Review: Arttech Prima XP pump-action rifle

The Arttech Prima XP pump-action rifle delivers outstanding speed and accuracy, time after time, in a smooth and strong firearm.

The Turkish-made Arttech has weight distribution and a slimline design that provide shotgun-like pointability and fast repeat shots on running game.

The Arttech is built like a battleship and does away with a major fault of early pump designs — the undesirable tendency of the forearm to twist and rattle. Its forearm (pump handle) is as tight as a drum.

The Arttech’s forearm is a two-piece unit with the outer section sliding along a pair of rails, one on each side of the inner section which attaches firmly to a steel hanger. Unlike any pump handle I’ve ever seen, it is tightly connected to the operating mechanism and cannot twist or rattle.

The Arttech’s operating rod is surrounded by the return spring; the front end is threaded for the end cap and at the rear it slides through a hole in a steel bracket attached to the bottom of the barrel. 

Then the operating rod goes through the centre of a large, angular steel block, to which a pair of action bars are attached via a slot which fits over raised matching lugs. These bars lift off easily when disassembling the rifle.

The operating rod moves forth and back smoothly, supported by the action bars which are linked to the bolt carrier and slide in longitudinal slots on each side of the inner receiver sidewalls.

The operating rod goes through the centre of a hollow hex nut threaded into a 22mm square hardened-steel insert in the front of the upper receiver, which acts as a recessed stop for the operating spring. More about this block later.

Little effort is required to close the action after the pump handle has been drawn back to extract and eject a fired case; the compressed return spring slams the bolt closed practically of its own volition, loading a round in the process.

The Arttech works on the same basic principle as the Remington 7600 and earlier models but it’s a robust design that should give trouble-free operation for several generations of shooters, if it receives a reasonable amount of care.

The action is extremely simple and positive with a minimum of parts, and those parts are strong and ruggedly designed, ensuring dependable operation under all conditions.

The rotary bolt head has six symmetrically spaced locking lugs in a dual row. The front right lug is slotted for a sliding extractor, and the rear lugs are less than half the size of the front ones. The breech locks up close to the cartridge head like a bolt action.

Its locking lugs turn behind raised shoulders in the steel block in the rifle’s receiver rather than a barrel extension. This design places a thick wall of steel between the chamber and the shooter’s face, affording absolute protection against a pierced primer or blow-back.

The rifle has three distinct safety features to prevent accidental discharge until the action is completely closed. 

First, the trigger is out of contact with the sear. Second, the striker is securely folded back behind the front of the trigger unit, immobilising it. Third, the action blocks the firing pin from reaching the primer until the bolt is in its fully forward position and locked there by the fully engaged locking lugs.

In addition, a silent cross-bolt safety lock located directly behind the trigger, when the rifle is on safe, makes it impossible to release the trigger prematurely.

One of the major disadvantages of pump-action rifles is generally their lack of extraction power due to the straight backward pull of the operating handle. This has been overcome in the Arttech through a powerful camming action from the first part of the unlocking of the rotary bolt head. 

Pulling the handle to the rear cams the locking lugs in a counterclockwise direction and rotates the bolt head to unlock the action. Further rearward travel extracts and ejects the fired case and pivots the striker rearward and down into the cocked position.

As the bolt is slammed forward again, it strips a cartridge from the magazine and chambers it. In the final stages of closing, the bolt head is rotated to engage the locking lugs in their recesses.

The Arttech has a dull black reinforced polymer stock which adds strength to the structure and matches the colour of the barrel and receiver. The pump handle is flat-sided with a finger groove, and the bottom is slightly rounded.

The shape of the buttstock, the curve of the pistol grip and the length of pull are all designed to keep the shooter’s hands and face positioned in the right places to hold the rifle steady and place a well-aimed shot. The stock is calculated so that the shooter doesn’t have to plaster a cheek to the stock as firmly as with some straighter designs and it works. 

Heft and balance feel about right for me and the rifle swings smoothly — dare I say, shotgun-like.

Panels resembling stippling moulded into the stock afford a secure grasp no matter how sweaty or damp your hands may be. The grip is slim and nicely curved, there’s a hard rubber butt pad and a rear sling swivel base. The front swivel is in the end cap.

The receiver is in two sections. The upper section, made of 4140 steel, houses the bolt and return spring and the lower, unstressed portion, made of aircraft-grade alloy, contains the magazine well and trigger mechanism.

The trigger guard is made of a polymer material similar to the stock. To remove the trigger group, punch out a pin above it in the side of the receiver, move the trigger group forward, then remove it downward. The trigger shoe is broad, slightly curved and smooth faced.

The Arttech’s flat-sided receiver is very comfortable in the carrying hand. 

This rifle’s basic weight, 3.3kg (7¼lb), is practically ideal for a rifle that is to be fitted with a scope. 

