First impression: Southern Cross Taipan Evo rifle

Southern Cross Small Arms has released its new Taipan Evo pump-action/straight-pull rifle and we’ve just started testing one.

This morning I got it zeroed and fired the first groups — and so this is very much a first impression as I hook into the full test, which will be completed in a couple of weeks.

Southern Cross Small Arms Taipan Evo test — The Taipan Evo is the third generation of the Australian-made Southern Cross Small Arms rifle

The new buttstock is the biggest and most obvious change Southern Cross has made, and it completes the Taipan both aesthetically and practically.

Now polymer instead of aluminium, the new butt is lighter and this centralises the mass of the rifle to create a better balance.

It follows the same profile along the comb, with the same adjustable cheek piece as before, and also has the same butt pad with removable spacers to adjust length of pull.

However, the pistol grip is now moulded as part of the butt and has a very different and more comfortable shape: rather than fairly straight and square-ish in the traditional AR style, it is a more curvaceous thing, flaring wider and deeper towards the bottom so it fits naturally into your hand.

The different balance and new grip both make this Taipan a lot more comfortable to both shoot and to carry.

The rear of the butt has a section to hold a spare magazine, using the same kind of push-button release catch as the receiver. It’s a convenient way to carry extra ammo that keeps it close and easily accessible yet doesn’t seem to get in the way — not that I’ve managed to properly prove that impression yet.

On the left side of the receiver, there’s a new and very welcome addition — an AR-style hold-open catch for the bolt carrier.

This Evo addition lets you easily lock the action open when required (it happens automatically when you have emptied the magazine, but not otherwise).

Then to release and close the spring-loaded action, you can either hit the catch or pull the bolt handle backwards a fraction.

If you press the release, just watch the bolt handle doesn’t whack your thumb on its way past. (You can remove the bolt handle if prefer to use the pump handle exclusively.)

I’ve fired 20 rounds, which isn’t much to go on, and it was mostly zeroing and mucking around. But before the wind came on strong enough to stop proceedings, I squeezed in two three-shot groups using Red Earth Razorback .223 soft points; they went 1 MOA and 1½ MOA, which is a good start. And that’s using the 1-6x Nikko Stirling supplied with the test rifle.

The trigger is still a bit on the heavy side but is noticeably crisper than I remember from testing the Taipan X. I’m yet to ask if there’s been any revision to it. Either way, I really rate this one’s snappy let-off.