Olympic Arms Wolverine - 22LR

[TMan]

This month's Gun Test magazine, which I do enjoy reading, but do not treat as Gospel, (they have the Hi-Point C9 as a "Best Buy") did a comparison between the Sig Mosquito and the Olympic Arms Wolverine.

They liked the Wolverine's accuracy and trigger and rated it a "Buy It".

The Mosquito, on the other hand, was rated "Conditional Buy" because it wasn't as accurate as they would have liked, and they were "repulsed by the trigger pull". They also said that the Wolverine shot circles around the Mosquito.

Made me real glad I bought the Mosquito based on Sig's reputation. Reminds me of the saying: "pioneers get a lot of arrows in the back".

However, I must say that I like the Mosquito better than I do the Walther P22.

Modified to add:

[MLB]

I haven't heard too may good things about either the P22 or the Sig Mosquito. I've only handled the P22, but wasn't impressed. They are competing in a difficult market though. The Ruger and Browning are tough to beat. I think I'd like to have a .22 revolver one day though.

The Wolveine reminds me a bit of the Beretta Neos handguns. That's quite a beavertail on that model. No chance of that thing biting you. I'll have to look into them a bit.

[TMan]

Well, I would rank the Mosquito higher than I would the P22, but these are plinker guns and aren't in the same class at the Mark x and Buckmarks. I have several of the latter, and they are fine pistols. The thing I do like about the Mosquito is the weight. My Kimber looks like a 1911, but when you pick it up it doesn't feel like one because it is so light. The Mosquito looks like a Sig, and when you pick it up, it feels like a Sig.

["DoubleAction"]

I decided on the Buckmarks early on but a few years later, after I started looking into modifications, I found the pickings of aftermarket parts to be very slim. I was able to find a custom barrel from Volquartsen and a sight rib from Weigand for my standard Buckmark. On the other hand, Ruger seems to have a cottage industry built around their pistol, as well as their 10/22 rifle.

[TMan]

admin said:

... On the other hand, Ruger seems to have a cottage industry built around their pistol, as well as their 10/22 rifle.

;D Well put DA - good choice of words. Gave me quite a chuckle.

Then I had to laugh at myself. Several times I've wanted to buy a 10/22 because of all of the aftermarket stuff available for it. I feel like I'm missing out on something.

I went into the dealers determined to bring a 10/22 home, but she had sold the one that I wanted the previous day. However, as I recall, I didn't go home empty handed.

Although I have one more Buckmark than I do Mark x's, I still like the Ruger's better. The Ruger's triggers are kind of sucky, with the exception of the Competition model, but Volquartsen makes a great drop-in kit that is easy to install.

The design of the bolt and how the action works just seems a lot more solid and reliable than the Buckmark. I've had several occasions where the slide didn't want to close on a Buckmark without a gentle nudge (this is only on the first round though). I've had others complain about the same thing.

What I haven't tried is standard velocity ammo in any of these guns. I'm curious about it because I get much better results with standard velocity ammo in the rifles than I do with the HV stuff, and I consider the CCI Mini-Mags to be sort of a HV +P.

I'm strongly thinking about getting a Wolverine because of the uniqueness of its design. Yup, TMan do like toys.

["DoubleAction"]

Sometimes it seems logical to buy into the intention of making a good gun better through all the posiblities of available aftermarket parts. I really don't know how much thought I would have put forth on the Ruger 10/22 had it not been for the availability of such parts.

Much of the sucess of several designs have benefitted from the aftermarket parts industry, helps the grip industry remain alive as well.

[TMan]

I was a bit surprised when I opened the sealed container that held my new Wolverine - there wasn't a owner's manual.

No problem, a check of their web-site yielded a manual and an e-mail ensured me that a paper copy and a new catalog were in the mail.

The Wolverine comes with plastic grips and says: "Whitney" on the side - not Wolverine. I paid $229 for the pistol, which makes the wooden grips and extra magazine from the manufacturer seem a bit pricey. Also, with the full plastic body, I'm not too sure how great it would look with the wooden grips, so, I'll buy ammo instead - lots of 22 LR ammo.

When disassembling this pistol, be sure to have a clean work area. I had two small parts fall out. I hate it when things come apart by themselves and you have to figure out where they go. However, the on-line manual was very helpful. Also, it said to use oil to hold the parts in place when reassembling the pistol. I found grease to work better.

This is a really cool design of a gun. Were it made totally out of metal, I'd probably prefer it to the Ruger MK III. It has an external hammer, which the Ruger lacks, and the trigger has just a little bit of creep.

After removing a quart of oil that the manufacturer had put in the gun, I lightly lubricated it with Wilson Oil, and headed to the range.

Unfortunately, I had some time constraints because I had to catch an airplance, so I could only shoot 50 rounds.

Black sights, Shoot-N-C black target, old eyes, not a problem. The front sight is larget and I had no trouble focusing on it.

This is one sweet pistol. Although it came highly rated by Gun Tests magazine, I felt that it was under-rated. I can remember when I was so impressed with a 22 pistol. The last time I was this thrilled was with the 460 XVR revolver.

The 50 rounds were for the most part in the 10 ring with just a few in the 9 ring (told you I was in a hurry).

I did have one failure to feed on round 6 (I only load 5). I had failed to fully insert the magazine into the magazine well. The normal slap it in with the palm of your hand doesn't work with this gun. You really need to use a finger and push on it to ensure that it has fully seated and the catch (European style like on the Ruger MK II) has fully engaged.

Unlike my purchases of the Sig Mosquito and Walther P22, which I consider plinking guns, this new toy really pleases me. It is a lot less expensive than a Ruger, and has accuracy approaching that of the Ruger or Buckmark.

I'm really looking forward to shooting this little guy a lot.