S_S_2015_05_

92 SHOOTING SPORTS MAGAZINE

FIREARMS | GUN TEST

BRIEF

FOR

Fast action

Enclosed bolt

Slick barrel change

Uses standard Weaver-type mounts

AGAINST

Not cheap

No left hander available

Internal action cleaning

is hard

VERDICT

A straight-pull that

dares to be different

Good shooter I’ll be

sad to see it go

T

here are many variations of the Merkel

Helix but my favourite is the Alpinist.

With a lighter, 22”, 17mm fl uted barrel,

it was the perfect counterpoint to my usual

love of chunkier rifl es and barrels, and sadly,

an all too brief encounter.

The Helix offers an innovative straight

pull action with a non-conventional bolt

system! The receiver is fully enclosed so

nothing slides out of the back when it’s

cycled, operation is by a neat drop-down

handle on the right. Different are the

internals as the design offers a mechanical

advantage in that the operating stroke is

shorter than actual bolt stroke by a ratio of

1-2. It effectively halves the movement so

1.5” of handle pull can extract and eject a

3” case, this is done by a rack and pinion

type system.

NO CHEATING

Although many straight pulls are fast, the

advantage here is that you can keep your

head down as even with a long action calibre

such as the 300 Win Mag, you aren’t going

to crash the bolt into your face. You cannot

cheat the laws of physics; the downside to

halving the movement is doubling the effort

required. Locking is direct with the 6-lug bolt

head engaging with the chamber extension,

with the non pressure-bearing receiver

playing no part except as a housing and

scope base. The bolt face rotates anti-

clockwise into battery with a plunger ejector

ENCOUNTER

Chris Parkin reckons the Merkel Helix

is a straight-pull to seriously consider

The Merkel Helix offers

a practical alternative to

the other big names in

this area and is a really

shootable rifle too