A custom 22 Long Rifle bullpup rifle with an electric solenoid trigger system installed in a completed aluminum chassis.

by Glen Calvert

The wooden mockup chassis in Part 1 was a proof of concept build for the electrically-actuated trigger system. The aluminum chassis is a more practical design with better ergonomics and parts fit up. It resembles a real bullpup rifle, as opposed to looking like a wooden rifle case that left the barrel sticking out and had a funny looking handle. With that prep work complete, I moved on to building the aluminum chassis.

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I decided to use a readily-available aluminum stock for the build to minimize the amount of machining required. The 1.50” wide channel with 1.00” high walls and 0.125” wall thickness was a natural choice for the major component of the chassis. The nominal 1.25” inside width of the channel was very close to the 1.256” receiver width and required milling only a few thousandths on each side to provide a close tolerance fit for the receiver. The channel ended up being 25” long. I made a template of the opening in the bottom of the Ruger stock for the action and trigger group (referenced from the action screw location) and transferred it to the aluminum channel and then milled out the contour. I determined the correct location for the solenoid and drilled the holes for the mounting screws.

I used a …

Read more in the December 2022 issue.

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