Terminus Zeus any good?

I was going to go with the Zeus but at the time Gary at Bighorn didn't have any in stock, so I went with the Lone Peak. Gary is my go to. It's a great action and can swap barrels easy with shouldered barrels.
I'd sure like to try the Zeus as I thought it'd be easier to change a barrel in the field as some people use a barrel hand tight. I have also never had a custom 60 degree action.
I have read about and talked to others about using shouldered barrels basically hand tight as well so I don't know, I'm too much of a wuss to try.
Both seem of very high quality and seems to come down to 60 degree vs 90.
The threaded trigger pins should be done everywhere as mentioned, but certainly not a deal breaker as I usually just thrown in a TT and I'm done with it.
I've had BAT TR, Defiance Deviant Elite and Lone Peak. All have been fantastic, I think the LP is the smoothest, but its the first I've had with DLC. The BAT is super smooth, the Deviant was a little less maybe with their chromoly, the LP is awesome. The new Pristine action is supposed to be super smooth but I prefer integral rails and lugs.
 
kthomas said:
Here is an example of some improvements on the Terminus Zeus:

- Bolt body diameter reduced to 0.725" (from 0.750"), to improve feeding reliability
- Threaded trigger pins (not sure why everyone doesn't do this)
- Magwell is cut for both AICS and AW mags
- Mag catch to prevent over insertion of mags (which was an issue with Curtis)
- DLC surface treatment
- etc, etc, etc
Click to expand...

You are correct. However the .725 bolt was only because of the lawsuit and does nothing to improve feeding. .025 on the bottom of the bolt is meaningless. As a rifle builder this is understood. Good marketing I suppose. Personally I would never buy an action with threaded trigger pins. And being the Terminus is the only one I am aware incorporating that, it clearly doesn’t seem to be a demand.
The Vector/Terminus both are cut for AI/AW. The Valor incorporates the mag stop for both types of magazines. Both actions have always been DLC coated.

Sounds like the only difference was a .025 reduction in the bolt and threaded trigger pins. And yea, we have built on them too.
 
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scourge18a said:
I was going to go with the Zeus but at the time Gary at Bighorn didn't have any in stock, so I went with the Lone Peak. Gary is my go to. It's a great action and can swap barrels easy with shouldered barrels.
I'd sure like to try the Zeus as I thought it'd be easier to change a barrel in the field as some people use a barrel hand tight. I have also never had a custom 60 degree action.
I have read about and talked to others about using shouldered barrels basically hand tight as well so I don't know, I'm too much of a wuss to try.
Both seem of very high quality and seems to come down to 60 degree vs 90.
The threaded trigger pins should be done everywhere as mentioned, but certainly not a deal breaker as I usually just thrown in a TT and I'm done with it.
I've had BAT TR, Defiance Deviant Elite and Lone Peak. All have been fantastic, I think the LP is the smoothest, but its the first I've had with DLC. The BAT is super smooth, the Deviant was a little less maybe with their chromoly, the LP is awesome. The new Pristine action is supposed to be super smooth but I prefer integral rails and lugs.
Click to expand...

The Lone Peak Fuzion is an excellent action. It's one of my favorite pushfeed actions, especially if the action has to do duty in adverse conditions.
 
stevesummit said:
You are correct. However the .725 bolt was only because of the lawsuit and does nothing to improve feeding. .025 on the bottom of the bolt is meaningless. As a rifle builder this is understood. Good marketing I suppose. Personally I would never buy an action with threaded trigger pins. And being the Terminus is the only one I am aware incorporating that, it clearly doesn’t seem to be a demand.
The Vector/Terminus both are cut for AI/AW. The Valor incorporates the mag stop for both types of magazines. Both actions have always been DLC coated.

Sounds like the only difference was a .025 reduction in the bolt and threaded trigger pins. And yea, we have built on them too.
Click to expand...


The trigger threads are so easy to use. It’s patent pending apparently so it is unique.

The 725 bolt I believe actually solved the issue of the bolt body rubbing the feeding lips on the magazines when the magazines had upward pressure to improve the “feel” of the feeding.
 
Jerry D said:
The trigger threads are so easy to use. It’s patent pending apparently so it is unique.

The 725 bolt I believe actually solved the issue of the bolt body rubbing the feeding lips on the magazines when the magazines had upward pressure to improve the “feel” of the feeding.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I don't see how threaded trigger pins are a downside.

The iterations with larger bolt bodies were plagued with feeding issues. Same with Ultimatum actions. R700 pattern parts (DBM's, stocks/chassis), aren't designed with larger OD bolts, so feeding issues can and do happen.

You don't really gain anything with a larger OD bolt, and it can cause issues.
 
Jerry D said:
The trigger threads are so easy to use. It’s patent pending apparently so it is unique.

The 725 bolt I believe actually solved the issue of the bolt body rubbing the feeding lips on the magazines when the magazines had upward pressure to improve the “feel” of the feeding.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately the .725 did nothing to improve that. Nearly every action with an oversized bolt requires mag timing. Most chassis offer different lengths. All Hawkins have to be trimmed as they come long to time them. I would guess the .725 was largely due to the lawsuit and the Curtis Bolts fitting and headspacing in the original Zuess.
 
kthomas said:
Yeah, I don't see how threaded trigger pins are a downside.

The iterations with larger bolt bodies were plagued with feeding issues. Same with Ultimatum actions. R700 pattern parts (DBM's, stocks/chassis), aren't designed with larger OD bolts, so feeding issues can and do happen.

You don't really gain anything with a larger OD bolt, and it can cause issues.
Click to expand...

Spoken like a guy that has never built a rifle. Timing a mag latch and feedlips are part of building rifles. Now with all the adjustable ones its a completely mute point. But yes, the oversized bolt definitely has advantages. Especially after you try to put a Lapua/Norma into one!
Cadex and Ultimatum us the larger bolt body to match the lug OD. Feeding issues are soley due to the rifle not being assembled correctly. And yes, we are still having to shorten and time Terminus mag latches.

The new Pristine uses that as well to a less desirable effect. Lugs are far to shallow and minimal engagement.
 
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