ARC Nucleus

[gasrat]

Just putting this out there in case someone had a question or are on the fence about one of these actions. I will say first and foremost, I'm not brand loyal. I'll shoot any brand if it works. I own Defiance, Kelby and the ARC Gen 1.1. actions. I ran my ARC this weekend and for those who shot the GAP Grind, the weather was shitty. Rain and mud was plentiful all weekend long. All I can say about the Nucleus is that thing ran like a champ all weekend long despite the wet, muddy conditions. I ran is slow and easy at times while other stages, I ran it hard and fast when I was pressed for time. Not once did it ever give me any kinds of issues as far as cycling, ejecting, going bang and was smooth as silk throughout the entire match. I never oiled anything, wiped anything down or blew any debris out that may have gotten in it. The rifle set in and out of the weather pretty much all weekend. It took me quite a bit of time to get everything cleaned up yesterday. Just wanted to commend ARC for building a damn nice action for the money that runs and to just mention my experience with it for anyone that may be thinking about picking one up in the future. For the money of these, I think they are a great deal......

 

[Steel head]

Yea
I love my Nuke.

 

[gasrat]

Yea
I love my Nuke.

I picked up the one I have used for $650 and this past weekend was the last match with it as a 6.5. I switched out the bolt head last night, which is another beauty of them, so I can get my daughter in the game by converting it over to a .223

 

[665.0coupe]

I picked up the one I have used for $650 and this past weekend was the last match with it as a 6.5. I switched out the bolt head last night, which is another beauty of them, so I can get my daughter in the game by converting it over to a .223

Wanna buy another one?

 

[Steel head]

Might want to retract that offer

 

[Northernjets]

For $650?

The prices you guys can get nukes for, used and new, makes me die a little on the inside. Have a gen 1.0 and 1.1 and love them both. Another 1.1 or even 2.0 would round up the collection perfectly.

Are you running the factory 25lb striker spring OP? I've been using 19lb springs with no issues so far.

 

[BoilerUP]

I've got one Gen1 Nuke and have missed out on a couple used ones for sale lately, as well as ARC's Freedom from Tyranny sale back on July 4th.

Its my only custom action, and like everybody else I wish they were cheaper...but they feed and eject 6BR brass like a boss and just work. Need to grab another...

 

[Steel head]

I've got one Gen1 Nuke and have missed out on a couple used ones for sale lately, as well as ARC's Freedom from Tyranny sale back on July 4th.

Its my only custom action, and like everybody else I wish they were cheaper...but they feed and eject 6BR brass like a boss and just work. Need to grab another...

I want to get a long action Nuke
Feels silly stuffin a 4.25” long 338 edge in a short action.

 

[gasrat]

Wanna buy another one?

Not at the moment. But I'm sure if your offering yours up for $650 there is someone on here that will take it off your hands right quick like. If I didn't already have the other two actions (Defiance & Kelby) I would most def. take it off your hands. Like mentioned, I stripped down the action last night and changed the bolt head for a .223 build.

 

[gasrat]

Are you running the factory 25lb striker spring OP? I've been using 19lb springs with no issues so far.

I don't know what spring it has in it to be honest. I picked it up off here from another member that I deal with a lot. The original listing he purchased it from never specified what spring was in it or if it had been changed. I will say it's a pretty strong spring as I messed with it when changing the bolt head.

 

[Northernjets]

I don't know what spring it has in it to be honest. I picked it up off here from another member that I deal with a lot. The original listing he purchased it from never specified what spring was in it or if it had been changed. I will say it's a pretty strong spring as I messed with it when changing the bolt head.

If it's red, it'll be the 25lb. The 16 and 19 are just the raw steel colour, with the 19 being a touch longer than the 16. It makes a very noticeable difference with the bolt lift.

Edit: Link to the differences on ARC's website

 

[gasrat]

Gotcha. Yeah, it wasn't red.

