Montana Rifle Company...

Sun_and_Steel_77

Sun_and_Steel_77

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...looking for info. Does anyone have a rifle built by Montana Rifle Co.?
Anyone purchase one of their 1899 actions and build a custom?.
I want to know how they are for quality, customer service etc.
How do they compare to NULA or Rifles Inc?
I'm interested in the Ultralight short action and hoping to hear from someone with some experience with their products.
 
I bought one afew years ago and sold it right away.

they are a decent design, but poorly finished and are very heavy.
 
In all modesty, I probably know them better than most do. From the outset, I considered them to be sort of an action "kit". While they can be used "as is" the result will be less than satisfactory IMO. I figure it takes close to a half day just to get them cosmetically acceptable.
Functionally, they are variable. They had a heck of a problem with warpage in heat treat which resulted in some pretty crooked actions. I think the remedial work required on some would be beyond what most 'smiths would care to attempt. On one action, which I kept for myself, I started by placing it on a lead block and hitting it with a 3 pound hammer to straighten out the left sidewall.
Still, I built a half dozen rifles on them and thought they came out pretty good. It was easy to knock a couple ounces off the weight and the end result was reasonably good looking.
I have a left handed, six and a half pound 257 Roberts sitting on the rack that worked out very well. The action is super smooth and feeding is flawless. However, I spent a solid eight hours on that action.
The footprint of the action is close enough to a Model 70 that one can fit it into a Model 70 stock without a great deal of difficulty. The bottom metal is ugly but there is plenty of material to work with to make it look better.
If you are interested in a very light short action, you are definitely looking in the wrong place. A standard short Remington would be a far better starting point and a Ti action better yet. Regards, Bill.
 
M70 and their ilk aren't lightweight actions. Stop complaining because they're not light - they never will be a flyweight.

I was interested in them for the PH action, but I've never seen one in person. Way cheaper than the alternative in the mega-sized action, but there could be a good reason for that.
 
Have Two

I bought two rifles with 1999 barreled actions from a gunsmith who built them to my specifications.

One was in 257 Ackley and shot three rounds into a dime-sized group at 100 meters.

The second was a 6.5 Swede. I never measured the group but I guess it would be around one inch.

I do not think the action is too heavy, at least not the ones I have. But both rifles have problems.

The 257 will not fire reliably. Every fifth round or so has a light primer strike. I think this is due to problems with the springs, though I do not know for sure.

The 6.5 failed to feed when I first got it. But for some unknown reason, it does feed reliably now. What is really remarkable is that the barreled action came from the factory with no identification as to the caliber it was chambered in. Talk about appalling quality control and a serious safety concern.

That said, if I knew something about smithing, I might use these actions. They seem sound and if you can overcome the problems associated with poor quality control, they should make interesting rifles.

But I know nothing about smithing and I never should have bought them. The basic product has to be worked on to such an extent that they will be mechanically unreliable, if you do not pay a smith to repeatedly tinker with the damn thing. I would have been better served to buy a nice new Winchester.

Here is another thought. Would anybody in his right mind use this thing on dangerous game, or on a hunt in some foreign land? Both undertakings require an utterly reliable arm. And would anybody trust these things to work, even after you pay a fortune to your gunsmith? A used Remington 700 for around $600.00 is a better buy in many, and perhaps all, respects.

My BRNO 550 makes my custom Montana 1999 rifles look like a sad joke. The BRNO looks great, is utterly reliable and costs far less than either of my two custom rifles.
 
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I had one of the MRC short actions that Bill put together. Trust me, for a light rifle this is not the way to go. No matter who works on it and what you do, it will never, ever be even close to a certain 280AI you bought a few months ago. ;)
 
A local gunsmith had one and I didn't like the "spring-loaded, raceway lug thingy". Maybe my concerns are unfounded, but I'm not fond of superfluous moving parts.
 
The "spring loaded, raceway lug thingy" is a gas block which is copied from the Winchester Model 70. It's actually not a bad idea in that it protects the left locking lug from being battered with rapid-fire use. Winchester added it because the coned breech of the Model 70 directs gas down the left raceway so effectively. I often retro-fit it to pre-64's to protect the lug.
In reality. MRC could have omitted this as a gas block because they do have a good blocking flange on the cocking piece. As a lug protector, it's still OK.
When it comes to weight, the receiver and bolt, while a bit stout, are not that bad and can be lightened (at some expense, mind you) but the bottom metal is heavy. If one third of the material is removed, it is still heavy. I believe PTG is making an aluminum piece which would certainly get rid of a lot of weight.
If light weight is a primary consideration though, the MRC does not make the cut. Regards, Bill
 
On the bottom metal front, I'm waiting to get my hands on a two piece Aluminum straddle floor plate in the bow release setup from Sunny Hill. It's built for a Model 70 Classic and apparently weighs 2 oz's! It will certainly work with the MRC, though I think I'll stick with the Model 70.
 
