A couple of weeks ago we reported about the suppressed version of the Merkel Helix rifle. Recently the company has introduced another variation of their rifle called Helix Speedster. The main difference of the Speedster from other Helix rifles is its new stock which Merkel calls SpeedStock.

This is a polymer stock which has a thumbhole stock grip geometry but with an open top of the thumb hole. Merkel calls this grip design OmegaGrip. The opening of the top allows a quick access to the cocking lever located on the rear of the receiver. The adjustable cheek piece is spring loaded and has a memory function. Upon push of the button located behind the cheek riser, it automatically raises to the pre-adjusted height. In general, the Helix Speedster rifle is designed to minimize the reloading and other manipulations time to ensure faster followup shots.

Here is a video published by Merkel where you can see some of the other features of the Helix Speedster rifle.

Most of the other features are retained from the basic Helix rifle including the Merkel straight pull action with 1:2 bolt handle travel to bolt travel ratio, quick barrel and caliber change possibility etc. The rifle also has an adjustable trigger and adjustable length of pull. The latter is adjusted by choosing a buttplate base of a proper thickness.

The caliber options of the Helix Speedster rifle are as follows:

Mini calibre: .222 Rem. / .223 Rem.
Standard calibre: .243 Win. / .270 Win. / 6,5x55SE / 7×64 / .308 Win. / .30-06 Spring. / 8x57IS / 9,3×62
Magnum calibre: .300 Win. Mag. / .338 Win. Mag. / 7mm Rem. Mag.