Strasser RS 14 Evolution

Austrian gunmakers have a long history with straight-pull, bolt-action rifles.

If Ferdinand von Mannlicher did not originate the idea of a straight-pull, he could certainly be credited with inventing the first undeniably successful one – the Mannlicher Model 1895, which became the official infantry rifle of the Austro-Hungarian Army and continued in use, officially and unofficially, until 1945.

It’s no surprise then, that when Waffenmanufaktur HMS GmbH (aka Strasser), a precision engineering company in Salzburg, Austria, set out to design a bolt action that would, in their words, “fill in the shortcomings” of existing bolt rifles and they would choose to do it with a straight-pull. First came the RS 5, followed in 2014, with the RS 14. This evolved and was modified into the RS 14 Evolution, which is what we are looking at here.

Strasser Austria is a family-owned company founded after the second world war, specializing in metal work and precision machining. Some of its products have been used in the European “Ariane” space program, among other places, including parts and components for firearms for other companies. Being a family of “passionate hunters,” it was natural for them to branch out into the making of entire rifles.

The third-generation Strasser, Mathias, graduated from the Austrian gunmaking college in Ferlach, Austria, and he combined this knowledge with the company’s history in machining and metalwork, to

design the rifle we are looking at here: The RS 14 Evolution.

To describe it in a nutshell, it’s a straight-pull bolt action that is also a switch-barrel design, allowing easy interchangeability of barrels and calibers. The obvious comparison is with the Blaser R8, which does the same thing. Like the R8, the RS 14 uses a striker cocking and de-cocking system rather than a conventional cocked striker and safety.

The one I tested combines the 6.5 Creedmoor with the 222 Remington. Obviously, such different cartridges require different magazines and bolt heads. Altogether, Strasser offers 27 different calibers, from 222 at the small end to 458 Winchester Magnum at the large, which supports the notion that this could be the ideal solution for someone wanting to do everything with just one rifle.

There are three immediate questions with such an arrangement:

How accurate is the rifle?

How easy is it to switch calibers?

Can accuracy be maintained while switching barrels and scopes back and forth?

We’ve reached a stage in rifle development that the first question can be taken as a given: A rifle in this class can be depended upon to deliver five shots into less than an inch, and some of them considerably better, depending on the caliber and the ammunition. If it fails to do that with either barrel, I’ll let you know.

The answer to the second question, it’s very easy indeed. Remove the magazine, then the bolt, by pressing a release button and pulling it out. At the rear of the bolt channel is a tiny thumb catch, which allows for the removal of the trigger group.

There, in a spring-loaded catch ahead of the trigger, is a small Allen key. Using this key, release the forend, which slides off, and tucked into a slot in the forend, there is a 3-inch extension rod. The Allen key loosens a screw that secures the barrel and the extension rod is then used to pivot a lever that locks the barrel in place. The barrel slides out smoothly.

Switching bolt heads is simplicity itself: A small latch is lifted with a fingernail and the head comes out. The new one is inserted and the latch is closed. Voilá.

To reassemble the rifle, reverse the process: Barrel in, tighten barrel screw, pivot the lever, replace rod in forend, slide forend into place, tighten the screw, replace Allen key in its holder in the trigger group, replace trigger group, slide in the bolt and insert the magazine.

As a test, I timed myself switching calibers – after a suitable amount of practice – and found it could be done in about a minute when you have all the tools and parts laid out ready. It is not, however, something you should try to rush to set a record.

My original plan was to fire 15 shots with each caliber, following a regime of five shots, switch barrels and scopes, five more shots, switch back to the first caliber, and so on, with three targets overlaid for each caliber to show how much the groups wandered, if in fact they did. I used top-quality Hornady factory ammunition in both calibers. I also had two first-rate scopes (Leica and Swarovski), one sighted in for each cartridge and fitted in detachable Burris mounts to the integral Picatinny rail, and of course, these were switched around as well.

As can be seen, there are a lot of moving parts involved and a lot of ifs, to say nothing of any mistakes I might make, even shooting off sandbags.

First, accuracy. The rifle was quite happy with Hornady 222 Remington 50-grain V-MAX Superformance Varmint, putting five shots repeatedly into about an inch. It did not like Hornady 6.5 Creedmoor 147-grain ELD Match much, with five-shot groups running between 1.5 and 2 inches.

