Springfield Waypoint 6.5 prc gun and company problems

[Logan T]

I purchased a Waypoint 2020 6.5 PRC in June but have always single fed it at the range. I did not realize until this past Saturday while hunting that I am having the exact same issue. I could barely operate the bolt until I ran it hard which made it dig into the brass pretty badly from the shoulder to the case head. I called Springfield and they say that they have never heard of this issue, but I called them out on that thanks to your post. They want me to send it back to them, but I am hesitant based on your experience.

I am eager to see whether they get the issue fixed with your rifle.

Well over the past 6 months I’ve definitely learned I’m not the only one with these problems. They do seem to show up in Springfield’s 6.5prc. I can’t say I’ve heard much of any other problems in the other Waypoint cartridges. But I haven’t looked into them much.

I feel this process is getting to be pretty ridiculous. I purchased this rifle over 6 months ago, it has been sent back 3 times, I’m still waiting for it to come back for the 3rd time (it’s been just over 8 weeks now), and I haven’t shot one round through it. Definitely won’t be able to use it for deer season the rest of the year, if it ever comes back functioning properly.

Hopefully there is an end to this soon.

 

[asieb]

I bought a waypoint in 6.5 prc and had the same problem. I sent it back. Since I got it back, the gun does cycle the rounds and eject them everytime, but there is still significant scarring on the cartridges in the magazine from the bolt dragging on them. According to them, the gun worked as intended when they sent it back to me.

 

[ShroyC]

I have a 2020 in 6mm creed and I am having issues as well. I’ve had the rifle for 8-9 months just haven’t sent many rounds through it until recent and am having ejection issues also. Mine is not dragging on the following round much but you can see a slight rub/scratch but nothing digging in. But an empty casing will not eject. It tries but acts like it hits the bottom of ejection port and falls back in. Wish there was an easy fix! Doesn’t sound like sending it is is much fun or use!!

 

[Mr. U.]

Been sitting on this for a while- since the middle of May. As a long time Tikka shooter with zero issues I decided that I’d try a different manufacturer in the 6.5 prc. Mainly because Tikkas were hard to come by when I was looking and I’ll be honest, the Waypoint is a nice looking and great feeling rifle. I could not find a bad review on them when I was looking into them, until I dove REALLY deep after I had problems with mine. Even then people seemed to have minor issues they worked through. If anyone has solutions or similar issues, or ideas I’d like to hear them. The Waypoint has been recommended quite a bit it seems. Some of the “official firearm terms and lingo” may not be exactly correct for all the people who think they may need to say “it’s not called ”this” it’s called “that’’. Whatever. Here she goes…..

Middle of May- bought the rifle after quite a bit of research for quite some time. Like I said, overwhelmingly positive fit and feel, as well as reviews and recommendations. I get the gun home from the store, fill the mag, and cycle the action. Immediately the bolt is dragging on top of the cartridge below the one being chambered. I cycle the bolt and the cartridge chambered extracts but does not eject from the action. I feel the bolt drag again on the second cartridge. I pull it out and load the second into the chamber. The bolt drags on the next cartridge (3rd in a 3 round mag). I repeat the cycle and everything happens again.

Inspecting the cartridges, they all have pretty severe scaring on them from the bolt sliding over them. Enough so that I would not want to use them again for reloading, and I don’t think I will ever fire them period, because I don’t want them in any rifle with the amount of brass scratched off and flaking off in this specific rifle. Brass flaking off the cartridges inside the action like crazy. They also have a large ding and ear in the brass from the brass hitting the rear end of the ejection port.

I reloaded the mag several times with the same and different ammunition, and it doesn’t change. I never fired the rifle.

The good: I reached out to Springfield, and the guy on the phone was adamant that it was all caused by the mag and he very quickly sent me a new mag on the house. That was great service. But that’s where it ended with Springfield.

The mag i was sent didn’t fix anything. I researched more and spent money on a different mag, and a mag lip angle tool, and tried other things and nothing worked.

I took the rifle back in to the store I got it from and have purchased other rifles from, and luckily the guys in there have been great, because Springfield hasn’t been. I ran through everything with them and they were as frustrated as I was. They sent it back to Springfield and it was 2 months before it came back to the store.