Leeper said:
In all modesty, I probably know them better than most do. From the outset, I considered them to be sort of an action "kit". While they can be used "as is" the result will be less than satisfactory IMO. I figure it takes close to a half day just to get them cosmetically acceptable.
Functionally, they are variable. They had a heck of a problem with warpage in heat treat which resulted in some pretty crooked actions. I think the remedial work required on some would be beyond what most 'smiths would care to attempt. On one action, which I kept for myself, I started by placing it on a lead block and hitting it with a 3 pound hammer to straighten out the left sidewall.
Still, I built a half dozen rifles on them and thought they came out pretty good. It was easy to knock a couple ounces off the weight and the end result was reasonably good looking.
I have a left handed, six and a half pound 257 Roberts sitting on the rack that worked out very well. The action is super smooth and feeding is flawless. However, I spent a solid eight hours on that action.
The footprint of the action is close enough to a Model 70 that one can fit it into a Model 70 stock without a great deal of difficulty. The bottom metal is ugly but there is plenty of material to work with to make it look better.
If you are interested in a very light short action, you are definitely looking in the wrong place. A standard short Remington would be a far better starting point and a Ti action better yet. Regards, Bill.
Click to expand...

Thanks Bill and others for all the knowledge shared. It sounds like I couldn't do a whole lot worse just starting with a Model 70 action. I see that riflesinc. will build a custom off the winchester action. CRF is most desirable for the build I have in mind.
 
BigUglyMan said:
M70 and their ilk aren't lightweight actions. Stop complaining because they're not light - they never will be a flyweight.

I was interested in them for the PH action, but I've never seen one in person. Way cheaper than the alternative in the mega-sized action, but there could be a good reason for that.
Click to expand...

I think Kimber would have something to say about that. My Montana in 7mm-08 in talleys with Leupold Ultralight is insanely light.
 
RickF said:
I had one of the MRC short actions that Bill put together. Trust me, for a light rifle this is not the way to go. No matter who works on it and what you do, it will never, ever be even close to a certain 280AI you bought a few months ago. ;)
Click to expand...

Rick,
I wouldn't expect many rifles to compare to the mentioned .280AI I am very very spoiled, that rifle delivers everytime! ;) It needs a companion in 7mm-08 though,and I just can't shake my yearning for a short-action CRF around 6.5lbs all in about 40 inches OAL. I've been messing with a couple of 84M's but just can't get them to deliver the reliability I'm after. Maybe it's time to think about one of these?
rifle_lightweight.jpg

h ttp://www.riflesinc.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.rifle_lightweight70
 
Sun_and_Steel_77 said:
Thanks Bill and others for all the knowledge shared. It sounds like I couldn't do a whole lot worse just starting with a Model 70 action. I see that riflesinc. will build a custom off the winchester action. CRF is most desirable for the build I have in mind.
Click to expand...

you can build pretty light in a M70. high 5 pound range anyways.
 
I was not impressed with the Montana barrel on an accuracy problem a rifle had that was brought to me... the bore was considerably tighter ahead of the chamber than the rest of the bore... it got considerably looser at the muzzle. The throat was cut fairly long as well. The replacement barrel they installed was not much different.
 
SuperCub said:
x2, but lets hope you don't get stomped by a man eating whitetail deer while hunting with a lowly pushfeed. ;)


.
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No man-eating whitetails in my neck of the woods...just MONSTER mulies? :eek:
I hunt with both push-feeds and CRF rifles, so it's just not an issue.
Don't worry, the particular rifle in question I'd like to have built or buy built will certainly be a CRF not a "Lowly Push-feed" :p
 
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Hi, I hope you don't mind if I add my 2 cents.

While I do not own any 1999 actions, I have owned 1 of the barrels. In June I was down and Kalispell and stopped by and met Jeff Sipes and spent an hour with him looking at samples and discussing the complete rifles they are now building. He struck me as a stand up guy with his customers interests in mind. I am considering ordering one.

I am also a pre-64 model 70 fanatic so my comments will be tilted to my likes of that action. They are not light. However, I did have Corlane in Dawson build a 270 WSM on a current (at the time in 2005) CRF action with a lilja barrel that was in the 6 lb range. It shoots like a dream. If that is on your wish list, I recommend you call Tim and build one. BTW, when I was spec'ing the rifle, Tim did have the MRC action as an option.

John Haviland wrote up on a 257 AI in the June 2010 Handloader magazine. Reading that article, put a couple of things in question. However, after handling a sample of almost every variation of rifle they build, i still REALLY NEED ONE!
 
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