Ultimatium Deadline Action - Reviews, thoughts etc?

This is better feedback. I am always a little hesitant when reading an article review as you almost never read a bad one. I did read a poor one on the u300 and went back to see what was said about the Deadline. It was much better.
Thanks for all the help, I am hoping to have a hands on feel in the next week or so and can make my decision. I really like the 60° bolt
 
owlowl said:
Does it have to be NIB or you mean I can put the rifle around it, shoot it, see how and why I'm not happy, take the action out and send it back to you if it is under 30 days?
Click to expand...

Roger that, you can build and shoot it first!
 
SimonK-Deadline.jpg

Customer feedback on a Deadline I put together for him... ESS chassis, McGowen 6.5 Creedmoor prefit, Timney CE trigger. Sightron SIII optics. Looks alot like mine pictured elsewhere. And yes, I did bed the action into the Chassis.

He did a short barrel break in with 10 rds while sighting in the scope... cleaned it and got no copper.... another 5 shots to refine the POI... then these final 5 shots for group.

I think he is off to a great start.... and he was using ammo he had made for another rifle. Just adjusted the seating depth to suit the new chamber.

I have no reservations to recommend the Deadline and the quality prefits I can offer..... stuff shoots.

Jerry
 

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I have got 100 rounds through my deadline so far.

It does feed with my MDT 10 rounds 308 mags without binder plate.
Feeding is rough though. In my savage action feeding felt pretty seemless compared to this one.
But the bolt felt sloppy in my savage, this one feels tight.
Maybe a little break in or tuning will be required.

Never failed to go bang.
Accuracy is exact same as savage action so far, but am using my old loads.
Yet to have a small load dev to do (my current load is 42.7gr varget, i could go .5,.6,.7,.8,.9 and see if node has moved).

Still find it pretty cool to use a savage prefit barrel on a rem 700 trigger interface.

Bolt manipulation will take so getting used to.
Compared to a savage, bolt is heavier to manipulate, opening and closing, nothing to do with headspace as i feel the same if i dry fire.
May have to do with smaller bolt handle giving less leverage too.

Pretty excited so far, but am keeping reservations until it has smoothed out and confirm accuracy properly. Btw i did get sub 1/2 moa x5 groups x5 shots at 200M with it. Just in the exact same department as the savage did.

Edit : forgot to mention, extraction in this action is very strong.
With a savage 10 shooting prone, my brass would pile up next to my elbow.
With ultimatum the brass completely clears the shooting mat even if going slow.
It dents all my necks though going out, even if i catch the casings.
 
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MartyK2500 said:
I have got 100 rounds through my deadline so far.

It does feed with my MDT 10 rounds 308 mags without binder plate.
Feeding is rough though. In my savage action feeding felt pretty seemless compared to this one.
But the bolt felt sloppy in my savage, this one feels tight.
Maybe a little break in or tuning will be required.

Never failed to go bang.
Accuracy is exact same as savage action so far, but am using my old loads.
Yet to have a small load dev to do (my current load is 42.7gr varget, i could go .5,.6,.7,.8,.9 and see if node has moved).

Still find it pretty cool to use a savage prefit barrel on a rem 700 trigger interface.

Bolt manipulation will take so getting used to.
Compared to a savage, bolt is heavier to manipulate, opening and closing, nothing to do with headspace as i feel the same if i dry fire.
May have to do with smaller bolt handle giving less leverage too.

Pretty excited so far, but am keeping reservations until it has smoothed out and confirm accuracy properly. Btw i did get sub 1/2 moa x5 groups x5 shots at 200M with it. Just in the exact same department as the savage did.

Edit : forgot to mention, extraction in this action is very strong.
With a savage 10 shooting prone, my brass would pile up next to my elbow.
With ultimatum the brass completely clears the shooting mat even if going slow.
It dents all my necks though going out, even if i catch the casings.
Click to expand...

Stiff pick up is typically resolved as follows:

- remove any burrs or sharp edges in the mag lips
- adjust feed lips usually by opening the front portion.. go slow
- adjust mag relation and angle to the bolt - can be affected by the mag latch height, bedding and the mag itself
- see if the bullet tip hits the feed ramp on the way out of the mag - it shouldn't. Changing OAL can affect the feel of the feeding. In my rifle, the bullet leaves above the feed ramp and only the case body comes anywhere near the top of the ramp. I am running a 260AI which are notorious for rough feeding and my set up is smooth with no resistance.

The rifles I have set up have not had any issues with smoothness to cycle ammo. When the MDT mag is in the right orientation, the top of the feed lips is parallel with the bottom of the action well and just off the action.

And this is the real joy of good quality prefits in actions designed to use them. With similar headspacing and bedding, the results on target will be the same. The barrel reacts the same so the results on target are the same. You could take that barrel and swap it into any number of actions and you will see the same result... the most I tested was 6 different Savage actions (long and short) with the same barrel and ammo.

