Volquartsen Update Again

After I got the Volquartsen IF-5 back from the factory, it sat around until I got the opportunity to put it back to work shooting ground squirrels in Modoc. That opportunity cam this last weekend. I took 4 days off and went to Alturas with my friend Steve Sandgren for an early season shoot. The first day I set up on a round alfalfa field and took out the IF-5 to see how it would run. It went through the first magazine flawlessly and the new lighter trigger pull was a much better match for my other rifles, about 3.5 lbs. I loaded up the second magazine and it would not cycle even one round. It jammed with every shot. I went back to the first magazine and went on to shoot about 450 rounds through it is about 2 and a half hours.

Later in the trip, I took it out again for a shoot and a problem developed with the scope. I would focus the scope and then after the recoil, the scope would be completely out of focus. I would re-focus, fire and it would be out again. This rifle has a solid recoil as the heavy tungsten bolt blows back against a steel pin. I think the recoil has caused some damage inside the Nikon Bushmaster scope. I will be sending it in for repair.

All in all, I am still not happy with the IF-5. I really wish I had bought the Deluxe 17HMR rifle. It uses Ruger magazines and has a much softer recoil.