Running over firearms with a 4WD or throwing them down stairs are not traditionally part of firearm design testing procedures, but they’re a necessary part of proving the new Australian-made Genesis One sporting rifle is rugged and reliable enough for local conditions.
The Genesis One, being developed and produced by Enfield Arms in Queensland, is a straight-pull bolt-action design with a 16.5” barrel, chambered in .223, 6.5mm Creedmoor and .308 Winchester.
It has been in development for more than two years and as part of the testing process one of the rifles has been run over with a 4WD, thrown down stairs, buried in mud, and run over again. It still functioned perfectly.
Designer Ron Owen said the design was intended to be capable of handling to the new .277 SIG Fury round, which generates pressures in the 90,000psi range, so it had to be tough not only for the cartridge, but to ensure the gun would hold up in the field.
“We wanted something that was indestructible and we wanted it to be accurate, which is why we designed the steel receiver with two inches of barrel thread, instead of six or seven turns,” he said.
“The magazine assembly has been designed so it protects the magazine; and a front grip so it’s handy for you to move your left-hand to the spring assisted cocking handle.
“It [the furniture] had to be really thick; we used a polymer similar to Glock’s and we made it really quite thick.”
Ron explained the tensile-strength rating on polymer used for many firearms was 310MPa, with aluminium alloy coming in around 320MPa.
“We made ours thicker so it would be stronger than aluminium, and we wanted to prove that — and I think we did,” he said.
In addition to the gun’s rugged construction — demonstrated by the fact it functioned without issue after its unorthodox but brutal testing — it features further reliability-focussed design elements including an internal firing mechanism, a mechanical ejector and heat-dispersion systems to prevent ‘miraging’ under heavy use.
“We’ve got a heat sink where the barrel starts, free-floating and a heat sink where the barrel locks,” Ron said.
“The forearm has like a cooling system in it — pushes hot air out towards the front of the rifle, so when you look through scope and fire couple of hundred rounds you can still see the target.
“The rifle is really easy to take apart and clean – you only have to press a button on the back, swivel the stock tube anticlockwise, it comes out, then you can take out the bolt head and carrier.”
As to the results of the unconventional stress testing?
“We were absolutely thrilled … we had a lot of fun,” Ron said.
“We’re waiting for someone else to send us their rifle and their scope and we’ll give it the same test, free of charge.”
The Genesis One will be distributed by RayTrade with a RRP of $1595.
We’ll publish a full review by our Technical Advisor Nick Harvey in the August edition of Sporting Shooter.
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