Victrix Corvo 50 BMG

The Gun- The Creator – The Operator

UPDATE 2/9/2024 : This Victrix Corvo rifle is now available for purchase to the civilian market as announced by Victrix Armaments. It may not be enjoyed in its home country, Italy. Hurrah!

This will propel other 50BMG rifles into the sporting market. While Victrix describes its use for military and law enforcement, the caliber already enjoys widespread use in sporting circles by clubs such as the FCSA who I have had the pleasure to shoot with in Switzerland many times.

Well we are ready to run our big 50 in Sicily shortly. Below is my newly built 416Barrett and his 50 BMG brother from McMillan.

Below: My own 50BMG rescued from the colder United Kingdom for a sunnier life in Sicily, home to ELR Shooting at Extreme Shot Italia IV, Italy’s premier ELR Light competition organized by Rod at Rifletalks.com and the Sicilians at this amazing facility in Trapani- scroll down for more!

Extreme Shot Italia IV Update.

78 Teams will be flying to Sicily for Extreme Shot Italia IV, 500-2000m match from 7-13 October 2024. Hurrah! If you like long range shooting, follow our page here to get the live streaming link to watch the match live in October! 

The article below written with expert Randy Powell from Thunder Ammo, describes the use of the 50BMG in sporting circles as well as how to extract the best from the 50BMG cartridge in competition.

In an older interview, Rifletalks.com had interview Mr. Valtorta, president at Victrix about this rifle. Read through it to learn more about the 50BMG behemoth from Victrix armamaments.

Rifletalks.com goes head-to-head with Victrix CEO Giuseppe Valtorta, the man behind the gun and also speaks to Chris Stafrace from Tier One Firearms Training Solutions to get the ins and outs on this superb 50BMG offering! Check it out

Below you can find a transcript of this interview translated in English and Italian to help our Anglo & Italian audiences.

Rod – We’re very glad to have you guys on the show because you guys make great rifles. Tell us a little bit about you and the rifle model we have here, Giuseppe you’re not a new face to long range rifle enthusiasts!

GV – CEO Victrix armaments – founder of Victrix Armaments. We’re relatively new to the market being 7 years in it now but the firm Rottigni Officina Meccanica SRL in 2021 will have its 50th Birthday! It is a historic brand with several branches especially those making parts for military use.

Victrix Corvo 50BMG legal

Rod – is the military market your main market or do you also cater for the civilian market?

GV – Victrix armaments has a wider portfolio of rifles that cover a number of disciplines from medium to long range covering a wider range of calibers and use. This encompasses specialised rifles for F-class to the tactical rifles use in professional circles. Our main market is the professional market, police and military. This covers everything that can be of interest from military to special forces. This goes from very compact rifles such as the in 16 inch barrel (308win) to the antimaterial rifles seen here in front of me.

We had the opportunity to present our products and be appreciated in various parts of the world. We supply mostly special forces that were the first to be interested in our products. In Italy, practically we supply all Italian SF marines, Air force and Army as well as police. The same rifles are available for civilian and Law enforcement.

victrix pugio

With Victrix Pugio, the 16inch barrel we manage to hold less than 1MOA with a very compact rifle upto and including our flagship model the Victrix Corvo 50BMG.

Victrix Corvo 50 BMG

victrix Corvo 50 BMG

We currently export the 50bmg rifle all around the world but not yet to the civilian market given the high request we receive from the military market. It is essentially a bolt action rifle with single stack magazine. It does not use any plastic material except for the magazine and cheekpiece as well as butt pad. Everything else is machined from scratch. As you can see, the bolt uses anti corrosive material as well as other special steel treatment qualities that are not always used in the firearms market. This makes the Victrix Corvo 50BMG a superior product. The Victrix Corvo action has an anti-corrosive coating as well as the bolt. It is purposely made to ensure a very smooth operation of the bolt which is not typically found in a military firearm of the sort. This ensures that the functionality and consistency of the firearm is unchanged when facing dirt, debris or ice. This ensures that even ice is easily removed from the bolt in operation. 08:45