 

[Long Range 338]

the Nucleus is a work of art at a great price. LOVE IT

 

[Steel head]

I run the 19#

 

[celltech]

Love my 2 Nukes, run 16# springs on both of them....have never failed to go click/bang.

 

[665.0coupe]

Not at the moment. But I'm sure if your offering yours up for $650 there is someone on here that will take it off your hands right quick like. If I didn't already have the other two actions (Defiance & Kelby) I would most def. take it off your hands. Like mentioned, I stripped down the action last night and changed the bolt head for a .223 build.

Mine currently has a 6 Dasher barrel on it, but I would need a little more if I left that on. I don't need it anymore, so if anyone is looking for an action let me know.

 

[Tokay444]

Kelbly*

 

[J-Ham]

@Northernjets, thanks for that link... I've always been mildly curious what spring I have.

 

[alfmoonspace]

I’m sure actions like the Zeus is nice and all but actions like the Nucleus and Origin are crazy good for the amount you pay for them.

 

[Steel head]

I’m sure actions like the Zeus is nice and all but actions like the Nucleus and Origin are crazy good for the amount you pay for them.

Certainly a lot of value for the $$$$

 

[m1match]

I've got a Nucleus 1.0 in 6.5 CM from the SH Shot Show order and it has run flawlessly through over 3000 rounds both with the 16# spring and the 19# spring with a Huber trigger. I changed to the 19# spring just for a little more peace of mind. When I put my 2nd barrel on though, I pulled off the Barloc and went to a barrel nut. I never checked the torque on the Barloc after it was installed and with about 2900 rounds through the first barrel, it had loosened up and the point of impact changed drastically in a match when I banged it on a barricade. My fault for not checking but I decided the Barloc didn't really give me any advantages while having the disadvantage of potentially loosening up and changing POI.

 

[PinesAndProjectiles]

Feels silly stuffin a 4.25” long 338 edge in a short action.

Welcome to my life……

 

[4O6shootist]

I do like my Nuke gen2, it's been flawless running 6gt from arc mags. Using 19# spring as I tried the 16# and avg es went from low teens to around 20, and yes I test multiple 10 round shot strings. The bolt lift is still much higher than a quality 90° action. My bighorn origin with 2k rounds on it is prob the smoothest running action I have out of arc, terminus, defiance and kelbly.

 

[epeet]

Pretty happy with mine, have three barrels for it, all PVA. One (6.5) hasn't headspaced that well but the .308 and .223 are right on and a joy to shoot. Waiting for Ted to dip his toe in the .22LR market so we have a few more choices on the market. Passed on his stock, which I think was still the right answer, but man, the innovation that comes out of ARC is pretty incredible.

Someone selling a 1.0 or 1.1 Nucleus for $600? I'll take it off your hands, just send me a message.

 

[alfmoonspace]

What was wrong with your 6.5?

 

[Rockdoc173]

If it's red, it'll be the 25lb. The 16 and 19 are just the raw steel colour, with the 19 being a touch longer than the 16. It makes a very noticeable difference with the bolt lift.

Edit: Link to the differences on ARC's website

The SA springs,
16# 4.56" and yellow
19# 4.9" and green
25# 4.4" and red

 

[gasrat]

The SA springs,
16# 4.56" and yellow
19# 4.9" and green
25# 4.4" and red

Mine would be the #16 if that's the case. And as stated in my OP. It ran like a champ any way I wanted to run it and cycles silky smooth.

 

[epeet]

Mine would be the #16 if that's the case. And as stated in my OP. It ran like a champ any way I wanted to run it and cycles silky smooth.

I got my hands on some 7.62x51 LR Match and it definitely wouldn't ignite these with the stock spring. Never any issue with the commercial rounds I shot or reloads. Haven't tried on 5.56 mil ammo yet.

 

[Txhillbilly]

My Gen 1 (22 CM) has always worked perfectly with the 16# spring. I just assembled a new Gen 2 (223) today, just waiting for the trigger to arrive. I will be putting a 16# spring in the Gen 2 and see if it works. I also have a 19# spring just in case.

 

[yej0001]

My PVA John Hancock Rifle (essentially a PVA-branded Gen 1 Nucleus) had a 16# spring, which worked well with all my handloads until I tried Russian primers that are harder. With Russian primers, 50% of the ammo wouldn't fire on the first strike, and I need to re-fire a second time (then they all fired). I had ARC changed to 25# spring and the problem solved. I know some folks in very cold weather use magnum primers for their loads, and they may need stronger spring.

This PVA John Hancock Rifle with Rock Creek 308 barrel is one of three most accurate and easy to load rifles I have (had).

 

[Forward543]

I have a gen 1 with somewhere around 8k rounds on it. I believe it is a 19lb spring, possible 16. All running 6BRA. I have had zero issues with the action. All of the light strikes i have had were traced to reloading practices. I run 450s in very low temps.
The forward eject pattern is the only thing i do not like. I also have some galling marks on one lug, but i think that was from a carbon fouled barrel creating heavy pressure while it was super dirty. It has never siezed or not functioned.

 

[Rockdoc173]

Mine would be the #16 if that's the case. And as stated in my OP. It ran like a champ any way I wanted to run it and cycles silky smooth.

I tried the #16 in my G2 but it failed to set off several rounds (using BR4s) so I went back to #25. I have all of them, at some point I'll try the #19.

 

[dgheriani]

I've got a Gen 1.0 that I mostly run as my .223 trainer and spin on a 6 creed barrel to be my backup gun. I've got more than 15k rounds through it now and the thing is a champ. I got in on the original pre-order when it was first released and it came with the 16lbs spring which ran fine for 4-5k rounds of handloads but when I got a deal on some Hornady Steel Match I'd get maybe 10% FTF so I swapped in the 19lbs spring and it was great. Never bothered switching it back to the 16lbs. It's a great action, even more so given the cost but I do prefer my Defiance Deviant Elite, haha.

 

[gnochi]

FWIW I love my Gen 1 with 19# spring. I needed to do a bit of fitting for the CRF to work, and I elected to trim magazine feed lips back slightly so cartridges would pop up straight instead of at an angle, but that’s a typical thing with CRF that you or your gunsmith (in my case, me) should do anyway.

I've got a Nucleus 1.0 in 6.5 CM from the SH Shot Show order and it has run flawlessly through over 3000 rounds both with the 16# spring and the 19# spring with a Huber trigger. I changed to the 19# spring just for a little more peace of mind. When I put my 2nd barrel on though, I pulled off the Barloc and went to a barrel nut. I never checked the torque on the Barloc after it was installed and with about 2900 rounds through the first barrel, it had loosened up and the point of impact changed drastically in a match when I banged it on a barricade. My fault for not checking but I decided the Barloc didn't really give me any advantages while having the disadvantage of potentially loosening up and changing POI.

Did you ensure that (a) there was a gap between the Barloc clamps after tightening and (b) there was light lubrication of the adjoining chamfer and fillet surfaces? Most of the “Barloc slipped” issues I’ve run across have had zero gap after tightening, which means you aren’t actually clamping.

I have ~3000 rounds and ~5 dropped-onto-barrel incidents on the same Barloc installation without ever losing zero.

 

[Steel head]

FWIW I love my Gen 1 with 19# spring. I needed to do a bit of fitting for the CRF to work, and I elected to trim magazine feed lips back slightly so cartridges would pop up straight instead of at an angle, but that’s a typical thing with CRF that you or your gunsmith (in my case, me) should do anyway.



Did you ensure that (a) there was a gap between the Barloc clamps after tightening and (b) there was light lubrication of the adjoining chamfer and fillet surfaces? Most of the “Barloc slipped” issues I’ve run across have had zero gap after tightening, which means you aren’t actually clamping.