The bolt lift on the Deadline when properly setup and broken in is ALOT lighter then a Savage SA, even with a bolt lift timing done. consider taking the action out of the chassis and running the bolt WITHOUT the trigger - just take off the trigger hanger. This is the correct bolt lift that you should feel. It should feel light to lift but some resistance on the closing.

Now add the trigger, does it change alot? I know the Timney Calvin Elite and Rifle Basix ERV trigger works without issues... I will be testing a Jewell in a couple of weeks.

After I pull the trigger, the bolt lift is quick and light.. the resistance is in the closing as this is a hybrid #### on closing action. When run hard and fast, you don't feel the bolt closing with really any additional resistance vs your typical Rem 700 and clones. When moved slowly, there is some effort in the closing... again similar to your generic Rem 700.

Try running the action in the chassis with the rear bolt completely out but the front tight.. if it runs fine then the bedding is at fault and will need to be adjusted.

The vigorous case ejection is definitely a design feature and mine launches my cases a good long ways too BUT no dings or dents on the case anywhere. Have not heard of this issue before... maybe ask Ultimatum?

Jerry
 
Mystic Precision said:
couldn't be the rail as the port is away from the rail
Click to expand...

Well, the action has 2 ejectors. If top ejector for some reason applied way less force (spring stuck or whatever, I'm saying "if") then the bottom spring ejector force against the extractor blade would throw case way up such that it would hit the opening of the ejection port before reaching scope. I'm not implying anything, I'm saying it can happen. Looking at geometry of the ejectors it appears that the brass should fly at around 2 o'clock with ejectors being equal. If the top ejector is weaker the trajectory should climb up.
 
Definitely something to look at... great observation.

FYI, the scope rail is "behind" the port opening so there is no way the brass can hit the rail but it could hit some portion of the port... or scope turret. I would assume the impacts would leave a brass coloured mark on the surface in question?

When operating as it should, the ejection pattern has been excellent... and I have a fairly low mounted scope.

Jerry
 
Marty says "it dents all my necks though going out, even if i catch the casings". Has to be something on the way out or scope/turret.
 
MartyK2500 said:
I have got 100 rounds through my deadline so far.

It does feed with my MDT 10 rounds 308 mags without binder plate.
Feeding is rough though. In my savage action feeding felt pretty seemless compared to this one.
But the bolt felt sloppy in my savage, this one feels tight.
Maybe a little break in or tuning will be required.

Never failed to go bang.
Accuracy is exact same as savage action so far, but am using my old loads.
Yet to have a small load dev to do (my current load is 42.7gr varget, i could go .5,.6,.7,.8,.9 and see if node has moved).

Still find it pretty cool to use a savage prefit barrel on a rem 700 trigger interface.

Bolt manipulation will take so getting used to.
Compared to a savage, bolt is heavier to manipulate, opening and closing, nothing to do with headspace as i feel the same if i dry fire.
May have to do with smaller bolt handle giving less leverage too.

Pretty excited so far, but am keeping reservations until it has smoothed out and confirm accuracy properly. Btw i did get sub 1/2 moa x5 groups x5 shots at 200M with it. Just in the exact same department as the savage did.

Edit : forgot to mention, extraction in this action is very strong.
With a savage 10 shooting prone, my brass would pile up next to my elbow.
With ultimatum the brass completely clears the shooting mat even if going slow.
It dents all my necks though going out, even if i catch the casings.
Click to expand...

Rougher than a Savage, ouch :sok2
 
It’s definitely the mags...
Single feed it feeds real nice.
With mags the bullet nose dives in the feed ramp.

Reminds me of the days i competed with an 1911 customized in 40SW with 10mm mags.
Had to fiddle with the mag lip dimensions for it to work properly.
As they would always nose dive in the feedramp.
Once tuned though it was awesome.

So i feel this action is like that in a way.
Not plug and play, tuning required.

Good reply Jerry thanks for all the info.
Will go through it soon and see what’s to be done.

Edit : went out to shoot 50 more today.
Paid great attention to the bolt open/close pressure.
There is some force required to close bolt but nothing close to making it a problem, it's just there.

Also double checked brass going out, it hits inside the action as it comes out of chamber. Got so much ejector tension it dents the case necks inside the action.
This is one I don't know what to do with yet.

As for feeding, it fed 100% without resistance when mags we're loaded to 6 or less.
Loaded to 7-8 they had more pressure, and 9-10 they have a bi***ing of a time going in.
Almost that if I use my 10 capacity mags to 7, no tuning is required and all is well.
I'll think this one out, as if I modify feedlips, resale value will tank.