The bad: It came with a note saying the gun functioned properly and they did nothing to it. I got a call from one of the guys in the gun shop saying it was finally back but Springfield did not do anything to it. He cycled the gun and the problems were still 100 percent there. He called Springfield and explained things again, and regarding the rifle not ejecting the cartridges at all, Springfield told him something along the lines of “This action is based off of old school long range precision actions and shooters who don’t want the empty cases ejected from the rifle, they like to take them out by hand.” Basically stating that’s how the gun is supposed to function.

My store said BS and sent it back immediately and I never saw it again— until today. It took another 2 months for Springfield to look at it and get it back, with another note saying it functions normal and they did nothing to it. Looking at it they clearly heavily oiled the action but that was the only thing we could find. We cycled the action with ammunition and surprise, it worked Flawlessly! BUT, only for 4-5 rounds. Then it was back to the same problems it has had.

I purchased this rifle in the middle of May, and haven’t even shot the thing one time. Springfield appears to not be trying very hard at all to even find the problems, because they are very obvious problems. I had the rifle for a week, and Springfield has had it for 16 weeks (4 months) without touching any of the issues. My store guys are going to reach out one last time and try to get springfield to right the situation.

My store guys also informed me of another issue they found on a Springfield Waypoint they had in the store, but I will wait and see what Springfield does before commenting about what the issue is. I will say that the issue is something that sounds like it belongs in the Fierce Rifle thread.

Anyways, there’s a review of my Springfield Waypoint 2020 in 6.5prc. I would caution people looking at that rifle. If you have questions ask, and if anyone thinks that some of the issues the rifle has are normal or fixable I’m all ears.

Oh yeah, in the meantime I did purchase a Tikka roughtech ember, and the thing is money!! I’m an idiot for looking elsewhere.

**edited to fix my math… I said they’ve had the gun 8 weeks, when they’ve actually had it for almost 16 weeks (4 months)

Logan,
Wow! I was hit with an incredible feeling of deja vu when I read this post--everything from being a long-time Tikka fan, to wanting something a little different, to hearing many great reviews about the Springfield 2020 Waypoint rifle (although mostly those in 6.5 Creed, which uses a different magazine), and then to the list of problems you experienced!

I purchased my Springfield 2020 Waypoint with CF barrel in 6.5 PRC brand new off of Gunbroker back in July of '23, and I too had the same experience of the incredibly harsh drag of the bolt on the brass, enough to cause actual gouging into the brass, the ridiculous amount of force it takes to chamber a round, and the failure to eject a round from the action. What you didn't mention is the annoying "twaannnggging" sound that the magazine spring emits when the bolt finally manages to strip a round out of the magazine--not what a big game hunter is looking for. I too had their customer service send me a new magazine, which functioned as poorly as the 1st one, and I too tried to experiment with a feed-lip-adjustment tool--all to no avail. I was caught up in working up a handload for the rifle and resigned myself to single feeding it during load work up. I did find that it shoots very well, particularly with 143 grain Bondstrikes and H4831. However, after 120 rounds, the tip of the firing pin actually broke off, leaving the rifle completely inoperable. Additionally, I found that neither Hornady or Lyman 6.5 PRC sizing dies were able to bump the shoulders of Lapua brass back far enough to avoid a "firm fit" when closing the bolt on resized brass. This make me wonder if the rifle's chamber is truly reamed to SAAMI specs if two reputable die manufacturers' 6.5 PRC sizing dies, adjusted to the max, aren't able to size brass to correctly fit the chamber. I mentioned this in my note of needed repairs.

At any rate, I sympathize with your terrible experience. When a "working man" shells out 2k plus for his dream rifle, he deserves a hell of a lot better in my opinion. I have heard great things about Springfield's customer service, and I cringe when I hear what you have been through. I hope I have a different experience, and I will keep you and others posted!

 

[Logan T]

Logan,
Wow! I was hit with an incredible feeling of deja vu when I read this post--everything from being a long-time Tikka fan, to wanting something a little different, to hearing many great reviews about the Springfield 2020 Waypoint rifle (although mostly those in 6.5 Creed, which uses a different magazine), and then to the list of problems you experienced!