The 56cm (22”) barrel is long enough to ensure satisfactory ballistic performance from the .308 Winchester and yet short enough to be handy. If you’d like it shorter, there’s a camo version with a 51cm (20”) barrel. The Arttech is also chambered in .30-06 with 56cm barrel and .300 Win Mag with 61cm (24”) barrel.

The flush-fitting detachable magazine box is steel, holds four rounds and has a synthetic follower and base. Press inward on two spring-loaded catches in the base and the magazine drops straight out into your hand. When loaded and inserted normally, the magazine locks snugly into place with no apparent slack.

The Arttech Prima is provided with an excellent set of open sights which are correctly positioned and very well designed. Best of all, the sights are sufficiently high above the bore to place the comb of the stock in the proper position for use with both the iron sights and a low-mounted scope. In other words, the comb is the right height for use with the iron sights and a pretty fair compromise for a scope.

The high-ramped rear sight has a U-notch with a white dot on each side; it is adjustable for windage by drifting it right or left in its dovetail. The high-ramp front sight has a red fibre-optic bead. The sights are easy to remove by simply undoing three screws. 

The test rifle came already fitted with a Picatinny rail and a Leupold VX-Freedom 1.5-4x matte scope in Leupold PRW2 1” rings which are a perfect match for the finish on the rifle.

The tapered barrel is machined from 4140 steel, has a large reinforce at the breech end and the shank seats the barrel to abut the one-inch square locking block, sandwiching it against the receiver. 

The barrel has a diameter of 31.6mm (1.245”) in front of the receiver which immediately begins to taper over the chamber and is down to 24.7mm (.935”) after just 10cm (4”). Then it is straight-tapered to the muzzle which measures 16mm (.63”) and has a dished crown.

A large alloy slider cover protects the bolt body and breech against the entry of dust or debris during hunting in the field. The Arttech is made for adverse weather conditions. 

The matte-black blued barrel and upper receiver combined with a synthetic stock make the rifle extremely weather resistant. The only place water could enter is limited to the ejection port, but the alloy cover sliding back and forth shields the bolt and carrier.

The Arttech is close to foolproof, but it is necessary to keep the mechanism scrupulously clean if it is to extract flawlessly. Ammunition should be full-length resized every time it is reloaded. Unlike a bolt-action, pumps, levers and autoloaders do not have a powerful camming action on the closing and opening strokes.

An oversize case therefore is not easily fed into the chamber of the Arttech. Instead it wedges tightly in the chamber and blocks the final motion of the closing stroke. Then, with the case solidly stuck in the chamber and the extractor gripping the rim — despite the camming force designed into the unlocking process, mentioned above — the action is difficult to open.

Some factory loads can cause this problem, especially if they are dirty, but usually it happens with reloads. The solution is a Small Base Die Set which reduces the case head diameter to minimum dimensions.

Accuracy testing at 100yd produced from 1.5 to 2.5”. Six different factory loads were used. The results are shown in the table. 

Throughout the test series I found recoil wasn’t apparent, not that the .308 Win kicks much, and the stock distributes recoil very well. The only sour note was the heavy, draggy trigger breaking at 2.7kg (6lb).

During our shooting tests, the Arttech Prima never missed a beat; it cycled and fed smoothly and showed not the slightest tendency to malfunction in any way. 

Firing three shots rapid fire — as fast as I could rack the action and adjust my aim — all three bullet holes were no more than 2.5” apart at 50yd (about 7cm at 50m). Shooting from the sit at the 100yd target, again as fast as I could reload and aim, all three bullets landed inside a 10cm circle. This is deadly big-game accuracy and plenty adequate for a deer rifle.

Many hunters may prefer the extra handiness of the Arttech Prima carbine with stubby 20” barrel when stalking heavy timber and brush. Not much is lost by docking 50mm from the barrel’s length.

Anyone looking for a fast-handling, fast-shooting scrub rifle should definitely take a good look at the Arttech Prima.   

SPECIFICATIONS

• Manufacturer: Arttech, Turkey
• Type: Pump-action
• Calibres: .308 Win (tested), .30-06 and .300 Win Mag
• Barrel length: 20” carbine; 22” standard rifle; 24” magnum
• Rifling: R/H twist; .308 1:12; .30-06 and .300 Win Mag 1:10
• Overall length: carbine 105cm (39.3”); std cals 110cm (41.3”); magnum 115cm (43.3”)
• Stock: Polymer. Drop at comb, 35mm (1⅜”); drop at heel, 19mm (¾”); length of pull, 355mm (14”).
• Weight: 3.2-3.4kg (7-7½lb) depending on calibre
• Safety: Cross-bolt
• Sights: Front, ramped fluorescent red bead; rear, ramped wide U-notch angled to rear; drilled and tapped for scope mounts
• Magazine capacity: 4 rounds (standard), 3 rounds (magnum)
• Finish: Matte blued barrel and upper receiver
• Price: From approx $1600 (varies model to model)
• Distributor: NIOA