Background

For those of you who’ve been around here a while, you’ll remember my love affair with bullpups. Not just any bullpups though, I was converted to the dark side by the Desert Tech SRS. Ever since, bullpups have been a part of my gun collection. But today I bring you a new one, also from Desert Tech. Today’s subject is the Desert Tech WLVRN bullpup, a multi-caliber rifle but today chambered in 223 Wylde and 6.5 Creedmoor.

In case you didn’t figure it out, WLVRN is pronounced wolverine, but spelled differently because we hate vowels apparently. The WLVRN is the very latest rifle in a line of bullpups made by Utah based Desert Tech, it incorporates technology from previous firearms like the MDRX and SRS M2. This new rifle promises to bring enhanced performance, and increased reliability.

Due to my intimate familiarity with all of Desert Tech’s firearms as well as other bullpups, I simply had to get behind this new one. If for nothing else, I wanted to see if indeed the rifle performed better and lived up to the unrivaled performance depiction.

The WLVRN

A New Design

I have both heard and seen a great deal of people suggesting that the WLVRN is simply an MDRX with some slight changes. I guess that is a fair jab when you sit the two rifles next to each other for inspection.
But that suggestion is easily dispelled upon further disassembly. I took the WLVRN apart, to show some of the significant differences from its ancestor. The lower receiver looks almost the same, I will grant them that. Other than some very small machining differences on some of the parts it looks very similar.

You can find all the real differences in the aluminum extruded receiver. Both versions of the MDRX rifle used an aluminum receiver loaded with steel parts attached by fasteners. Mainly the barrel-block (trunnion), and the rails that guide the bolt carrier. There are a couple other small parts, but those are the main ones.

All of those parts were designed out of the WLVRN, and they are now machined into the solid extruded receiver. This has resulted in a much lighter receiver, with added rigidity and simpler operation. As an unrepentant accuracy aficionado, I was excited to see if the machined-in trunnion would create a more accurate rifle.

Major changes were incorporated to the bolt-carrier, which has certainly been beefed up. Disassembling the bolt carrier sub-components is now even more like an AR-15, with the firing pin being captured by a cotter pin.

Operation

WLVRN operation is very similar to the MDRX. It still uses the same short stroke gas piston, which punches the operating rod to cycle the action. The WLVRN does not have the forward ejection feature of its predecessor, which also reduces the weight of the rifle. As well as simplify much of the operation and lower pressure thresholds needed to run the rifle.

The dual charging-handles are non-reciprocating, and must be pulled down and back to function. Additionally the bolt can be locked to the rear by pulling the charging handles back and up before releasing.

Magazine releases are located on both sides of the triggerguard area, as well as in the front of the magwell. Aft of the magwell you will find the bolt-release to send the bolt home. The safety of course is located right where you’d expect on both sides of the rifle.

Switching the rifle from right to left-handed operation is as easy as swapping the ejection port from one side to the other. Followed by rotating the bolt 180 degrees in the bolt carrier.

Gas System

The WLVRN gas system is again very similar to the MDRX system before it, the differences of course are important. Reducing the overall gas impulse needed to operate the rifle was accomplished by several changes. We could all benefit from reduced gas couldn’t we?

First of all, by dropping the forward ejecting system, less gas volume is needed to stroke the action (Yes I said stroke). The WLVRN’s gas system also takes a uniform volume of pressure from the barrel, and channels it to the piston. Sealing up gas-block seepage was done with a press-fit gas block, and adding a second spiral gas-ring to the cylindrical gas-valve helps keep the flow going only where it’s needed.

This more efficient use of gas flow has made the WLVRN very soft and smooth shooting. And my aspirations of accuracy also hoped the softer operation would keep the rifle better on target. Additionally, the end of the piston stem was cut flat. As was the front of the operating rod, this reduces the torque induced on the barrel when the piston is actuated.

Shooting the Desert Tech WLVRN

I wanted to get this WLVRN hot, and the best way to do it was shooting a bunch of different kinds of ammo. My first trip into the field with the WLVRN featured three different kinds of ammo, American Eagle 55gr FMJ , PMC Bronze 55gr FMJ, and Hornady Black 62gr FMJ.

I also wanted to bring along a suppressor, as the WLVRN should make an excellent suppressor host. My Yankee Hill Machine Turbo has never failed me yet, so I threw it in the range bag.

Since the WLVRN accepts all the same handguards as the MDR and MDRX, I also brought along a Blk Lbl ALX handguard. Just to switch it up a bit.

The trigger in the WLVRN feels about the same as the MDRX trigger to me, which is not a bad thing. It certainly didn’t prevent me from shooting the rifle well. As you might imagine I am pretty familiar with most of the rifle’s handling characteristics. It feels and functions very much like its predecessor, but lighter and softer shooting.

During testing, I used twenty, thirty, and forty-round 5.56 Pmags. And both ten and twenty-round 7.62 Pmags. All of them worked without a problem, except for an occasional failure to lock back. Every occurence of failing to lock back was from a bench using a rear bag, and I might of been holding the bolt-release down. So take that with 55-grains of salt.

Accuracy

Accuracy from the 223 Wylde chambered rifle was pretty good. The best groups from my first trip came from the Hornady 62 grain ammunition. At one-hundred yards my best result was a 7-shot group that came out to 1.1 MOA. I’ll admit that one was a bit rushed. As you can see from the pictures I was getting rained on and I was damp as a blind lesbian walking through an open-air fish market. I will update you guys with more results as I get them.

