Test: P.E.A.C.E. ORS-1 bolt-action rifle in .308 Winchester 
– A newcomer with potential

Jakob Eckmayr is no stranger to the Austrian start-up Precision Engineered Arms and Clever Equipment (P.E.A.C.E.), as he was employed by the gun manufacturer Unique-Alpine AG in Erding, Germany, from 2016 to 2023 as a developer, designer and later as technical director. Unique-Alpine was, in turn, known for the innovative TPG-3 A4 multi-caliber sniper rifle in .308 Winchester, .300 Winchester Magnum and .338 Lapua Magnum, which was developed in accordance with the requirements of the USSOCOM Precision Sniper Rifle 1 (PSR 1) tender. The US defence contractor FNH-USA marketed the Unique-Alpine TPG-3 A4 in its home country as the FN Ballista PSR. Incidentally, we already tested the TPG-3 A4 sniper rifle in all three available calibers.

But back to the newcomer in the form of P.E.A.C.E. The company founder Jakob Eckmayr, who is just 29 years old, studied firearms and safety technology at the Höhere Technische Bundeslehr- und Versuchsanstalt (HTBLVA, Federal Higher Technical Institute for Education and Experimentation) in Ferlach, Austria, from 2010 to 2015. He was born with a fascination for this professional field, as his father was a passionate hunter, so Eckmeyer passed his hunting exam in Austria at the early age of 16 and has been a passionate huntsman ever since. After studying to become a firearms engineer at the HTBLVA, he completed his compulsory military service and then started his career at Unique-Alpine. In August 2023, he left this company and, full of ambition, founded his own company in the same month with the aim of being able to realise his own visions more flexibly.

What is behind the P.E.A.C.E. ORS-1 series?

The result is the Optimised Rifle System (ORS)-1 as a universal and modular precision rifle for hunting and sport shooting. The first pre-series rifles were successfully presented at the "Austria Arms Action Days" in May of the previous year and the series rifles have been delivered since December 2024. The multi-calibre P.E.A.C.E. bolt-action rifle ORS-1 with steel receiver and 3-lug bolt with 60° throw has a Remington 700 footprint, making it compatible with countless stock systems and retrofit parts from the huge tuning market. The torsion-resistant steel action with gas-nitrided surface, conical bolt knob and optional chamber lock in short and long action design features a screw-on, interchangeable steel rail for optics mounting. The bolt with forced ejector and adjustable firing pin spring engages into the barrel extension; the rifle features Lothar Walther barrels in lengths of 420 mm (16.5"), 508 mm (20") and 610 mm (24") with 20-mm outer diameter and 5/8"-24 UNEF muzzle thread. A TriggerTech trigger is fitted as standard under the receiver and AICS-style box magazines are used. P.E.A.C.E. offers the five rifle models ORS-1 Field, Forest, Wilderness, Range and Mountain as standard, although the high degree of modularity means that rifles can be configured to individual customer requirements at any time. The range of calibers includes .223 Remington, .300 BLK, .308 Winchester, 6.5 Creedmoor, 6.5 PRC and .300 WSM.

P.E.A.C.E. ORS-1 bolt-action rifle with Scandinavian Arms Chassis JET-02 in detail

The P.E.A.C.E. ORS-1, which was completely disassembled in the workshop, showed a very appealing level of workmanship both inside and out and surprised us with its innovative design details. The solid receiver has a Remington 700 footprint, which, as mentioned, ensures compatibility with many aftermarket components. However, it is also designed for caliber conversion within the cartridge family using the same bolt face/case head and overall length dimensions as well as a barrel change. In addition, the bolt is equipped with three locking lugs with dual cocking cam, which is otherwise only found on expensive match rifles. The ejector only starts to work when it is pushed forwards by the bolt guide latch in the rear part of the receiver when the bolt is pulled back manually. This also differs from the Remington 700 action, in which a passive ejector constantly pushes the case forwards and ejects immediately when the ejection port is reached. With the ORS-1, on the other hand, the shooter can manually remove the case from the ejection port. Only if he/she intends to do so the case is automatically ejected from the rifle by pulling the bolt fully back. This function may not be so relevant for hunters, but for sport shooters who do not want to search for their expensive cases, this function is a big plus point.

This P.E.A.C.E. ORS-1 bolt-action rifle was fitted with a JET-02 light alloy chassis from the Swedish company Scandinavian Arms. The buttstock offers all the usual length and height adjustments, but also impresses with its adjustable butt spike, which probably deserves to be called a "height-adjustable butt rest". The flat, wide underside of the extendable element ensures a perfect, straight recoil path of the rifle when firing. The "Thumb Up" thumb rest, which is positioned in the center instead of at the side, forces the thumb into a fairly high position. If you don't like this, you can of course completely enclose the free-standing AR-15 pistol grip, which is not designed as a vertical grip, with your hand in the "old school" way. The light alloy handguard has all-round M-LOK interfaces and users can also decide whether or not they need a rail on the top. This has the advantage that the riflescope can be mounted much lower. The Scandinavian Arms stock was neatly finished with great attention to detail.

On the shooting range: P.E.A.C.E. ORS-1 in practice

Equipped with a Schmidt & Bender PM II 5-25x56 scope and a UTG bipod, we took the P.E.A.C.E. ORS-1 Scandinavian Arms Chassis JET-02 in .308 Winchester to the 100-m indoor shooting range to test the rifle's shooting performance with 9 types of factory ammunition with bullet weights from 110 to 190 grains. The customisable Scandinavian Arms chassis, along with the refined Triggertech match trigger featuring a measured trigger pull weight of around 1,300 grams, helped us to achieve small shot groups. With six loads, we remained below the 1 MOA mark. The RWS 168-grain Target Elite Plus came out on top with 15 mm (9 mm without flyers). In terms of handling, the smooth repeating action, which is achieved by cocking the firing pin with a dual cocking cam instead of just a single cam, was a pleasant feature. This design feature is also found, for example, in the bolt-action rifles from Manfred Schmitt's German STL manufactory.

P.E.A.C.E. ORS-1 technical specifications and price

Conclusion on the P.E.A.C.E. ORS-1 in .308 Winchester

With the ORS-1 rifles, the young P.E.A.C.E. company offers an absolutely coherent, well-rounded overall concept, with the rifles tested so far also impressing with their high quality of workmanship down to the smallest detail. The rifle shown here with the SA JET-2 chassis costs around €6,000, while the ORS-1 Forest shown for comparison purposes is priced at around €3,450. Due to the clever design details, the caliber and barrel change options and the high level of workmanship, these prices are entirely justified.

Text: Stefan Perey and Michael Fischer