Anschutz - ANSCHÜTZ - Modern Sporting Rifles (MSR)

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ANSCHUTZ RIFLE REVIEW rifles Are known worldwide for their AccurAcy, precise construction And unmAtched shooting performAnce. these outstAnding chArActeristics which hAve Allowed Anschutz sporting rifles to dominAte nAtionAl And internAtionAl competitions cAn now Also be found in the new Anshcutz semi-AutomAtic precision rifles in .22lr! I’m moving away from my normal historical opening format this month as basically the new Anschutz MSR RX22 is a joint development by three German companies: Anschutz, German Sport Guns/ISSC and ESC Ulm. Externally, although it does feel of superior quality in terms of materials, the new Anschutz resembles the ISSC “SCAR” in both the “Blackhawk and “Desert” models, although the “Precision” and “Precision Black” versions look somewhat more unique. It’s what goes on behind the scenes that makes this just a little bit special, but more of that later! The goal of this tripatite cooperation was to develop and produce a highly accurate semi-automatic rifle with excellent shooting performance that will work well in dynamic disciplines as well as in precision shooting competitions run by the German shooting clubs BDS, BDMP, DSB, DSU and VdRBw. The resulting product is a real all-rounder that would be equally at home with shooting practical courses as well as punching paper! Anschutz and their project partners used the experience of IPSC shooters in the development and optimisation of this innovative sports rifle. They have exposed the MSR RX 22TM to the same extensive tests as their hunting, biathlon and target rifles to provide shooters with a very sophisticated product. They specifically used the knowledge and experience of Dirk Frey, one of the most successful German sports shooters in dynamic disciplines with numerous IPSC placings and other awards to his name. Once the MSR RX 22TM had passed the internal Anschutz test procedures, the rifle was extensively tested by Dirk Frey under realistic weather and shooting sport conditions in the respective disciplines. The experience gained was integrated into the development process. What LuRks BEnEath? The Anschutz MSR (Modern Sporting Rifle) RX 22TM model is a modern small-calibre, self-loading rifle with in .22LR calibre. It contains a force-locking blowback action with a hammer lock. This gun is fundamentally made by German Sport Guns/ISSC which is well known already; sales of the ISSC model are now in excess of 150,000 units worldwide! However, where things start to change out is that the MSR RX 22TM uses an Anschutz sports barrel as well as a high-quality trigger system with an adjustable trigger weight from approx. 1500 g/ 2500 g (3.3-5.5lbs). Let’s look at this step by step. The barrels are manufactured according to the same Anschutz special button-rifled process, used for the manufacture of the world-famous and massively respected Anschutz target barrels. The same also applies to the manufacturing process of the chamber and the recessed muzzle. The Anschutz small bore target precision barrel has a recessed muzzle, just like their other world-famous target barrels. The accurate and always consistent shooting performance that is guaranteed by the these precision barrels and their intricate construction guarantees top gunsmith quality at a high-tech level. Their target single stage trigger has always been highly respected in all shooting circles as one which sets a standard for quality, reliability and precision. The light weight, hardened and finely ground trigger components facilitate fast and consistent trigger release. The trigger weight can be adjusted anywhere between approx. 1500 g and 2500 g and is set to 1800g (4lbs) in the factory. The cocking handle can be used on both sides of the upper receioer in one of the three equally spaced positions; this means you can place the MSR RX .22 “BLACKHAWK”Anschtuz tArget SEPTEMBER 2012 .22 015
cocking handle exactly where you want it on either left OR right of the gun to really personalise it! There is also a two stage safety with a safety lever which acts on the trigger and a drop safety lock which acts on the firing pin. The frame is made of aluminium and the anodised finishes really give the guns a great look! The Anschutz MSR RX 22TM is currently available in six versions. The “Precision” and “Precision Black” models have a fixed, non foldable wooden stock and forend, and are quite stunning visually mixing state of the art with tradition. It’s not a design that will appeal to everyone, but it certainly is different! What it does though is to provide sports shooters in precision disciplines with the option of using different butt plates (hook or rubber) with a length-adjustable butt plate extension that can be adapted to the individual shooter. An aluminium profile rail at the front of the stock provides the option of attaching accessories such as hand stops or sling swivels for rifle slings. All models have a factory-fitted, 400 mm long, three-part Picatinny rail on the top, and a precisely fitting 11 mm prism rail is available for mounting an Anschutz diopter sight which is available as an accessory. The non-folding wooden stock on these models is also suitable for attaching a clamping unit. This allows for the use of different butt plates in the Anschutz product range rIFLe reVIew practical rifle review aNScHUtZ MSr rX 22 “BlacKHawK” (e.g. hook or rubber butt plates) with a length-adjustable butt plate extension that can be adapted to the individual shooter. The “Desert” (tan furniture) and “Blackhawk” (black furniture) models have a foldable stock made of a high quality plastic and are also available with a fixed, not foldable plastic stock at no additional charge. These models are more modern and “aggressive” looking and seem particularly well suited for dynamic shooting sport disciplines. These are very flexible sports rifles with numerous adjustment options. The foldable plastic stock allows for individual adjustment of length and height. The forend has been fitted with three-part Picatinny rails, a combination which allows easy attachment