Long Action vs. short Action

[coues7]

Are there any benefits to going with a short action? I've heard they are stiffer....thus more accuracy and consistency....but don't allow long seating length which could be problematic.

Thanks

[Michael Eichele]

If you want a short action caliber, such as the 308 or 708 and such, then yes, there is a great benefit to a short action and with most short action calibers, feeding is not an issue. An exception would be the 6.5-284 and similar. If you want a long mag or 3006 type, then the long action is of benefit. There is NO benefit to using a short action for a long case and vice versa. The bottom line is that there is nothing wrong with either as long as you use them for the purpose they were intended. In the intance of using a long case, the slightly less rigid long action is a very small sacrifice for proper feeding. Yes short actions are stiffer but not so much so that they are worth sacrificing other qualities, bearing in mind that most short action cases will feed in a short action just fine. It would be trying to feed a long case in a short action that wouldnt help you any. Now if youre trying to build a 6.5x284, a long action is of greater benefit for loading and feeding issues. If you spend much of your time hunting coues deer in the country I typicaly hunt them, you might want a short action for weight and overall length purposes. Obviously, you would use a short caliber as well.

To sum it up. The 3 biggest benefits to a short action is rigidity, lighter weight and an overall more compact rifle.

The biggest benefits to a long action. Bigger cases, more energy, less trajectory.

Ask yourself which qualities you need the most.

[Ahab]

They are indeed stiffer and also the shorter brass case allows full loads of powder which many believe induceive to better accuracy.

[coues7]

I'm going to have ga precision built me a custom rifle.....I'm trying to decide between the 300 Win Mag and the 300 WSM. I will be using the rifle for long range hunting (bear, deer and elk) out to 1000 yards.

Scott

[Michael Eichele]

If your decision is between the 2 go with the 300 wsm.

[davewilson]

i would say the exact opposite. if your decision is between the 2, i would go with the win mag.for a 1k elk rig you want the heavier bullets and the long mag will shoot them around 200 fps faster.

[Michael Eichele]

That is a good point Dave. I was only thinking purely from a coues whitetail standpoint. That shows you what a narrow minded view I have sometimes! [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]