Volquartsen IF5 Update

I have very mixed feelings about my new Volquartsen Custom rifle chambered for the Win. 17 WSM. Although the rifle is one of the nicest looking rifles out there. I had some problems last squirrel season.

The first thing I noticed was a feeding problem from the expensive $80.00 OEM magazines. There were numerous "stove pipes" and outright failures to feed. I did some smoothing of the lips on the magazines, but it did not solve the problem

The recoil of this rifle is HARD! I don't mean the teeth rattling recoil of a large rifle, but this thing does recoil. The problem for me is the hard jolt that you feel when the massive tungsten bolt hits the steel cross pin behind the bolt. It is so hard that the stock bolt, the compensator and the bolt handle all vibrate loose every 70 or 80 rounds. I spoke to Volquartsen about it and they said they tried a polymer pin behind the bolt but it failed. The only thing that will live in this rifle is a steel cross pin.

The other issue was the trigger. Volquartsen advertises a 2.5 lb. trigger right out of the box. I bought 2 of these rifles and both of them had a 4+ lb. trigger. I had a gunsmith try to lower it, but all he could really do was smooth it up a bit. My friend who bought the other rifle, sent his trigger to Volquartsen during the season and got it back much better. I decided to wait until the off season to send mine in. In August, I called Volquartsen and discussed the trigger along with the feeding a "stove piping" issues. They were very accommodating and asked me to send them the entire rifle and both magazines. They said there were some things they could do. I packaged up the rifle and insured it. I just got the rifle back and the trigger is much better. They also did some filing on the magazines. I can't tell what else they may have done with the extractor to fix the "stove piping', but hopefully it will feed better.

I am not sure that the power of the Win. 17 WSM can be harnessed by an autoloading rifle Volquartsen has always been the one company that can usually make the blow-back action work. In the case of the IF5, they might need to re-think the action. Maybe along the lines of the Savage A-17 where there is a bolt lock that is disengaged by the recoil.

When I sent the rifle away, I included the scope because of the time it takes to sight in the rifle for shooting squirrels. They dismounted the scope and sent it back dismounted. I was a little bummed about that because I now have to spend more time on paper instead of on squirrels.