Who makes the best action?

[Edd]

..........Depends on application, goal of the rifle, $$$ and what features you like/important to you.

I think this is an important consideration.

For a 308 bolt face, I know what my favorite action is. It may or may not be the best, I don't care. I know it is a good one and it is my favorite.

For a magnum bolt face, I'm still looking for a favorite.

 

[Buzzsaw]

doesnt the 6.5 creed take a magnum bolt face? I may be thinking of the PRC?

 

[Edd]

doesnt the 6.5 creed take a magnum bolt face? I may be thinking of the PRC?

https://saami.org/technical-information/cartridge-chamber-drawings/

 

[Mach 1]

doesnt the 6.5 creed take a magnum bolt face? I may be thinking of the PRC?

I believe the Pcrc takes the magnum bolt face.

 

[sable tireur]

The 6.5 Creedmoor bolt face is 0.473" just like the .308 Win and .243 Win.

 

[J E Custom]

If you look at the number of choices you will have to come to one conclusion. All can be the best if assembled correctly.

A good action that is well machined, Has the features that"You" like and the looks can be anything. Different features on an action can make a difference depending on what its intended use is. The action design has very little to do with accuracy, Its machining tolerances and assembly does.

A lot of people believe that the more expensive a action is the better it will shoot. quality is built in and the action design can have an effect on accuracy. There are poorly designed actions that have built in design problems but a good smith can overcome most of these.

Actions are like bullets, everyone has there preference and in the right circumstances can be very accurate.

Just my opinion

J E CUSTOM

 

[Alex Wheeler]

If you look at the number of choices you will have to come to one conclusion. All can be the best if assembled correctly.

A good action that is well machined, Has the features that"You" like and the looks can be anything. Different features on an action can make a difference depending on what its intended use is. The action design has very little to do with accuracy, Its machining tolerances and assembly does.

A lot of people believe that the more expensive a action is the better it will shoot. quality is built in and the action design can have an effect on accuracy. There are poorly designed actions that have built in design problems but a good smith can overcome most of these.

Actions are like bullets, everyone has there preference and in the right circumstances can be very accurate.

Just my opinion

J E CUSTOM

Thats just not true. The design of the action has a large role in its accuracy potential. Ignition design is critical for top accuracy. Thats what sets apart the better actions in competition. You may be surprised at what some are missing.
If we dumb everyone down to think the only different is how they look and what features they have, theres no reason for action manufacturers to put out better products or correct issues.

 

[NEMTHunter]

Just put this out there as food for thought. Theres a lot of people that will say the ruger M77 action is not good and can not be made to shot with precision. But that is not the case.

I know of two factory Ruger M77 that shoot one hole groups @100 yards with the right hand load. Both are tang safety. And both were less then 500 bucks. The one was glass bedded and free floated thats it. The other one is Still Factory. Ones my Dads and the other ones my brothers.

My m77 mark two 30-06 can shoot one hole groups @100 yards if I do my part. Its glass bedded and free floated with a Shilon barrel.

Again poeple say the design and action are not built in a way to be able to be made to shoot with great precision. How can you get better then one whole groups @100 yards? The Question is. How well will it hold that farther out....

 

[Pdvdh]

Take them Ruger 77s to 1000yds and report back.

 

[Alex Wheeler]

Just put this out there as food for thought. Theres a lot of people that will say the ruger M77 action is not good and can not be made to shot with precision. But that is not the case.

I know of two factory Ruger M77 that shoot one hole groups @100 yards with the right hand load. Both are tang safety. And both were less then 500 bucks. The one was glass bedded and free floated thats it. The other one is Still Factory. Ones my Dads and the other ones my brothers.

My m77 mark two 30-06 can shoot one hole groups @100 yards if I do my part. Its glass bedded and free floated with a Shilon barrel.

Again poeple say the design and action are not built in a way to be able to be made to shoot with great precision. How can you get better then one whole groups @100 yards? The Question is. How well will it hold that farther out....