With more than one unit available to me, I decided to swap to a different caliber. Next up would be a 6.5 Creedmoor, with the standard 20-inch barrel and 1:8 twist. I also attached a Guardian Defense Manufacturing 30 caliber suppressor to see how the rifle shot suppressed.

After running a few boxes of some inexpensive S&B 140 grain FMJ ammo, I zeroed the rifle. To see how well the rifle shot for accuracy, I’d brought a couple boxes of DTM Match 140 gr ammo. Loading five rounds at a time in a 10-round magazine, I shot my first group. Just to confirm, I shot another couple groups. And for good measure I fired another 5-shot group. I was very happy to see that the five-shot groups were averaging around .75 MOA.

These groups were shot while suppressed, in my experienced these rifles always shoot better that way. Your results might vary, but I don’t plan on shooting unsuppressed at any point.

I had my friend shoot the rifle, and he too fired a 5-shot group with all shots touching and around the same size. While the 5-shot average was closer to the 3/4 MOA mark I was quite happy with the results. Mainly because I’ve typically seen accuracy like that only from the best MDRX rifles.

Caliber Changes

Converting the rifle from one caliber to another is a pretty simple process. It can vary depending on calibers, for example going from 308 to 223 will require a bolt and magwell change. While swapping from 308 to 6.5 requires only swapping the barrel.

I’ll be making WLVRN video shortly, stay tuned…

The WLVRN uses three screws to clamp the barrel shank, all three must be torqued evenly to 80-inch-pounds when assembling the rifle. There is a fourth screw, which is in fact a barrel lock. The lock uses a cam to secure the barrel in the right location prior to torquing the barrel tension screws. The lock should only be rotated when the tension screws are loose.

With all three tension screws loose, and the lock rotated into the unlocked position, the barrel can be pulled out the front of the receiver. Obviously this would require removing the handguard, and either locking the bolt to the rear or removing the bolt-carrier all together.

Installing the next barrel is just the reverse process. Removing the bolt-carrier requires opening the receiver by pulling two of the three take-down pins. You can pull all three if you like, I do two because I’m always in a hurry. With the receiver separated, you can pull the bolt carrier out the back. This is where you’d clean parts and change bolts if that’s what you are doing.

For using 5.56 sized magazines, the rifle needs a magwell spacer installed. It’s easily snapped into the magwell from underneath, AFTER you push the magazine catch out with a tool. You will also need to swap the mag catch for the appropriate sized magazine.

Return to Zero?

Borrowing some of the design of the SRS family of rifles has incorporated some of those same benefits in the WLVRN. After pulling the 6.5 Creedmoor barrel out of the WLVRN, and using it in another rifle, I reinstalled it in my original chassis. To my surprise it was almost exactly where I had zeroed it, I mean close enough you’d have never known the barrel had been pulled. That is one of my favorite features of the SRS rifles, and I’m tickled pink that the WLVRN appears to do the same.

Comparisons

Having shot the MDRX and many other popular bullpups like the RDB, AUG, and X95, I’ll share my opinion on how I think it compares.

The WLVRN has all the same controllability and balance of the MDRX, with the added benefits of less weight. This helps the WLVRN be even more maneuverable and fun to shoot. Additionally, the reduced gas needed seems to make the rifle a bit softer shooting.

My first impressions of accuracy appear to be very positive, certainly better than the MDRX. I’d like to stay a bit conservative for now and see how it continues to perform in the future. Both in these two calibers and the other options.

I will continue to update this review of the rifle with additional information as I can, be sure to check back and see the updates

As a long-time owner of the MDRX, it should come as no surprise that I find it far more appealing than others. While the Steyr AUG and IWI X95 both have a long service record with law enforcement and military, I am just a simple civilian.

So while they may have a more impressive combat history, I prefer a rifle with more options. If the WLVRN continues to live up to its claims, I could see it becoming the choice of not just recreational shooters but also professionals.

Pros & Cons

There are many things to like about the WLVRN, the most obvious features stand out from the competition. Multi-caliber capabilities is a big one for some, completely ambidextrous is great for others. One of my personal favorites is suppressor hosting, the threaded barrel and six-position gas-block make it ideal. More common features like M-Lok compatible handguards, and picatinny optics rail are also not to be discounted.

Performance wise, the WLVRN brings streamlined performance over its predecessor. The simplified design promises to be more reliable, and we all love the idea of fewer things to go wrong. The WLVRN barrel trunnion design appears to increase accuracy, and if returning to zero after barrel swapping is this repeatable, it will save us all more time zeroing.

If I had to pick something I would change about the WLVRN, it would probably be pretty simple. I’ve never shot a huge amount of 308 through my MDRX, and probably won’t through the WLVRN either. I have noticed that the lighter weight of the WLVRN is noticeable when shooting heavy 308 loads. Not unpleasant or anything, just a noticeable increase in felt recoil.

Making the grip compatible with industry standards would be awesome, and allow users to customize their rifle even more. I absolutely love the Blk Lbl handguards, they are outstanding improvements over the stock handguard. Making them standard equipment options would make the WLVRN top-tier, an absolute giga-chad rifle

Final Thoughts

If you are even slightly curious about bullpups you need to try this rifle. After shooting quite a few other bullpup rifles I’m not sure they are even in the same class. The only thing left for me to determine with this rifle is long-term durability, and that will take some time. But if the initial performance is any indicator, I remain quite optimistic.

For those of you out there who are already members of the bullpup-cult, I suppose you were already considering a WLVRN before you got here. Buying a Desert Tech WLVRN isn’t inexpensive, but that should come as no surprise. You will have to decide for yourself if upgrading is worth it to you, as for me, I already ordered mine.

-CBM

As I mentioned, I will update this story as I get new information