g y
medium sporter profile begins at
18.5mm diameter, growing towards
20.2mm where it crosses the fore-end
before reaching 28.7mm as the
reinforce screws into the action.
The round action is 35mm in
diameter and features a Picatinny rail
attached in four places on its upper
surface. It’s a solid top with just a
91mm oval cutout for ejection on the
right side that will handle larger
cartridges than a .223; the action’s
bolt-stoke is limited at 93mm on the
.223 so alternate guns, with larger
rounds to chamber, can use a similar
but modified bolt.
A 22mm bolt with a true cylindrical
profile runs notably smoothly in the
action with no raceways (other than the
release catch’s) to stutter its transit
when loading live rounds or extracting
brass. It’s a push-feed face with three
lugs surrounding the recessed
extractor claw and plunger ejector, both
of which performed flawlessly. Loading
live ammo did show up that the
headspace feels snug and firm with no
slope on a chambered round that will
glide up the feed ramp into the barrelf f p y r
magazine. This single-stack mag does
limit overall cartridge length to 2.410"
so consider looking at accurate
repeatable feed from handloads rather
than chasing the lands immediately.
These four-rounders clip into the
gun, almost flush fitting with a
front-mounted catch for simple removal
with one hand, allowing the polymer
mag to drop free without any need to
manually draw it out.
A three-position wing safety is sited
on the bolt’s shroud and slightly
different in that forward position allows
normal firing, the centre position
applies safety while locking the bolt
with the fully rearward linear position,
allowing safe unloading with free bolt
operation. I’m used to the middle
stage being the safe/unload phase on
most wing safeties, but I’m sure I
would get used to it. The catch carries
heavy serrations and is operable
silently when using nipped thumb and
forefinger but will ‘clunk’ to some
extent if flicked only using the tip of
your thumb.
I rather liked the stock; it is a superb
varmint layout for prone and well-http://www.rifleshootermagazine.co.uk 25»
ON TEST THIS MONTH
RIFLE
MINI TEST
In-depth, independent
reviews every monthLithgow Arms LA102 Centrefire Laminate Stock in .223 Rem
T
his is my second encounter
with a Lithgow Arms crossover
rifle, here in a heavier brown
laminate stock that certainly
shouts ‘varminter’ more than the
previous stalking layout with synthetic
furniture. Furthermore, the 1 in 9" twist
rate of the cold-hammer-forged barrel
definitely invites experimentation, with
heavier .224 bullets more suited to
maximising the range from the
diminutive but thoroughly efficient .223
Remington cartridge.
This rifle has a muzzle screw-cut
14x1 with a smooth chatter-free finishTHUNDER FROM
DOWN UNDER
Chris Parkin gets his hands on the latest offering from Lithgow Arms and discovers a
fine performer with real quality at a great price
BELOW: Three-lug
bolt for 60° lift on the
handle with plentiful
extraction and
ejection force