Strongest-Action .22?

cyclone

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I recently read one CGN poster's claim that he merely re-barrelled a Ruger 77/22 to enable him to fire a .17 rimfire (must have been a .17 M2).

Without recommending anyone to fire the .17 M2 in a standard .22 LR chamber, or a .17 HMR in a .22 WMR chamber [i.e. all legal disclaimers aside], what would you say is a sufficiently strong action that could accomodate pressures above the average .22 high-velocity loads?

I assume we're heading almost exclusively into bolt-action territory with this query...
 
Offhand I would venture to guess an Anschutz Model 64 would be way up there in strength.

Edit: Single shot, sorry.

Loads of other choices: Cooper Arms, Kimber 22, Mauser MS410b.....
not to forget all the Brno's......
List is endless actually!
 
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That new 504 Remington is plenty massive. I would guess it would stand a bit more than WRM pressures safely. The older, discontinued 540/541/581/582/591/592 are plenty strong, with multiple locking lugs like a miniature 788 action. Eagleye
 
My Winchester 52 is preatty strong along with my anschutz 54. But of all the actions I have the Valmet Finnish lion is the most strong. Very heavy and built extremely well. The Remington 40X also has a very strong action.
 
The BSA Martini wins hands down.
It will handle any centre fire round that will fit in the action. I had one that had been converted to .357 MAX.
I've got one I converted to .17 HMR and another in .22 Hornet.
 
A recent study

I was looking around the net and a fellow who checked all of the above
plus a few, ended up with Walther being the heavier of the lot if I
remember correctly.
 
cyc: I am sure that the actions you mentioned are very strong, along with the others such as, Turbo, time precision, etc.

Its actually quite amazing what a good action on a gun can do in terms of accuracy. Doesn't seem like the action would play a big role but it actually can make quite a difference.

The action on my Valmet is very big though...
 
A 10/22 will accommodate the 17HM2. Here is the first one I built and I'm working on another. I also have a 77/22 action that will be HM2 when I'm done.
DSP-17HM2.jpg


I have a Mossberg 640 & 340 that I purchased extra barrels for, they will be re-lined for the 17HM2 as well. I do have a CZ 452 chambered in 17HMR and would shoot it more if the cost of ammo was not where it is.

:cool:
 
The problem with most bolt actions is that the bolt only locks on the bolt handle. It's not the strength of the action, its the locking method.
Probably the strongest .22 bolt action would be the Remington 581 family- it had a full set of locking lugs very similar to it's big brother, the 788. The 591, the 5mm Remington rimfire, is commonly converted to a small centerfire round.

Many of the high end European .22's have a lug opposite the bolt handle.
 
A 10/22 will accommodate the 17HM2. Here is the first one I built and I'm working on another. I also have a 77/22 action that will be HM2 when I'm done.

I should sure hope so! The 17 HM2 is merely the 22 LR necked down!

At one time the 10/22 was chambered for the .22 WMR
 
My Russian Strella has a bolt as big as a Sako TRGS bolt!:eek:
I don't think I've seen a bigger one, even the Lion is small compared to it.
The 64 Anschutz is actually pretty weak, buut the 54 is strong.
it has a weaker rear lock up however, so it's not as strong as the 52 Win for sure.
The small framed Martini is strong , but the newer Winchester low wall is the stongest commercial action for a falling block-type action.
it has been offered in .260 remington and .243 winchester.
Cat
 
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Lots of .22LR bolts here, and the Sako TRGS for comparing.
rimfirebolts.jpg


This one is the Strella and the TRG bolts.
LapuaandCtryla.jpg

Notice that although the Strella has its main lugs towars the rear of the bolt, they are massive!:eek:
Very solidly built rimfire, for sure...

Cat
 
What are the chamber pressures of 22lr, 17M2, etc? Does the action have to be strong for any rimfire?

Somebody throw the numbers on the table please.:)
 
22 LR, 22 Mag, 17 Mach 2 are loaded to 24,000 psi max average pressure (MAP) with the Piezo system, crusher is no longer used in rimfire.
17 HMR is loaded to 26,000 psi max average pressure (MAP).
Regards
Linda Olin
CCI/Speer Tech Services
 
So it would be safe to say that for all intents and purposes, that an action that is developed for any particular rimfire round could be used for any other? 2,000PSI isn't much.....
 
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