Ever shot a straight-pull (aka toggle-link) action rifle? We like these action types, which were developed for Biathlon competitors who needed to shoot fast, but were not allowed to use semi-auto actions. The biathlon-style toggle action features a lever on the side of the action. Pull the lever back with your index figure to open the bolt, then push forward with your finger to close the bolt*. It’s fast and efficient. With some practice, you can cycle the action in a couple of seconds — nearly as fast as a semi-auto.
The Volquartsen Summit .22 LR rifle is based on a concept originally developed by Primary Weapons Systems. Designed for both competition shooting as well as small game hunting, this unique rifle features a straight-pull, toggle-style action with a Ruger 10/22 profile. That means you can run 10/22 magazines, swap into stocks inletted for the 10/22, and even use after-market 10/22 barrels. The CNC-machined receiver features an integral 20 MOA Picatinny Rail. The Magpul stock adjusts for length of pull. Weight is 5.8 pounds, so this is easy to carry in the field.
The Summit features a lightweight carbon fiber-wrapped barrel, threaded 1/2×28 at the muzzle to be suppressor-ready. One of our favorite features on this little rifle is the trigger — which has a light, crisp 1.75-lb pull weight. Watch the video above to see the Summit .22 LR in action. The tester, 22 Plinkster, was impressed with the rifle’s ease of use and accuracy. The Summit delivered a 0.277″ group at 50 yards, shot from the bench.
Tech Analysis of PWS-designed Action as used in Summit
Check out the Summit at NRA Show in Dallas
Volquartsen will have the new Summit straight-pull rifle on display, along with a wide variety of rimfire firearms, at its booth at the NRA Annual Meetings in Dallas this week. The Exhibit Hall opens May 4, 2018. You’ll find Volquartsen at booth #2520.
Big Names at Volquartsen Booth at NRA Show
Volquartsen has invited a number of notable shooters to the NRA Show, including 22Plinkster, who did the video review of the Summit included in this story. Here is the list of celebrity guest appearances at the Volquartsen booth (#2520) this week:
Friday May 4, 2:00 – 3:00 pm — 22Plinkster will be there to discuss all things rimfire. 22Plinkster has a great YouTube channel that boasts over 472,000 suscribers.
Friday May 4, 3:00 – 4:00 pm — Team Volquartsen shooters Cheyenne Dalton and Cole Busch talk about rimfire steel shooting
Saturday May 5, 11:00 – 12:00 pm — Fox News commentator and best-selling author Katie Pavlich will discuss Second Amendment issues.
Saturday May 5, 1:00 – 2:00 pm — Multi-time world champion shooter KC Eusebio will answer questions about action shooting.
* Biathlon shooters cycle their Fortner toggle actions even faster, using their THUMB to close the bolt. This allows them to get the index finger on to the trigger blade faster. The whole process takes maybe a second — as fast as you can say “snick-snick”. To use the thumb effectively, you need a stock with a more vertical pistol grip. The Magpul stock on the Summit moves your thumb a bit too far back to use comfortably to close the lever without shifting the hand.
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Steyr Arms has introduced a new straight-pull rimfire rifle that should work well for rimfire practical/tactical games, cross-training, and varmint hunting. Available in three chamberings, .22 LR, .22 WMR, and .17 HMR, the new Steyr Scout RFR emulates the look of a Scout Rifle, but in a rimfire platform. This rifle, which first appeared in 2016 in Europe, made its American debut at the NRA Annual Meetings in Atlanta this week.
Frankly, we don’t need or want the extended forward-mounted rail, because we would use a conventional higher-magnification optic, rather than a long-eye-relief scout scope. But we are excited about the straight-pull action, 10-round magazine, and nicely-designed stock that should be good for tactical comps. For mounting conventional scopes, an integrated 3/8-inch dovetail base runs the full length of the receiver’s topside, and the RPR comes with Weaver bases mounted on the top of the receiver. MSRP is $599.00.
Detail showing ISSC Biathlon-style SPA straight-pull action with trigger-guard safety.
Based on the proven, biathlon-inspired SPA action built by Austrian gun-maker ISSC, the Steyr Scout RFR was designed as an economical, minimal-recoil trainer. Available in .22 LR, .22 WMR, and .17 HMR, the Scout RFR has a smooth, straight-pull action allowing for fast cycling with the provided 10-round magazine. Check out the video below to see how the action works. Trigger pull weight is 3 lbs, 4 oz., about right for tactical games. We might want a slightly lighter trigger for varmint work with the .17 HMR version. In fact, we think this might make a great “squirrel gun” in .17 HMR.