I should hasten to add that Strasser does not make any specific accuracy “guarantees,” questionable as those are anyway. After noting all the qualifying factors – ammunition, scope, mounts and so on – they say in their manual “With an optimal combination of ammunition, sight and mount we guarantee an [sic] outstanding shooting accuracy of our rifles.” Given the consistency of the rifle, however, I have no doubt that if I had it long term, I could develop some handloads it would like much better.

The thing is, the RS 14 is not intended to be a sniper rifle or to suit the current ultra-long-range mania of American hunters. It’s a European-style hunting rifle, with the barrel-switching feature allowing a hunter to have more than one caliber for different game in different situations.

Onto our second question, which is repeatability: In both calibers, the second five-shot group printed the target in a distinctly different spot. The second 222 group was about an inch from the first, with the second 6.5 group not quite 2 inches away, measured center-to-center.

Such rifles are often touted as a one-rifle solution for hunters going to Africa, which is fine in theory. But imagine you’re in camp in Tanzania, going out for Cape buffalo in the early morning with your 458 Winchester barrel, then switching to 222 for an afternoon in pursuit of duikers. You would have to resight the rifle every time, or at the very least, fire a couple of shots to double-check. That is neither convenient nor practical, given the facilities in most camps, to say nothing of the limitations on the ammunition you can bring.

The Strasser RS 14 is nothing if not ingenious. As described above, the sequence for changing barrels is carefully thought out, with each necessary tool coming to hand as the rifle is disassembled in exactly the right order.

One thing I did find out, however, is that switching all the parts is one thing on the gun-friendly leather-covered work table in my gun room and quite another on the shooting bench at the 300-yard range with a stiff breeze trying to blow everything away. Carry that a step further and imagine doing it on the snow-covered slope of an Alp, or in the long grass and ubiquitous sand of a safari camp. If the rifle were mine, I would only change calibers in the peace and quiet of my gun room and not even consider doing it anywhere else.

One area of Strasser’s innovation that is particularly noteworthy is its trigger. Since a good trigger pull is as essential to accuracy as a good barrel, this is no small thing. It can be used as either a conventional or single-set trigger, with direct-pull weight adjustable (light, medium, heavy) with no tools except your fingertips. The rifle comes from the factory with its trigger pull set at about 3 pounds and is very crisp.

Measuring the pull weights at all three settings exactly, to the fractional ounce, seemed beyond the capabilities of my digital pull-weight gauge, but all were down in the 2- to 3-pound range. The set-trigger pull is adjustable from 100 to 200 grams (3.5 to 7 ounces) but the manual gives no detailed instruction how to do this beyond an arrow pointing to a tiny Allen screw behind the trigger. This would not move with the minuscule Allen key I happened to have, so rather than mess with it, I left it as it was. While the direct-pull weight was adjustable, it appeared to me that the set-pull weight was constant once I had it set where I wanted. My assumption, given the number of warnings contained in the manual, is that this is best left to one of their factory-trained technicians.

Two other points need to be mentioned.

First, the rifle has an integral Picatinny rail, so no alternative method of scope mounting is possible. I used one-piece Burris detachable mounts, which placed the scope higher above the stock than I like for my best shooting. Since the stock is wood with no adjustable comb, I was left to find a scope and mount combination that places the scope sufficiently low, or I had to try to build up the comb somehow. My approach was a stopgap, since this was a borrowed rifle, I used a thick pad resting on the comb.

The second point is the factory threading of the muzzle for a suppressor. I did not use that feature, but it’s worth noting. Also, Strasser cautions against leaving the suppressor in place for long periods because of possible corrosion.

With list prices starting at around $4,000, the Strasser RS 14 Evolution is not cheap by any means. The complete list of all its features, including metal finishes used on the barrel and receiver, the technological touches that make the trigger so good, and the many variations and permutations that are possible with the basic rifle, can all be found on Strasser’s website, or by downloading the user’s manual.

My overall impression of the rifle is that it is a technological marvel and obviously designed by and for people who are serious hunters. It does not have the soldier-proof ruggedness and simplicity of Mannlicher’s old Model 1895, but this is not a military design.

If I had eight or 10 grand to drop on a rifle, various barrels, and a selection of top-quality scopes, it would be fun to take a year or two to really see what the rifle is capable of. I suspect it would be very impressive indeed.