multi-caliber rifle vs multiple rifles. who's taken the plunge?

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cdndfs

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Wondering where people fall in on this? The MC rifles like the Kraken are expensive. You could buy two really good rifles for the price of a single MC rifle + conversion. I haven't done all the math yet but theoretically I guess you could save some money on the glass expenditures.

People that have an MC system, are you happy you went in that direction?
 
I don't have a "true" multi-caliber system but if I did, I'd go with an AI or MRAD. I do have multiple rifle actions (all Rem 700 or clones) each with multiple different barrels in many calibers (.223, .308. 6 & 6.5 creed, 7saum) that I can swap from chassis to chassis. In my opinion, unless the ability to switch barrels is truly as fast and easy as an AI, you're just as well suited to swap barrels and bolts on one action since it requires a very minimal amount of tools (barrel vise, action wrench, torque wrench) and is easy, fast (10-15mins) and repeatable. All the different barrels I have for my actions are witness-marked and get torqued on to the same torque every time and then the correct offset gets dialled on the scope and I check zero. Although you can swap the barrels while the scope is still mounted and the action in the chassis, I generally take the scope off and the action out of the chassis. Even disassembling everything like that, I've found my zero is always within 0.1 or 0.2 mils of what my noted offset is. I've swapped barrels in my garage, at the range and with the barrel vise lag-bolted to a stump in the bush, haha.
 
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I built one in the past, based on a Rem 700. Long ago. It mostly stayed in one cartridge, swapping barrels on that set up was just too much of a pain in the ass. I could see it working fairly easy on a savage design. Havn't tried a kraken so i dont know how easy or difficult that swap is. If it is easy enough, why not? Just bring money. - dan
 
Been mucking about with barrel swaps for many years. Simple to do today... there are now more options then ever to get creative.

Look up Savage prefit barrels and the thousands of rifles built and modified each year. Now add 5 more action options.

Lots and lots of ways to play

Jerry
 
I’m slowly going towards exactly that. One rifle, one scope, one chassis, several barrels with some shot more often than others. Probably shoot 6.5CM in the summer and switch to .223 in the winter (don’t feel like hiking more than 600m in the snow to place targets).
 
Dedicated rifles are where it's at.

Most everyone I know that's taken the "switch barrel" rifle plunge has gone back to dedicated rifles. Changing barrels, constantly changing POI's and adjusting for those, changing mag kits and bolt faces, is annoying in the long run. It's just much easier and convenient to swap between dedicated rifles. Even those with MC style rifles just end up getting multiple MC rifles (a few AI's for example, rather then just one).

You also don't need a "switch barrel" rifle to essentially have a switch barrel rifle. A shouldered barrel can be swapped out with very minimal tools, and there's even barrel vices that are made to be used in the field. If you want to make it even easier, you can have wrench flats machined in near the muzzle of your rifle, and you can replace barrels with a big crescent wrench and a hammer.

If you do want one rifle with many barrels, AI arguably has the best setup for that. It's much simpler then some of the other options, such as the Cadex's.
 
kthomas said:
Dedicated rifles are where it's at.

Most everyone I know that's taken the "switch barrel" rifle plunge has gone back to dedicated rifles. Changing barrels, constantly changing POI's and adjusting for those, changing mag kits and bolt faces, is annoying in the long run. It's just much easier and convenient to swap between dedicated rifles. Even those with MC style rifles just end up getting multiple MC rifles (a few AI's for example, rather then just one).

You also don't need a "switch barrel" rifle to essentially have a switch barrel rifle. A shouldered barrel can be swapped out with very minimal tools, and there's even barrel vices that are made to be used in the field. If you want to make it even easier, you can have wrench flats machined in near the muzzle of your rifle, and you can replace barrels with a big crescent wrench and a hammer.

If you do want one rifle with many barrels, AI arguably has the best setup for that. It's much simpler then some of the other options, such as the Cadex's.
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See, I'll kinda disagree with you here, man. I really like having multiple barrels per action. Although all my rifles have a "primary" configuration, the ability to swap barrels for different uses is super practical.

