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Custom Action
- Thread starter drtony
- Start date
You’re probably better off researching action threads here, as this has been covered many many times. They all turn into a this vs. that at some point, and you can weigh the pros and cons.
No sorry needed, this stuff’s just been covered a lot. I’d recommend a google search over the site search. There’s so much volume of commentary here, the threads will be high in the results. Check out the gunsmithing section too, lots of talk about specific features and issues.
Custom everything? By the way, were you thinking Origin or TL3/SR3?
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I think your terminology is a little confused. If you're buying a bighorn, curtis, etc, that is considered a custom action. A factory action would be an off the shelf Remington, tikka, savage, etc. What you're describing would be considered a full custom build. Bighorn plus aftermarket barrel, stock, and trigger.
Rather than provide an answer, I'm focusing on what questions to ask in making this decision.
In no particular order:
Controlled feed versus push feed.
Integral moa rail.
Integral recoil lug.
60 to 90 degree bolt lift.
Goes bang every time. (Looking at you, Nucleus)
Tolerances close enough for prefit barrels without need to ship the rifle.
Takes AW magazines.
Works with the trigger of your choice.
Plays well with the chassis of your choice.
Customer service. (Looking at you, MPA)
Good luck and let us know what you choose and why.
In no particular order:
Controlled feed versus push feed.
Integral moa rail.
Integral recoil lug.
60 to 90 degree bolt lift.
Goes bang every time. (Looking at you, Nucleus)
Tolerances close enough for prefit barrels without need to ship the rifle.
Takes AW magazines.
Works with the trigger of your choice.
Plays well with the chassis of your choice.
Customer service. (Looking at you, MPA)
Good luck and let us know what you choose and why.
What are the benefits of integral recoil lugs and MOA rails? Just one less moving part to potentially fail?
I like the shorter bolt throw (Curtis Axiom has 60 degree).
It will be a R700 footprint to take care of most of the other questions.
Integral lugs and rails are one less thing to worry about.
Being a R700 footprint doesn't mean all actions are the same. There are significant differences in function. Nucleus and others are learning this lesson.
Get the one that has all the features you want and is available when you want it.
There is no wrong answer just depends on what you want to spend, how long you want to wait and what feature you want.
I have two Kelbly Atlas actions and really like them but am also considering adding a TL3 for the features it has or maybe an extra bolt for a Atlas.
There is no wrong answer just depends on what you want to spend, how long you want to wait and what feature you want.
I have two Kelbly Atlas actions and really like them but am also considering adding a TL3 for the features it has or maybe an extra bolt for a Atlas.
Bighorn is great, I just bought a ARC Nucleus. Tons of features to it and very smooth. It feeds rounds like 22br that most actions have difficulty doing. If you want top of the line I would go with Bat.
For my first custom action I narrowed it down to a bighorn origin or ARC Nucleus.
I got the nucleus and definitely don’t regret my choice.
Probably I would have been just as happy with the bighorn though.
I got the nucleus and definitely don’t regret my choice.
Probably I would have been just as happy with the bighorn though.
Bighorn has never failed me. Have/had SR-2, TL-2, Tl-3, and Origin. Also really like my Surgeon 591 actions alot too. I think the bolt rides a little smoother then the BH actions.
I stayed away from Nucleus based on the long threads in the Precision Rifle section.
Read those and you may well reach the same conclusions.
That's how I used to feel until I realized how shitty the bolt stops are. I'd still be running one if the bolt stop didn't break so easily. I think it beats almost all the custom actions in feel and quick cycling and comes with a superb trigger. I honestly prefer Tikka to my Mausingfield except for the reliability.
I've never shot a Tikka. I have seen handled them in stores, but was unaware of reliability issues. They seem to have a strong following
I’ll throw two things in here.
My shooting partner has an MPA build with the Curtis Axiom. The rear bolt raceway gets hammered by the bolt. So much so that it is peened over and difficult to remove the bolt. CC’s response was take a file to it. Unsatisfactory in my opinion. But the action runs really well otherwise.
If this happened to a Bighorn, they would bend over backwards to help you out in this situation. I respect Ray and the team for that. I like their actions. You get strong value with them.
My shooting partner has an MPA build with the Curtis Axiom. The rear bolt raceway gets hammered by the bolt. So much so that it is peened over and difficult to remove the bolt. CC’s response was take a file to it. Unsatisfactory in my opinion. But the action runs really well otherwise.
If this happened to a Bighorn, they would bend over backwards to help you out in this situation. I respect Ray and the team for that. I like their actions. You get strong value with them.
I know of two others who have this issue. Both of my Tikkas did it. It's not an issue for a hunting rifle or bench rifle, but if you are shooting off things like rooftops, etc under time, be prepared for your bolt to rip out of the gun.
I've heard about the bolt stops on here. Me and lots of folks in my area run Tikkas, and I've honestly never heard of it happening to anyone. Most of us have thousands of rounds through ours, so I'm just not sure what some folks are doing to break the bolt stops on them, but it seems more related to how you personally use them than any type of design flaw or manufacturing defect.
