Approximately a year and a half ago I purchased a brand new Tactical Solutions X-Ring rifle from Wanstalls. I must admit the purchase was a bit of an impulse buy as I already had a few rimfires collecting dust in my gun cabinet. The idea of a light weight rifle with better than average accuracy was a bit of an intriguing combo. Given these rifles are still for sale and there are no reviews that I can find, I thought I would post something.
When I first received the rifle I was extremely impressed with the fit and finish and overall feel. It was definitely a quality product and should be given the price. My first shooting experiences were great, accuracy from the bench was not as good as I had hoped with my then current stable of ammunition. I broaden my stable and found that I could get CCI SV to group within 0.75 inches at 50 yards if I did my job. Some groups were tighter but I base my accuracy calculations on 5 – 10 groups so it is representative of what the gun can do all day. 22 Plinkster has a version of this rifle (with a volquartsen trigger) which he calls the Frankenrifle. He is reporting ½ inch accuracy at 50 yards which is pretty amazing. I am a pretty good shot with a rifle but there is a chance he might just be better than me. I am not sure I could get my gun shooting that well consistently in its current configuration but this is not intended to be a bench gun.
The trigger on this specific rifle is TacSol’s own proprietary unit. I’m sure it’s design in similar to what else is offered out there but it is in a nice aluminum housing of similar quality to the rest of the rifle. I don’t know the weight of the trigger pull but I’d guess it to be approximately 3 pounds, maybe less but I always find this hard to estimate. My bench guns have triggers measured in ounces, so every other trigger I have is either heavy or really heavy by comparison. This one falls within the heavy category but is pretty for field use and ample on the bench. I did have a problem with the trigger initially and got a bit of a run around from Wanstalls but a call to TacSol’s amazing customer service department got everything sorted out. Since then the trigger has work flawlessly and although I dream of a Kidd single or double stage, for the purpose of this rifle the trigger is more than adequate.
The action on this rifle uses a slightly different design. Rather that the rod guide/spring and cocking handle combination of standard 10/22’s, this one used a proprietary duel spring setup behind the bolt. Removal and reinstallation of the bolt is extremely easy and this thing runs cleaner and smoother than any 10/22 or variant I’ve ever used. I’ve only ever had 1 malfunction and it was the result of a round being ejected and getting hung up on the Hogue stock. Never a failure to feed, eject or fire (this is more to do with ammunition mind you). The gun runs flawlessly which is more than I can saw for the SR-22 I owned previously. I could dump multiple 25 round mags (before they became banned) without a single jam or barrel heating. The action also has a plug in the rear that allows for cleaning which is a nice touch but something that I expect can be retrofitted to any action.
The rifle sits in a Hogue overmould stock which I find very nice to shoot. I am a high comb kind of guy, and if I could change one thing it would be this. The fluting in the barrel appears to have been designed to compliment this stock. It is a very nice configuration to look at.
The barrel is the part of this rifle that most people would be familiar with. The machining and coating are beautifully done and the weight of this barrel is what really shines. The entire gun weighs approximately 4 pounds but looks like it should weight twice that. The breach on the barrel is aluminum which I thought was a bit concerning at first but there doesn’t seem to be any issues after a few thousand rounds. I added a compensator to the barrel only because it looked cool. It does not seem to change the accuracy of the rifle either way which is good but it does get stock on pretty good if I don’t remove it for cleaning every once and awhile. There is definitely no risk of it coming off. I’ve seen some Kidd barrels where you can’t even see the joint when the compensator threads on. Although the machining on the TacSol is great, it doesn’t pull off any magic tricks like the Kidd stuff does.
I do love this rifle but I am currently at a crossroad in the world of rimfires. I also have a CZ American and Savage MKII with a few add-ons. I really don’t need three rimfires and want to get down to just one rifle (semi). I’m not sure if I should put a Kidd barrel and trigger on this thing or build a new rifle all together. I love the action on this rifle but if I am going to us it for accuracy practise I will need to get it consistently into the ½” realm and get a trigger that can be tuned down to a pound or so. Time will tell I guess.
