best hunting action question

[KNHOTROD]

Been looking for a good after market hunting action, has anybody heard anything good about Montana Rifle Company pre 64 clone type action?
Price is good, are they ready to go or do they need alot of work like stock Rem 700 does? How about Dakota 76 action same clone type put spendy any thought? one last thing I see and here good things on Big Horn any thought?

 

[375fan]

I have had 3 rifles built using the MRC actions. 404jeffrey, 375 h+h, and the latest one which is on it's way from the gunsmith, a 338rum. The actions used for my builds were pretty good and just needed a little smoothing (I had all of them in my hands in the white before sending to gunsmith, have 4th sitting in gun vault). In talking to gunsmith and a few others, some of the actions from MRC could be a little rough and need some serious work over yet others were really nice. Would I put these up with the high end actions? No. I like the actions since they are control round feed and have the 3 position safety. Being M70 clones there are lots of aftermarket parts available.

 

[liltank]

For hunting, you may want to look at Surgeon or Badger. They produce actions for military applications, so hunting will be a mere pittance to what they are use too.

Tank

 

[rscott5028]

Remington, Savage, Winchester and others make great factory hunting rifles.

So, what is it you're wanting to accomplish that they don't provide out of the box?

I'm not trying to discourage you. But, you haven't provided many details of the type of rifle or hunting that you want to build.

 

[KNHOTROD]

Accurate killing at long range distance's, and no problems like a lot of factory guns show in the field. Been there done that many times. When you spend 3g to 7g on a hunt you want no troubles.
The Surgeon line is more bench rest to tight of a action but I see they make the RSR which looks to be more hunter friendly.
Badger seems to only make one and it appears to be to tight too,it does not shows the exact specs as to how tight.

 

[rscott5028]

Accurate killing at long range distance's, and no problems like a lot of factory guns show in the field. Been there done that many times. When you spend 3g to 7g on a hunt you want no troubles.
The Surgeon line is more bench rest to tight of a action but I see they make the RSR which looks to be more hunter friendly.
Badger seems to only make one and it appears to be to tight too,it does not shows the exact specs as to how tight.

In that case, I would be looking for a smith or maker that I had confidence in and let him worry about what action to use. There are several highly reputable smiths that are sponsors in these forums.

I don't see them hounding people here to make a sale. But, you can find them with some quick searching in these forums. And, nobody here is bashful. So, if they turn out shoddy work, then it'll show up quickly.

It's the guy that assembles it and stands behind his work that'll make the difference.

-- richard

 

[sp6x6]

Defiance is known as a good action, cant say first hand. But I shot a 1 3/4 group today , @ 400 yrd. w/300 hybrid, I'm a hunter, so we will see how it works, its smooth That was out of a under 9 # rig

 

[KNHOTROD]

In that case, I would be looking for a smith or maker that I had confidence in and let him worry about what action to use. There are several highly reputable smiths that are sponsors in these forums.

I don't see them hounding people here to make a sale. But, you can find them with some quick searching in these forums. And, nobody here is bashful. So, if they turn out shoddy work, then it'll show up quickly.

It's the guy that assembles it and stands behind his work that'll make the difference.

-- richard

No problem with that. I like to take the credit in helping design the product in any way possible with parts I believe in and have heard from people who know how they work. To shoot great you first have to believe in that rifle. I use to shoot competition for many years with sponser guns. The ones I did not like I could not shoot good period. They where a fine built rifle just didn't twist make chain right. I am anal in that way. Mind first than body and soul. I was taught by many fine gentleman in the industry. Look, listen and learn speak last are great words to live by.

 

[mike33]

I dont think a missed shot at long range could be blamed on an action. Take your smiths advise and put your money in a good barrel and optics.

 

[horsefor4]

I have a mcr rifle in 7 wsm it is a half moa gun out to 600 yds. The action my be a tiny rough but no worse than a new 700 rem. There barrels are great hand lapped shoot great.

 

[MontanaRifleman]

Are you looking for an M70 clone action? I just picked up my first M70 in a 22-250 and I am very impressed with the reciever and action. I like the integral recoil lug and the beefy bolt lugs. It is a solid and robust action. The only thing I don't like about it is the safety linkage... dificult to work and noisy... at least in my rifle. The trigger is awesome! I should mention the previous owner was a gunsmith.

Having said that, you will find mixed reviews on the MRC actions. You don't see them mentioned in here very often and when speaking with a couple of quality Montana gunsmiths on their preferences for actions, the MRC actions were not mentioned. Defiance was, and highly recommended. Another option to consider would be Borden Alpines for a custom action.

For value, I would probably go with one of the mention custom actions or a Vanguard/Howa action to be blueprinted with some possible upgrades. Others like Rems or Savages. I'm surprised the M70 isn't used more for precision builds? maybe someone can fill us in on that? If you want an M70 by a factory one much cheaper at a gun show, etc.

And very important in the equation is your smith. Smiths, just like us have their preferences and peeves. So you need to work with him and come to a plan you both are happy with. I have spoken with one smith who thought MRC actions were fairly good.

My choice would be a Vangurd/Howa or a Defiance.

Enjoy your project,

Mark

 

[rscott5028]

KNHOTROD,

I guess I'm too cynical in my old age. But, opinions and reviews are just data points and are often skewed by one's limited perspective. No doubt you'll have plenty of data to sift through.

I never knew how many really nice custom actions were out there until I started looking into building a rifle or two. It seems like there's another new custom action everyday.

I met a guy at the range yesterday who confirmed that Stiller here in Wylie makes actions for Gunwerks, Les Baer, and the US Millitary. I already knew that he's making the new Shilen actions in addition to their own product lines. There's no telling how many others they make from the same CNC machinery.

In any case, I can't imagine a more reliable bolt action hunting rifle than a properly tuned and maintained Model 70. I've used them for over 40 years. I worry about BC's, TIR, and whether my knife is sharp. ...not whether my rifle will peform.

Then again, I like custom rifle builds as much as the next guy.

Enjoy!
-- richard

 

[6.5 mag]

defiance makes one of the best hunting actions very nice my gunsmith has built a bunch of guns with them now all hunting rifles with no issues what so ever.they used to use borden action but have switched to defiance.if you are on a buget savage actions are the best to build off of ,very accurate without all the work a rem 700 action take to make it great.

 

[liltank]

defiance makes one of the best hunting actions very nice my gunsmith has built a bunch of guns with them now all hunting rifles with no issues what so ever.they used to use borden action but have switched to defiance.if you are on a buget savage actions are the best to build off of ,very accurate without all the work a rem 700 action take to make it great.

I second the Savage action. I have one that works quite well.

Tank