Aero Precision SOLUS Action Review and Build Project

At the 2023 SHOT Show, Aero Precision debuted the SOLUS bolt action rifle. Up until that point in time, Aero Precision was known as a manufacturer of AR-15 platform rifles, parts, and accessories. So this foray into the bolt action segment was notable and likely due to the fact that the company needed to pivot given the saturation of the AR market and political impact on AR manufacturers.

I will admit that I personally was not all that excited about the SOLUS action. On paper it has great features, specifically being a 3-lug, 60-degree bolt action with interchangeable bolt heads, along with prefit barrel support (same headspace specification as Zermatt Arms Origin actions). But my impression of Aero Precision is biased as I have always perceived them as being a mid-tier AR manufacturer.

For reference, the following list is the Aero Precision description of the SOLUS action:

• Remington 700 Short Action Footprint
• Integral 20 MOA biased top rail
• Integral recoil lug
• Magnum-sized ejection port
• Sized to feed and eject cartridges with up to 3.00″ OAL
• Compatible with AICS and AIAW detachable box magazines
• Trigger installed via hanger
• 60-degree bolt throw
• 3-lug interchangeable bolt head
• Dual ejectors
• “Cock on lift” bolt design
• Receiver body- 416 stainless steel
• Bolt- 17-4 stainless steel
• Firing pin- S7 tool steel
• Barrel: Savage Small Shank W/ Barrel nut and Shouldered Zermatt Origin Pattern Pre-Fit Barrels
• Trigger: Remington 700 (no bolt release)
• Footprint: Remington 700 short action
• 36 ounce weight
• MSRP: $899

Ever since the SOLUS debut, Aero Precision has been making a hard charge to promote and sell SOLUS actions and rifles, as they have continuous promotional deals and discounts. The feature set and the ability to get a good deal on a SOLUS action and/or rifle has resulted in it gaining a lot of popularity.

About 16-months later in mid-2024, I was pondering getting a new action because I have chassis and triggers not being used, and I figured it would be nice to have rifle to experiment with (different cartridges). With that in mind, I started looking at the Aero Precision SOLUS again. It has the features that would support cartridge experimentation (prefits, interchangeable bolt heads).

Thus, I decided to pick one up.

I acquired the Aero Precision SOLUS short action with a .478″ bolt head (most commonly used for Creedmoor, GT, .308) along with a .540″ bolt head (often referred to as a Magnum bolt face, e.g., 6.5 PRC, 6.8 Western, 7 SAUM).

The idea behind getting the spare bolt head is that it would allow me to try out short action magnum cartridges.

As the specifications (cited earlier) indicate, the SOLUS is a 3-lug, 60-degree bolt. This configuration is gaining more popularity because people equate a 60-degree bolt throw to be ‘faster’ to operate versus the more traditional 90-degree.

The Aero Precision SOLUS bolt is designed with dual ejectors, not evenly spaced from the extractor. Dual ejectors are only really seen on AR platform rifles and since Aero Precision’s origins are in the AR product sector, this is probably where the idea carries over from. However, I’m not entirely sure if this serves any real benefit in a bolt action.

The SOLUS receiver has a side bolt release, a 20 MOA integral scope rail, and an integral recoil lug which are common features found on most custom actions today.

The SOLUS does implement a trigger hanger, which is less common.

Most 700-pattern actions use the original Remington 700 trigger attachment design of using two pins through the receiver to secure the trigger.

With a trigger hanger design, the trigger pins are still used, but to secure the trigger to a metal hanger. Then the hanger itself is secured to the receiver in some fashion proprietary to the action design.

In the case of the SOLUS, one single screw is used to secure the hanger (and trigger) into the action. However, the front part of the trigger hanger does insert into a recessed slot milled into the action, which keeps the trigger hanger in the action.

Right when I bought the SOLUS, I placed an order for a prefit with Preferred Barrel Blanks. Preferred Barrel is a company in Utah that has been getting more word of mouth recently (they were present at the Ghost Hunter 2024 NRL Hunter match as a sponsor).

