This year will mark the 18th year the National Rifle Association has recognized firearms and gear with the Golden Bullseye Award.  The awards won’t actually be given out until the NRA’s Annual Meetings & Exhibits in April 2020, but they’ve announced the winners of the Golden Bullseye Awards in advance of the meetings.  The Golden Bullseye Award for the best rifle goes to the Mauser 18, which is a bolt action rifle chambered for a variety of calibers.

The NRA has published a set criteria for each awardee to meet, which you can see below:

To qualify for consideration for a Golden Bullseye Award, the product must have been:

• Recently introduced and available to consumers prior to the selection of the Golden Bullseye Awards;
• Used/tested by a staff member or regular contributor to the magazine and/or affiliated media;
• Reliable in the field, meeting or exceeding the evaluator’s expectations;
• Innovative in design and function;
• Readily perceived as a value to the purchaser; and
• Styled in a manner befitting the shooting and hunting industry and, perhaps more importantly, its enthusiasts.

Mauser issued a press release about their model 18’s victory with the Golden Bullseye Awards:

San Antonio, Texas (February 3, 2020) – The Mauser 18 bolt-action rifle has been named 2020 Rifle of the Year by the editors of American Rifleman magazine, as part of the NRA’s annual Golden Bullseye Awards.

The Mauser 18 has been lauded for its accuracy and ruggedness at an exceptional price point and is available in numerous calibers including Hornady’s popular 6.5 PRC round.

“We are honored to be chosen for this prestigious award and appreciate the time and effort the NRA editors and staff take each year to test and evaluate new product,” said Jason Evans, CEO, Blaser Group.  “The Mauser 18 was introduced as ‘The People’s Rifle’, and it has been embraced by hunters throughout the world who want a rugged, reliable, and accurate rifle at a great price.  To be recognized as the 2020 American Rifleman Rifle of the Year further validates how exceptional this rifle is in its category.”

Featuring a rugged synthetic stock, the Mauser 18 will withstand daily use in even the harshest hunting environments.  A three-position safety allows hunters to safely carry a round in the chamber without fear of the bolt being nudged out of battery. The steel receiver provides core strength and reliability to protect the action, and a cold-hammer-forged barrel gives further peace of mind that the rifle will perform consistently, round after round.

The five-round magazine enables fast, fuss-free follow-up shots, and an adjustable trigger allows you to set your own preferred pull weight.

In addition to the 6.5 PRC chambering, the Mauser 18 is available in .243 Win, .308 Win, .270 Win, .30-06, 7mm Rem Mag, .300 Win Mag and 6.5 Creedmoor.

For more information, visit: www.mauser-usa.com.

Joel, from TFB TV had a chance to review the Mauser 18 early last year and you can learn about his experience with the rifle below, or read about Rusty’s experience HERE:

You can read more about the other NRA 2020 winners HERE, or previous winners TFB has covered in the past HERE.

What do you think about the Mauser 18 bolt action rifle?  Do you think it exceeded the NRA’s guidelines for the Golden Bullseye Awards?