Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Titanium for a rifle action

John, I can post more tomorrow or if you will PM an email I will send several photos.

I had a Remington TI mountain rifle. It was too light, and I couldn't hold it still. I sold it to a guy that loved it. I know the bolt couldn't have been titanium, but I also found it was sticky. I had a bolt release made for a bench gun out of titanium, and it also stuck on me. Oiling it did no good. I hear it is a common thing with titanium. Now, there's a bunch of actions made out of Aluminum. Kelby's Panda is probably the one I hear of the most. Aluminum can't be that much heavier.

Rob, you are correct. Stiller also makes an aluminum receiver.

Butch,
Once again, I blame you for an injury I sustained to my shoulder when, after looking at that picture, I took a couple of my own rifles out into the yard and threw rocks at them! Good looker.
I could find no real fault with Remington's Ti actions. In fact, they seemed very well made. I've not seen galling to be any more of an issue with the Ti receivers than with the steel ones.
Browning's Ti actually used a steel insert for the locking lug seats and barrel attachment. The titanium receiver was just a carrier. Stolle (and others)did the same thing with aluminum and Voere used a similar system with a mild steel receiver and an insert for the locking lug seats. GD

greydog, thanks for the compliment, but I know better.

I've often thought about that action. I'm curious as a cat about it...but not enough to go $6500

Unfortunately Stu has a real problem delivering them. He does wonderful work and I did have one of his receivers. It was very top notch.

Titanium is neat stuff, but a very funny metal. The reason why it is impervious to normal corrosion is that it instantly reacts with other metals, and with the atmosphere, to form a passive layer. When it's in the course of being shaped, or cut, though,the fresh bare metal tries to react with whatever's touching it. Grind it, and it will make brilliant white hot sparks. Try to form bare metal, and it may well stick to the tool, and rip up harder metals. We normally buy titanium wire coated with moly lube, to make it form consistently, then have it etched to clean it.

One engineering prof told me, when machining titanium, always try to make a chip. If you let the cutter pause, the Ti will try to bind to it and usually damage the tool.

Titanium is non-toxic and hypoallergenic after it is cleaned, and is frequently used for body implants. CP and 6-4 are the most common grades, and 6-4 can get up to about 150,000 tensile, which is not unlike many 4140 gun steels. There are also stronger grades like Beta C that we use for springs, but they are typically well over $100/lb.

Caspian Arms has made titanium 1911 frames for a while, but not the slides, as the slide is just too hard to machine from that metal.