Q
Our firearms industry is filled with folks from different backgrounds and walks of life, but few have made as much fuss or broken so many molds as Kevin Brittingham’s Q. Today we will be looking specifically at one of Q’s rifles; The Fix, chambered in 308 Winchester.
If you are unfamiliar with the ungoverned attitude of “the other” gun company from New Hampshire… You might be a little a bit surprised when you come upon their marketing and their products. Q has their own creativity that is aggressively portrayed in their designs, and The Fix is certainly a result of that creativity. Like many of their other offerings, The Fix goes well beyond conventional designs.
The Fix
At a glance, you might think The Fix was some kind of AR-10/bolt-action hybrid with some lightweight design thrown in for good measure. But The Fix is more than that.
Designed to fit a niche in the market ,The Fix fills a compact and lightweight spot. The Fix is made from a one-piece receiver, sort of like an AR upper and lower that have been molded as one piece. It utilizes a light-weight free-float handguard that attaches to the front of the receiver, and a monolithic picatinny rail is attached across the top of the whole assembly.
The Fix Features
A skeletonized folding buttstock is attached to the rear, with very minimalist design. The buttstock is fully adjustable for length of pull, recoil pad height, and features an adjustable cheek riser. And with a firm press downward, the buttstock is released and can be folded to the side of the rifle.
Perhaps the most cunning part of The Fix is the bolt, the round bolt-body houses the majority of the mechanical parts of the trigger. Like most rifles the bolt-head engages into the barrel extension to lock into battery, but it only requires 45 degrees to do it.
With the bolt-body and bolt-handle connected within the bolt-shroud, which covers the whole back end of the action. Additionally it moves with the bolt when operated. This shroud rides on a rail on either side of the receiver to keep it aligned, and prevent it rotating with the bolt assembly.
Curious Craftsmanship
Curious craftsmanship is one way to describe the two stage trigger, with a fairly light take-up. It breaks clean and is reset with each stroke of the bolt. There is an ambidextrous safety that will feel very familiar for those who shoot AR type rifles. The Fix runs on Pmags in the SR-25 pattern, this makes a lot of easy decisions for you. For those shooting AR-10 type rifles the magazine release button will also be familiar.
In addition to all this, The Fix uses Q’s proprietary Q-sert accessory system on the handguard. Think of something more robust than M-Lok, and easier to install or move as well.
The Fix also uses Q’s tapered barrel shoulders for attaching their muzzle devices like the included Cherry Bomb, or one of the many suppressor options Q offers. Tapered shoulders allow better alignment of suppressors and their assorted mounts. Preventing baffle strikes is a noble mission, and one I endorse fully.
Out of the Box
As I lifted The Fix from its box, I was temporarily time-warped back to SHOT Show a few years back, when I picked up The Fix for the first time. Just as I did then, I was surprised by the impressive light weight of the rifle. Q’s website lists it a mere 6.3 pounds.
I folded out the buttstock and shouldered the rifle to get that first feel for it. An amazing balance is one way to describe the rifle, and so easy to maneuver. I reached for the bolt-handle to run the unique bolt and check the chamber.
An incredibly short bolt lift is borderline distracting, the first few times you feel like you only half-lifted the bolt and there is more to go. Its minimalist bolt handle is quite petite. For sure it wouldn’t hurt my feelings if it was a bit bigger for better purchase and to avoid missing it entirely.Ā After playing with The Fix for a bit, it was time to get it prepared for the range.
Outfitting The Fix
For my testing purposes, the rifle would for sure need a scope, and mount. Probably a decent bipod, and a few boxes of ammo. I have several scopes laying around but I chose to mount one of the newer ones to The Fix. A Riton Primal 2-12X44 would be a great companion to the little Fix, I mounted it using an AADland Engineering 20 MOA one-piece mount.
After an evaluation of installing the one Q-sert pic rail section that came with the rifle. Fitting perfectly at the front to use as a bipod mount for one of my Harris bipods. I also took the time to break loose the Cherry Bomb from the muzzle, because I wasn’t about to go shoot this rifle without a suppressor in my pocket.
To the Range
I gathered a few boxes of my favorite 308 Winchester ammunition on the way, I’m a big fan of 175 Sierra Match Kings when shooting 308’s. I also shot some admittedly cheap ammo from The Fix, and it also shot pretty good groups.
At one hundred yards the rifle was shooting sub MOA groups with ease, this made it much more interesting for sure. Getting used to the bolt took a minute, but it actually became very easy to shoot the rifle keeping my thumb rested on the bolt knob. This ended up making the process of running the bolt even easier and faster.
The rifle’s lightweight would surely increase the felt recoil, so I was ready for that going in. But even through the recoil it was easy to shoot The Fix well. And as you might imagine packing the rifle around was fantastic.
Continue Reading About The Fix Here
