#StraightPull

JL Billet has developed an AR-15 charging handle that turns the semi-auto AR-15 pattern rifles into a straight pull bolt action rifles. This accessory is called Kali-Key. It is primarily designed for the states with restrictive gun laws.

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.

Austrian firearms manufacturer Strasser has introduced the next generation of their RS-14 straight pull bolt action hunting rifles. The new line is called Evolution. It includes two new rifles called RS-14 Evolution Standard and RS-14 Evolution Tahr. The main difference of Evolution rifles from the basic RS-14 is the addition of a top Picatinny rail which is a single-piece part with the receiver.

In the category of what two things fit perfectly together, Volquartsen and anything .22LR is pretty much a given. So when the latest email blast came from the precision rifle and pistol manufacturer showing a new production run of the Summit Rifle, I couldn’t help but smile. After all, Primary Weapon Systems (PWS) announced the retirement of the straight pull rifles and receivers a couple of years ago, leaving myself and others to scramble for the remaining guns. My project “spark plug” – making a charger style pistol with a Summit receiver – has unfortunately stalled for the moment, due mostly to time constraints.

An integrally suppressed variant of the AK called the Gopak was on display a recent demonstration at the Goncharivske trial grounds in the Chernihiv area of Ukraine. In two videos released via YouTube this week, the rifle is demonstrated firing and being inspected by the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Oleksandr Turchynov. The rifle is visible in the video below, at 0:58 and 3:51:

Every shooter has what they refer to as their list of “grail guns”. That is, firearms they would easily order up if they had the resources to buy whatever they wanted (#hipointcarbine). On the other end of the line are the “everyday” type guns that steep themselves in utility and are fairly obtainable for the masses, like a Glock 19 for example (#everyoneshouldownone). Somewhere in the middle are a collection of guns that are realistically in reach with a little bit of saving and/or searching. For me, one of these guns is the Primary Weapons Systems (PWS) Summit straight pull 22LR 10/22 style receiver.

Back in the days of the fighting bolt action rifle, clever small arms designers came up with  a number of minor but ingenious features to make the soldier’s life a little less hard when trying to cycle their rifle’s action by hand as they faced down the enemy. Many of these special features have since made their way into many of the world’s modern hunting rifles, but they were pioneered by designers coming up with new and better weapons of war.

French firearms manufacturer Chapuis Armes has joined the small list of European companies who offer straight pull bolt action rifles. They’ve recently introduced a new rifle called ROLS. As the manufacturer states, the rifle was in development for 6 years. It is not just the next gun which will try to get a piece from  Blaser R8‘s market pie. It actually has some unique mechanical features. The most interesting is the new locking mechanism of the rifle.

The Italian company BCM Europearms recently showed an AR-15 type rifle named SPAR (Straight-Pull AR) in .223 Remington, with 9 mm and .308 Winchester versions to follow.

The Shmidt-Rubin rifles are a series of legendarily accurate firearms. The Swiss are famous for maintaining their neutrality by keeping one hand free and the other on the hilt of a sword, and for many years the wonderful K31 was that sword. These straight-pull rifles are made with unparalleled craftsmanship, but how will it fare on the run and gun course?

The Mannlicher M1895 “M95” straight-pull rifles were the backbone of the Austro-Hungarian military during World War I, and served through WWII in a limited capacity. These unique rifles fire 8x56r ammunition and are fed by 5 round Mannlicher en-bloc clips. So how will it fare on the run and gun course?