I have ~3000 rounds and ~5 dropped-onto-barrel incidents on the same Barloc installation without ever losing zero.

I didn’t have any barloc issues as well with 2 260 barrels and two 7 saum barrels.

 

[Northernjets]

I didn’t have any barloc issues as well with 2 260 barrels and two 7 saum barrels.

Same here for two nut barlocs use for a 6.5cm and .223 rem. Both have been used in the field for hunting or matches. I apply a touch of antisieze to the mating surfaces and tap lightly while torquing, similar to installing v-band clamps.

 

[gnochi]

Same here for two nut barlocs use for a 6.5cm and .223 rem. Both have been used in the field for hunting or matches. I apply a touch of antisieze to the mating surfaces and tap lightly while torquing, similar to installing v-band clamps.

Ha, if you use nickel anti-seize it ends up coating everything anyway!

The biggest thing really is making sure the included spanner fits between the clamp surfaces before tightening the screw.

 

[m1match]

FWIW I love my Gen 1 with 19# spring. I needed to do a bit of fitting for the CRF to work, and I elected to trim magazine feed lips back slightly so cartridges would pop up straight instead of at an angle, but that’s a typical thing with CRF that you or your gunsmith (in my case, me) should do anyway.



Did you ensure that (a) there was a gap between the Barloc clamps after tightening and (b) there was light lubrication of the adjoining chamfer and fillet surfaces? Most of the “Barloc slipped” issues I’ve run across have had zero gap after tightening, which means you aren’t actually clamping.

I have ~3000 rounds and ~5 dropped-onto-barrel incidents on the same Barloc installation without ever losing zero.

My experience with the Barloc was excellent, EXCEPT, I never checked the torque after I got it which was my mistake. I bought the barreled action with Barloc from Patriot Valley Arms ran it flawlessly in function and accuracy for over 3,000 rounds before retiring the barrel. PVA installed the Barloc and barrel properly with a gap between the clamping surfaces. I don't know if they lubed the contact points. At end of barrel life it was grouping well at 100 yds, but not grouping so well at distance. At around 2,900 rounds, I was shooting a match and I hit the barrel on a barricade and my next shot was in the dirt way in front of the target. After the stage, I grabbed my torque wrench and discovered that the Barloc screw had loosened up and was pretty loose. I re torqued the Barloc to 90 in lbs., rezeroed the rifle and completed the match without issues.

After that match, I was over 3,000 rounds and I had a Proof steel Savage small shank barrel ready to go. I don't switch calibers so keeping the Barloc didn't have any advantage to me, so I pulled it off and installed my Proof barrel with a NSS barrel nut.

 

[st1650]

About to get into the Nucleus 2.0 game. Found a decent deal on their nucleus factory rifle.

I've never owned ARC actions, nor CRF. Only had defiance and DTA.

Seems like the current consensus is to go with 19 lbs striker.

What about the ARC magazine - have they fixed the issues or should I get a new spring and follower ? Or just stay away and go with the MDT DSSF ?

Anything needs to be done to increase feeding reliability ? planning to run a simple 6.5 Creed nothing fancy, just want something dead nuts reliable.

Any tips for single feed ? Can you like shove a round in the throat and close the bolt or does it needs to be picked off from the mag like my RimX ?

 

[gasrat]

About to get into the Nucleus 2.0 game. Found a decent deal on their nucleus factory rifle.

I've never owned ARC actions, nor CRF. Only had defiance and DTA.

Seems like the current consensus is to go with 19 lbs striker.

What about the ARC magazine - have they fixed the issues or should I get a new spring and follower ? Or just stay away and go with the MDT DSSF ?

Anything needs to be done to increase feeding reliability ? planning to run a simple 6.5 Creed nothing fancy, just want something dead nuts reliable.

Any tips for single feed ? Can you like shove a round in the throat and close the bolt or does it needs to be picked off from the mag like my RimX ?

