Coming soon: Spectre Ballistics C-71

If you're looking for a new, high-end made-in-Canada rimfire, there's good news: Spectre Ballistics International says its 10/22-pattern C-71 action "will be available soon."

Alberta-based Spectre Ballistics International is already well-known for its existing 10/22 products, as well as upgrades for many other platforms. There are key differences between the C-71 and current 10/22 actions, though. It comes with a lengthened integrated top rail, and also comes factory-ready to handle TUF-22 magazines. That means shooters can run TUF-22's 25-round mags without worrying about issues with the RCMP, since those magazines won't work in Charger pistols. For more on that issue, see Calibre's past coverage here. As well, Spectre makes adapters to run Remington 597 magazines with 10/22 actions.

The actions are lightweight, and CNC machined from billet aluminum to tight tolerances.

The C-71 is no surprise. Spectre announced its production months back, and originally planned on release in the first quarter of 2021. Business is never easy in Canada's firearms industry, though, and no doubt COVID-19 hasn't helped production move along any faster. At this point, Spectre says the action is coming soon, with photos of the C-71 action used in an in-house build.

Here's a rifle that Spectre put together, using its C-71 action and its Gen 2 chassis. Photo: SBI

What's the price for the C-71? According to Spectre, you can expect to pay around $230 CAD for the action itself. That doesn't include your barrel, your stock/chassis, your magazines, your sighting system, and so on. Spectre says it will offer its own pre-built rifles using the C-71 action and other in-house parts. Spectre doesn't have pricing finalized for finished rifles at this point. Along with the pre-built rifles, Spectre will also offer builders kits for DIY-oriented shooters to piece together their own rifles. These kits will include receiver, chassis and some other parts.

How much longer?

Spectre says the first run of C-71 receivers "will be released in a number of days, followed by regular production runs." Right now, that first production run is undergoing hard anodization (Spectre says powdercoating isn't durable enough). There's no timeline for the complete pre-built rifles or builders kits, but Spectre thinks they'll be available shortly.