I purchased my Springfield 2020 Waypoint with CF barrel in 6.5 PRC brand new off of Gunbroker back in July of '23, and I too had the same experience of the incredibly harsh drag of the bolt on the brass, enough to cause actual gouging into the brass, the ridiculous amount of force it takes to chamber a round, and the failure to eject a round from the action. What you didn't mention is the annoying "twaannnggging" sound that the magazine spring emits when the bolt finally manages to strip a round out of the magazine--not what a big game hunter is looking for. I too had their customer service send me a new magazine, which functioned as poorly as the 1st one, and I too tried to experiment with a feed-lip-adjustment tool--all to no avail. I was caught up in working up a handload for the rifle and resigned myself to single feeding it during load work up. I did find that it shoots very well, particularly with 143 grain Bondstrikes and H4831. However, after 120 rounds, the tip of the firing pin actually broke off, leaving the rifle completely inoperable. Additionally, I found that neither Hornady or Lyman 6.5 PRC sizing dies were able to bump the shoulders of Lapua brass back far enough to avoid a "firm fit" when closing the bolt on resized brass. This make me wonder if the rifle's chamber is truly reamed to SAAMI specs if two reputable die manufacturers' 6.5 PRC sizing dies, adjusted to the max, aren't able to size brass to correctly fit the chamber. I mentioned this in my note of needed repairs.

At any rate, I sympathize with your terrible experience. When a "working man" shells out 2k plus for his dream rifle, he deserves a hell of a lot better in my opinion. I have heard great things about Springfield's customer service, and I cringe when I hear what you have been through. I hope I have a different experience, and I will keep you and others posted!

It sounds like you sent your rifle in then? How recently? I last checked with my guys at the gun shop the first of December. They called the Springfield rep while I was there and put him on speaker. Unfortunately, I would categorize that guy as ridiculously uncaring and unmotivated. It was like talking to a 2nd grader on the phone. He had no knowledge of what was going on and even though he is the same guy my shop has been dealing with, he asked a couple different times “which rifle is it?”. And my shop has not sold any other Springfield waypoints since I sent mine back clear in May. I’m going to be checking in again after the 1st to see what is going on.

I hope you have better luck than me. This whole thing has been absurd, in my opinion.

 

[Mr. U.]

I just sent mine in on 12/23/23, and I won't contact them for a few weeks. I also mentioned the Hawkins Precision magazine in my note of repairs as a possibly viable magazine replacement, but it is interesting to hear that you didn't have any luck with that. It's also ironic that the bolt runs so incredibly slick with no rounds in the magazine, about as slick as a Tikka in my estimation, but things sure go off the rails once you load the magazine and start trying to chamber a round. I've also seen several other complaint about broken firing pins, so I imagine that you have that thrill waiting in the future. I'm sure that your rifle will come back long before mine, and I'm really curious to hear how everything works out. Best of luck!

 

[Scooter87]

Logan,
Wow! I was hit with an incredible feeling of deja vu when I read this post--everything from being a long-time Tikka fan, to wanting something a little different, to hearing many great reviews about the Springfield 2020 Waypoint rifle (although mostly those in 6.5 Creed, which uses a different magazine), and then to the list of problems you experienced!

I purchased my Springfield 2020 Waypoint with CF barrel in 6.5 PRC brand new off of Gunbroker back in July of '23, and I too had the same experience of the incredibly harsh drag of the bolt on the brass, enough to cause actual gouging into the brass, the ridiculous amount of force it takes to chamber a round, and the failure to eject a round from the action. What you didn't mention is the annoying "twaannnggging" sound that the magazine spring emits when the bolt finally manages to strip a round out of the magazine--not what a big game hunter is looking for. I too had their customer service send me a new magazine, which functioned as poorly as the 1st one, and I too tried to experiment with a feed-lip-adjustment tool--all to no avail. I was caught up in working up a handload for the rifle and resigned myself to single feeding it during load work up. I did find that it shoots very well, particularly with 143 grain Bondstrikes and H4831. However, after 120 rounds, the tip of the firing pin actually broke off, leaving the rifle completely inoperable. Additionally, I found that neither Hornady or Lyman 6.5 PRC sizing dies were able to bump the shoulders of Lapua brass back far enough to avoid a "firm fit" when closing the bolt on resized brass. This make me wonder if the rifle's chamber is truly reamed to SAAMI specs if two reputable die manufacturers' 6.5 PRC sizing dies, adjusted to the max, aren't able to size brass to correctly fit the chamber. I mentioned this in my note of needed repairs.

