Switch Barrel Build

bmicek

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Minuteman
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Aug 23, 2017
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Considering a build that id like multiple barrels for. For sure 223 and others (308? 6CM?) so I need one with swappable bolt heads. I know the Origin is commonly recommended for this which is what I’m leaning towards. Am I missing anything else? I’m okay with spending more on an action if it’s truly THAT much of a better action.
 
You can’t go wrong with an Origin. I have one, it’s really nice. I’m not a competitor, just an enthusiast, so factor that in. I also have a Solus and they have mag, standard, and mini bolts as well, so if you are looking for 60 degree bolt throw it’s a decent option. It’s heavier than the Origin, 36 vs 28 oz, but they began selling the lightweights again, so you could look at those if you are concerned with weight. It’s worth the money if you can get them on sale. Not quite as smooth as my Origin, but less bolt throw. Both have been flawless for me.

There are others that cost more and I’m sure others with them will chime in. Good luck with your decision.
 
Origin is good any action is going to do what you want I have a zues qc and love it I got from 6creed to 6.5 prc at the range all the time just because I can lol
 
Go with the Origin as you first thought. Excellent action that is very versatile and doesn’t break the bank. Tons of shouldered prefits around for it also.
 
I started down the same path and ended up with a TL3. Then I bought 3 more so I didn’t need to switch things around

I started the shouldered prefit journey with a TL3 also and then got another and then wanted to try an Origin so did and got a HLR lug for it so I could use my TL3 barrels on it and it works great.
 
depending on what style rifle you’re looking to build a Seekins Hit allows for extremely fast barrel and bolt face swaps. Barrels and bolt faces are reasonable ($500 and $99). Ive been very happy with mine in both .223 for training positional shooting and 6.5 for when I actually want to stretch it out.

It’s a lot of gun for $2k
 
An Origin (or other Zermatt actions) will be your best option. Easy bolt head changes and plenty of options. With the Savage style threads you'll also have the most barrel options at a reasonable price.

So there's a lot of other companies out their that offer their own propriety switch barrel set-ups, but it will cost a lot more to get into and a lot more per barrel you buy down the line.
 
Aero Solus can be bought with a .478" bolt face, and then right now on sale you can buy BOTH a .382" and .540" bolt head for another $240. So you could swap anywhere from .223 to 6.5 PRC for an extra $240 on top of the cost of the action. They also take Origin shouldered prefits, and Savage small-shank barrels with nuts if you prefer to go that route. I prefer the shouldered prefits. You can also buy an action wrench from them for under $100, then all you need is a good torque wrench that will go up to 75-80 lbs. and a barrel vise. It's stupid simple to build and swap barrels and parts at home. Also, it has a tool-less bolt disassembly design, so you can remove and clean/service the firing pin by just twisting it just past the detent.

Are they as smooth as some of the higher priced stuff? Not at first, but they DO break-in, and several of mine that have a few hundred shots through them are butter-smooth. People will hate because it's made by Aero, and assume it's cheap, but they are actually really nice, and you get A LOT of action for your money. All of mine shoot amazing...

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Another vote on the terminus Zeus. No tools required minus an Allen key for a barrel change. Makes it so much faster. I have a tl3 and a Zeus plus 5-6 other custom actions and the Zeus makes barrel changes the easiest.
 
You can get repeatable return to zero when you you torque the barrel on. And it doesn't take so much torque that you need a barrel vise. I've been swapping barrels on TL3 's for years using wrench flats and crescent wrench. I'll make this bold statement: there's no method that is faster or more repeatable. All the AI style clamping methods have a weaker grip on the barrel than torquing the large barrel threads. And they require you to orient the rifle so an Allen can be used to tighten or loosen the clamp, then swap grips to orient the rifle up to unscrew the barrel. When you are torquing the barrel on you just torque, screw, and unscrew in the same orientation. We're mincing about a couple of seconds but the fact is it's faster. And provides a more consistent RTZ. It's one of those situations where the more complex solution isn't better.

The more specific issue with the BARLOC and Switchlug was when a barrel suffered a hit or impact laterally people found they had large zero shifts.

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I’m just glad to see someone else just uses sharpie to mark their barrels like I do. Lol