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Entrepreneur’s Switch-Barrel Sniper Rifle Appears in ‘The Bourne Legacy’

by G&A Online Editors |
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Nemesis Arms Vanquish

Dan Ives poses with the Nemesis Arms Vanquish, which made an appearance in one of this summer's top action flicks, "The Bourne Legacy." (Photo by Gabriel Luis Acosta/The (San Bernardino) Sun)

Isn’t it every gun fanatic’s dream to build a custom rifle ultimately made famous when it appears in a blockbuster action film?

That’s the dream being lived out by one California firearms entrepreneur. According to Upstart Business Journal, the takedown sniper rifle used in The Bourne Legacy, the Nemesis Arms Vanquish, was in fact designed by a former sheriff’s deputy turned entrepreneur.

Dan Ives, a former deputy for the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department in California, designed the switch-barrel bolt-action used by the character Aaron Cross, played by Jeremy Renner.

“We had a dream of designing the ultimate lightweight and tactically definitive weapon,” Ives told The (San Bernardino) Sun. “We came up with the Vanquish. … It has a mono-chasis that appears stark but is actually so stable, robust and precisely machined it moves the rifleman into the 21st century. This weapon is the finest bolt-action rifle I’ve ever fired, and I’m not just saying that because I designed and built it.”

With a five-round detachable magazine, the Vanquish can be mixed and matched between calibers, including .300 WSM, .338 Federal, .308 Winchester, .260 Remington, 6.5 Creedmoor and .243 Winchester. The rifle can also be broken down in under a minute and stored in a specialized backpack, making it a perfect hunting tool, Ives said.

For the most part, Ives said, the rifle is built from scratch in his small shop in Calimesa, Calif., though some parts need to be ordered from a third party.

“We take this block of steel and put it into a water-jet machine that uses the force pressure of water to cut out the frame of the upper receiver,” Ives told The Sun. “There are parts we have to order but, for the most part, all of the design and build is done here.”

In addition, Ives said, foreign military forces are in testing phases for bulk purchase of the rifle.

In the meantime, Ives and his crew are proud of the attention the rifle has received, plugging its appearance in The Bourne Legacy on the Nemesis Arms website, where the Vanquish prices around $4,450.

Check out this video the Nemesis Arms Vanquish out in the field.

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  • jeffrey

    What exactly is a .360 Remington? Is this a new cartridge I have not hear about yet?

    • SamF1911

      I'm pretty sure that's a typo, it should be .260 Remington.

      • Mack Missiletoe

        haha :)

    • https://www.facebook.com/kmeiersks Kyle Meier

      Not new, quite old i think. SImilar to the .270 and 6.5 Creedmore. Deer round.

    • Alan_T

      Maybe it's been corrected since your post , but it says . 260 Remington .

  • Mike Peach

    Looks like an EDM Windrunner.

  • Alan_T

    Now THAT's impressive ………… I was all set to say something snarky about the price and affordability but if it's got that kind of repeatability and accuracy and the same for each calibre …….. well ……… I guess I'll have to say it's worth the price .

  • maxx

    Hey guns and ammo that is not Dan Ives design. Bill Ritchie with EDM Arms designed that rifle originally and produced about 25 to 50 of those rifles. Bill sold the rites off to Dan as a package deal to keep making the receivers. Dan later went else where for all the receivers and other parts. The only design Dan did was the backpack to put it in. He worked as a sheriff for 3 months. If you want to do the write-up on the real designer go to EDM Arms.

    • Mark K.

      Maxx is correct. Bill designed this rifle by basically scaling down the .50 caliber version and Dan is obviously taking credit for it according to your article. Sure, he may have done some minor improvements or changes to it but the design is all EDM.

      • maxx

        Darn right, have Bill 's version of the 308 before sold to Dan mine shoots great…… also tried to hit like button and dislike popped up will try to rep like.sorry.

    • johnnyc

      I knew it! As soon as I saw the picture I thought hmmm, that's the Windrunner. I remember that from years ago when I almost bought one of the 50 cal versions. I guess someone didn't do their research, and another wasn't forthcoming and honest with the information.

  • Azshadow13

    Guns and Ammo, You need to do a retraction ! The designer was Bill Ritchie of EDM Arms. The original model was the model 06 Mini Windrunner made in Redlands, Ca. The the company moved and later rifles produced were stamped model 06 Mini Windrunner made in Hurricane, Ut. Then he sold the design to Nemesis where it is now sold under their name. You need to contact EDM Arms and get the real story.

  • joe

    Obviously EDM, I can't even give him credit for the front hand guard as Cheytac already did that to a Windrunner years ago.

  • Robert

    I am not convinced that those shots were done 100% honestly. The last set when it was out near 500 yds looks like the 350 yrd shot. I think there could have been some other shooter closer to the target. I would like to see the 500yrd shot done again with a wide view camera and a close view so I can see him shoot and the target get hit at the same time.

  • Bruce

    The gun is junk. Over hyped, unreliable and inconsistent. The original collapsing stock is a joke, the gun jams as soon as it gets a bit warm. I have struggled with mine for two years, finally put it up for sale for any bid. Its also heavy, significantly over any other decent .308 that i have. For those that mentally masturbate about being some kind of assassin type and like the concept of a gun that can be broken down into a smaller package, go ahead and buy one. If you want to do serious long range shooting, this is definitely not a real gun.