This is thanks to the material and treatment given to the rifle which enables it to perform well even in saline environments such as those faced in maritime operations. This ensures long term longevity of the system. The barrel is bought as a blank in this case from Lothar Walther, Benchmark or Bartlein barrels. Lothar Walther supplies our 50bmg barrels. Everything is made inhouse except the barrel blank since we believe in the expertise of those that specialise in barrel making.

victrix corvo 50 bmg

Rod- What’s the barrel length of this Victrix Corvo 50bmg barrel?

GV – 27 Inch, it’s a compromise for the military market. On the market there are various options but we have to keep in mind the end user of this rifle. In a situation when one needs to be mobile, in this format this is very doable. A longer barrel would have better ballistic performance but won’t be ideal for the professional user. (Chris giggles )

Rod – Victrix also makes other barrels with longer barrel lengths, can you brief us about the rifle behind you?

GV – yes this is a rifle [] with longer barrel intended for sporting use, it’s chambered in 375 Cheytac with a 36inch barrel. Everything at victrix is designed for its end user. For the 50BMG rifles we are looking at a muzzle velocity of 830m/s with a 710grain bullet used in military circles. The Cheytac line of rifles on the other hand is made for absolute ballistic performance hence we have different requirements for military and sporting use. The 27inch barrel enables us to make the best use of the commercial ballistics of the standard 50bmg round. This enables us to have a 50bmg rifle with the performance of a sporting rifle. We are among the few that can boast of an accuracy under ½ MOA at 1000m in standard 50bmg chambering.

Rod- How heavy a bullet are we discussing here?

GV – mostly we are referring to the General dynamics ammunition ‘Sniper Elite’ that are 709 grains which have very good repeatability which is close to a match round. This is what we are working with in various parts of the world.

Rod – what distance are we discussing here in terms of maximum engagement distance?

GV- The range limit will depend on a number of issues among atmospheric/ environmental as well as the ‘Indian’ behind the gun.

Victrix Corvo 50BMG rifle
Victrix Corvo 50BMG rifle

Rod- what if we put Chris behind the gun? 😀

GV – we can shoot to infinity but we would be limited by atmospherics 😀 haha. Here we are referring to bullet flight and range in the supersonic range of the bullet which is influenced by the density altitude. In Italy with this 709grain bullet at 830m’s we’re looking at a range of 1650m which is predictable and consistent. That does not stop us from engaging further out but it may not be as predictable. If I can manage to see the point of impact, I may be able to do it. That’s why we base our calculations on the supersonic range for engagement distance. When on the other hand we are discussing grouping, we take into consideration munitions, weapon system, optics and firer behind the gun. Over it’s supersonic range we’re looking at accuracy under 1 MOA over it’s entire supersonic range.

Rod – I’m aware that not everybody can acquire the Victrix Corvo 50BMG. I’m aware that there are other calibers such as the 416 Barrett that are sought after. Does Victrix make the Corvo in 416Barrret?

GV- I will say something a little unpopular. By choice we field calibres on the market that have been tried and tested. At the moment we don’t have a 416Barrett for extreme long range, we have the Cheytac calibers particularly the 375 Cheytac for the civilian enthusiasts and 408chey for the military professional which has been adopted by a number of SF around the world. The 416B has been taken into consideration, some work is being done on the 416 Barrett to be potentially available in the near future…. We are working on some wild cats including the 460 Steyr…

Rod – the Elf told me you have another surprise for us behind the bench, can you tell us more about it? Ideal for the civilian market and it’s a caliber which I have also been shooting for the last two years. [300 Norma Magnum to 1 mile]

GV- if the elf told you so it must be so Here we have a rifle from the professional line- .  This is one of the bestselling rifles on the military scene in 338 LM which encompasses most of the elements that we have in our line of professional rifles. Barrel is 22inch however the weapon most sold is in 26inch barrel format. Our main market remains the military market which has dictated barrel requirements as short as 22inch in 338 LM which makes for a very compact rifle even when you mount a suppressor on it.

