There's a bunch of discussions going on right now about the Hera H6, the sorta kinda cool side-loading AR-mag bolt action that is finally available in stock after a couple years of teasing. I was close to ordering one, but...just then I received an email from Sporteque indicating that a gun I had been awaiting for a number of years was back in stock, the Voere S16. It's another side-loader, chambered in .223 and utilizing AR mags, but with a more traditional, non-folding stock than the Hera. It's also considerably cheaper, retailing at just a hair over $1200.
I sent in my order immediately. A few days later, here I am holding this cool little toy and so far I couldn't be happier. It's an ultralight rifle, crazy light and also very dainty and sleek in configuration. It feels like a toy; weight with an empty mag in place and mounted with a Leupold 2-7x33 scope shows as 5 pounds on my bathroom scale. Reading this and knowing what it weighs is one thing; actually holding and handling one is something else. I'm loving it. The leupold was chosen because of its small size and light weight; I actually think that I might find a fixed 4x Leupold instead, which would shave a couple more ounces off the package.
Here's a shot of it sitting between two standard rifles with which many folks will be familiar, a Rem700 and a Ruger American. All three rifles fire the same ammo, .223Rem. Look at the difference in bulk:
Unlike a lot of ultralight products, this doesn't "feel" cheap. I am accustomed to finding that "ultralight" seems to equate to "feels like junk" in a lot of cases. The MDT hunting chassis, HNT26, is a perfect example of this. We all know they ain't cheap, either in price or in construction, but they "feel" like garbage. The S16 feels like a quality product that just weighs nothing. The moulded stock is stupidly light, and carries a high-friction surface coating in lieu of checkering.
Another cool point: the barrel is actually sheathed in carbon fibre! It's so pencil-thin that the carbon must be very thin, but it's a nice touch that caught me totally off-guard. The Voere website indicates that both standard steel and CF-covered barrels are available, so naturally I assumed this "standard" model would be bare steel. Yet another nice touch was the inclusion of two little 5-round magazines, which sit flush with the end of the magwell on the side. This is destined to be a coyote rifle; I don't need or want a bigger mag sticking out on the side, and also don't want the extra weight of too many rounds. Those little mags fit and function perfectly in several other .223-chambered rifles I have, and are so short that they vastly improve the carryability of all these guns, allowing me to easily and comfortably wrap my hand around the balance point without dealing with big box magazines sticking out.
The S16 seems to feed and function beautifully with MFT and Magpul mags, which I have used for much of my shooting so far. I will be keeping the original Voere mags for hunting.
The buttstock adjusts for length and also has a simple cheekpiece that can be adjusted for height. As tiny as the rifle is, it can stiil be easily set up for full-sized humans.
Of course, there are always a few flies in the soup. The pad on the buttplate is a simple sheet of foam rubber, very reminiscent of the DIY flip-flop pads dreamed up by Why Not? It bugs me; I will likely scrape it off and replace with just a thin rubber sheet for traction. I'll brave the frightful recoil of the .223 with no padding at all. And the muzzle of the barrel is threaded and comes with a thread protector...but removing this protector reveals that the threaded portion of the barrel is also pierced by several holes to act as a muzzle break. Really? Who in his right mind would carry and shoot the thing with no thread protector? This has to be one of the most idiotic design features I have ever encountered, but it's more a case of being bothered by knowing it's there. It isn't something you need to use or work around. I haven't bothered to check the thread pitch because I know dang well I won't be saddling this little wand with goofy extra weight.
I've put about 100 rounds through the gun this morning, all cheap FMJ Remington/PMC stuff. Groups seem to hover around 1.5 - 2 MOA, which makes me think that MOA or better will be practically guaranteed with some load development and experimentation. The trigger is lovely and crisp; it's a very pronounced two-stage design (which I quite like) and feels like maybe 2.5 or perhaps 3 pounds. Not a target-light trigger, but pretty much ideal for cold-weather numb-fingered hunting. The bolt operation is not rough but certainly not glass-smooth, and fairly stiff. It will hopefully wear in and lighten up a bit with use. The effort required to raise the bolt tends to jar the very light gun more than it would a weightier rifle.
Overall, the gun is so lightweight that it requires concentration to shoot well. I don't think this is an indictment of the gun, or of lightweight guns in general; it's just a fact of life. If your mind wanders it is easy to see groups growing larger...so pay attention!
Lots of other features I haven't really thought about much: 60-degree bolt lift, which is perfect if you like a low mounted scope; nice big comfortable bolt knob; rail inlet into the bottom of the fore-end to make it easier to add unnecessary heavy crap
; two -position safety, very positive and accessible; probably other stuff as well. I need to play with it a bunch more, especially with an eye towards serious sighting-in and accuracy testing. A confidence-inspiring observation was noticed after scope mounting. I carefully mounted the rings (cheapie Weavers, the lightest I had on hand) to the pic rail, then the scope (again, the lightest one I had that was free) into the rings , and then quickly laser bore-sighted the outfit. The red dot was perfectly centered just under the crosshairs. The first shot, brashly taken at 100 yards, was perfect for windage and about 3 inches beneath POA. One quick adjustment of the elevation had rounds clustering snugly in the bullseye. A start like that just has to make you smile.