With my match rifles, my Defiance Elite will usually have a 6.5 creed barrel on it for long range practice and my Nucleus a .223 barrel. A few days before a match, I'll pull the 6.5 barrel and spin on a 6 creed barrel, go to the range and check zero and mv. I'll keep shooting my .223 for practice until the day before I'm set to travel when I'll go to the range, shoot a full practice session then pull the .223 barrel and spin on a 6 creed barrel (and swap the bolt head) and check zero and mv.

For my hunting rifle, I usually keep a 20" steel .308 barrel on it but if I'm headed somewhere that I'll have the opportunity for longer range shots, I can spin that barrel off and spin on my 26" carbon 7 SAUM barrel.

I'll agree that I don't really see the use in swapping barrels in the field (although I've done it before by lag-bolting my barrel vise to a stump) but I do it often at the range and home. Also with all the different match formats out there now (PRS/NRL, NRLH, CD, sniper matches, etc) I like that I can mix and match all my various setups/parts to configure a rifle for whatever event I want to compete in.

*edited to add that all my barrels are shouldered barrels, I wouldn't want to monkey around with swapping around barrels that have barrel nuts.
 
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I'm about to enter the switch barrel world now. I have a nucleus short action setup for 6.5. I had intended to switch barrels but it works so well I'm afraid to touch it. So I bought a bighorn origin and an extra bolt head for 223. It will pull double duty between a 6 creed and 223. I use red loctite to lock the barrel nut essentially getting the affect of a shouldered barrel. I'll be adding shouldered prefits to my inventory as well but it's a cost effective sacrifice to use the nut style barrels. There's alot to be said for only having to buy one chassis, one scope, etc. I'd rather have 15 or more rifles but that just isn't in the cards
 
rugbydave said:
See, I'll kinda disagree with you here, man. I really like having multiple barrels per action. Although all my rifles have a "primary" configuration, the ability to swap barrels for different uses is super practical.

With my match rifles, my Defiance Elite will usually have a 6.5 creed barrel on it for long range practice and my Nucleus a .223 barrel. A few days before a match, I'll pull the 6.5 barrel and spin on a 6 creed barrel, go to the range and check zero and mv. I'll keep shooting my .223 for practice until the day before I'm set to travel when I'll go to the range, shoot a full practice session then pull the .223 barrel and spin on a 6 creed barrel (and swap the bolt head) and check zero and mv.

For my hunting rifle, I usually keep a 20" steel .308 barrel on it but if I'm headed somewhere that I'll have the opportunity for longer range shots, I can spin that barrel off and spin on my 26" carbon 7 SAUM barrel.

I'll agree that I don't really see the use in swapping barrels in the field (although I've done it before by lag-bolting my barrel vise to a stump) but I do it often at the range and home. Also with all the different match formats out there now (PRS/NRL, NRLH, CD, sniper matches, etc) I like that I can mix and match all my various setups/parts to configure a rifle for whatever event I want to compete in.
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For some people and some uses it certainly works.

I'm not going to tell people what they should or shouldn't do for their own individual circumstances.

But from what I've observed, many people who start with multi-caliber "switch barrel" setups, the majority ends up moving to dedicated rifles.

One of my rifles actually has two barrels for it - a 6BRA and 6.5 Creedmoor. But I don't find myself shooting the 6.5 Creedmoor at all lately.
 
The one not mentioned yet, that I have personal experience with is the Desert Tech. Personally I really like it, but I'll also agree that switching calibers, POA, POI can be a little bit of a pain.
 
With a Kraken we're apparently talking .1mil POI shift max.

Does anyone know off-hand what the cadex conversion kits cost? I can't find inventory listings anywhere. If I go that route I'd probably want to go with 6.5CM/300 norma mag/338 Norma Mag or 338 Lapua Mag. Prefer the Norma for performance but $/shot is quite a bit lower on the lapua based on some preliminary research.

If I go single rifle I would go zero compromise on the optics and get the NF ATACR 5-25 mil-xt I've always wanted.

A lot of this will come down to money in the end... I want to get what I'm going to get before the transfer registration bs.
 
Changing barrels is a pain, swappable uppers on the other hand is an excellent experience. My experience is in on XCR-L's XCR-M's and Dimension rifles, YMMV, but I really like upper swaps and quickly modular lowers. Recent legal changes have made this a real PITA. I'm still hoping there will be some innovation in the next few years that will benefit us in this area.
 