Rod – Do you also make moderators in house for Victrix rifles?

GV- yes absolutely, we make firearms as well as other accessories through the brand ROME.  This one seen here is the suppressor for the 50BMG which has a construction different to that typically seen from other manufacturers. It is completely machined from a solid blank from titanium t6. The reduction in sound is not found on any other suppressor currently on the market. We manage to reduce the sound by 40 DB with supersonic ammo. This is also offered for our 308win and 338LM.

To give you a practical example, the 308win which is the best known out there generates a reading of 172 DB we manage to suppress it to 131 db with our system at the muzzle. We have utilized innovative construction systems to achieve this with quick release mechanism from the muzzle break to the moderator to keep it modular and with no compromise made. We believe we are the best in the technical department providing solutions and materials that are better performing.

Rod- is that bipod also made in house?

GV – Yes it’s made by ROME which is made in the same facility as our rifles, you may see it on our . We make all types of bipods except for sporting use. We leave this for other specialists. We focus on professional and military sectors. Even firearms made by competitors can be enriched with accessories from our production line :_)

Rod – last question for you – actually two questions – where are these rifles in service today? And will we be seeing any of these rifles fielded for K01m and K02m competition?

GV- the rifles are in service practically all over the world, clients have resorted to our firearms and are currently in theatre in some areas of the middle east in the last 5 years, it’s not a secret as this was publicised by the Italian special forces who moved from a historic brand to our solutions. There are some areas in which we are not present but it’s just a matter of time. We’re a small gig with 35 people that actively put their energy behind quality not quantity hence we have not yet covered all parts of the world (giggles )  As regards the second question concerning the sporting use of extreme long range yes we are aware of the strong following for precision long range. We have seen a very rapid development especially in disciplines like F class.

Rod – I had the opportunity to shoot with the Italian Fclass team myself and send them my best regards from here. (ciao ragazzi della Nazionale F-Class Italiana!)

GV – I also collaborate with some of these guys. My luck has helped me to win a few titles in Fclass as well.  The wish to reach further out has brought us to develop more specialised kit with the help of visionaries like Eduardo Abril de font Cuberta with the King of 2 Miles in the USA and last year with the introduction of the discipline in France. We are the only ones, I may add proudly that we make this sort of specialised rifles off our production line for just above €6000 when we were accustomed to see solutions that cost twice as much. We are closely monitoring this market. We hope that this discipline can flourish also because of the challenges shooters face due to very expensive rifles and ammunition as well as the facilities needed for this discipline.

Rod – we have actually gone all the way to Denmark to find a range out to 2 KM!!

GV – you travel North and I travel to S. Africa for my testing. We look at other disciplines like the PRS and growing in traction even here in Italy and we shall be seeing more of this in the near future.

Part 2. Chris Stafrace from Tier One Firearms Training Solutions

tierone firearms training

Rod – Switching to Chris now given that he has also used your rifles

(translated to Italian for our Italian followers)

Chris grazie di essere con noi, ti conosco gia da anni, so che sei molto appassionato sul addestramento che offri . Veniamo da due mondi diversi, io dal mondo sportivo mentre tu dal mondo militare ma con una passione in commune quella di raggiungere I nostri obiettivi.

Ci puoi dire un po cosa stai facendo adesso, so che hai completato il servizio militare e ti sei dedicato al addestramento sia quello civile che militare.

Qual’e’ il legame con Victrix, dov’e nato?

