Anschütz 1827 Fortner is a straight-pull actionbiathlon rifle designed by Peter Fortner junior and produced in cooperation with J. G. Anschütz. The rifle has been dominant in the sport of biathlon since the late 1980s, and is the current sport standard. It is estimated to be used by that 97% of biathlon competitors worldwide. About 7000 had been manufactured by 2007.
History
Anschütz has been producing biathlon rifles since 1976. The design of the 1827 Fortner action dates back to 1984, when Peter Fortner was having beers with Peter Angerer from West Germany who recently had taken the individual biathlon gold at the 1984 Winter Olympics. Angerer expressed that he wanted a rifle which could match those used by Soviet and East German competitors. Fortner took the challenge and within a few months developed and patented what was to become known as the "Fortner action", with the 1827 Fortner introduced around 1984. The Fortner action is produced by Fortner Waffen under licence from Anschütz, and are marketed as Anschütz rifles.
Technical
Anschütz Fortner rifles come with the Anschütz 5020 trigger which has an adjustable pull weight from. The trigger can be adjusted to function either as a single or two stage trigger. The straight-pull mechanism uses six ball bearings to lock the bolt. The 1827F has a lock time around 1.7 milliseconds, which together with a dwell time of around 2.3 ms gives a total time of around 4 ms from activation of trigger to the bullet has exited the barrel. In order to prevent damage to the firing pin during dry fire, an optional firing pin buffer must be installed by the user. The barreled action is produced by Fortner Waffen, and has a length of 730 mm. Although having been produced for nearly 40 years, the barreled action has not changed very much. All accessories and other parts are compatible across all production years. For example, triggers from any production year are technically the same and compatible. The main improvement has been in the barrel, as some early models featured non-nitrated barrels, but these are rare to find. Barrels are not threaded but press-fitted to the receiver, and can be changed by a competent gunsmith. Like other high end.22 LR competition barrels from Anschütz, the muzzle is choked, presumably to achieve better performance in cold weather. The action has a safety catch located on the side of the receiver, with "S " indicating Sicherung and "F" indicating Feuer. The factory stocks are produced by Anschütz, and the stock design has changed a bit during the years. The current Anschütz design has an adjustable cheek rest and length of pull so that it can be fitted to different athletes. It has not been uncommon for athletes to purchase custom or aftermarket stocks from other brands, and these not always are adjustable. 1827 Fortner magazines are compatible with curved.22 LR magazines for the Anschütz 1400 and 1700 sporting series, as well as the magazine fed version of Anschütz 54 and 64 target actions. However, magazines specifically made for biathlon differ by having a special base plate for ease of use with gloves. The sight adjustment Fortner biathlon rifles is most commonly clocwise with a click value of 0.06mrad, which translates to 3 mm at the 50 meter distance used in competitions. The main competitor to the Anschütz 1827F today is the 7-3 and 7-4 Series toggle rifles made by Russian Izhmash, and both mechanisms require only around a 2.5 kilogram-force to cycle, and can be cycled in under 1 second. However, with the Fortner straight-pull action, the shooter closes the bolt using their thumb, allowing the index finger to get on the trigger blade faster.
Predecessors
Other biathlon rifles formerly produced by Anschütz include the Anschütz 1427B Biathlon built on a Match 54 14XX action, the Anschütz 1827 built on a Match 54 18XX action and the Anschütz 64R Biathlon built on a Match 64 action.
Trivia
Anschütz barrels have been known for their high quality, and was used in production of some Izhmash Bi 7-3 biathlon rifles in the 1990s. These rifles are designated BI-7-4A. Krico 360S straight-pull was mechanically equivalent to the Anschütz 1827. The 1727F is a hunting rifle produced since 2013 which has taken a lot of inspiration from the 1827F biathlon rifle. While the two designs have similarities, their parts are for the most part not compatible. The stock inlets are however the same.
