Review: Powder River Precision Rubicon Icon Custom Build

Powder River Precision (PRP) has built its reputation largely on its interpretation of the patent-expired 10/22 receiver. Fine machining, close tolerances, premium materials and repositioning of the guide rod atop the receiver rather than along the side (called Top Line technology) has made the receiver an object of lust for anyone doing a custom 10/22 build.

The Rubicon receiver is fabricated from 6061 barstock aluminum. The bolt is made from barstock stainless steel. The gun incorporates a cylindrical firing pin, and PRP takes pride in the fact the extractor is wire-EDM cut instead of merely being stamped. Similarly, the control parts are EDM cut, as well. An aluminum V-block attachment system is incorporated to protect barrel/receiver interface, according to the company. The Icon version of PRP’s Rubicon adds a 15-MOA-canted Picatinny rail for long-range accuracy.

Now PRP is offering a custom build created around the company’s Rubicon Icon receiver. It has a Briley Raptor 16.5-inch Ultra-lightweight fluted .22 LR barrel with a threaded muzzle, and a Hogue OverMolded stock in black or Ghillie green. What PRP has done, essentially, is assemble an all-star team of Steel Challenge components.

With a Type 3 hardcoat-anodized aluminum sleeve, the barrel weighs a mere 10 ounces. In addition to light weight and good looks, the fluting offers heat dissipation. Precision of the steel barrel is assured by hand cutting the proprietary chamber and crown. The barrel itself is made from carbon steel and is precision rifled. The muzzle has ½x28 tpi threading, which has quickly become an industry standard and allows you to easily attach any number of .22 suppressors on the market.

The Hogue stock is mostly smooth, but features strategically located pebble-grain texturing on the sides of the wrist and the sides (but not the bottom) of the fore-end. As with all Hogue OverMolded stocks, purchase is outstanding, even in wet conditions. There is a sling-swivel stud on the underside of the fore-end, about 2 inches before it terminates, and another about 2 inches from the toe of the stock. The buttpad is firm and a little grabby. It may catch your shirt during a fast mount, but once it’s in the pocket of your shoulder, the buttpad stays there.

This rifle was built primarily for Steel Challenge (though it’s more versatile than that), and it shows. Mount it to your shoulder and swing between targets and some of the laws of physics seem repealed. There is virtually no inertia to overcome getting it moving, but also no momentum to reign in to stop it. Swinging between targets feels effortless. The gun is snug in the hands, almost slip-proof, and the barrel is so ridiculously light, your control of the rifle seems utterly complete. We even shot it one-handed and still rang steel.

It’s pretty easy to gain an appreciation of the Rubicon receiver. Working the bolt feels smoother. It’s better leveraged with the guide rod centered on top. It makes a difference. The trigger was in keeping with everything else on the rifle. It broke at 2 pounds, 5 ounces on my Lyman gauge with no take-up whatsoever, and an overtravel stop is built in, making the trigger ideal.

At the range, the Rubicon Icon did display an ammunition preference—or rather a dislike—as is typical of .22 LR-chambered guns. Each seems to prefer a certain ammo or two, although which one(s) is difficult to predict. The Rubicon let us know, quickly and decisively. It liked Aguila Super Extra and loved CCI Green Tag, but absolutely despised Remington Viper. Not only was the Viper wildly inaccurate from it, but it also failed to feed three times. In fairness, we selected Viper just so we wouldn’t be testing three 40-grain lead roundnose loads. The 36-grain, truncated-cone Viper just wasn’t the Rubicon’s cup of tea. The other two loads were exceptional though, sometimes grouping four shots into a single hole, the first-shot flyer expanding the group size. Still, groups averaged well inside of an inch with the Aguila and the CCI loads.

PRP sent along a small red-dot scope. Though not included with the rifle nor available from PRP, it demonstrated what a light, handy and capable combo the Rubicon Icon and a small electro-optic sight can make, both for competition and plinking fun.

The Rubicon Icon Custom Build can be ordered with your choice of a curved polymer trigger or a black or red flat aluminum trigger, as well as in one of the two aforementioned stock colors. Is it pricey? Yep. How- ever, while it is ideal for Steel Chal- lenge, the standard configuration of the stock, the 15-MOA-canted Picatinny rail and the excellent trigger suggest there is very little for which this rifle wouldn’t be good.