Anyone else have one of these rifles?
When I first received the rifle I was extremely impressed with the fit and finish and overall feel. It was definitely a quality product and should be given the price. My first shooting experiences were great, accuracy from the bench was not as good as I had hoped with my then current stable of ammunition. I broaden my stable and found that I could get CCI SV to group within 0.75 inches at 50 yards if I did my job. Some groups were tighter but I base my accuracy calculations on 5 – 10 groups so it is representative of what the gun can do all day. 22 Plinkster has a version of this rifle (with a volquartsen trigger) which he calls the Frankenrifle. He is reporting ½ inch accuracy at 50 yards which is pretty amazing. I am a pretty good shot with a rifle but there is a chance he might just be better than me. I am not sure I could get my gun shooting that well consistently in its current configuration but this is not intended to be a bench gun.
The trigger on this specific rifle is TacSol’s own proprietary unit. I’m sure it’s design in similar to what else is offered out there but it is in a nice aluminum housing of similar quality to the rest of the rifle. I don’t know the weight of the trigger pull but I’d guess it to be approximately 3 pounds, maybe less but I always find this hard to estimate. My bench guns have triggers measured in ounces, so every other trigger I have is either heavy or really heavy by comparison. This one falls within the heavy category but is pretty for field use and ample on the bench. I did have a problem with the trigger initially and got a bit of a run around from Wanstalls but a call to TacSol’s amazing customer service department got everything sorted out. Since then the trigger has work flawlessly and although I dream of a Kidd single or double stage, for the purpose of this rifle the trigger is more than adequate.
The action on this rifle uses a slightly different design. Rather that the rod guide/spring and cocking handle combination of standard 10/22’s, this one used a proprietary duel spring setup behind the bolt. Removal and reinstallation of the bolt is extremely easy and this thing runs cleaner and smoother than any 10/22 or variant I’ve ever used. I’ve only ever had 1 malfunction and it was the result of a round being ejected and getting hung up on the Hogue stock. Never a failure to feed, eject or fire (this is more to do with ammunition mind you). The gun runs flawlessly which is more than I can saw for the SR-22 I owned previously. I could dump multiple 25 round mags (before they became banned) without a single jam or barrel heating. The action also has a plug in the rear that allows for cleaning which is a nice touch but something that I expect can be retrofitted to any action.
The rifle sits in a Hogue overmould stock which I find very nice to shoot. I am a high comb kind of guy, and if I could change one thing it would be this. The fluting in the barrel appears to have been designed to compliment this stock. It is a very nice configuration to look at.
The barrel is the part of this rifle that most people would be familiar with. The machining and coating are beautifully done and the weight of this barrel is what really shines. The entire gun weighs approximately 4 pounds but looks like it should weight twice that. The breach on the barrel is aluminum which I thought was a bit concerning at first but there doesn’t seem to be any issues after a few thousand rounds. I added a compensator to the barrel only because it looked cool. It does not seem to change the accuracy of the rifle either way which is good but it does get stock on pretty good if I don’t remove it for cleaning every once and awhile. There is definitely no risk of it coming off. I’ve seen some Kidd barrels where you can’t even see the joint when the compensator threads on. Although the machining on the TacSol is great, it doesn’t pull off any magic tricks like the Kidd stuff does.
I do love this rifle but I am currently at a crossroad in the world of rimfires. I also have a CZ American and Savage MKII with a few add-ons. I really don’t need three rimfires and want to get down to just one rifle (semi). I’m not sure if I should put a Kidd barrel and trigger on this thing or build a new rifle all together. I love the action on this rifle but if I am going to us it for accuracy practise I will need to get it consistently into the ½” realm and get a trigger that can be tuned down to a pound or so. Time will tell I guess.
Anyone else have one of these rifles?
