Few models in the world of semi-automatic pistols have transcended from mere products into archetypes. Most famously would be the 1911, of course. After a century of service, it still enjoys relevancy, especially in the world of sport shooting. Similarly, the Austrian Glock changed the landscape and expectations of what a modern duty oriented pistol ought to be. In the rimfire realm, Bill Ruger’s Mark I Ruger Standard .22 Long Rifle semi-automatic blowback pistol would probably be it. Drawing inspiration from both the Luger and Nambu pistols of America’s wartime foes, the product of Bill Ruger’s mid-century design resulted in a reasonably priced rimfire pistol suitable for any handgun-related role. To call this pistol a commercial success would be an understatement. To this day, the Ruger Mark IV, which is descended from the Mark I, remains the company’s flagship rimfire pistol. Tangentially important is the Mark IV 22/45, because these pistols have lowers with more conservative 18-degree grip angles that are modeled after the 1911 (speaking of archetypes). Compared to the Luger-esque 55-degree grip angle found in the classic Ruger design, the difference is notable.
Ultimately, the Ruger pattern proved to be so successful that other companies beyond Sturm, Ruger & Co. began crafting Ruger-pattern .22-caliber rimfire pistols. Today’s third-party derivatives of all Ruger-pattern .22 rimfire pistols, components and parts are capable of tremendous potential. One such model, based on the Ruger Mark IV 22/45, is the Wojtek Race Pistol.
In outfitting its Race Pistol, Wojtek selected a six-inch Volquartsen Mamba-X LLV optics-ready competition upper with the Volquartsen single-port compensator and Volquartsen bolt, which is mated to a black aluminum Tandemkross 22/45 Cthulhu lower, the latter fully assembled with Tandemkross internal parts and oversized, competition-style controls. Fully assembled and with an added red-dot sight, the result is a full-size .22-caliber race pistol that’s ready to compete in the Rimfire Pistol Open division (RFPO), the “race” division for rimfire pistols in Steel Challenge.
Volquartsen Mamba-X LLV Upper
The Volquartsen Mamba-X LLV upper assembly is probably one of the most sophisticated upper-assemblies available for Ruger Mark IV or 22/45 pattern firearms in general. Designed for competition, this lightweight aluminum upper is optimized for speed and balance, especially in transitions that are crucial in Steel Challenge. The Mamba-X LLV upper is built around a six-inch, stainless-steel target barrel. Although it was designed to be fast and handy, the Mamba-X LLV still incorporates hardened stainless-steel breech to reinforce this crucial area from both aggressive use and high round counts. Mamba-X LLV uppers are threaded and come standard with Volquartsen’s single-port compensator. It’s not that .22 Long Rifle recoil needs to be tamed, but the generously ported compensator helps in keeping the muzzle level during strings of rapid fire; it also has the added benefit of “amplifying” the pistol’s report to ensure that shot timers can track strings of fire.
Volquartsen designed the Mamba-X to have a slick top without any iron sights. Instead, the Mamba-X has three different “clusters” of threaded holes that conform to nearly every optics’ mounting pattern. The different clusters allow shooters to mount red-dot optics towards the rear, the center or the front of the upper. Other than the side-clamping Aimpoint ACRO pattern, it’s easy to install any optic that uses other prominent mounting-patterns like the DeltaPoint Pro, C-More, Trijicon RMR, etc. Since the holes are already tapped and threaded, plates aren’t needed.
The heart of the Volquartsen Mamba-X LLV upper as configured by Wojtek is the Volquartsen Competition Bolt. Like the Mamba-X LLV upper, the Volquartsen Competition Bolt is engineered for hard use and large-round counts. It’s manufactured from case-hardened steel and its exterior is coated with a slick and robust black DLC (diamond-like coating) finish. The slickness of this DLC finish provides a degree of lubricity that allows the Competition Bolt to cycle effortlessly inside the upper’s bolt raceway while also protecting the metal from undue wear or corrosion. The rear of the bolt has an oversize charging handle that facilitates cocking comparable to standard Ruger Mark IV bolts.
Tandemkross 22/45 Cthulhu Lower
The Tandemkross 22/45 Cthulhu lower that Wojtek marries to the Volquartsen Mamba-X LLV upper is fully machined from aluminum, Cerakoted and includes Tandemkross small parts. The Tandemkross Cthulhu lower, like the rest of the Wojtek Race Pistol’s major assemblies, is also built around Steel Challenge performance. As such, it includes oversized parts, like its safety, bolt catch, magazine catch and especially the jumbo gas pedal found on the left side of the grip.