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xdmer said:
Changing barrels is a pain, swappable uppers on the other hand is an excellent experience. My experience is in on XR-L's XCR-M's and Dimension rifles, YMMV, but I really like upper swaps and quickly modular lowers. Recent legal changes have made this a real PITA. I'm still hoping there will be some innovation in the next few years that will benefit us in this area.
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Apples to oranges as there really is no such thing as a "swappable upper" for precision rifles. For gas guns, of course it makes sense to just swap uppers but with a precision rifle, you don't need to remove the handguard, remove the gas tube/piston and then undo the barrel nut. You just spin off one barrel and spin another on (assuming they're all shouldered barrels and not barrel nut style barrels).
 
Meh, well that wasn't specified, and mine were sub moa - precision enough for me.
rugbydave said:
Apples to oranges as there really is no such thing as a "swappable upper" for precision rifles. For gas guns, of course it makes sense to just swap uppers but with a precision rifle, you don't need to remove the handguard, remove the gas tube/piston and then undo the barrel nut. You just spin off one barrel and spin another on (assuming they're all shouldered barrels and not barrel nut style barrels).
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For something like a desert tech, cadex kraken or ai axmc i really don’t think the changes sound like a big deal. Most of time the 6.5cm would be installed and when i could get out to places with the range to matter i could do a swap. At another level, sure it would be nice to have 3 guns with ATACRs on them but $$$ and becomes harder to justify on the rigs shot less often even though the scope becomes more important on the higher calibre rifles.
 
cdndfs said:
For something like a desert tech, cadex kraken or ai axmc i really don’t think the changes sound like a big deal. Most of time the 6.5cm would be installed and when i could get out to places with the range to matter i could do a swap. At another level, sure it would be nice to have 3 guns with ATACRs on them but $$$ and becomes harder to justify on the rigs shot less often even though the scope becomes more important on the higher calibre rifles.
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The current range of 6.5 bullets makes the 6.5CM an easy 1500yd rifle. I chat with newer shooters often about their LR and ELR goals and often they think that big boomers are needed to go past 1000yds... Most modern mid size cases can easily and accurately reach out towards 1 mile.

If your goal is to reach out beyond 1 mile, really start to focus on how far is far? When you start to tease the transonic ranges of bullets, there are lots of other questions to ask beyond big magnum case.... and big magnum costs.

If you are going to shoot far enough that all combos go subsonic, initial velocity becomes far less important.

Good luck with your project

Jerry
 
I agree with the above.

Short action cartridges such as the 6.5 Creedmoor are much more capable at distance then we often credit them for. You can easily go a mile with a 6.5 Creedmoor, especially if the given purpose is to have fun, and learn while stretching the equipment and shooters limits.

Keep it simple, start with the 6.5 Creedmoor and explore its limits before spending big $$$ on other/bigger cartridges.
 
kthomas said:
I agree with the above.

Short action cartridges such as the 6.5 Creedmoor are much more capable at distance then we often credit them for. You can easily go a mile with a 6.5 Creedmoor, especially if the given purpose is to have fun, and learn while stretching the equipment and shooters limits.

Keep it simple, start with the 6.5 Creedmoor and explore its limits before spending big $$$ on other/bigger cartridges.
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Well of course Jerry would say that - HE SHOOTS A MILE WITH .223! Although I have to agree with the sentiment. You don't need big boomers to get way out there anymore. Cartridge, bullet, and powder development has come a long way in the last 20 years. But lets remember that we ain't all Jerry Teo either.
 
KePet said:
Well of course Jerry would say that - HE SHOOTS A MILE WITH .223! Although I have to agree with the sentiment. You don't need big boomers to get way out there anymore. Cartridge, bullet, and powder development has come a long way in the last 20 years. But lets remember that we ain't all Jerry Teo either.
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Personally I think it's more educational to extend the limits of short action cartridges, rather then using a cartridge that may be pretty excessive at similar distances.

I'm no Jerry Teo, but I've taken my 6.5 Creedmoor to 2,200 yards successfully, and made more then a few first and second round impacts with 6.5 Creedmoor at a mile+.
 
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