Chris – Ho appena completato 25 anni di servizio militare tra cui 23 anni di servizio operazionale mentre gli ultimi due anni del mio servizio l’ho fatto come armeriere del esercito. Adesso viaggio un po da per tutto per addestrare forze speciali specialmente nel settore marittimo e anche quello da terra – Addestramento professionale a entrambe I civili e militari.

tierone firearms training Victrix corvo

Source: Instagram account 

Rod – Come vi siete incontrati tu e Giuseppe? Avete un legame assai particolare…:0 

Chris – l’ho incontrato a Malta sul poligono nel ambito di una fiera internazionale che si svolgeva qui e stavo inspezionando uno dei suoi fucili. Io provengo da un background di addestramento sniper nel esercito per cio questi fucili mi sono interessati assai.

Rod  – Chris, ho una domanda, come tira Giuseppe? )

Chris – Diciamo che tira bene. Dunque io stavo al poligono guardando e inspezionando I fucili e Giuseppe mi ha chiesto cosa facevo? Li dicevo che avevo fatto dell’addestramento nel esercito con il Nono regimento Col Moschin.

Rod – Ci puoi dire un po del Nono regimento Col Moschin, puo darsi che non tutti nella nostra udienza conoscono questo regimento SF italiano.

colmoschin tireone firearms training

Chris – si certamente, il nono regimento Col Moschin e’ il regimento delle forze speciali Italiane e avevo l’opportunita varie volte di allenarmi con loro qui a Malta, ho anche fatto un corso con loro in Italia e anche qua da noi. Abbiamo degli amici in commune e Giuseppe li ha chiamato e di la e’ nato questo rapporto amichevole e professionale. Ho avuto anche l’opportunita di andara a mostrare il Sistema Victrix in ambito professionale al estero.

 

Rod – Giuseppe, ci puo mostrare il fucile di cui stiamo parlando? Ci puoi dire anche un po di questo fucile Chris, son consapevole che sei stato addestrato su altre sistemi principariamente quelle inglesi e statunitensi. Ci puoi raccontare un po della tua esperienza da un ambito professionale?

victrix corvo 50 bmg

Chris – Victrix  Corvo e’ veramente la su con gli altri top brand. Ci sono sempre quei variabili atmosferici di cui ha parlato Giuseppe incluso l’asino dietro l’arma quello dietro lo scatto. Dove ero io, I ragazzi che utilizzavano questo sistema e anche la munizione non era propio il meglio che si poteva avere… Era la prima volta per questi ragazzi esplorando un sistema in 50BMG. In piu la munizione non era propio la migliore combinazione per questa arma. Quello che succede in queste situazioni e’ che è impossibile dopo di cambiare munizione perche l’acquisto e’ gia fatto potenzialmente avranno comprato un paio di milioni di munizione e poi devi lavorare con quello che c’e’.

Rod – sappiamo anche per dire la verita che alcune munizioni tirano meglio in altre sistemi per cio questo puo essere anche il caso qua. Diciamo anche che I bersagli tipicamente ingaggiati con questi fucili sono bersagli piu grandi per cio un mezzo MOA meno o piu non e’ la fine del mondo.

Chris – si infatti tirando ad un carro armato le esigenze sono diverse.

Rod – anche dopo 100 anni si sta ancora utilizando il 50 BMG, e’ un calibro che e’ rimasto ancora relevante…perche?

GV – History shows us that no matter what requests we get in terms of military cartridges, when one takes into consideration the supply chain, we end up going for more conventional options even due to the fact that the same ammunition over the last 100 years has benefited from better components which means that the same cartridge today is different and better performing.

Rod – Come era la sua esperienze utilizzando il Victrix Corvo 50 bmg?

Chris – Il Corvo è un 50BMG, il rinculo ci sara sempre specialmente su un fucile bolt action, con un buon freno di bocca lo puoi diminuire ma anche questo presenta dei problemi. Un freno di bocca piu grande crea piu disturbazione, spinge piu gas e il fucile salta di piu per cio queste sono esperienze che I nuovi arrivati al 50bmg vanno esperienzare. E’ per questa ragione che preferisco un moderatore sul 50BMG.

Rod – preferisci un moderator sul 50bmg?