When you shoot competition you measure the groups. All of them. Day in day out, the rifle has to shoot small groups without any fliers. One hole can be .1" or .3", one of those is 3 times bigger than the other. You can choose not to believe what Im telling you but its not an opinion, or even mine, its why custom actions exist in the first place. Benchrest gunsmiths were doing a lot of work on actions to get them to shoot competitively. To the point making a new one from scratch made more sense.

 

[NEMTHunter]

When you shoot competition you measure the groups. All of them. Day in day out, the rifle has to shoot small groups without any fliers. One hole can be .1" or .3", one of those is 3 times bigger than the other. You can choose not to believe what Im telling you but its not an opinion, or even mine, its why custom actions exist in the first place. Benchrest gunsmiths were doing a lot of work on actions to get them to shoot competitively. To the point making a new one from scratch made more sense.

I was not arguing against your opinion. Or saying that its wrong. I agree there are reasons those custom actions exist. The better you can make one part of the puzzle the better chance you have at precision. There are lots of variables in a gun. But you would now this more then me because you build them and I do not. I can respect that.

My statement was more or less to say that a action does not have to be a poplar or custom action to be good.

Take them Ruger 77s to 1000yds and report back.

I agree. My brother has never done it with his to see how well it did. But at 100 yards I have watched him shoot three to five shots at a target and go out and think he only hit it one time. Then upon closer inspection you can see where other bullets entered the same place. It does not get much better then that.

I to have never took mine to 1000 yards. In all honesty if it did bad it would be more MY fault then the gun.

I agree. Hence I wrote at the end of my post. The question is, How well will it hold that farther out....

 

[J E Custom]

Thats just not true. The design of the action has a large role in its accuracy potential. Ignition design is critical for top accuracy. Thats what sets apart the better actions in competition. You may be surprised at what some are missing.
If we dumb everyone down to think the only different is how they look and what features they have, theres no reason for action manufacturers to put out better products or correct issues.

I never said that an action could be dumbed down and it would be fine.

A good action is one with good machining and features that improve performance for a certain type of shooting. different uses, dictate design needs. I choose the brand/type of action for it benefits with the use intended. The benefits of picking the right action can make a huge difference in its performance. A cheaply made action is just that, a cheep action.

Any well made action can be made to shoot accurately. Some can be easier to achieve accuracy than others because of there design features, but ultimately when the breach is closed on the cartridge the action is no longer in play if it was machined correctly and trued to the bore center-line. A breach plug can perform the same function. The features on some actions are more user friendly and make them desirable to some depending there use.

I like many of the features on different actions. because of my intended use, but others may not like the same features that I do. It doesn't mean my likes are better, just different.

I think that you misinterpreted what I was trying to say. The original poster ask if one action was better than another and my reply was no if the machining was perfect and it was assembled correctly. only the features that are appealing to him.

I'm Not advocating buying only custom actions, just like i am not pushing Factory actions. They all have their strong points and weak points. most of the custom actions have made an effort to include many of the desirable features that most people like. Different bolt release doesn't effect the accuracy just the function. the built in recoil lug can, if the replaceable lug is not precision installed.

Right now, if I were going to pick a action with all the features that I like it would be the Curtis Custom. I know others will like something else because of their features.

So in my opinion, There is no golden bullet just like there is no golden action.

Just my opinion

J E CUSTOM

 

[cheechin]

If you are building a long range competition gun or just a heavy gun where packing it around is not a consideration; Surgeon is widely excepted by comp shooters as the best. The last chart I saw on brands being used for competition, surgeon is being used about 5 to 1. The main reason is the machined integrated rail adds stiffness and rigidity to the actions. You ae also mounting the scope directly to the action which avoids mounts being unaligned, working lose, etc...The best of the best love them. If you don't care about adding 10oz, it would be great for hunting as well.

If you are building a more practical hunting rifle and weight is a consideration, i think you can't go wrong with many brands. Borden, Stiller, Defiance.

 

[JJMoody]

BAT has for years, also had a broached raceway, significantly adding to potential costs. I think it took like 5-6 years to replace a broach (rod/bar???) they are now beginning to run wire EDM in the manufacturing process and beginning to do similar things as other manufacturers.