The Scout RFR’s Eloxal-coated aluminum receiver secures a 20″ heavy-contour barrel. Both the .17 HMR and .22 LR barrels are 1/2-20 UNF threaded for attachments, while the .22 WMR barrel is unthreaded. The Scout RFR measures 35.6 inches long, and it weighs 7.3 pounds without optics. An optional knife stows in the stock, and standard Steyr SBS/Scout buttplate spacers can used to adjust length-of-pull. Included accessories: Owner’s manual, two Weaver adapters, and one 10-round magazine.
Model: Steyr Scout RFR
Chamberings: .22 LR, .22 WMR, and .17 HMR
Action: Straight-pull, biathlon-style SPA action by ISSC
Magazine type/capacity: 10-round detachable steel box
Receiver material: Hard Eloxal-coated aircraft aluminum
Barrel: 20.1-inch heavy barrel
Sight Mounts: 30-slot Picatinny rail + 3/8″ dovetail on receiver with two Weaver adapters
Trigger Pull weight: 3 pounds, 4 ounces
Stock Length of pull: 13.4 inches, adjustable with spacers
Recoil pad: Elastomer 0.3″ thick
Weight, empty: 7.3 pounds
Overall length: 35.6 inches
MSRP: $599
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An accurate, self-loading .22 LR rifle, such as this Volquartsen, is our gun of choice for speed shooting with rimfire reactive targets.
Reactive targets offer “instant gratification” — with every hit your target moves, spins, or falls. Shooting reactive targets with a rimfire rifle is fun AND affordable. Times are a-changin’ — rimfire ammo prices have dropped dramatically, so you can now get very good rimfire ammunition for just four bucks a box, such as Norma Tac-22. That works out to a mere eight cents a round. At that price, you can afford to shoot every weekend.
Rimfire Biathlon Target — Tons of Fun RimfireSteel.com offers the unique Rimfire Steel Biathlon Target, a scaled-down Biathlon target designed for use at 50 feet for training and recreational shooting. This is one of our favorite rimfire targets. You can increase the level of challenge by moving it to 25 yards! Watch the video — it shows how to reset the five plates remotely with a lanyard.
Make Your Own Shooting Gallery with Reactive Rimfire Targets
For .22 LR fans, the folks at Action Target have created a whole series of steel rimfire targets. Much lighter than their centerfire counterparts, these rimfire targets are easier to transport and easier to set up. With this wide selection of reactive targets, you can create your own shooting gallery.
Rimfire Dueling Tree
Rimfire Spinning Jack
Rimfire Plate Rack
Rimfire Buffalo
In this video, Michael Bane reviews Action Target’s line of rimfire targets, which includes plate racks, spinners, dueling trees, and more. As Michael explains: “This line of targets is very well thought out. For example — dueling trees are a lot of fun. But a centerfire dueling tree weighs a lot, it’s hard to cart it around. A rimfire dueling tree is easy to set up, easy to carry around.”
New PT Target “Walks” When Hit
Action Target has just released a new reactive target that doesn’t even need a stand or base. The patent-pending PT Twist rests on the ground, and flops over or “walks” when hit. Constructed from a single piece of 3/16″-thick A514B steel, the PT Twist has no welds or bolts to break or ricochet. Watch the PT Twist in action:
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The April 2014 Digital Edition of Shooting Sports USA is now available online (for free). This month’s issue has many articles of interest to competitive shooters. The cover story From Smallbore to High Power, profiles Col. Denise Loring, an international smallbore competitor who recently made the transition to High Power shooting. This is an excellent article.
Col. Loring “compares and contrasts” smallbore and High Power, providing fascinating insights into the differences between the disciplines: “I was very nervous about having only two sighters for NRA High Power matches. Then, I heard about the CMP style of HP where there are no sighters and could not believe you could shoot a match without them. We have unlimited sighters in smallbore and I took full advantage of that aspect. In NRA conventional smallbore you can even return to the sighter bull once you have begun shooting for record.”
Biathlon — Shooting at 180 Beats Per Minute
There is also an interesting feature on Biathlon shooting. This tutorial covers the basics of this challenging Olympic sport that combines Nordic skiing and smallbore position shooting. This in-depth article profiles the top athletes, explains the rules, and provides interesting details of the hardware: “Most athletes use a Fortner (straight-pul bolt) action, although traditional bolt-action guns are allowed. The rulebook regulates biathlon rifles by minimum width, trigger resistense, dimensions and shape[.] Magazines may be spot-checked before or after an event to ensure they contain only five rounds[.]”
