Anyone use the Mack bros TI action?

Yes I have had one. The fit/finish is good. Pretty much what you would expect from a 1800$ action. The action needs to be cerakoted to work properly. It binds extremely bad if the bolt hits any resistance.

Honestly I was pretty disappointed. It is lighter than a steel action but the drawbacks make it not worth it.
 
vultr said:
Is it just the the bolt stick that's the issue? I wonder if you had it nitrided...?
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I’m not sure about nitriding titanium. Someone more knowledgeable would have to chime in on that one.

Yes its a bolt stick issue. The action feels good until the bolt hits resistance. When I first got the action I tried cycling it with a new AI mag. The mag had a slight burr on the feed lips. Also the coating on the bolt was still fresh. I literally had to push as hard as I could to get rounds to cycle.

So no I think it’s a bad choice for an action. I’d bet that any amount of dirt/grit would make the action useless.
 
I wanted one of these actions. Talked with Tom at Go big. Ended up ordering a Defiance Anti. I like Defiance stuff they usually dont have any issues.
 
coleman1495 said:
I’m not sure about nitriding titanium. Someone more knowledgeable would have to chime in on that one.

Yes its a bolt stick issue. The action feels good until the bolt hits resistance. When I first got the action I tried cycling it with a new AI mag. The mag had a slight burr on the feed lips. Also the coating on the bolt was still fresh. I literally had to push as hard as I could to get rounds to cycle.

So no I think it’s a bad choice for an action. I’d bet that any amount of dirt/grit would make the action useless.
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That is an unfortunate situation for a build with an $1800+ action.
Where did you source the action?
What smith put it together?
If it was our shop it would be 1st priority to fix the issue and get it back to you within our short Canadian shooting season. Please let us know so we can help fix the issue; likely within 1 week guaranteed; even if it is another smith we will help resolve the issue out of pure principle.
The Evo action does not require cerakote in any way to function smoothly
A "burr" on the mag isn't an action problem but likely a DBM height issue when bedding as we have never had an AI mag with a "burr" that is significant enough to bind an action; ANY action!
The Evo is the smoothest Titanium action we have ever used in our shop; we are an approved warranty center for MacBros so please send us the serial# and purchase specifics so we can help remedy this situation.
As far as dirt or grit is concerned, the Evo has zero issues.
 
Insite Arms said:
That is an unfortunate situation for a build with an $1800+ action.
Where did you source the action?
What smith put it together?
If it was our shop it would be 1st priority to fix the issue and get it back to you within our short Canadian shooting season. Please let us know so we can help fix the issue; likely within 1 week guaranteed; even if it is another smith we will help resolve the issue out of pure principle.
The Evo action does not require cerakote in any way to function smoothly
A "burr" on the mag isn't an action problem but likely a DBM height issue when bedding as we have never had an AI mag with a "burr" that is significant enough to bind an action; ANY action!
The Evo is the smoothest Titanium action we have ever used in our shop; we are an approved warranty center for MacBros so please send us the serial# and purchase specifics so we can help remedy this situation.
As far as dirt or grit is concerned, the Evo has zero issues.
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I didn’t purchase the action through your shop. It was sourced from the smith who is a non sponsor. The action was in a Bravo chassis and I was feeding it from AI mags. All it takes is the slightest hang up and the bolt not pushing 100% true in the action. The titanium becomes very sticky. The coating on the bolt wears quickly initially and this smooths things out.

Try cycling rounds through a new bare Evo action with a sticky mag. You will see what I mean. Once the titanium hangs up it’s screwed. I never tested the action in adverse conditions such as dirt and grit as I never got a chance to. Seems kinda pointless considering the issues I had when it was clean.

The cerakote is a requirement. Been there tried that.Yes its disappointing performance for a 1800$ action. I’m not sure how MacBros tried to alleviate the titanium stick but it doesn’t work. You need to coat the titanium or its junk. This is coming from someone used to operating a Savage.
 
sc2oE3j.jpg
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This is the wear the bolt coating gets just from the initial cycling. I hadn't even fired the rifle at this point I was just trying to get it to feed. Once the coating starts to look like this it gets a little smoother. Either way its way too sticky to be practical. Zero chance this is going to be reliable
 
coleman1495 said:
I didn’t purchase the action through your shop. It was sourced from the smith who is a non sponsor. The action was in a Bravo chassis and I was feeding it from AI mags. All it takes is the slightest hang up and the bolt not pushing 100% true in the action. The titanium becomes very sticky. The coating on the bolt wears quickly initially and this smooths things out.

Try cycling rounds through a new bare Evo action with a sticky mag. You will see what I mean. Once the titanium hangs up it’s screwed. I never tested the action in adverse conditions such as dirt and grit as I never got a chance to. Seems kinda pointless considering the issues I had when it was clean.

The cerakote is a requirement. Been there tried that.Yes its disappointing performance for a 1800$ action. I’m not sure how MacBros tried to alleviate the titanium stick but it doesn’t work. You need to coat the titanium or its junk. This is coming from someone used to operating a Savage.[/QUOTE
Pretty sure, no completely sure your arguing with the wrong guy. Harley is one of the best smiths there are, PERIOD. He knows his stuff and builds extremely accurate firearms and stands behind his work. I know cuz I own and have shot many of his built rifles and there are none finer. Your blaming an action on a sticky mag and poor gunsmithing or operator error. He offered to help, pull ur tiny head out of that stinky spot and let him fix ur problem. He has forgotten more about guns that youll ever know and thats a fact!!
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Pretty sure, no completely sure your arguing with the wrong guy. Harley is one of the best smiths there are, PERIOD. He knows his stuff and builds extremely accurate firearms and stands behind his work. I know cuz I own and have shot many of his built rifles and there are none finer. Your blaming an action on a sticky mag and poor gunsmithing or operator error. He offered to help, pull ur tiny head out of that stinky spot and let him fix ur problem. He has forgotten more about guns that youll ever know and thats a fact!![/QUOTE]

Did you own a MacBros? You sound like you spent your money on one.

I owned one and it was unforgiving, finicky and had a brutal break in.
 
coleman1495 said:
sc2oE3j.jpg
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This is the wear the bolt coating gets just from the initial cycling. I hadn't even fired the rifle at this point I was just trying to get it to feed. Once the coating starts to look like this it gets a little smoother. Either way its way too sticky to be practical. Zero chance this is going to be reliable
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Have you considered that something is not right with your rifle? It sounds like Insite Arms is trying to help you sort it out. If you're not happy with the way it's functioning then perhaps they can fix that?

I can't imagine any action would sell enough to stay in production with the performance you describe, particularly at that price!
 
Suther said:
Have you considered that something is not right with your rifle? It sounds like Insite Arms is trying to help you sort it out. If you're not happy with the way it's functioning then perhaps they can fix that?

I can't imagine any action would sell enough to stay in production with the performance you describe, particularly at that price!
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I’d like to be clear that I do not have that action anymore.

I’m sure Insite Arms is a great company. I’ve heard a lot of great things about them and I’d like to try them for my next chambering.

Also I would like to point out that I did get the action to function okay in the end. It was a lot of frustration and does in fact require cerakote. Been there done that and spent the money. MacBros did not fix the issues associated with titanium actions.
 
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