I've enjoyed reading Chuck Hawks's website from time to time, but he makes a comment about the Husqvarna HVA action that I think must be wrong in "The Finest Bolt Actions Ever Produced". He says a disadvantage of the Husky is "the lack of an external bolt release. (You remove the bolt by pressing down the receiver mounted pivoting ejector, which protrudes from the edge of the bolt face when the bolt is fully open.)" I believe he's referring to the HVA small ring Mauser action that Husqvarna adopted, in house, in the early 1950s after a few years of relying on FN-made Mauser 98 actions. The HVA action has of course always been well known in Canada, and thanks to Trade Ex we have even more now than were imported initially. Every one I've ever seen or handled has had a small, convenient, bolt release tab protruding from the stock on the left hand side of the action, a welcome change from the much larger one on the original Mauser 98 action. That's one improvement, and Husqvarna's similar change to the safety was another. I remember well when my Dad brought a brand new one home from Williams Lake, the big city if you lived in Alexis Creek, in 1966, the only new firearm he ever bought himself. The Hawks article is here: https://www.chuckhawks.com/finest_bolt_actions.htm My question, has anyone ever seen a Husqvarna rifle that (as he describes it) required you to push down on the ejector, at the edge of the bolt face, to get the bolt out? Or any rifle, come to think of it. Strange. Now I am wondering about the accuracy of everything else on that site.
Chuck Hawks wrong about Husqvarna action?
- Thread starter AlexisCreek
- Start date
Your Correct all the HVA 1600-5000 actions have a button to push on lh rear part of the action - I have 2 Custom rifles built on those actions one in 6.5-284 Norma and one in 280 AI ! Love those actions ! RJ
Chucks a IDIOT ! jmo RJ
Chucks a IDIOT ! jmo RJ
nowarningshot
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
A useful site. Perhaps those are the Huskies available in the states. Noone knows everything about everything in firearms.....case in point.
I think he means a seperate bolt stop/ejector rather than the integrated one on the 1600 series. There have been issues with these sticking/breaking but it's a pretty rare occurrence.
I have to check mine tomorrow, but I thought the safety locked the bolt as well, so he might be wrong on that part, my memory blows, or I have too many rifles, one or the other.
"The safety is a slider mounted at the right rear of the action. It locks the trigger but not the bolt, which can be opened with the safety on."
I have to check mine tomorrow, but I thought the safety locked the bolt as well, so he might be wrong on that part, my memory blows, or I have too many rifles, one or the other.
"The safety is a slider mounted at the right rear of the action. It locks the trigger but not the bolt, which can be opened with the safety on."
There you go ... so true and to the point.
- Location
- Western Manitoba
So, the extractor is at "edge of bolt face" - right side. The ejector is at rear bridge of the receiver - left side. The little tab on the HVA or the bigger assembly on original mauser have both the bolt stop and the ejector as an assembly - have to clear the bolt stop to remove the bolt.
Yes, but the bolt stop is a big split lug with a separate ejector. Not sure why that is a feature he thinks is more important.
And yes, the bolt locks with the safety on a 1600 series. So Chuck is out to lunch lol.
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I know that if the little HVA bolt release gets a bit worn and if you wiggle the bolt just right you can pull out the bolt without touching the bolt release. This means you can yank the bolt right out when cycling it enthusiastically, like when a bear is coming toward you. You end up with the rifle in one hand and the bolt in the other. I know this to be true.
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