Choosing a custom action

I can’t say I’ve had the opportunity to compare or play with multiple custom actions but I’m starting to consider doing a build.
Any reason why the Bighorn Arms TL3 isn’t a good candidate?
700 footprint and trigger, CRF, blade ejector, floating bolt head, integral recoil lug, small shank Savage threads so lots of prefits if you want, or not.
Seems to have lots of benefits, or is it all lipstick on a pig?
 
wasrupzuk said:
I can’t say I’ve had the opportunity to compare or play with multiple custom actions but I’m starting to consider doing a build.
Any reason why the Bighorn Arms TL3 isn’t a good candidate?
700 footprint and trigger, CRF, blade ejector, floating bolt head, integral recoil lug, small shank Savage threads so lots of prefits if you want, or not.
Seems to have lots of benefits, or is it all lipstick on a pig?
Click to expand...

The tl3 is good to go. It's the flagship action for bighorn. If you want to save some money, look at their origin. It's lacking the integral recoil lug and has a swept bolt handle. Otherwise it's comparable in features for quite a bit less
 
What do you need to look for what it comes to pre-fits? Thread pitch? Integrated recoil lug? How much far off is the typical scope zero when swapping barrels?
 
Tikka223 said:
What do you need to look for what it comes to pre-fits? Thread pitch? Integrated recoil lug? How much far off is the typical scope zero when swapping barrels?
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I believe people refer to barrels with a nut as prefits. You basically pick your action and buy the appropriate barrel for it. Most are savage small shank or Remington. Kelbly has their own tenon thread. Shouldered barrels usually cost more but allow for a heavier contour and some think they look better. Check out the Patriot valley tab on gobig and see what he stocks. Lots of options which is great if you wanted to grab a new caliber quickly to try
 
laker415 said:
I believe people refer to barrels with a nut as prefits. You basically pick your action and buy the appropriate barrel for it. Most are savage small shank or Remington. Kelbly has their own tenon thread. Shouldered barrels usually cost more but allow for a heavier contour and some think they look better. Check out the Patriot valley tab on gobig and see what he stocks. Lots of options which is great if you wanted to grab a new caliber quickly to try
Click to expand...

There are also shouldered prefits available.

Many custom actions now have tennons held to such tight tolerances that a gunsmith doesn't need to see the action to spin up a prefit. Kelbly actions have had this feature since the 90's, others are starting to catch up now.

Barrel nuts are a bandaid solution to poor machining quality. There's little reason to go with barrel nuts anymore.
 
kthomas said:
There are also shouldered prefits available.

Many custom actions now have tennons held to such tight tolerances that a gunsmith doesn't need to see the action to spin up a prefit. Kelbly actions have had this feature since the 90's, others are starting to catch up now.

Barrel nuts are a bandaid solution to poor machining quality. There's little reason to go with barrel nuts anymore.
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For sure. I was trying to answer his questions but wasn't overly clear on what he was actually asking. I do like a barrel nut from time to time as those barrels are sometimes readily made and a few $$ cheaper. My next nucleus barrel will be a shouldered barrel as I have the wrench and vise for it
 
hate to throw in a little hijack but it seems an appropriate question to ask in this topic of choosing a custom action.
I "might" get into long range shooting once the election is over and depending on the result LOL
I have always wanted to assemble a high end rifle with it's main purpose to be an extremely accurate box fed hunting rifle.
The rem700 footprint appeals to me as it is widely serviced.
I just don't know what I am looking at these days and what is readily attainable.
Caliber choices I am kind of torn on because of the possibility of getting into long range.
7mm rem mag would be an easy choice but I have a very accurate ruger m77mkII already.
I am still wanting a .338 federal in a longer action to suit longer reloads.... and here is where building from a custom action brings me to this thread rather than starting a new one.

I'm very keen to support canadian manufacturers as well.
 
kthomas said:
There are also shouldered prefits available.

Many custom actions now have tennons held to such tight tolerances that a gunsmith doesn't need to see the action to spin up a prefit. Kelbly actions have had this feature since the 90's, others are starting to catch up now.

Barrel nuts are a bandaid solution to poor machining quality. There's little reason to go with barrel nuts anymore.
Click to expand...

I mostly agree about the barrel nut vs shouldered part. The thing your leaving out is that barrels with nuts can be swapped onto entirely different actions. I know personally there’s been a couple times where I could have reused or sold a barrel but it wasn’t an option due to being a shouldered barrel.
 
coleman1495 said:
I mostly agree about the barrel nut vs shouldered part. The thing your leaving out is that barrels with nuts can be swapped onto entirely different actions. I know personally there’s been a couple times where I could have reused or sold a barrel but it wasn’t an option due to being a shouldered barrel.
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That's true, and if that's a feature that's important to you, then it's certainly worth consideration.
 
45ACPKING said:
hate to throw in a little hijack but it seems an appropriate question to ask in this topic of choosing a custom action.
I "might" get into long range shooting once the election is over and depending on the result LOL
I have always wanted to assemble a high end rifle with it's main purpose to be an extremely accurate box fed hunting rifle.
The rem700 footprint appeals to me as it is widely serviced.
I just don't know what I am looking at these days and what is readily attainable.
Caliber choices I am kind of torn on because of the possibility of getting into long range.
7mm rem mag would be an easy choice but I have a very accurate ruger m77mkII already.
I am still wanting a .338 federal in a longer action to suit longer reloads.... and here is where building from a custom action brings me to this thread rather than starting a new one.

I'm very keen to support canadian manufacturers as well.
Click to expand...

So what is it you are asking?
 
I suppose what actions are availlable these days, under 2grand
I had purchased a pearce short action, .308 bolt face a few years back but sold it when I read about .338 federal builds using a longer action to utilize all the various loads/bullets
maybe i need to start a new thread

my apologies ;)
 
45ACPKING said:
I suppose what actions are availlable these days, under 2grand
I had purchased a pearce short action, .308 bolt face a few years back but sold it when I read about .338 federal builds using a longer action to utilize all the various loads/bullets
maybe i need to start a new thread

my apologies ;)
Click to expand...

That's too broad a question. Easier for you to decide what features you want and your intended purpose for the build. I don't know anything about 338 federal, but I think it's more of a hunting cartridge? There are ALOT of choices under $2k
 
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