Does my beloved Huber 2stage fit the Tikka?
Is there an endless supply of chassis/stock available?
Is there a multitude of barrel options for the tikka?
I’m no tikka hater but they do bring limitations.
The answer to your last 2 questions is yes. So your best argument against a $400 Tikka action is that you prefer to buy a $1k+ action so that you can put a $275 trigger in it when the Tikka doesn't even need a trigger upgrade to begin with?
Sorry, but that doesn't qualify for "justifies the cost" unless you're a professional marksman or just have money to burn.
I'm not saying a Tikka is 100% of a custom action. But it's 98% of it at 30% of the cost.
When I looked into tikka options off the shelf stock options were limited and profit barrels were quite limited as well.
and now about every stock or chassis manufacturer makes an inlet. from KRG Bravo and ONYX to manners and J Allen.
and people are doing shouldered prefits without issues
Guess I didn’t look hard enough.
I didn’t have to look hard at all for my rem clone custom action parts and barrels.
My OG Tikka had about 3k rounds at the time with no issues. I built another one in 223 Ackley. I was at a local match and a guy broke his Tikka bolt stop. We taped a flashlight to his stock to act as a bolt stop. On the next stage mine broke too. First I had ever heard of it being an issue. I bought the right size pins from McMaster Carr and replaced mine. I rarely took my original 6.5 out of the stock but when I did in order to sell it, I realized the bolt stop pin was broken on it as well and probably had been for a while. It was jammed in there in such a way that it wasn't ever coming out. Another guy I shoot with has broken them a couple times as well. It is a design flaw. The 2mm pin shouldn't be taking the force but it does. Also, there isn't enough meat there to make a bigger hole for a stronger pin or I would have had it machined for one.
-Dan
I have two Atlas actions and one well worn but not abused Tikka.
The Atlas action when new and run dry is smoother than the Tikka that is worn in and lubed.
Being able to order a shouldered pre fit barrel is another big plus.
And Remington pattern triggers and stocks is another just to name a few.
But I agree that the T3 action is a bargain for the quality and features you get.
Have a BH TL3, love it. I wouldn't use AW mags, in my experience they jam and are unreliable in the TL3 action.
Standard AI pattern mags work just fine. I have a 223 bolt head and shoot 223 between matches for practice. Then use a 308 bolt head and a 6x47L barrel for match day.
Very flexible action in terms of what you can do with it.
Standard AI pattern mags work just fine. I have a 223 bolt head and shoot 223 between matches for practice. Then use a 308 bolt head and a 6x47L barrel for match day.
Very flexible action in terms of what you can do with it.
Man, I have to say that you may want to go a different route and that's fine, but Tikka is not a "manufacturer to stay away from". I've heard of the bolt stop thing on here before, but I've just never seen it in real life, and I've been around a lot of Tikkas with a lot of rounds on them. My only conclusion is that the folks who have issues are the ones who bring slam the bolt back like they're trying to throw the brass into the next county, or maybe they used to have a rifle with ejection issues where they had to bring the bolt back as hard as they could to get it to cycle. But I run my Tikka pretty hard and many others do too, and this is not even a remotely common issue for normal folks.
I don't think it was a problem until rooftop stages started to become the norm at the places I shoot. I think what's happening is that you end up hanging on the rifle and put more force than usual on the bolt. Most people will never break a bolt stop on a Tikka. I still have one for a hunting rifle. But I'm confident I'll not break anything with my Mausingfield. Like I said, I still prefer the feel of the Tikka to just about every other action I've ran including the Mausingfield.
I think the Nucleus issue is a combination of firing pin and firing pin shroud threads along with trigger sear position.
Once they get that figured out, I think the original spring will be fine.
Hopefully that fix will be cooked in to the Archimedes by the time it ships.
The Archimedes might be one of the smoothest actions ever because it will remove the primary extraction force from the bolt lift.
But it's not stainless so not meeting that criteria and expensive compared to some other custom actions and unproven as of yet.
Once they get that figured out, I think the original spring will be fine.
Hopefully that fix will be cooked in to the Archimedes by the time it ships.
The Archimedes might be one of the smoothest actions ever because it will remove the primary extraction force from the bolt lift.
But it's not stainless so not meeting that criteria and expensive compared to some other custom actions and unproven as of yet.
No worries, I like to gather as much info as possible before spending money. I doubt it will be an issue, I take pretty good care of things, especially when they cost a lot. Also, I am sure if I post enough times I will find negatives about every rifle ever made!
Tikka CTR 24" stainless barrel was 3rd on my list if non custom action is the way I decide to go. Do you know if the bolt and everything is stainless in those? It looks like there is a mix of stainless and black, but I am not sure if the black is just stainless that has been coated. Is the CTR action the same as the t3x?
Tikka CTR 24" stainless barrel was 3rd on my list if non custom action is the way I decide to go. Do you know if the bolt and everything is stainless in those? It looks like there is a mix of stainless and black, but I am not sure if the black is just stainless that has been coated. Is the CTR action the same as the t3x?
