I am going to build a new BR and am a little concerned about an Action made out of Aluminum. I know these are quality actions but Aluminum and I do not get along. I have a slight torquing problem and usually stip, bend or mangle aluminum. Have any ideas besides saying buy a torque wrench. I have one. Aluminum id not that strong when it comes to pressures or maybe this isn't an issue. What about the quality difference in the custom actions out there today? Thanks in advance.

Airborne...Keep in mind that most BR rifles today are glue-ins, so if you go that route, you won't have to worry about over torqueing action screws...

Hello AirborneB,

I think the Viper is solid stainless steel?

The Stolle actions have steel inserts/barrel threads, in an aluminum "case".

If you are going to "glue-in" a Stolle action, you do not have to worry about stripping any aluminum threads (you're not using any). If you are going to use bolts/pillars, tighten the action screws once, and then treat it like a glue-in (don't remove it from the stock).

My Hunter Class gun has a Kodiak (Stolle) action. It was pillar bedded, but I treat it like a glue-in and also switch barrels regularly. No problems so far!

Hope this helps -

Bill

I have had a Stolle action bench gun for some time now, with no problems at all. It is a very nice action, and I can recommend them whole heartedly. I shoot it a lot and trade barrels a lot. There are a lot of them out there, (winning I might add), and you don't hear of many problems at all. There are very good stainless actions available. Nesika, Hall, Bat are ones you might want to look into. Pressure is not a problem with this action any more than any other. ...ol blue (by the way, the viper action is aluminum)

[ 05-29-2003, 22:17: Message edited by: ol blue ]

There is nothing worth mentioning wrong with the newer Stolle series of BR actions.

With the earlier ones there was what I consider a design/manufacturing flaw. To wit: they had a 4-piece bolt HANDLE !! That's right, the handle itself was made of 4 pieces, silver soldered together. And the silver soldering was not well done. We bought 4 of them here in a year. Within the first 10 rounds, the bolt handles came off all four. Kelbly's then charged us from $60-$65 to re-silver the first two back on (one on a Panda, one on a Teddy). Seemed to me they should have been re-soldered correctly for nada, as one could plainly see there was less than 50% coverage of the joint with solder as done originally. The last two we soldered ourselves, rather than pay shipping and $65 repair on actions with less than 10 rounds through them.

Having said all that, the newer Stolles have 1-piece bolt handles which by all recent reports I've heard, stay on.

And aside from that early bolt handle pita, they are a great action. