straight

Review: ISSC SPA
Going
straight
Mike Powell is forced to rethink his love of semi-autos by an
excellent new straight-pull: the ISSC SPA
K
it comes and goes, but occasionally I get the opportunity to
try something totally new. Recently I got two such items. The
first was the thermal riflescope from Optix, and the second,
the subject of this article, is the ISSC SPA (straight-pull action) rimfire
rifle. Made in Austria, which is a good recommendation to start with,
it immediately caught my interest.
I am sure most readers will have seen the biathlon on television,
where hardy souls ski for miles and are then expected to shoot their
.22 rifles in various positions. The rifles used are straight-pulls and are
quick to operate, taking a minimum of movement to chamber each
round. I suppose the nearest to this we have seen recently has been the
Browning T-Bolt, which has already proved itself as a very good rifle.
The ISSC SPA follows the biathlon type more closely than the
T-Bolt. It will certainly appeal to those who want something that
little bit different. On top of that, rimfire rifles in their various guises
are becoming more popular, and as interest in all shooting sports
rises, many shooters of larger calibres are turning to the small
rimfires for an economical way of honing their skills – not to mention
having quite a lot of fun.
So the ISSC has every chance of being a success. First impressions
from the box certainly help this – it’s a nice-looking rifle. I had the
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wooden-stocked model on test but there is a
synthetic version available as well.
The stock is walnut, nicely finished with
light chequering panels at the pistol grip
and forend. The butt is finished with a
soft rubber pad, and the forend is a typical
Schnabel type. The wood finish is oiled.
At this point, a couple of things struck me
immediately. The first was the cocking lever,
which is fitted vertically directly above the
trigger guard. I will come to its operation
later. The other is the low profile of the
action body, allowing the scope to be fitted
really close to the barrel. The test model
came with relatively high mounts, but were
I to have one of these myself I would source
the lowest mounts possible. The receiver
was grooved for 11mm mounts and proved
particularly easy to fit the scope to.
The polymer trigger guard was large,
giving more than enough room for a gloved
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Review: ISSC SPA
The ISSC was one of the
most ammunition-tolerant
rifles I have come across for
a long time
finger. The size was definitely needed as it also housed the safety
catch. I have to say, on first trying the safety I was not too impressed.
There is always some degree of speculation about safety catches
located immediately in the vicinity of the trigger, although here the
catch is well forward of the trigger blade. But I didn’t find it that easy
to operate – it took quite a lot of pressure to apply in the forward (off)
position. I am sure that after some sustained operation in the field,
this would not be a problem. The trigger itself is adjustable, which is
always a nice facility to have on a rimfire.
Moving forward, there’s one word to describe the 10-shot magazine:
big! The reason for this, I assume, is that the SPA comes in three
calibres: .22LR, .17 HMR and .22WMR. The magazine casing clearly
will be the same for all three calibres – it just looked big for a .22LR. I
liked the 10-shot capacity – I never understand why rifles that have the
ability to shoot quickly are often supplied with only a five-shot mag.
The 20in match barrel is finished in black and is screw-cut as
standard for a moderator.
Overall, it’s a very nice package. The importer, Highland Outdoors,
sent me the rifle equipped with one of their AGS 3-9x50 illuminated
reticle scopes and a Hogan DecimEater moderator. All in all, an
impressive combo.
The next move was to the range to see how the ISSC SPA would
perform with varying types of ammunition. For the test I used
Winchester subsonics, Fiocchi subsonics, CCI segmented and finally
CCI subsonics.
As anyone who shoots rimfire .22s will know, many of them can be
a bit choosy when it comes to ammunition. The ISSC was remarkably
The safety catch, located
inside the trigger guard
Straight pull in action:
Here the action is open...
...pull the cocking
lever straight back...
...and chamber the next
round in record time
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Review: ISSC SPA
Rabbit proof: The ISSC
gets a good test run
tolerant, and with the minor exception of the CCI segmented rounds,
it performed well with just about everything I put through it. TO
ensure a proper test, I deliberately fired the rounds off a bit quicker
than I would have normally done, as the whole idea of this type of
action is to allow swift reloading for a super-fast second shot. The
CCI subsonics worked particularly well, as did the Fiocchi subs.
The ever-popular Winchester rounds also did a good job. In fact, the
ISSC was one of the most ammunition-tolerant .22 rifles I have come
across for a long time.
Extraction and ejection were spot on. I had one or two feed issues,
mainly with the segmented rounds, but without putting a few more
rounds through it, it is hard to give an accurate assessment. The
initial stiffness in the action soon eased, and it was pleasant and
above all quick to use – certainly much quicker than bolt-action
rifles. After some practice I was firing rounds off at a really rapid rate.
I found the straight-pull action much easier to use when the rifle was
used off a rest. I always shoot off sticks, and I found that when using
these or when I was zeroing from a rest, I was able to work the action
more easily than when shooting freehand.
Many rimfire shooters use a bipod or a sling, and I was surprised to
see there was no provision made for these. I know it is easy enough
to fit them, but in a rifle of this quality I would have thought they
would come as standard. However, this is a small matter that can
easily be rectified. I thought that the whole package was very good
indeed, and for anyone wanting an accurate rifle that is capable of
getting rounds off at a surprisingly fast rate, this would certainly fit
the bill.
When it comes to rifle choice, people are always going to question
why you would go for a straight-pull and not a semi-auto. I have
always had semi-auto rimfires, and the only disadvantage I have
found in them is that their accuracy is not quite up to bolt-action
standards. This ISSC rifle does not suffer from that at all. The rifle I
was using was very accurate – and it is available in .17 HMR, which
you cannot get in the semi-auto format.
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In the evening after zeroing, I took it out to see what the local rabbits
thought of it. In their response they were unanimous: they really
hated it! For a new, untried rifle it was excellent. The furthest rabbit
was shot at 110 yards and most at 50-80 yards.
I was impressed with the presentation, the workmanship and the
accuracy of this Austrian rifle. Compared with a semi-auto, the sound
made cocking the action was perhaps slightly louder. Did this affect
the results? Not at all. If I were in the market for a new rifle and
wanted a fast-loading, accurate rifle, I would suspect I would go for
the SPA rather than the standard semi-auto.
Finally, I started out by mentioning the biathlon straight-pull rifles
used in the Olympics. So I’ll finish by clarifying that the ISSC model
is not the fingertip action you see on television. But then those rifles
cost five or six times as much, if not more. And let’s not forget that
this test rifle was new. I am sure that after more rounds had been put
through it the action would become even faster to operate. Make no
mistake – this is a very usable and above all enjoyable rifle. n
Equipment reviewed by: Mike Powell
Product: ISSC SPA .22 rifle
Distributor: Highland Outdoors n 0845 099 0252
www.highlandoutdoors.co.uk
Price: £613 (wood) £495 (synthetic)
Comments: A fine and very fast new rifle
Product: AGS 3-9x50 illuminated reticle scope
Distributor: Highland Outdoors n 0845 099 0252
www.highlandoutdoors.co.uk
Price: £69.99
Comments: Nice entry-level scope that worked perfectly with the rifle
Product: DecimEater sound mod
Distributor: Highland Outdoors n 0845 099 0252
www.highlandoutdoors.co.uk
Price: £65.99
Comments: Like the scope, this did the job very well indeed
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