B14R Heavy

[B.A.C.]

I'm tired of fighting my gear. I have a CZ 455 with the factory American barrel which I had cut to 16.5". It's fine for hunting, but the balance point is unacceptable for PRS.

I'm thinking about getting the B14R Heavy, but I'm skeptical it's going to balance without external weights.

The other option would be to find a heavy prefit for the 455 (leaning towards Lilja or L3i) and if I like the setup then I'll get the cheapest 457 I can find, then build a competition rig off that action.

Lastly, the nuclear option, is just go Vudoo or RimX. I'm hesitant because I don't want to chase feeding issues and magazine prices are stupid.

 

[Jagerwerks]

I have a B14R heavy and it balances pretty well, but it is still ever so slightly rear heavy in my KRG Bravo. I am looking at getting a few external weights for the front or just upgrading to the aluminum forend on my bravo.

You can get them right now on battlehawk armory for $650 which is an absolute steal for that barreled action.

 

[bobby1028]

The heavy barrel actions are cheap, but for prs you'll need a chassis for balance no matter which platform you choose. If you're not locked into a 700 platform a 457 with the L3i barrel and cheap chassis will get you in the game for about the same price as a B14R barreled action and chassis.

 

[Mark_Dorman]

You will definitely need some external weights to get the B14R heavy to balance. IIRC, it takes about 2 lbs of weights to get it to balance in a typical chassis. To balance almost any rifle you need quite a bit of weight overall. You need a barrel that weights around 7 lbs or more for the CZ and around 8lbs or more for an R700 action like a B14R, Vudoo, or RimX (those actions are just heavier so they need more weight to balance). That can be had by going with a 1.180 diameter barrel 24 inches or longer (L3i is 6.76 lbs).

The CZ will probably end up being a bit cheaper than the B14R, but you'll have more trigger and chassis/stock options with the B14R. R700 footprint is so popular you can also find more gear second hand.

This is our CZ 457 with the L3i barrel. It's in a stock, but it balances perfectly. I know a lot of people with this barrel using a variety of chassis and all have been able to easily balance their setups.

Setup weighs ~15.5 lbs (2.5 lbs lighter than the Vudoo). However, it will balance without the weighted ARCA rail and that drops the weight down to ~14lbs.

I like the Vudoo better than the CZ overall (completely subjective). But you can't beat the CZ for value and it shoots just as well as the Vudoo.

 

[6.5SH]

I have a B14R heavy and it balances pretty well, but it is still ever so slightly rear heavy in my KRG Bravo. I am looking at getting a few external weights for the front or just upgrading to the aluminum forend on my bravo.

You can get them right now on battlehawk armory for $650 which is an absolute steal for that barreled action.

What scope are you using and do you have the KRG arca rail or anything else up front?

 

[Jagerwerks]

What scope are you using and do you have the KRG arca rail or anything else up front?

Strike Eagle 5-25 currently but I have a G3 razor on the way. I have the arca rail right now but in hindsight I should have picked up one of the heavy versions instead of the standard. I also have a spig mount with my bipod on it.