While some firearms manufacturers have made their name for offering big bore hunting rifles and shotguns, others have stuck to specialty products. The name Volquartsen Firearms may not be quite as iconic as Colt or Remington, but shooters of rimfire small arms certainly know the name. The company was founded in 1974—and like many of today’s firearm industry giants, it started small with an idea to improve on what was already in the market.

In the case of Volquartsen, it was about seeing a need to build a better and lighter rimfire, and that is what the Carroll, Iowa company has accomplished.

Going Light 

Introduced at the 2020 SHOT Show (Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade Show), Volquartsen’s Ultralite .22 LR with Modshot stock is the lightest rimfire configuration the company has released and likely is one of the lightest rifles on the market today. It is also easy to see why the rifle was chosen to be one of the ten best at SHOT Show according to the NRA’s Shooting Sports USA.

The weight reduction comes from the new Ultralite barrel that is mounted on the CNC-machined billet black aluminum chassis, while the Modshotbuttstock is made of a combination of aluminum and carbon-fiber, which absorbs every bit of the little recoil that there is from the .22 LR caliber. Even the adjustable and ergonomic foregrip is made of the super lightweight carbon fiber, keeping the total weight to just 3 pounds, 13 ounces. In addition to the lightweight of this rimfire rifle, it has its feathery trigger pull set to 2.25 pounds before it leaves the factory!

The receiver can be fitted with several optics options as it features a standard Picatinny rail mount, while the Volquartsen Ultralite Modshot Rimfire can also be drilled and tapped to accept standard C-More optics—which can be mounted as low as possible to give rimfire steel shooters an advantage at the range.

With an MSRP of $1,769 the Ultralite Modshot Rimfire is far from the most affordable .22 LR rifles one is likely to find, but as the company has noted since it was found, “handcrafted” doesn’t always mean “well-crafted” and “Made in the USA” doesn’t always equate to quality. In this case, the rifle, which is only built to order and thus not available for immediate shipment, is truly one that is well-crafted, made in America, and might just be among the very best rimfire on the market in any weight class.

Specs: 

Caliber: .22 LR. Capacity: 10. Barrel: Forward blow comp, anodized aluminum. Stock: Modshot. Sights: Picatinny rail. Weight: 3.8 lbs. Features: Ultralight design, 2.25-lb. trigger pull, uses Ruger magazines, made in the USA.

Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer who has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers and websites. He is the author of several books on military headgear including A Gallery of Military Headdress, which is available on Amazon.com. 

Image: Volquartsen Firearms