The April issue of Shooting Sports USA also includes a complete round-up of 2013 State Champions for all NRA shooting disciplines, from BB Gun to Black Powder Cartridge Rifles.
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If you’ve been following the Winter Olympics in Sochi, no doubt you’ve been watching Biathlon events. This combination of Nordic-style skiing and precision shooting is hugely popular in Europe. Biathlon requires great physical fitness levels, superior marksmanship skills, and of course, a very accurate .22 LR rifle.
This video shows biathletes at previous winter Olympics. Note how the straight-pull actions allow competitors to shoot rapidly without breaking their position (at the 1:00″ mark, the shooter takes five shots in ten seconds). Target racks are located 50m from the firing line. The targets, which flip from black to white when hit, are 45mm (1.8″) in diameter for prone, and 115mm (4.5″) in diameter for standing.
Biathlon rifles are sophisticated. The top competitors use rigs with slick, straight-pull actions, integrated magazine carriers, and ergonomic stock designs that work well for both prone and standing positions. The advanced slings use “bungee cords” to allow rapid deployment from on-the-back carry position (while skiing) to the shooting position.
One of the most popular Biathlon rifles is the Anschütz model 1827F Fortner. This features a straight-pull action with a two-stage trigger typically adjusted to 550 grams (19 ounces). The sprint version of the model 1827F weighs just 3.7 kg (8.16 pounds). Remarkably, even the magazines are optimized for “high-speed, low-drag” performance: “Shortened 5-shot magazines were laterally incorporated into the stock to reduce the surface on which the wind can act. Non-slip magazine bottoms make the handling of the loading process easier. An additional magazine release lever on the side makes an even faster exchange of the magazines possible.” (Anschütz brochure).
Credit Chris Cheng, Top Shot Season 4 Champion, for finding these photos of the model 1827F Fortner on theAnschütz website.
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ISSC will soon be shipping its new SPA 22/17 series of rimfire rifles. These rifles all feature a fast, biathlon-style, Straight-Pull Action (SPA). This allows for rapid cycling without having to lift your head off the stock. Watch the video below and you can see how you can easily work the toggle action with thumb and two fingers. ISSC offers the SPA 22/17 in three popular rimfire chamberings: .22 LR, .22 WMR, and 17 HMR. We think the 17 HMR version of this little rifle would be a great “carry-around” varmint rig. And the “Target” model, as chambered in .22 LR, seems ideal for the popular “Rimfire Tactical” game.
The Austrian-made SPA 22/17 is offered in three (3) different stock versions: Wood stock (with raised comb), Polymer sporter stock (with Snabel-style fore-end), and a “Target” model (with a folding, Accuracy International-style thumbhole stock). All variants come with 10-round magazines. The rifles are currently offered in three popular rimfire chamberings: .22 LR, .22 WMR, and .17 HMR. The ISSC SPA 22/17 series of rifles is distributed in the USA through Legacy Sports International.
We’re told that the first shipments of ISSC Spa 22/17 rifles should be arriving by mid-May, with larger shipments scheduled for June, 2013. We expect these rifles to be pretty popular, so you may want to get in line. Here’s a video from Legacy Sports showing how the straight-pull actions work:
ISSC is located in Ried, Austria. The company’s design and engineering work is accomplished at the company’s ESC subsidiary, located in Ulm, Germany.
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To celebrate its 90th Anniversary, Lapua has developed a special new web site with many cool features including contests, product videos, and an interactive shooting game. You’ll find an interesting historical timeline recounting the history of Lapua starting in 1923. The timeline covers development of the factory, important product releases, competition successes, and other important milestones.
Submit your “Best Shot” and Win Prizes
On the site, Lapua invites readers to submit a short description of their “best shot” made with Lapua ammo or components: “Sometimes things just click. When did you have your moment of absolute precision? Share it with us…” Prizes will be awarded each month for the most impressive “best shot” stories submitted by readers. CLICK HERE for more info.
Play Interactive Biathlon Game
Site visitors can play an interactive shooting game featuring Biathon rifles and Lapua Polar Biathlon .22LR Ammo (other rifles and shooting disciplines will be added in the future). You’ll want to visit the Biathlon Game Page to see all the features, but we’ve embedded a sample here so you can see how it works. NOTE: you may have to use the scroll bars at the bottom and right sides. (This is because the game format is larger that our Bulletin “real estate”).
Watch Lapua Video
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Can you imagine a shooting match that draws a couple hundred thousand spectators? Amazing right? Well that’s how many people turned out to watch the 2013 Int’l Biathlon Union (IBU) World Biathlon Championships (WBC) recently held in Nové Město in the Czech Republic.
