[SHOT 2018] Volquartsen Summit, MP15-22 Carbon Fiber Barrel & .22LR Pistol Upgrades
Volquartsen is one of the top names in quality rimfire guns. Recently they acquired the Summit Straight Pull receiver design from PWS. Pete has one of the original Summits from PWS and I was curious how well it works. I was hoping it would be like a Biathalon rifle setup. If you haven’t seen a Biathalon rifle cycle it is awesome. The shooter pulls the charging handle back with a flick of their index finger. Then their thumb pushes the charging handle back forward. It looks effortless and smooth as silk.
I am surprised how tall the scope rail sits above the top of the barrel.
While the straight pull charging handle is similar in concept it is no where near as smooth as a Biathalon setup. There feels to be some sort of resistance when pulled it back and especially when pushing the bolt back home. And that was without chambering a round. I suppose one could polish the action up and I hope it can be as smooth as the competition rifles in the video above.
The Summit rifles by Volquartsen are a little pricey at $1150 with a Magpul stock.
I was really surprised to see Volquartsen offering a carbon fiber wrapped barrel for the S& M&P15-22. The Lightweight Carbon Fiber Tension Barrel is threaded 1/2×28 for suppressors and will retail for $331. I was not able to find out if it will come with the necessary tools to help you remove the handguard and barrel retaining nut. If not then you may need to visit Tactical 22 for such tools.
Volquartsen is also offering upgrade kits for The S&W Victory as well as the Ruger MKIV.
This modified SW22 Victory has a light weight barrel and blue grips. The barrel is only $215 and the laminated grips are $150.
The ported barrel on this SW22 Victory costs $317.
Their MKIV upgrades are rather reasonably prices. The LLV4 upper retails for $470 for their 6″ version and $465 for the 4.5″ version. The competition bolt is $265
The Scorpion Pistol is an awesome .22LR pistol.
More by Nicholas C
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The Fortner Action on a Anschutz biathlon rifle is a masterpiece of design engineering and manufacturing. A replacement bolt will probably approach the cost of the Volquartsen rifle. The lockup on the toggle action is such that I seriously doubt that any amount of polishing/use of the Volquartsen will get it as smooth as the Fortner. That's why the vast majority of biathlon teams use the Anschutz, including the Russians, even though Russia makes a toggle-action biathlon rifle. Not to denegrate the Volq at all. They make fantastic stuff.
I have a PWS version Summit. It is one of my favorite rimfires. Glad to see that VQ is keeping the design alive. While I would love a Fortner action based Anschutz (like a 1727) and i agree that the Fortner action is much smoother, I still really like the Summit and will keep it in my stable for as long as it lives.