remington 700 footprint, but nothing else is shared. The action has an integral recoil lug on the underside and uses four lugs in two pairs to lock the bolt. You still get a 90º lift to open and cock the action but there is more bearing surface to spread the load. The bolt face is push-feed with an M16-style extractor to draw the case from the chamber before the sprung plunger ejector flings it clear of the right-side ejection port.
The 20 MOA Picatinny rail is secured by five screws to the receiver for long-shot potential. The bolt handle is separate from the shaft and extends 55mm from the action to provide ample leverage without excessive length to snag. The lift is light, and all the action internals are coated to allow the fluted bolt to slide smoothly and quietly within. The bolt head is detachable on the long and short action models, so you can adapt to a variety of conventional or magnum calibres with larger bolt face requirements.
An adjustable (1140 to 2280-grams) Trigger Tech unit is fitted, which is a smart move, as these always provide crisp operation. I weighed this trigger as delivered at 40oz. The trigger guard is spacious for gloved fingers and is secured by two screws to the underside of the action. There is a magazine release catch within to drop the detachable, AICS-compatible 5-round unit into your waiting palm. A P-Mag is supplied but you can add any other AICS mags to suit your needs. The hard anodised coating of the bottom metal matches the rest of the rifle’s metallic surfaces for a homogenous look. The safety catch emerges from the right side of the receiver’s tang and moves forward for FIRE, and rear for SAFE (without bolt locking). The rearmost shroud exposes a tactile cocked action indicator.

Fancy furniture

The carbon composite stock has a Macmillan A3-5 look but is slimmer through the forend and grip to the recoil pad at the rear. It’s more suited to hunting rather than target use. The forend is 45mm wide and 330mm long. It’s stiff and always allows the barrel to fully free float within. There is a standard stud for bipod fitting on the underside, with an additional QR anchored stud adjacent, as well as a similar unit under the butt.
The chequering on the forend and grip is moulded into the surface finish for an assured tactile feel, and the colour of this gun’s stock is a grey/coyote mix called Shadow Grey. I like it, it blends in without looking too militarist. There are also Desert and Urban Shadow options if you want something a little brighter.
The vertical pistol grip is ambidextrous and boasts a palm swell. However, it’s quite small and left my little finger hanging in free space. Similarly, the length of pull is quite short at 334mm/13.1”. This might suit some shooters, or those who need to wear bulky clothing, but I’d prefer something a little longer, akin to the general 14-14.25” length seen on European rifles. But having said that, the medium rubber recoil pad is screwed, not bonded, in position, so you can add spacers if desired. The grip is still quite small, which is not an issue on a Creedmoor, but for a .338 Win Mag or .300 PRC, I’d want a bit more to hang on to. The reach to the trigger blade is good at 85mm from the grip’s throat, allowing you to maintain precise control of the shot release.
The secret within the stock is revealed if you flip it over, remove the two screws in the bottom metal, and release the barrelled action. When lifted out, you will notice the action is epoxy bedded into the stock’s inlet. It’s quite possibly Devcon and features pillars too. I cannot overstate how this process, when done correctly, enhances the ability and reliability of nearly any rifle, so well done to Seekins for doing this where few others venture. Precise injection moulding or machined bedding blocks are certainly better than compressed timber or bendy plastics, but Epoxy bedding is just classy, and when you replace the action in the stock and re-tension the screws, there is no mistaking the perfection of the stress-free fit between the two key components of rifle accuracy - the unstressed action and the ergonomic bridge to the shooter.

Testing, testing

Edgar Brothers supplied a scope and moderator for the rifle, both of which were brands I was confident using, so I set off to the range. Seekins don’t specify how their barrels are made but given the price point and performance, I suspect they are cut rifled, but I cannot confirm. They certainly clean through easily with minimal copper deposit retained in this already-used rifle, but I took my cleaning kit to the range anyway. A borescope inspection revealed bright, smooth internals, with no sign of excessive machining marks, which added to my confidence.
Mag loading was straightforward, and action cycling caused no issues. I like the fact Seekins haven’t put a silly, long bolt handle on a 90º lift unit, and you can shoot the gun without bumping your face and hat every time you operate the action’s 113mm bolt stroke to reload. I zeroed the gun, checked the bore, and then continued with some 5-round groups using various ammunition types. Creedmoor is now the most common review calibre, and it’s just so easy to shoot. Not only does it produce minimal recoil, but it achieves great performance on target and decent terminal ballistics for most UK game.
Shooting 5-round groups, the rifle easily achieved sub-MOA with all ammo types, but, as usual, some were better than others. The muzzle velocities were close to the published figures, thanks to the 24” barrel, and thankfully, the 1:8” twist rate handled the heavies and copper bullets. I shot a few older boxes of 120-grain Hornady GMX, which has now been superseded by the CX range in the same weights, and these are likely going to be popular in the non-lead ‘new world’. The barrel seemed happy with copper bullets and although some barrels require a box of 20 to bed in, the Seekins was on the ball after a single fouler when changing types. Consecutive groups then remained on zero, so I was happy with the barrel, which is supported by Seekins’ very serious “Unbeatable Lifetime Warranty”. When cleaning the barrel after use, it shed powder fouling without undue effort, and the solvent didn’t show excessive copper deposits either. The barrel is mid-weight and handled heating up and cooling down without issues, and there was minimal point of impact shift between bullet weights. In fact, the 95 to 140-grain groups were separated by just three clicks at 100m.

Conclusion

I think the PH2 is the gem of the Seekins range. It’s definitely a hunter, and although the gip is a bit small, the length of pull can be sorted. Functionally, the gun is superb, with smooth, light-fingered bolt operation and reliable performance on target. The epoxy bedding is impressive, and it has been applied as well as I have seen from any custom rifle builder. The rifle came out and back into the stock with no loss of zero, which is a sure sign of a perfect interface. All the components have a refined fit and finish, the chequering patterns on the stock are grippy when wet, and the magazines are easy to load and change over. The Trigger Tech unit will never disappoint you and it hasn’t altered in feel through the review project. The recoil impulse from the rifle is easily absorbed and muzzle jump is minimal, thanks to the high recoil pad and cheekpiece relative to the bore line. Seekins even relieve the top of the comb for the underside striker on the bolt, all without spoiling the looks of this svelte, streamlined hunting rifle.