At the 2013 WBC, event organizers constructed a stadium and filled it with 201,000 spectators to watch the best biathletes in the world. Among national teams at the WBC, Norway dominated, winning an incredible eight of the eleven competitions, including all three relays. Tora Berger and Emil Hegle Svendsen each won two individual events and contributed to the relay Golds. Tarjei Boe added Gold in the mass start. These eight Gold medals were a record for the IBU World Championships; no other nation has been so prolific or dominant.
On the other hand, biathletes from 12 different countries won medals — and that was a new record for medal distribution. In 2011 at Khanty Mansiysk, Russia, 11 nations took home a medal. This year 12 nations won at least one medal. Tim Burke from the USA earned a Silver Medal in the 20K event. This was the first medal for the red, white, and blue since Josh Thompson won the 20K Silver in 1987.
Lapua Polar Biathlon .22 LR Ammo Wins 97% of all 2013 WBC Medals
In the world of precision shooting, it’s unusual for one ammo-maker to completely dominate a major shooting event. But that’s exactly what happened at the 2013 World Biathlon Championships. An amazing 32 out of 33 total medals awarded in Nova Mesto went to biathletes shooting Lapua ammuntion, specifically Lapua .22 LR Polar Biathlon. That works out to 96.9% of ALL medals at this year’s IBU World Championships. Hats off to Lapua for producing the winningest biathlon ammunition ever made.
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Shooting is hugely popular in Norway. Each summer, the Norwegian National Rifle Championship draws 4,000-6,000 participants — an amazing number considering the population of Norway totals just 4.9 million. In Norway, as in Finland (home of Lapua), kids often get started in competitive shooting as early as age 6. In this video, you’ll see four Norwegian kids, Torje (age 8), Anders (age 7), Tonje (age 9), and Mari (age 15) trying out an Izhmash Biathlon rifle.
You’ll be impressed by the steady shooting skills of the youngsters, particularly 8-year-old Torje. He’s a future champion in the making we think.
Here’s another video with 15-year-old Mari, showing her rock-solid form with an Olympic-grade Izmash, using a quick-release arm sling. Note how steady she holds the rifle. This girl can shoot!
The rifles in the videos are both toggle-bolt Izhmash Biathlon guns, made in Russia. Like the German Fortner straight-pull action (used by Anschütz), the Izhmash toggle bolt action allows extremely rapid bolt-cycling. Shooters can quickly eject and reload without disturbing their shooting position or sight picture. The rifle in the first video sold in the USA last year for about $1560.00. That sounds expensive, but it is half the price of an Anschütz Fortner biathlon rifle. Check with AltiusGuns.com for current pricing and availability. The Izhmash Biathlon is offered in two models, the Biathlon 7-4 for adult men and the more compact Biathlon 7-3 for women and juniors. FYI, while the Izhmash 7-3 and 7-4 have not been imported in recent months, MT Guns still has a few LEFT-HAND model 7-4 Biathlon rifles in inventory. Southpaws, if you want one, call MT Guns at (805) 680-0201 before they’re all gone.
Magdalena Neuner — Germany’s 2011 Athlete of the Year Chalk one up for the Germans. While the American media spotlights substance-addicted actresses and foul-mouthed female hip-hop artists as “role models” for young girls, perhaps the most popular young woman in Germany is a healthy, hard-working biathlete named Magdalena Neuner. Miss Neuner was recently named Female Athlete of the Year in Germany (she also received this honor in 2007). The 24-year-old Magdalena was raised in a small village in Bavaria, where she started biathlon training at age nine.
A two-time Olympic gold medalist, Neuner is the most successful woman biathlete of all time, having won 10 World Championships, along with two Overall World Cup Titles. She is the youngest triple-World Champion in biathlon ever. As of December 2011, Neuner has won 26 World Cup races and has achieved 50 podium finishes. (That ranks Magdalena third all-time for career victories.) During five appearances at Biathlon World Championships, Neuner has claimed ten gold and three silver medals. In addition, she has won seven junior world championship titles.
While she is an excellent shot with her Anschütz straight-pull, Fortner action .22LR biathlon rifle, Neuner’s secret of success is her speed. Neuner has always been one of the fastest cross-country skiers in biathlon.
Neuner started biathlon when she was nine years old. After winning numerous junior world championships, she made her World Cup debut in 2006 and won her first World Cup race in January 2007. One month later, she claimed three gold medals in her first appearance at the Biathlon World Championships.
