Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters OCTOBER: Ask John Barsness Questions About "SHORT AND LONG ACTIONS"

You're welcome!

Of course, the other side of all this is there apparently isn't much more demand for the .338 RCM than there was for .338-06's when first A-Square and Weatherby offered .338-06 factory rifles--probably because both .33's are sort of "tweener" rounds, not offering the sort of long-range ballistics many shooters want these days, or the bullet weight and caliber of even larger rounds. No doubt some of this is due to advances in bullet construction, making heavier bullets less necessary for deep penetration.

All .33 caliber rifle cartridges, whether British or American, were essentially a product of cup-and-core bullets. A .33 bullet weighing 250-300 grains at moderate velocities penetrated deeper and more reliably than 180-grain cup-and-cores from .300 magnums. But with today's bullets we don't really need to use a 250+ grain bullet to ensure performance on heavier game.

Actually, my interest is drawn more to the handy carbines that both RCM's are offered in, I suspect they would be similar to the Remington 600 I had long ago and really liked. Plus I can still find the RCM in a port-side was my only real complaint with the 600. .338 would be nice, but as some fairly practical scribe has pointed out, I probably could kill anything I'll ever want with a 180 or 200 gr Partition from the .300.

Or I could buy an RAR Compact, but that would be just too practical.

Decisions, decisions, decisions.

I, also, enjoyed the current article and look forward to the next one. We are fortunate to have so much of JB on these forums.

I love the REALLY short ones like the L46, CZ527, Zastava M85 etc. With a compact round like the 6.5 Grendel, 222 Rem etc they're a lot of fun!

Keen to lay hands on a Howa Mini for the same reason.

No huge fan of long actions but there's no substitute for cubic inches of course.

The Brno ZKW 465 is very good too, but it's essentially an earlier, more refined version of the CZ 527. One of its nice features is the .22 Hornet magazine is a little longer than the 527's, just enough to use plastic-tipped 40-grain bullets, which ups the downrange performance of the Hornet considerably.

However, actions like the 527, L46, etc., might actually be classified as "miniature" actions, rather than shortened versions of larger actions--the situation with the Remington 721 and 722, and the way most manufacturers of medium to big game rifles work these days, with two lengths of the same action.

Hey I've not had a 465 so I'll keep an eye out for one. Another one for the list!

I had a lovely L46, but regrettably it had been rebarreled to 223 Rem hich meant you could only load 50g HPs at the most. No matter, it was beautiful.

I was going to hang onto it and rebarrel to 17 Ackley or similar, but a mate took a shine to it and I gave it away...

Yes I DO regret it!

The ZKW 465's I've seen, including mine, have double-set triggers and nice iron sights with multiple-leaf rears. Mine's a typical sporter with a Schnabel forend tip, but have seen a couple with full-length Mannlicher-style stocks. They take the same scope rings as CZ 527's with just a slight amount of modification. Pretty nifty little rifles, but you don't see them in the U.S. very often.

Very good read!

I've probably owned over a dozen 600/660 Remingtons and I liked the short over-all rifles, in the day, when they were new. I'm down to one - a 350 RM. I wish that It was a little longer but it works fine as is. I still have a few short action Remington 700's, 722, 783 and a 7.
Almost all my new bolt action rifles have been longer actions, including Winchesters, Mausers, a Tikka, a Ruger or two and others.
The main issue I have with the short bolt actions (and lever actions) is not having the ability to chase the leade. Short magazine length limits seating depth, which to me is the biggest short coming.
I've noticed that many if not most of my long action rifle barrels are getting such that I load the bullets out further for accuracy (I don't want to re-barrel). The long actions are more forgiving and as a side benefit I think easier to get cartridges to feed.

In 50+ years of hunting I can count on one hand shots I've made on game over 200 yards. (Antelope and White Tail) I don't plan on doing it again. Shooting at long range at game animals is as foreign to me as voting Democrat and just as enjoyable.

Really interesting read, JB. Looking forward to the next article!

John can the enfield 30-06 be re barreled to take the new 6.5x300 weatherby cartridge?

I would bet it can, since many 1917 action have been used to make .375 H&H's, as well as rifles for other longer rounds. The other Weatherby rounds based on the .300 Wby. case all have overall cartridge lengths similar to the .375 H&H.

The 722 and 721 eventually became the short- and long-action Remington 700's, but the long action is much longer than required for the .30-06. Instead it was designed to handle "long magnums," initially the .300 H&H but eventually the .375 H&H, .300 Weatherby"

So if I understand correctly, my Remington 700 .270 can be rebarreled to 6.5-300 Weatherby or 26 Nosler?

It's too bad this article doesn't cover which LAs can safely fire 308WIN rounds. There seems to be a surge of interest in this topic.

cdb,

Should be able to do exactly that. There'll probably be a little tweaking needed to get the 26 Nosler to feed perfectly, but not so much with the 6.5-.300 Wby.

Thanks John.

Thanks for a very informative article!

I'd like to add why I have become a big short action fan. Bolt throw. Not for the 0.2 seconds it saves me, but because I can keep my cheek weld throughout. I can empty the magazine with my eyes planted behind the scope the whole time. Hunting deer in hardwoods, it is nice to be able to immediately cycle another round while keeping my eyes on the fleeing deer. If an accurate follow up shot is needed, I'm on target.

Add to this the often lower recoil, more efficient cases of many short action cartridges and often lighter weight. There is nothing good hand loads in a short action can't do on this continent.

Quick follow up shots are the reason semi autos exist....
Fleeing deer around here in the woods are too fast for a follow up shot, except for the ones the hide behind the trees.....

I disagree. Have done it with a short bolt action. Works just as fast as a semi-auto. There's a second of recoil and re-training your sight picture no matter what you shoot. In that time, I have the boot cycled and my eyes are on target, same as my AR15 and AR10. Considering the weight of an AR10 and the fact that AR15-223!is illegal for deer in most states, I'll take my 1/2 MOA, 7.5# bolt action every time. I have no interest in the old semi's like the 7600, etc. my next choice would be a Marlin or Savage lever action.

I just don't know if I'd believe anyone who lives near Houston....😎😎😎

Making rocket science of what it isn't. Really?