I run both MDT and Accurate Mags in mine with a bedded Manners PRS 1 stock and Badger bottom metal and have not had any issues whatsoever with feeding. I can beat on it like it owes me money and it will run like a champ. I have since converted the bolt over to .223 and run Accurate mags in the same stock set up and again, it's worked flawlessly through 300 rounds.

 

[4O6shootist]

About to get into the Nucleus 2.0 game. Found a decent deal on their nucleus factory rifle.

I've never owned ARC actions, nor CRF. Only had defiance and DTA.

Seems like the current consensus is to go with 19 lbs striker.

What about the ARC magazine - have they fixed the issues or should I get a new spring and follower ? Or just stay away and go with the MDT DSSF ?

Anything needs to be done to increase feeding reliability ? planning to run a simple 6.5 Creed nothing fancy, just want something dead nuts reliable.

Any tips for single feed ? Can you like shove a round in the throat and close the bolt or does it needs to be picked off from the mag like my RimX ?

I run a 10rd arc mag with billet lri follower, as well as a 10rd with the +2 extension from A419 utilizing a stretched factory spring and old style follower. No issues with either. The key to arc mags running well, keep em clean!

 

[st1650]

Are the ARC mags the same height as the MDT DSSF or slightly shorter (ie in between AW and DSSF)

 

[Steel head]

About to get into the Nucleus 2.0 game. Found a decent deal on their nucleus factory rifle.

I've never owned ARC actions, nor CRF. Only had defiance and DTA.

Seems like the current consensus is to go with 19 lbs striker.

What about the ARC magazine - have they fixed the issues or should I get a new spring and follower ? Or just stay away and go with the MDT DSSF ?

Anything needs to be done to increase feeding reliability ? planning to run a simple 6.5 Creed nothing fancy, just want something dead nuts reliable.

Any tips for single feed ? Can you like shove a round in the throat and close the bolt or does it needs to be picked off from the mag like my RimX ?

I use the arc mags for 260 and slightly modified for 7 saum
They have been good to me.

As for single feeding, I’m currently shoving a 4.25” 338 edge in mine.
It single feeds beautifully and done so for a lot of rounds.

 

[st1650]

I use the arc mags for 260 and slightly modified for 7 saum
They have been good to me.

As for single feeding, I’m currently shoving a 4.25” 338 edge in mine.
It single feeds beautifully and done so for a lot of rounds.

Any particular technique ? Just throw the round on top of the empty mag and slam the bolt ?
My 1000 yards practice range has mandatory single feed and I really hate doing it on my DTA and was hoping it would do it fine in the Nuke.

 

[30338]

I only have one, but love it. 6/45 with Hawk Hill #2 7.5 twist. Pic is 3 shots at 300 yards with 95 vld. 2.53 OAL on the 95.



I could see a 6.5x47 on one someday.

 

[alfmoonspace]

Any particular technique ? Just throw the round on top of the empty mag and slam the bolt ?
My 1000 yards practice range has mandatory single feed and I really hate doing it on my DTA and was hoping it would do it fine in the Nuke.

Yeah, just don’t shove the round into the chamber (you could do it but the extractor will snap over the rim). If you drop the round in the action it will act as a push feed until the extractor can slip over the case rim. You are good to go.

 

[st1650]

Does the sear needs to be timed with a trigger tech or are they pretty good out of the box ?

 

[Steel head]

Any particular technique ? Just throw the round on top of the empty mag and slam the bolt ?
My 1000 yards practice range has mandatory single feed and I really hate doing it on my DTA and was hoping it would do it fine in the Nuke.

I just throw it in on top of the magazine and send it home with the bolt
The extractor easily snaps over the rim.

 

[gnochi]

Does the sear needs to be timed with a trigger tech or are they pretty good out of the box ?

Sear timing is great on my Nucleus and Archimedes actions.

 

[Steel head]

Sear timing is great on my Nucleus and Archimedes actions.

Same.