Sadly, it looks like Magdalena will be leaving biathlon next year. Magda recently announced that she would retire from the sport at the end of 2011–12 season, saying that “the time is right for a change” and that she wants to start a family. When not competing, Neuner works as a German Customs Officer.
At SHOT Show we had the pleasure to talk with Lanny Barnes, a member of the U.S. Olympic Biathlon Team. Along with her twin sister Tracy Barnes, Lanny hopes to compete for Team USA at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
Lanny and Tracy, who hail from Durango, Colorado, learned to shoot before they could ski. That is unusual in biathlon, a sport dominated by Nordic skiing specialists who typically take up shooting only after they have started winning ski races. Under the tutelage of their father, an avid hunter, Lanny and Tracy started shooting at a very young age. Lanny and Tracy were both crack shots before they became competitive skiers. Lanny still enjoys hunting in the Colorado backcountry.
Biathlon is Hugely Popular in Europe
Lanny gave us some new insights into the biathlon game. While biathlon is not widely followed in the United States, it is the most-watched winter sport in Europe according to Lanny. We were also surprised to learn that top-level biathletes do not try to slow their heartbeats during the shooting segment of the competition. Lanny explained that the best competitors train so they can shoot with their hearts beating about 180 times per minute.
Remarkably, with that rapid heart-rate, the movement of the muzzle is more of a flutter than a distinct, heavy rise and fall. Learning to control the amplitude of the muzzle movement with the rapid heart-beat is one of the secrets to success, Lanny tells us. An ultra-accurate, fast-cycling rifle is also very important. Like most top biathletes, Lanny shoots an Anschütz with a straight-pull Fortner action. Lanny tells us that the straight-pull action has made a big change in the sport, speeding up the firing times dramatically. But since all the top competitors can shoot so quickly with modern rifles, that has put a premium on marksmanship. Miss a shot and you may have to do a penalty loop, which can change your standing from front-runner to back of the pack.
Check out the Twins’ Website (Donations Welcome)
Learn more about Lanny and Tracy Barnes on the twins’ website, www.twinbiathletes.com. Though biathlon is a winter sport, Lanny and Tracy train year-round. This requires great commitment and dedication. The Barnes’ quest to compete at the 2014 Winter Olympics also demands a significant budget. If you wish to help Lanny and Tracy in their bid to represent the USA in 2014, you can make a donation (via PayPal) on www.twinbiathletes.com.
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We are pleased to see shooting featured in the Winter Olympics — as part of the biathlon competition. But for those accustomed to Hollywood action movies, biathlon events may seem a little slow… even boring. In the spoof video below, one TV producer shows how Biathlon events could be “spiced up”, Hollywood-style, to generate higher audience ratings:
Credit goes to Steve of The Firearm Blog for finding this YouTube gem. And folks, we know that shooting sports should always be taken very seriously… but we couldn’t resist passing this video along… everyone needs a chuckle now and then. Remember it is satire, designed to mock Hollywood’s fascination with violence. (Definition of satire: “trenchant wit, irony, or sarcasm used to expose and discredit vice or folly.”)
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If you’ve been following the Winter Olympics in Sochi, no doubt you’ve been watching Biathlon events. This combination of Nordic-style skiing and precision shooting is hugely popular in Europe. Biathlon requires great physical fitness levels, superior marksmanship skills, and of course, a very accurate .22 LR rifle.
ISSC will soon be shipping its new 
At the 2013 WBC, event organizers constructed a stadium and filled it with 201,000 spectators to watch the best biathletes in the world. Among national teams at the WBC, Norway dominated, winning an incredible eight of the eleven competitions, including all three relays. Tora Berger and Emil Hegle Svendsen each won two individual events and contributed to the relay Golds. Tarjei Boe added Gold in the mass start. These eight Gold medals were a record for the IBU World Championships; no other nation has been so prolific or dominant.
The rifles in the videos are both toggle-bolt 
Chalk one up for the Germans. While the American media spotlights substance-addicted actresses and foul-mouthed female hip-hop artists as “role models” for young girls, perhaps the most popular young woman in Germany is a healthy, hard-working biathlete named 
While she is an excellent shot with her Anschütz straight-pull, Fortner action .22LR biathlon rifle, Neuner’s secret of success is her speed. Neuner has always been one of the fastest cross-country skiers in biathlon. 
At SHOT Show we had the pleasure to talk with Lanny Barnes, a member of the U.S. Olympic Biathlon Team. Along with her twin sister Tracy Barnes, Lanny hopes to compete for Team USA at the 2014 Winter Olympics in 