Because this grip module is modeled after the Ruger Mark IV 22/45, it also maintains that vaunted 1911-style 18-degree grip angle, which provides the Tandemkross 22/45 Cthulhu with great ergonomics. In addition to its neutral grip angle, the Cthulhu’s trigger guard is undercut generously and allows the shooter to build a solid master grip. The rest of the trigger guard is flat, which can provide a surface that shooters can use to tension the pistol with the top of their support hand. Finally, the module is wrapped by a Tandemkross hiveGrip rubber grip. The rubber surface has some tack to it and the front strap includes overmolded finger-grooves. Tandemkross also selected a rubber compound with vibration absorption properties to provide a smoother shooting experience.
The Cthulhu 22/45 uses a skeletonized Tandemkross Victory trigger whose face is covered with aggressive texturing. Initially, I found it peculiar, but as I shot more Steel Challenge matches, the texturing made more sense intuitively—it gives the shooter another degree of control during aggressive transitions between steel targets during a stage, especially when slapping the trigger for fast shots.
At The Range
I’ve been shooting the Wojtek Race Pistol on-and-off throughout the summer; naturally, I attended a few club-level Steel Challenge events in addition to my regular range sessions. I’ve used both a six-MOA Leupold DeltaPoint Pro and a 2.5-MOA Trijicon SRO.
This pistol has been extremely reliable with all types of rimfire ammunition, both bulk and standard cartridges. At the time of this writing, I’ve exhausted boxes of bulk CCI Blazer, Federal Automatch, Federal Champion and Winchester Super-X Power-Point. My accuracy testing included CCI Mini-Mags, Eley Club and Aguila Super Extra. All in, I’ve fired the better part of 1,000 rounds through this pistol without cleaning it; the only stoppages I’ve experienced were ammunition-related (deformed bulk rounds). If needed, the Volquartsen Competition Bolt can even be tuned with different weight springs.
Even though felt recoil in a full-size, 33-ounce pistol chambered in .22 Long Rifle feels marginal, the Volquartsen-designed compensator still does its part in keeping the muzzle flat due to its large port. For best results, I still recommend the same two-handed firing grip one would make to shoot a centerfire pistol—that’s how I’ve been shooting it. My “a-ha” moment with the Wojtek Race Pistol happened during a quiet Sunday afternoon where I had a plate-rack all to myself at my gun club. After acclimating to the pistol, shooting it turned into a game of rhythm that coordinated between my eyesight, the Trijicon SRO and my two-handed firing grip. The point of my game was to make the dot dance from plate to plate as fast as possible. After approximately 400 rounds or so, my best run was 1.94 seconds, starting from Steel Challenge low ready. My plan is to keep shooting this “game” to improve my own visual processing at speed, especially for target transitions.
As a left-handed shooter, I can’t offer much commentary on the oversize Tandemkross race parts, and I don’t use gas pedals anyway. It’s there for those who like them. However, the safety got in my way several times during shooting. Any slight upward nudge is enough to engage the safety and block the trigger, and the knuckle of my index finger kept doing just that. I’ve had to re-adapt my grip in order to avoid this. The same thing happened to me with the oversize magazine catch, too—once or twice my left hand inadvertently put pressure and caused the magazine to shift just beneath the feed ramp and induce a malfunction—it’s not fun in the middle of Steel Challenge.
Key Takeaways
It’s hard to deny how much fun shooting the Wojtek Race Pistol is, especially since it hardly recoils and shoots an inexpensive, easy-to-find cartridge. At the range, it doesn’t take much to turn a box of .22 Long Rifle cartridges into brass. The gun is so easy to shoot well that a normal shooter can pretend to be a Grand Master. Ironically, this review is my first real in-depth exposure to Ruger-pattern pistols and, after putting the Wojtek Race Pistol through its paces, I can see why Bill Ruger’s core design continues to carry on in the rimfire realm.
Based in Manchester, New Hampshire, Wojtek is a small company with a deep appreciation of rimfire firearms and has rapidly become a popular purveyor of different permutations of Ruger-pattern rimfire pistols, including this Steel Challenged-focused racing rimfire pistol. Admittedly, because the Wojtek Race Pistol is made from both Volquartsen and Tandemkross components, Wojtek’s involvement can be confusing. In this case, it’s best to think of the company as the sommelier that curates their customers’ rimfire experience by mixing-and-matching parts and components.
Due to its Type 07 FFL/SOT status, Wojtek can legally sell most of the brand-new rimfire pistols it builds to California shooters—a service not many manufacturers can offer. There is a process, so it’s best to inquire with Wojtek directly.
MSRP for the Wojtek Race Pistol is $1,385. Learn more at the Wojtek website.
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