Chris – Si certamente, per uso militare specialmente lo vorrei. In piu senza il muzzle blast, riduci anche la possibilta di essere scoperto nel ambito tattico militare – ti puo salvare la vita.

Rod – A quale distanza pensi che sia piu idoneo questo sistema in situazioni operative?

Chris – allora si puo utilizzare contro nemici a distanze estreme, in piu l’uso anti materiale e anche contro IED per detonarli da una distanza piu sicura.

Rod – C’e’ scopo per il Victrix Corvo 50BMG nelle mani della polizia?

Chris – oggi giorno la polizia e anche l’esercito si sta equipaggiando dipende dalla neccessita, diciamo ad esempio, I carabinieri che e’ un entita paramilitare avra esigenze diverse specialmente se sono in teatro operativo in Afghanistan ma non in un ambito di “citta” convenzionale ma se siamo a Fallujah, le necessita sono veramente diverse.

snipers protection Queen Elizabeth(1)

Sniping duty during H.E Queen Elizabeth’s visit in Malta.

Rod – Ho notato anche l’uso piu diffuso del 338LM nelle mani di forze del ordine. Cosa ci dice di questo fenomeno?

Chris – se sei in un aeroporto dove ad esempio puoi incontrare distanze di engagiamento maggiori e anche vento piu difficile, la necessita puo essere diversa. Se hai un bersaglio che si presenta con body armour, con il 338LM non e’ un problema. Queste sono situazione che sono successe nel passato per cio le esigenze sviluppano e cambiano anche.

Rod – L’ultima domanda Chris, abbiamo Giuseppe qui con noi per cio non posso non chiedere la domando – C’e’ qualcosa che si puo fare per ameliorare nel sistema Victrix Corvo visto che l’hai utilizzato?

Chris – Si Rod, quando abbiamo iniziato questa intervista, ho notato che quel modello e’ nuovo anche con un appogia guancia diverso, gia notato delle amelioramenti infatti. In piu mi piace quel nuovo pistol grip. Teniamo in mente che quando si allena corpi militari su questi sistemi, si tira abbastanza. In piu hai ogni statura di soldato per cio un recoil pad piu spesso aiuta specialmente su gente di statura meno muscolata.

GV- Ho capito a cosa ti riferisci, purtroppo non siamo tutti di 100kg :0

Chris – se puo avere un quick detachable appogia pollice sarebbe fantastico per tutti quelli che tirano con il pollice appogiato fuori anzi che intorno al pistol grip.

tierone firearms training solutions 308win

Rod – l’ultima domanda, Chris, preferisci un calcio sintetico o pure un chassis in aluminio?

Chris – quando ho cominciato a tirare nel esercito, avevamo un Mauser con calcio in legno. A dire il vero non mi fa nessuna differenza, se posso appogiare il pollice fuori dal pistol grip, sono comodo e posso lavorare con entrambi chassis o pure stock calcio sintetico.

Chris – l’ultima cosa, so che ti interessano tanto I gadget e gli elettronici, ricordo a tutti che non c’e’ nessun cambio per il tempo che si trascorre sul poligono. In tanti vengono da me con cose che hanno comprato ma che non li sanno usare. I principi di tiro rimangono essenziali.

Rod – Infatti, abbiamo avuto una donna con noi che tirava in danimarka al bersaglio del 1400m. Lei non penso che tirava da tanto a tiro lunga distanza, pero I principi basici di tiro gli aveva. In fatti facendo lo spotter per lei, ha cominciato a colpire il bersaglio ai 1400m!

Crawl, walk, run – Striscia, cammina, corri!

Fine del intervista- alla prossima!

[Disclaimer: The opinions shown during this show and interview are solely those of the interviewees and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the presenter or rifletalks.com]

If you would like your products to be featured on this show, Get in touch with us here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leave a Reply

STAY UPDATED BY SIGNING UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTERSIGN UP
+