Ive been shooting precision rifles for over 20 years now. I started on Savage rifles, then an FN SPR A1, and now I’ve got a Badger M2013 and a Bighorn TL3.
The Badger is incredibly well engineered and machined. The cuts are all crisp and beautiful, the breeching ring is a brilliant way to do it. It’s 3 lug, and the bolt lift is not what I’d call easy if that’s a concern for you. Mine is QPQ’d. I still need to bed it and load ammo, nowhere to shoot it to warrant dropping the cash on ammo components at the moment so it’s back burnered for a bit.
Here’s the Badger:
The Bighorn has the lightest bolt lift I’ve ever felt. There are plenty of actions I haven’t used so take that for what you paid for it. It is also incredibly well machined and well designed.
Here’s the Bighorn:
Both will bind if you’re sloppy working the bolt, and both are slick as greased goose shit if you know how to run a bolt. Most actions won’t bind if you know how to run a bolt. I’ve had several people who have little to no experience using a precision bolt rifle shooting the Bighorn and the only responses I’ve gotten have been “fuck that’s nice”, and no binding or malfunctions. Mine is cerakoted on the receiver, inside and out by Mile High. I have nothing negative to say.
The Defiance actions are really slick. They’re also tight as hell. So tight in fact that I would worry about dust or mud rendering them inoperable. I do most of my shooting in Oklahoma. The Bighorn hasn’t skipped a beat yet.
I hear great things about the Impact 737R, but have never handled one so can’t offer an opinion there, but may end up buying one.
The Mausingfield actions I’ve handled did not impress me. I wanted to like them but didn’t. I would not be interested in a Nucleus at all, a quick read around on here will turn up a myriad of common issues ranging from light strikes to trigger compatibility issues.
AI’s are nice, they feel great, but the Bighorn ended up being the right choice for me because of the floating/changeable bolt heads, excellent customer service, and a reliable product. I’m not in the Army anymore and I don’t need a rifle that can survive a bunch of apes and mammalian crows with too much Rip It, Red Bull, nicotine, and time on their hands. However, if you’re after the sort of rifle that a complete fucking troglodyte couldn’t break, AI all the way.
My one gripe about the Bighorn is that they made the tang a tiny hair longer than the R700, and it can make a difference with chassis fit. Not a problem for me, but it’s something to consider.
The Badger comes in the white and needs to be coated (they’re 4142 chrome moly). I still haven’t shot mine, just a couple thousand dry fires, so I don’t have a firm opinion of it yet. I do know I wouldn’t use it in short action form due to weight and size, and also because finding a chassis or stocks for them ready to go is difficult.
Shouldered prefits are in every way superior to barrel nuts, in my opinion, other than cost upfront. You thread it on, torque it, and shoot it. That’s it. Barrel nuts need to be headspaced. I get my barrel work done by Matt Stewart in Oklahoma. I can’t recommend him more highly. Very professional, very quick turnaround, excellent work, and extremely knowledgeable. It took less time for me to buy a barrel blank and have him chamber it and match the cerakote on my Bighorn than it did to have my Badger M2013 coated.
Regardless of which action you choose, a good gunsmith needs your action once, records the dimensions, and can make you up a barrel after that without needing the action. The floating bolt heads are what sold me, and controlled round feed, but there are plenty of excellent options available to choose from.
I wish you well in your decision making process, feel free to PM me, or if you’re in the NW Arkansas area or within a few hours drive I’d be happy to meet up and let you shoot my Bighorn.