I want to start fresh with 300 new lapua casings right now, waiting to see if I can correct neck denting issue as i'd hate doing this to new brass.

no brass marks or contact with exterior of action
eGu8WQlh.jpg


what my necks look like after todays outing
KE4M7Rzh.jpg
 
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Adjusting feed lips on metal mags is par for the course... Could be something as simple as being bumped in transit. wrt to the loading pressure, tweaking the feed lips will ease this a little but it may be a mag spring a bit too long... or stiffer then desired. Give MDT a shout, they may be able to offer some advice.

On the upside, those dings on the case necks are not going to affect the case nor reloading. If you use a Lee collet neck die, the mandrel irons out that without issue.

Maybe one of the ejectors is sticking? Ultimatum is very good with tech and more then happy to support their product if needed. As mentioned, this would be the first time I have seen this issue.

If the ammo is nose diving, then opening up the front portion of the feed lips resolves that issue as it allows the bullet tips to point higher in the action. consider OAL of the ammo and if the bullet tip is varying and dragging on the front of the mag, that will also cause this issue. I have my tips off the front 1mm or so.

Mild adjustments are something that 'smiths will do when the rifle is assembled. It is rare that all parts fit perfectly and run perfectly. There is almost always some TLC applied and typically to the mag and how it latches up in the chassis/stock. Adjusting feed lips will not affect the resale anymore then being used would.

Let me know if I can help...

Jerry
 
Mystic Precision said:
Adjusting feed lips on metal mags is par for the course... Could be something as simple as being bumped in transit. wrt to the loading pressure, tweaking the feed lips will ease this a little but it may be a mag spring a bit too long... or stiffer then desired. Give MDT a shout, they may be able to offer some advice.

On the upside, those dings on the case necks are not going to affect the case nor reloading. If you use a Lee collet neck die, the mandrel irons out that without issue.

Maybe one of the ejectors is sticking? Ultimatum is very good with tech and more then happy to support their product if needed. As mentioned, this would be the first time I have seen this issue.

If the ammo is nose diving, then opening up the front portion of the feed lips resolves that issue as it allows the bullet tips to point higher in the action. consider OAL of the ammo and if the bullet tip is varying and dragging on the front of the mag, that will also cause this issue. I have my tips off the front 1mm or so.

Mild adjustments are something that 'smiths will do when the rifle is assembled. It is rare that all parts fit perfectly and run perfectly. There is almost always some TLC applied and typically to the mag and how it latches up in the chassis/stock. Adjusting feed lips will not affect the resale anymore then being used would.

Let me know if I can help...

Jerry
Click to expand...

Thanks for the offer, i'll have a good look at tuning the action and magazine compatibility once I get time for it.
Cheers :cheers:
 
That's not right.

While mag lips alterations are common, the issue you describe is beyond that. Swap out mags and try a different mag, such as the AI. If that doesn't work, you may have to make some permanent alterations to the chassis (mag retention - mag seating height/depth). The fact that you have to load 3 rounds less than spec to get it to work, means something is pretty far off.

This is the gamble of putting together a rifle yourself. Tolerance stacking between a bunch of different parts can add up enough to make stuff not play nicely together. I would recommend taking it or at least reaching out to a gunsmith, such as Insite.
 
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If you look at the feed ramps you will see that it is optimized for AI/AW magazines.

Fat bolt three lug actions have two issues with aics center feed mags. Firstly the magazine sits ~60 thou lower in relation to the bore axis. That is a lot. Secondly the bottom lug when out of battery sits at the 6:00 position and passes through what would normally be a feed ramp.

This is not specific to the deadline, the tempest and badger 2013 for example will have the same issues.

Because you are feeding through the lug passage way, different cartridges will behave differently using AICS centerfeed magazines, for example a 308 will hit the feed ramp on center bullet tip first while a 243 bullet will pass in between and the case shoulder will contact the feed ramp first.
 
Looks really good but if it’s priced close to what my bighorn tl3 was at 1950$ then I’d sooner go for the USA made action that’s been out for longer and more reviews on it being a great action. Unless your made of money and wanna test new waters
 
rgv said:
If you look at the feed ramps you will see that it is optimized for AI/AW magazines.

Fat bolt three lug actions have two issues with aics center feed mags. Firstly the magazine sits ~60 thou lower in relation to the bore axis. That is a lot. Secondly the bottom lug when out of battery sits at the 6:00 position and passes through what would normally be a feed ramp.

This is not specific to the deadline, the tempest and badger 2013 for example will have the same issues.

Because you are feeding through the lug passage way, different cartridges will behave differently using AICS centerfeed magazines, for example a 308 will hit the feed ramp on center bullet tip first while a 243 bullet will pass in between and the case shoulder will contact the feed ramp first.
Click to expand...

Would AW magazine fit better for the 3 lug? Can Deadline feed from AW?
 
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