It's looking good for this new little toy to become a long-term keeper. I have now officially lost all interest in the Hera H6.
I sent in my order immediately. A few days later, here I am holding this cool little toy and so far I couldn't be happier. It's an ultralight rifle, crazy light and also very dainty and sleek in configuration. It feels like a toy; weight with an empty mag in place and mounted with a Leupold 2-7x33 scope shows as 5 pounds on my bathroom scale. Reading this and knowing what it weighs is one thing; actually holding and handling one is something else. I'm loving it. The leupold was chosen because of its small size and light weight; I actually think that I might find a fixed 4x Leupold instead, which would shave a couple more ounces off the package.
Here's a shot of it sitting between two standard rifles with which many folks will be familiar, a Rem700 and a Ruger American. All three rifles fire the same ammo, .223Rem. Look at the difference in bulk:
Unlike a lot of ultralight products, this doesn't "feel" cheap. I am accustomed to finding that "ultralight" seems to equate to "feels like junk" in a lot of cases. The MDT hunting chassis, HNT26, is a perfect example of this. We all know they ain't cheap, either in price or in construction, but they "feel" like garbage. The S16 feels like a quality product that just weighs nothing. The moulded stock is stupidly light, and carries a high-friction surface coating in lieu of checkering.
Another cool point: the barrel is actually sheathed in carbon fibre! It's so pencil-thin that the carbon must be very thin, but it's a nice touch that caught me totally off-guard. The Voere website indicates that both standard steel and CF-covered barrels are available, so naturally I assumed this "standard" model would be bare steel. Yet another nice touch was the inclusion of two little 5-round magazines, which sit flush with the end of the magwell on the side. This is destined to be a coyote rifle; I don't need or want a bigger mag sticking out on the side, and also don't want the extra weight of too many rounds. Those little mags fit and function perfectly in several other .223-chambered rifles I have, and are so short that they vastly improve the carryability of all these guns, allowing me to easily and comfortably wrap my hand around the balance point without dealing with big box magazines sticking out.
The S16 seems to feed and function beautifully with MFT and Magpul mags, which I have used for much of my shooting so far. I will be keeping the original Voere mags for hunting.
The buttstock adjusts for length and also has a simple cheekpiece that can be adjusted for height. As tiny as the rifle is, it can stiil be easily set up for full-sized humans.
Of course, there are always a few flies in the soup. The pad on the buttplate is a simple sheet of foam rubber, very reminiscent of the DIY flip-flop pads dreamed up by Why Not? It bugs me; I will likely scrape it off and replace with just a thin rubber sheet for traction. I'll brave the frightful recoil of the .223 with no padding at all. And the muzzle of the barrel is threaded and comes with a thread protector...but removing this protector reveals that the threaded portion of the barrel is also pierced by several holes to act as a muzzle break. Really? Who in his right mind would carry and shoot the thing with no thread protector? This has to be one of the most idiotic design features I have ever encountered, but it's more a case of being bothered by knowing it's there. It isn't something you need to use or work around. I haven't bothered to check the thread pitch because I know dang well I won't be saddling this little wand with goofy extra weight.
I've put about 100 rounds through the gun this morning, all cheap FMJ Remington/PMC stuff. Groups seem to hover around 1.5 - 2 MOA, which makes me think that MOA or better will be practically guaranteed with some load development and experimentation. The trigger is lovely and crisp; it's a very pronounced two-stage design (which I quite like) and feels like maybe 2.5 or perhaps 3 pounds. Not a target-light trigger, but pretty much ideal for cold-weather numb-fingered hunting. The bolt operation is not rough but certainly not glass-smooth, and fairly stiff. It will hopefully wear in and lighten up a bit with use. The effort required to raise the bolt tends to jar the very light gun more than it would a weightier rifle.
Overall, the gun is so lightweight that it requires concentration to shoot well. I don't think this is an indictment of the gun, or of lightweight guns in general; it's just a fact of life. If your mind wanders it is easy to see groups growing larger...so pay attention!
Lots of other features I haven't really thought about much: 60-degree bolt lift, which is perfect if you like a low mounted scope; nice big comfortable bolt knob; rail inlet into the bottom of the fore-end to make it easier to add unnecessary heavy crap
; two -position safety, very positive and accessible; probably other stuff as well. I need to play with it a bunch more, especially with an eye towards serious sighting-in and accuracy testing. A confidence-inspiring observation was noticed after scope mounting. I carefully mounted the rings (cheapie Weavers, the lightest I had on hand) to the pic rail, then the scope (again, the lightest one I had that was free) into the rings , and then quickly laser bore-sighted the outfit. The red dot was perfectly centered just under the crosshairs. The first shot, brashly taken at 100 yards, was perfect for windage and about 3 inches beneath POA. One quick adjustment of the elevation had rounds clustering snugly in the bullseye. A start like that just has to make you smile.It's looking good for this new little toy to become a long-term keeper. I have now officially lost all interest in the Hera H6.
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