I decided to go with Preferred Barrel Blanks for a prefit because they offered shouldered prefits for the Origin/SOLUS with a 22 GT chamber, which is the cartridge I wanted to go with for this initial SOLUS build.

A very long 16 weeks later, I received a 26″ 1-7″ twist, MTU contour, stainless steel barrel chambered in 22 GT, configured as a shouldered prefit. I chose a shouldered prefit because I did not want to use a barrel nut.

Using the Aero Precision SOLUS action wrench and my Short Action Customs Modular Barrel Vise to get the barrel on to the action.

As you may have inferred from prior photos, I installed a TriggerTech Diamond single-stage that I have laying around, and threw the barrelled action into a MPA BA Competition chassis that is also sitting around unused.

The rifle build specifications for my Aero Precision SOLUS are:

Aero Precison SOLUS Rifle Build

Part/Service	Make/Model
Action	Aero Precision SOLUS short action, .474 bolt head
Barrel	Preferred Barrel Blanks stainless steel prefit (Origin/SOLUS), 26″, 1-7″ twist, MTU contour, 5/8-24″ muzzle
Muzzle Brake	Area 419 Hellfire Match nitride
Trigger	TriggerTech Diamond single-stage Pro Curved
Chassis	Masterpiece Arms BA Competition
Scope Base	Integral 20 MOA
Scope Mount	Vortex Optics Precision Matched Rings, 34mm diameter, 1.26″ height
Scope	Vortex Optics Razor HD Gen II 4.5-27×56 MRAD

As far as the rifle as a whole, it shoots relatively well. I acquired the 22 GT barrel with intent of shooting the Berger 85.5gr Long Range Hybrid Target (LRHT). 22 GT is the 22 caliber version of the original 6mm GT (also known as 6GT / 6 GT). Same case necked down to 22 caliber.

I initially started off using H4350 as this is a common powder and is valid for 22 GT. However, I decided to try H4851SC and found this to yield sub-MOA accuracy with higher velocity at lower pressure compared to H4350.

I settled on 37.8gr H4831SC with the Berger Bullets 85.5gr LRHT, Alpha Munitions brass, and the CCI BR4 primer.

While this was a minor project given that I had most of the parts except the barrelled action, the primary focus of a review is on the Aero Precision SOLUS itself and not the rifle as a whole.

With that said, what is my opinion of the Aero Precision SOLUS.

I will immediately state that I am mildly disappointed in the SOLUS. While I had seen it at SHOT Show, I never really put one to use and there has been a lot of hype on this action with the amount of promotion, whether organic or shilled. So when I finally got it to see what all the buzz was about, I think it fell short of what I was expecting. You may be wondering why I feel this way.

The bolt slides smooth like you would expect. However, the operation of the bolt feels clunky. Something about the action just feels like it’s not as refined as you would expect a custom action be. It is very hard for me to describe, but it just doesn’t have that refined feel in movement to a Defiance, Lone Peak, or American Rifle Company. Perhaps it is the 60-degree bolt mechanism that creates the heavy, clunky feel of the bolt.

Granted, we are talking about a $899 MSRP, so it may not be fair to compare it to other actions in the mid-$1000 price range. It is a cock-on-open bolt design and perhaps there still needs to be some break-in, which you wouldn’t really expect to be necessary on a custom action. The action does feel robust (which is indicative of the 36 ounce weight) and maybe the chunky quality of the action, in combination with the cock-on-open design, and some looser tolerances could be working against the SOLUS.

The nitride finish is underwhelming. When I received it, I was surprised by how faint and almost ‘distressed’ the finish looked. The finish did not look consistently even across even one side of the action.

Note that Aero Precision released another version of the SOLUS with what they dub the Obsidian finish. Based on the description glossier nitride that looks more like what I would expect from a nitride-finish action. However, photos on the Aero Precision website also make it appear that the SOLUS Obsidian also has an inconsistent appearance.

The bolt handle is not the best design and I am not very keen on it. It is more square than round, albeit with rounded corners. I wish they adopted a circular, conical, or otherwise round bolt design.

