Question for those with hand on experience with the CDG and Impact actions…which do you find to be smoother.
I’m about to pull the trigger on getting a 300 NM and I’m struggling between the two actions.
I think I’m leaning towards CDG but obviously Impact comes with a lot of legacy.
Just some random experiences I figure I'd share with a regular human bartender such as yourself...
I've got 3x AI's, 3x Archimedes (all running single stack mag calibers), 1x CDG, 1x TL3, 1x Impact, and just recently picked up a rifle off the PX here that was built on an Origin that is going to serve as a loaner to friends for varmint hunting.
They're all good actions and function just fine, but my favorite actions in terms of overall smoothness and overall use experience in terms of bolt lift/feel/effort and feeding smoothness are the Archimedes and the CDG.
The Archimedes is single stack mag only and shines for calibers like 223 that only have single stack mags as it has a proper feed ramp, while my CDG is running AW mags and is stupid smooth running 22GT. (I have not tried single stack mags in my CDG, as I didn't buy it for that, but a few here have said the CDG can have occasional feeding issues with calibers like 223AI since the CDG doesn't have a full feed ramp at 6 o'clock and can present the rounds from single stack mags to the breech at non-optimal angles, hence the coned breech.)
The TL3 and Origin are also nice, especially if you tune the cocking pieces for your trigger, and so is the Impact-- although the Impact not being a 100% cock on open action there is a slight bump when closing the bolt when it does the remainder of the firing pin cocking. I know some people bitch about the slight bump on close with the Impact, but in my experience it doesn't disturb the sight picture and the Impact "bump on close" is nearly imperceptible when I run it back to back with one of my AI's which have a far more pronounced bump on close.
Impact has the advantage that nearly everyone makes prefits for it. Same goes for the TL3 and Origin. The CDG, not so much, although availability of prefits for the CDG is better now than earlier this year.
CDG with the pivoting bolt handle installed can have issues with really light triggers with minimal internal sear engagement as there is no primary extraction cam on the pivoting bolt handle to slow the forward velocity on the bolt when closing the bolt fast. Not an issue with my Bix triggers at 1#, but it can be an issue with other triggers set very light. This can be avoided by installing the non-pivoting bolt handle (which unfortunately takes away one of the coolest features of the CDG) and other more conventional actions with regular primary extraction cams on the bolt handle like the Impact and TL3 won't have this potential issue.
Also, some people don't like how mechanical ejector actions like the TL3/Archimedes/CDG really huck your brass quite far when running the bolt fast, whereas a typical spring plunger ejector action like the Impact chucks your brass in pretty much the same spot regardless if you run the bolt at moderate or fast speeds.
I know my TL3, Archimedes, and Impact will all run if I get caught in swirling dust and the actions get a little dirty. I don't know how the CDG handles a bit of dirt/dust yet as I have yet to shoot it in that kind of enviornment and probably won't subject it to those kinds of conditions for a few more months. It may be an issue or it may not be an issue, but I don't know for myself yet.
My opinion... they all work, but the CDG is a hell of a nice action at the $900 price point especially if you want to run AW mags-- but prefit availabilty could be better. If I was going to build another rifle today in a caliber that would run out of AW mags, I would buy a second CDG. Nothing against the TL3 and Impact that I have, but I prefer the overall feel of the CDG and you can't argue with the price.
My opinion might be different if I was one of those people that can't live with a trigger heavier than 5oz and said light trigger didn't play nice with the CDG and the pivoting bolt handle. I have not tried setting up my CDG and Bix that way to see if it has issues with dropping the trigger when closing the bolt fast.