of commercially available accessories such as light modules, bipods and rifle slings; that said all the rifles come with sling attachment points both fore and aft. Optics are easy to fit to all four models due to the full length “flat top” rail, but all four come delivered with open sights (ARMS style flip up front and rear) which are more than serviceable and allow for both elevation and windage adjustment. The guns also come with a 10-shot magazine, cleaning set, tools, clear operating instructions and a very good quality hard case for transport. Downrange I first saw the Anschutz “Blackhawk” out at IWA earlier in the year and I have to admit being pretty excited at the prospect of getting my hands on one of these modern looking rifles. I’ve always equated Anschutz with “quality” and the feel of this gun did nothing to dispel that! However, it’s not until you get the thing performing downrange that you really get a true feel for it. Luckily the launch of the gun almost exactly coincided with the change in UK distributorship of Anschutz, so it was a piece of cake to request one from our good friends at RUAG Ammotec UK; Phil and his team there have been supporters of .22 Shooter magazine from the outset, and have become friends over the last months. Phil was quick to advise that we would have one of the first “Blackhawks” in the country. I had the gun delivered direct to our friendly RFD at the range so all I had to do was turn up and shoot it. When I arrived it was already laid out on the shooting point ready to go! First note; as stated earlier it comes in its own Anschutz branded hard case and this is of a very high quality indeed. Overall the heft of the gun is great; given the fact that there is a LOT of rail space at the front end and that the butt is of high grade plastic, it balances very nicely around the magwell. The butt is almost identical to the ISSC version (in fact it has ISSC moulded into it!) and can be adjusted in length from 12.4 to 13.8 inches in three increments. The cheek riser also has two positions. Being a big lad it was all the way out and all the way up for me, which allowed a spot on cheek weld. It does fold forward to the right which is useful for carriage; once locked forward in place it’s solid. The pistol grip is a pretty bog standard “AR” style affair. There’s nothing wrong with this at all, and it does mean that after market replacement grips should work well. The trigger guard is nicely formed and large enough that it will accommodate gloves if needed. There’s am ambidextrous safety which resembles HK style rather than AR, but it’s very positive and easy to use. The magazine release catch is fenced and exactly where you’d find it on any AR style gun, so all in all everything is pretty straightforward to operate. Did I mention rail space? Well this thing has acres of it at 12, 3, 6, and 9 o’clock so whatever you fancy adding on in the way of optics and accessories is easy whether you are left or right handed. I have to admit I love the cocking handle arrangement! It’s easily moved fore and aft with three positions on the right and three on the left. This leads to a decision as to how you want to run it, which I’ll come onto. The 10 round plastic magazine provided as standard is again perfectly fine, and follows the “follower” on either side pattern. It’s easy and quick to load, which is a very good thing given how quickly you can get through ten rounds! Anschutz do offer 2, 5, 10, 20, and 22 round magazines for the gun so I hope that these will soon be available in the UK! Placing the magazine into the gun is straightforward AR style again; once in it seats well with no wobble. Cocking is a straight pull back, thumb down on the safety, finger on the broad, curved trigger blade and you’re good to go! The sights supplied are workmanlike, just what you need for this type of gun, although elevation is on the front sight only. I tested this with my stock CCI Mini Mag ammunition, and after a couple of initial FTFs (failure to fires) the MSR RX22 demolished magazine after magazine all afternoon with absolutely no further problems. I have to say that we all scratched our heads at this, just probably the gun getting into the groove from new so to say. It really ran like a train from that point on! At the end of the magazine the bolt does stay to the rear, so it’s safety on, empty mag out, full mag in, a sharp pull of the cocking handle to the rear, safety off and away you go again. This is where the positioning of the cocking handle comes into play. I eventually positioned the handle to the rearmost position above the magwell on the left hand side. As the new mag went in it was easy to continue left hand movement up, releasing the bolt forward on the way. My dominant right hand never had to move from the pistol grip, the right thumb could move the safety lever to firing position and my finger could come back onto the trigger very quickly indeed! Just superb… Normally with this type of gun I go for simple 25m falling plate, but given the claims about the trigger and the barrel I decided to go for a dot target to see how well it grouped. The trigger is indeed very, very crisp with only a couple of millimetres travel to find the set point, at which point it breaks crisply. After zeroing on a rest a couple of mags went downrange resulting in a two inch grouping; not at all what I had expected! Then, as usual I stepped back and had my normal chat to self, and once things settled down (me that is!) groupings began to drop consistently resulting in a sub inch by end of play. And that’s on open sights! I’m of the firm opinion that with a decent, properly zeroed optic and good quality ammo you could easily be punching similar groupings out to 50m and beyond. Not just an ISSC with a different barrel then? No sirree, the Anschutz is a whole new beast, a whole new level of accuracy, and all the better for it! For more information on the Anschutz MSR RX 22TM please visit www.anschuetz-msr.com or www.ruag.co.uk 016 .22 SEPTEMBER 2012 SEPTEMBER 2012 .22 017

Anschutz - ANSCHÜTZ - Modern Sporting Rifles (MSR)

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