Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Top 5 strongest actions on a hunting rifle?

Sounds like a 15 year old right after he got his drivers licence. People that accually know what their talking about don't make such bold statements.

I'm all ears.

I know it would take more work to get nine touching (if they weren't) than it would two, but it can be done.

I think it's funny that the standard work these days to the Rem 700s is to get the lugs lapped to have full contact, but God forbid a Weatherby might only have half of its lugs touching.

One good thing about a Savage Model 110 is that the bolt head is pinned onto the bolt and has a little "wobble" to it to compensate for uneven bolt lug contact. I think that is one reason most Savages shoot so well right out of the box, whereas, the Remington Model 700 has to be lapped. Just my opinion again. Thanks...Bill.

P.O. Ackley did a test involving a 94 Winchester to prove the pressure and case force on the bolt of said gun, with his straight case and 40* shoulder design. Vol.1 Handbook for Shooters & Reloaders (page 140- 147) Even went so far as to remove the locking lug to where the finger lever was the only thing holding the bolt in the 94 together! I'm thinking the test on the bolt actions where the Ariska came out on top was in Hatchers Notebook, but lost my copie to a house fire a few years ago!
As for todays actions, none that i know of has been done, even Ackley said back then it would be too costly!

It was in one of P O Ackley's two volume set, I had it but my mate who owned the set decided that he should have it back, most ungracious of him.
Regards, J Stuart.

"The Strength of Military Rifle Actions", Handbook for Shooters and Reloaders, Vol. II, P. 1.

Got 13th Edition on my desk here.

'Course I have a dead forest of paper on my desk and THAT happens to be amongst it.

JSTUART: Your right, in Vol.2 page 1 is the start, way to much info for me to put down here. But someone also done a test where they left bullets in the barrel and then done the blow up test, but i no longer have the book and cant recall who did this 2nd test!

In production guns:

Weatherby Mark V
Ruger 77

Not to exclude other worthy actions. These are the two I use. Even though the Ruger's have horrible triggers, the 77 would be my choice for a custom build-up. I would not use a Rem 700 just because I don't care for them. I think they are quality offerings.

I'm laughing with you on this one. Regardless of how many lugs are touching, I assure you that all nine of them will spring right into action immediately should the need arise. The casehead is supported & surrounded by the bolt face. If only 1 of 9 of my lugs are touching, my Mk V stacks 'em in there.

Just left the range 2 hours ago. Came home with a .400 group. Just think how good it would shoot if all 9 lugs were working.

Having been an engineer for over 20 years, and a gun nut for nearly 40, I'm dying to see how someone can "prove mathematically" something that requires direct observation to verify.

Have him e-mail me his number, I'll call to get the "proof."

Go easy on that word, SHRED.

i was wondering that myself......theoretically i would expect its unlikely all are touching evenly. however cant see how it can be proven one way ot the other without actually LOOKING at it somehow

The only evidence I can offer is that the Nosler ballistics lab has been using a variety of actions over the years to test loads. Many of these loads, of course, are higher pressure than what we would generally consider safe; that is part of the testing process. They report that (as AD mentioned earlier) that Melvin Forbes NULA actions outlast all others.

JB

So far this discussion seems pretty academic to me. the fact of the matter is that the weak point in shooting a bolt-action rifle is the cartridge case not the action. Therefore I think the question that needs to be asked is "What action handles the gas from a blown case best?" My vote goes to a Savage 110.

That was a test performed by Roy Weatherby. He inserted a 180 grain bullet into a .300 and then chambered a live round and fired via a long string. The action was not phased.

AGW

Are you suggesting Roy wouldn't stand behind his product?

I certainly would not stand behind it first time round!

Another question - how much importance would a bolt handle play in stopping a bolt from flying back into the shooter's face should an action let go.

The reason I ask this - there was a Model 70 here is Aus last year that almost let go and from the pic I saw, the bolt handle looked like it may have saved the day.

The action had almost split in two, the bolt had bent right back but it looked like it was firmly wedged in the bolt recess. From that pic I got the distinct impression that the bolt handle in this particular incident anyway, had saved the day.

I am puzzled why there has not been more action strength test since P.O. Ackley. It might get a little expensive, but it should fit in the American Rifleman (NRA) budget. I think Rugers would show pretty well along with the Remington 700.

Three or four years ago one of the gun magazines had a test of a 1917 Enfield and a Model 96 Swedish Mauser. Both proved very strong before they let go. Both were totally wrecked though. Thanks...Bill.

It is not necessary to destroy an action to adequately test it. The procedure is very simple.

The physical properties of steel are well known. We know to a very close approximation how far it can be stretched before it begins to go into yield. From Hook's Law, we can nicely predict the whole linear portion of the stress-strain curve, given just one point.

You simply stick a strain gage to the part of the receiver in question, and subject the action to pressure. The native output of the strain gage is in units called "microstrains".

If the number of microstrains produced is below the yield strength of the steel, it will not quickly fail catastrophically, and the number of microstrains provide a direct comparison of the strengths of different actions.

Remember, however, this is moot for at least two reasons: First, in a bolt action rifle, the brass will fail first. Second, as long as things are going as expected, your bolt action has plenty of reserve strength. It's when you get an unusual condition, such as a case separation, that you need the extra strength margin.