At any rate, I sympathize with your terrible experience. When a "working man" shells out 2k plus for his dream rifle, he deserves a hell of a lot better in my opinion. I have heard great things about Springfield's customer service, and I cringe when I hear what you have been through. I hope I have a different experience, and I will keep you and others posted!

 

[fwafwow]

It sounds like you sent your rifle in then? How recently? I last checked with my guys at the gun shop the first of December. They called the Springfield rep while I was there and put him on speaker. Unfortunately, I would categorize that guy as ridiculously uncaring and unmotivated. It was like talking to a 2nd grader on the phone. He had no knowledge of what was going on and even though he is the same guy my shop has been dealing with, he asked a couple different times “which rifle is it?”. And my shop has not sold any other Springfield waypoints since I sent mine back clear in May. I’m going to be checking in again after the 1st to see what is going on.

I hope you have better luck than me. This whole thing has been absurd, in my opinion.

Any update OP?

 

[Scooter87]

Mr U,
I also had issues with bumping the shoulder back with a Hornady Custom resizing die. I’ve used Lee dies for 30 years but thought I would try Hornady dies since they created this cartridge. I was getting signs of pressure (hard bolt lift and ejector swipe marks) from min loads to near max loads. I thought the same thing about the chamber being cut short of specs, but factory ammo chambers fine in my rifle and gives none of the aforementioned pressure signs. The Hornady headspace comparator confirmed that the shoulders were not being bumped back. I bought a set of Lee dies, reloaded about 30 rounds, measured the bump to confirm it was adequate, and had no issues with firing any of those rounds at the range. I have reloaded another box or so since then, but need to get to the range to confirm that they function as well as the previous batch.

 

[Logan T]

Any update OP?

No not a single word from Springfield yet, and it’s been over 16 weeks since it went back last. I’m hoping to get in and talk with my shop guys this coming week. Will probably have to call the rep they’ve been dealing with and walk him through everything with baby steps again, if I’m being honest about how I feel.

 

[fwafwow]

No not a single word from Springfield yet, and it’s been over 16 weeks since it went back last. I’m hoping to get in and talk with my shop guys this coming week. Will probably have to call the rep they’ve been dealing with and walk him through everything with baby steps again, if I’m being honest about how I feel.

Have they offered you a refund? I would want more, personally, but realize life doesn’t usually work out that way.

 

[Tex68w]

Hunting buddy has been running one in 308 all year and it has been an outstanding rifle for him. Tight groups, good ejection, stacking meat. Sorry to hear of your troubles, I hope it gets resolved for you because it is a great gun for the money.

 

[Logan T]

Have they offered you a refund? I would want more, personally, but realize life doesn’t usually work out that way.

My shop has offered me that, and say they will make things right with me no matter what Springfield does. I talked to the shop two days ago and they have reached out to Springfield a couple times but have not heard back from them. I was really hoping to get a functioning rifleback from Springfield because the reports seem to be good on the waypoints that do function. But I’m getting close to just taking my money from my shop

 

[Outdoorsmin]

My shop has a Waypoint 2020 in 6.5 in PRC on a discount currently and I liked everything about the rifle. After reading this thread I think you have made my decision for me. I am wondering if it's "on sale" due to the issues. I wonder if they would let me put some rounds in the case and see if there's an issue. Doubt it. Any updates from the lads above?

 

[Logan T]

Well, the saga is over for me. My shop called me 10 days - 2 weeks ago and said they had heard from Springfield finally. Springfield asked them if I would want a non-adjustable stock rifle instead of the adjustable stock like I had purchased. Springfield said they were sending a new rifle, but had no adjustable stocks in supply and were waiting on producing another run of them. I told my shop guys that I would be fine with that, as the rifle would be a pound lighter and I would have bought that rifle instead of the adjustable stock anyway originally, if it had been at the store clear back in May.

Over the weekend I received a call saying the new rifle had come in to the shop so I planned on meeting there Monday to hopefully take the new rifle home. I went in yesterday, and the main guy I've been dealing with at the shop went and got the new rifle. We took it out of the box, he went and got a box of ammo, loaded the mag, cycled the action, and the exact same problems occurred with this rifle. Bolt drag on the cartridge below the one being racked into the chamber- although not near as bad, it still was enough to leave heavy brass marks on the bolt and scratch the brass. Slight feeding issues and the biggest problem was it was not ejecting the cartridges. We went through several mags of cartridges there in the shop and only 2 times did a cartridge actually eject from the port. The ones that were free from the bolt face dinged off the back of the ejection port and fell back into the way in the action, and left a ding on the brass. But over 50 percent of the time, not only did they not eject, but they actually got stuck somehow between the bolt and ejection port kind of pointing up and took a little force to "rip" it out of the way.

