What is a sleeved action?

Markus

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What exactly is a sleeved action and what is the process and what are the benefits? I have some understanding of a sleeved bolt but I'm not totally sure if the benefits.
 
A sleeved action is just a machined sleeve that fits over the action and the action is usually epoxied in place. What it does do is turn a round action like a Remington 700 into something with a large flat bottom. This is better for bedding and should reduce torque.
 
Is the action machined down to a smaller diameter first? A flat bottom is preferred for accurate bedding?
 
Round sleeves were also used, the purpose was to stiffen the action which leads to more accuracy. The sleeve is made to fit loose enough to apply epoxy and slide it together and let cure. The sleeve epoxied into the stock as well...

Another type of sleeve was also tried... part of the barrel and the front of the action with the scope on that sleeve and everything else floating.
 
Is the action machined down to a smaller diameter first? A flat bottom is preferred for accurate bedding?

I have a sleeved 700 action. Can't recall but I think it is a Davidson sleeve. The action is epoxied in and regular pillar bedded with bedding screws into a McMillan prone stock. The flat bottom gives a large bedding surface and being square, is said to reduce torque. The action does not have a recoil lug at all like a regular Remington 700 does. This is a switch barrel gun with barrels and bolts for both .308 and .223.
 
Is there an actual benefit to it or is it more of a fix for a problem we didn't have? I find it a pretty interesting idea.
 
It does dress up a plain old Remington 700 action. The extra flat bottom bedding area is a bonus. Will putting a .5 MOA rifle into a sleeve make it a .2 MOA rifle? I doubt it. Will it make the action stiffer? Yes. With all the new actions out these days you don't see too many people putting actions into sleeves anymore. However back in the early 90's it was more common.
 
This thread reminded me that I have a couple of action sleeves tucked away, from many years ago when they were still popular. One for a Remington 600 and the other for a long 700. Have a long M700 receiver with poor finish, and a magnum face bolt needing a new handle. Could be used to make up a long range rifle. The 600 sleeve would have been used for a light varmint benchrest rifle.
One of my target rifles is a Hart built light varmint in 6x47. It is made up on a sleeved short Remington.
 
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