Reloader's Press

It seems that the entire firearms industry revolves around new products and launches. I don’t get overly excited about most of them, it takes a lot to get me genuinely interested. The subject of this column is one of the few exceptions to that statement. Last year, while attending the SHOT Show, I was ushered into a room in the back of the SDS Arms booth. I was shown a pre-production bolt-action rifle that they were going to start importing into the U.S. market under Spandau Arms, which previously was only known for their shotguns.

After examining the rifle, I was impressed by the careful thought that went into this rifle, and the timing seemed right as well. Since then, I have been talking with them about the rifle and eventually, they shipped a pre-production rifle for testing and evaluation. While it is a pre-production rifle, the rifle I have and tested is in its final form and will share the same features, aesthetics and feel as the production rifles. The testing should be a good representation of what to expect with what will be sold on the shelf. Thankfully, I have heard a lot of feedback from others who have tested the rifle as well as the good folks at SDS, and our experiences across multiple rifles all appear to be similar. 

The rifle itself is a bolt-action centerfire rifle chambered in 308 Winchester for the initial product launch, though I suspect once the rifle is in production, additional chamberings are just a matter of time. It features a very nice Turkish walnut wood stock with checkering on the fore-end and wrist area. The heart of the rifle, the action itself, is a Remington 700 clone. It is drilled and tapped for #6-48 Torx head screws, which hold on the Picatinny rail that is included out of the box. The action is set up to accept AICS pattern magazines and will accept any Remington 700 stock for that pattern of magazine. In addition to that, any Remington 700 trigger will also readily fit the Spandau RL rifle. This means decades of aftermarket stocks, triggers and countless other accessories for the Remington 700 will work with this rifle. It features a 20-inch 5R rifled barrel that has a 1:10 twist rate and is threaded from the factory 5⁄8x24 to accept an included muzzle brake or your own suppressor. I chose to use the latter and put some more time behind the RXD30Ti– a relatively new suppressor collaboration from Dead Air and Ruger. The metal finish for the rifle is an oxynitride finish, which offers good corrosion resistance and a nice flat finish. The rifle also has an oversized bolt knob which I have come to greatly appreciate. The rifle is manufactured by Huglu Firearms Cooperative in Turkey and imported by Spandau, a brand under SDS Arms. 

The first order of business was to establish a baseline for accuracy using factory ammunition. Three different types were tested; the results were acceptable and within the rifle’s accuracy guarantee. Once that was out of the way, it was time to start handloading for the rifle to see what it was really capable of doing. I wanted to keep variables to a bare minimum to give this rifle every chance to perform without any excuses. A variety of bullets, powders and quality components and equipment were used for testing. I started out by selecting new unfired Peterson cases which I would fireform to the chamber and bump the shoulder back .002 inch. To fireform each case a previously good load in other rifles was used and the entire group was recorded. All cases were resized using a Redding Reloading die set in an Area 419 Zero Reloading Press. To measure the shoulder bump, a Sinclair headspace comparator with the appropriate insert was used in conjunction with a Mitutoyo digital caliper. Cases were chamfered and deburred on an RCBS Brass Boss case prep center; the cases were then primed with an RCBS Automatic Priming Tool. To charge the cases, an RCBS MatchMaster powder dispenser was used, and charge weights were accurate to .04 grain. Bullets were seated with a Redding Deluxe seating die with the micrometer-adjustable bullet seating stem. 

With handloads in hand, it was time to head to the range. I had to wait patiently for some storms to blow through to ensure I had enough good and consistent weather for testing. I wanted to keep all variables, no matter how slight, to a minimum. Thankfully, it’s a short walk to the 100-yard test range, and it allows for such flexibility when fighting fall weather. Testing went quite smoothly, and I was able to get it all completed under essentially the same weather conditions. One noticeable thing was that the barrel was sensitive to heat, and after shooting a few groups, the barrel had to be cooled, or group sizes would open up. Admittedly, some of the groups in the handload table could be better if I had been a little more patient; often, it was one flyer opening up the 5-shot groups. The manufacturer claims sub-MOA for 3-shot groups; this was easily achievable and repeatable with this rifle and a good handload or premium factory ammunition. Shooting 5-shot groups opened the groups up a little bit. The overall average among every load tested (the good and the bad) led to an overall average group size of 1.30 inches across all 29 different loads tested. As a whole, this is very impressive performance especially considering a full load development was conducted and the poor performing loads were not weeded out for that average. While testing the rifle, it never failed to feed, extract or eject a cartridge; in fact, the ejection was very strong, throwing cases quite far when running the bolt vigorously. 

The rifle proved easy to handle, light enough for a good hunting rifle, weighing in at 6 pounds 14 ounces without the optic installed. The trigger broke clean and crisp at 3 pounds and 1 ounce with no discernable overtravel. With an aftermarket Timney Remington 700 trigger this rifle would be just about perfect for hunting. The rifle certainly fills a niche or perhaps even a large hole in the market for a reasonably priced walnut-stocked hunting rifle. That can be upgraded as you go. Thanks to the MSRP of $799, this rifle is not only affordable, modular and attractive, but it is also something that can be woven into anyone’s budget. In a day and age where there are more and more plastic stocks and Chassis rifles, it’s nice to see a walnut stock and a familiar steel action. There is something that feels right about taking a wood-stocked rifle into the woods to hunt, plus you look good doing it. The 308 Winchester makes a fine hunting cartridge and that is what my wife used to take an Arizona Mule deer last year with a single shot. 

All in all, based on the results in the table you can see the performance for yourself. As for me, I am extremely impressed with the rifle especially at the price point. This rifle is likely something I’ll be tinkering with for a long time, swapping parts and testing more loads. Perhaps even taking full advantage of the versatility of the 308 Winchester and loading up some varmint bullets before the coyotes shed off all their winter fur. I think the versatility and modularity is hard to beat with countless aftermarket options for the rifle and endless load combinations to be explored. I’ll likely be tinkering with this rifle for many years to come. After all, tinkering and experimenting is half the fun and the experience gleaned along the way is priceless.