Needless to say, I got my money back from the shop, and do not have a Springfield Waypoint anymore. It is really disappointing, as I was looking forward to using this rifle. I purchased it clear back on May 13, 2023. I only had it in my possession for approximately a week until I sent it in the first time, and never actually possessed it again over the coarse 9 months. Springfield had it for approximately 8.5 of those months with virtually no communication on their end.

I do want to make clear in case they are watching the thread, that the guys at my shop were great to deal with. They were as frustrated as I was about the whole experience. There was never a poor experience with them throughout the ordeal, and I will continue to do business there with them. I'd recommend them to anyone.

Now, I have a spendy scope, rings, level, bipod adapter, extra magazines, and other little expensive accessories with no rifle to put them on. Back to looking for me.

 

[Logan T]

Early on in the thread I posted that I was told about a problem with a Springfield Waypoint that sounded like it belonged in the Fierce disaster thread. After sending back my rifle the first time, I was talking with the guys at the shop and they said they had a problem with a Waypoint in 6mm creedmoor fairly recently. A customer bought a 6mm creedmoor and was having major accuracy issues with it. They couldn't figure out why, until one day at the shop they were looking at it and took a caliper to the barrel. The rifle had 6mm creedmoor stamped on the barrel but actually had a 6.5mm barrel but on it. Well, about a month ago, I had a local guy come out and we went hunting coyotes. He had a 6mm creedmoor that was a Springfield Waypoint 2020 so naturally I started telling him about my experience and brought up the 6mm that actually had a 6.5mm barrel put on. He cut me off and finished my sentence, because he was the one that happened to. He told me all about it, and said when they finally figured it out and called Springfield about it, the guy they were talking to laughed about it, although they said to send it in and they would fix it, which they did. I did shoot that rifle and killed a couple coyotes with it, and it is a sweet gun. But, Springfield sent a rifle out the door as a 6mm creedmoor, with barrel stamped as a 6mm creedmoor, when it was actually a 6.5.

 

[Unckebob]

Early on in the thread I posted that I was told about a problem with a Springfield Waypoint that sounded like it belonged in the Fierce disaster thread. After sending back my rifle the first time, I was talking with the guys at the shop and they said they had a problem with a Waypoint in 6mm creedmoor fairly recently. A customer bought a 6mm creedmoor and was having major accuracy issues with it. They couldn't figure out why, until one day at the shop they were looking at it and took a caliper to the barrel. The rifle had 6mm creedmoor stamped on the barrel but actually had a 6.5mm barrel but on it. Well, about a month ago, I had a local guy come out and we went hunting coyotes. He had a 6mm creedmoor that was a Springfield Waypoint 2020 so naturally I started telling him about my experience and brought up the 6mm that actually had a 6.5mm barrel put on. He cut me off and finished my sentence, because he was the one that happened to. He told me all about it, and said when they finally figured it out and called Springfield about it, the guy they were talking to laughed about it, although they said to send it in and they would fix it, which they did. I did shoot that rifle and killed a couple coyotes with it, and it is a sweet gun. But, Springfield sent a rifle out the door as a 6mm creedmoor, with barrel stamped as a 6mm creedmoor, when it was actually a 6.5.

I am sorry you had to go through all that just to end up back where you started. I had a poor CS experience with a Springfield pistol.

Based upon my call to CS, I got the feeling that they tolerated a lot more QA production issues vs other companies in their price range.

 

[Weldor]

I was thinking about their 6mm also. Not anymore.

 

[jpengel]

Well Fffff. Just ordered a 6mm waypoint yesterday.

I had seen this thread during my research and thought it was a problem with PRC only. (Sorry you had troubles OP). Had heard nothing but good things on 6.5 / .308.

Guess I have two things to check before I accept it now, feeding/ejecting ammo & barrel ID haha.

I'll try and remember to update here.

 

[CGSwimmer25]

I have a Waypoint 2020 in 308. Best rifle I’ve ever owned. Tack driver. That sucks to hear all the issues folks are having with them.