A Handloader's Look At THE REMINGTON ETRONX

Guns Magazine, June, 2001 by Charles E. Petty

An in-depth analysis of this innovative hunting rifle and its unique cartridges reveals a new frontier of accuracy potential.

While you've probably already heard about Remington's EtronX system of rifle and ammunition, it is comprised of such high-tech components and is so innovative that we think it is really worth another look based upon more than just an initial test firing. First impressions aren't necessarily accurate. That was the case here: Some drawbacks emerged that weren't obvious in our short-term evaluation, but so did some very positive elements.

The Model 700 EtronX has two distinctly novel systems. While neither electric priming nor electronic triggers are new, the combination of the two in a sporting gun is a new development.

Electric priming has been around since around World War II, primarily in aircraft applications. Solenoid-operated triggers have been seen from time to time in small arms since the 1950s, but they used conventional primers. This really is a new system with two interdependent units. You can't shoot conventional ammunition in an EtronX rifle, nor can you shoot EtronX ammo in a standard gun.

The Prime Directive

Building the system required solutions to a series of challenges in both gun and ammo. They couldn't test the gun design until ammo had been developed, and nobody had ever made primers like this before. Remington's plan demanded that conventional brass be used, and the EtronX does fire cases that are exactly the same as standard ammo.

The primer is the only thing that's different--it uses an insulator to separate the priming compound from the case, because without insulation, the rifle would short-circuit and nothing would work. So instead of the normal two-piece primer (cup and anvil), the EtronX has four. None of these components are the same as those used in standard parts, although some have the same names.

The EtronX cup is similar to a conventional cup with the striking exception that there's a hole in the middle. As the primer is assembled an insulator -- also with a hole in the middle -- goes inside the cup. Then an electrical contact goes in, separated from the cup by the insulator. Then the primer mix goes in.

The primer is also different. In order to improve electrical conductivity, tetracene is replaced with carbon black. Remington reports that nothing else is changed so the intensity of the primer is not reduced. The whole thing is finished with an anvil that looks very much like a standard part, but serves only to hold everything together. In a conventional primer, the anvil's primary function is to provide support so the primer mix can ignite by percussion.

Our experience confirms Remington's claim that the EtronX primer system is "transparent." In other words, there is no significant difference in velocity for identical loads fired with both types of primer. Since we obviously cannot shoot both loads in the same gun, we need to allow for some small differences due to different barrels.

The 700's Smarter Cousin

All we have to do to see the difference in the ammo is look at the primer, but the rifle looks just like other Model 700s until closely examined. The component on the right rear of the action, which looks much like a normal safety, is, in fact, an electric switch that shuts off power to the trigger and makes the rifle inoperable. Also, right in the middle of the pistol grip is a red LED that glows when the rifle is ready to shoot. If the light is off, the rifle is safe.

At the bottom of the pistol grip is the master switch, which requires a special key to activate. This switch is either on or off, but, unfortunately, it is not intuitively obvious which icon is which. There are two positions: one marked with an "0" (could this mean on or off?) and the other a straight line similar to the letter "I". Oddly, "I" signifies the "on" position. Although this binary notation is in-line with the high-tech design of the gun, Remington would have been better-off designating the positions as "on" and "off." Unless your day job is as a Javascript software designer, the EtronX safety may not be exactly intuitive.

Even though the circuitry automatically enters a low power-consumption mode when not used for a few minutes, unless you turn the master switch off, you will return to find the battery dead or dying within a few days. When used correctly, batteries last a long time, but it's still a good idea to make sure you've got a spare 9-volt battery and a small screwdriver in the range kit.

At The Speed Of Light

The attraction of the system is that there is virtually zero lock time. On a conventional rifle, even though it's very brief, there is a momentary delay -- measured in milliseconds -- between the time the sear breaks and the round fires. There is no such delay in the EtronX. Remington reports that if you shot an EtronX and a conventional rifle at exactly the same instant, the EtronX's bullet would already be downrange before the firing pin even hit the primer on a regular action.