The bolt allows you to field strip it without tools. However, you have to be very careful when handling the bolt because if you cam the bolt shroud the wrong way and too far (turn counter-clockwise), you will have to figure out a way to pull the firing pin back (relieve pressure on the firing pin spring) so you can turn the bolt shroud back to the correct position. This often means finding the edge of a table that you can hold the bolt against and use to press the firing pin / cocking detent.

With all these negatives, are there any positives?

Yes, definitely.

The feature set alone will make the Aero Precision SOLUS a valid option in the sub-$1000 action segment. The standard integral scope rail with integral recoil lug and side bolt release combined with the 3-lug, 60-degree action are staple features.

The ability to field strip the bolt by hand without tools as well as the ability to swap the bolt head (also, tool-less) gives the SOLUS a capability not found in many custom actions. I will admit that the tool-less bolt (dis)assembly has turned out to be the most impressive aspect of the SOLUS. While a few other actions have this capability

Furthermore, the SOLUS uses the same headspace specification as the popular and well-established Zermatt Arms Inc. Origin action, which means there are already prefits on-the-shelf and available for the SOLUS.

Would I recommend the Aero Precision SOLUS?

Generally, I would not recommend the Aero Precision SOLUS. I feel that there are going to be actions more perceived refinement and with other features they would be needing for their specific build use-case (e.g., lightweight builds)

That is not to say the Aero Precision SOLUS is not a decent action, and I would recommend the SOLUS to is anyone who wants (or needs) to keep cost low and wants the versatility of the interchangeable bolt heads to allow multi-cartridge use. It is definitely a nice action for range experimentation because the SOLUS has solid prefit support (either shouldered prefit to Zermatt Origin specs or Savage small shank prefits with a barrel nut).

If budget is a concern the Aero Precision SOLUS action is going to be hard to beat. While the current retail price is $925, Aero Precision has been regularly putting out sales and discounts on the SOLUS, whether the action alone or the complete rifle.

Assuming we stick to the $925 MSRP, the Zermatt Arms Inc. Origin is a direct competitor (at $900 MSRP). While the Origin has differences (e.g., 90-degree 2-lug bolt, controlled feed), it is being touted by many as having a smoother overall function than the SOLUS (lighter but longer bolt lift likely a huge contributing factor). Thus, the Origin might be the better choice for some.

Up until Labor Day weekend of 2024, the American Rifle Company Coup De Grace (aka CDG) would have been the other direct competitor to the SOLUS at the same price range. The ARC CDG was $899 since it’s release until 09/2024 and is now $1199. I do want to briefly discuss this as an alternative to the SOLUS as it has similar features, with a 70-degree 3-lug bolt that can also be disassembled without tools, and supports interchangeable bolt heads. In combination with the unique pivoting bolt handle which acts as an extraction assist, the CDG is the better option to the SOLUS.

The only characteristic that works against the CDG in favor of the SOLUS is the prefit barrel capability. The SOLUS can use either Savage small shank or any shouldered prefit cut and chambered for the Zermatt Origin specification. The CDG can take Savage small shank prefits, but the barrels also need to have a conical breech face (for .473″ bolt face diameters and smaller). You can easily find SOLUS compatible prefits “on-the-shelf” while with a CDG you will most likely need to put in a custom order with any barrel maker.

Note: Proof Research recently started producing prefit barrels in both carbon fiber wrap or solid stainless for the American Rifle Company Coup De Grace.

With that being said, the Aero Precision SOLUS does offer a worthy action with desirable features at a lower price point that most custom actions on the market. It is definitely a decent action for someone that wants a low cost action to experiment with due to the abundant prefit barrel availability.

If Aero Precision SOLUS continues to discount the SOLUS action with promotions (if memory serves correct, the SOLUS short action could have been purchased at the low-$700s during one sale), the SOLUS is a solid budget custom action that will be hard to pass up for many.

I will close in saying that if I were building my first precision bolt rifle, I would not chose the Aero Precision SOLUS, and go with something a bit more refined like a Defiance Machine, Lone Peak, or Terminus, especially since 60-degree bolt throw is not a factor for me and interchangeable bolt heads are not a priority in a short action for me, either.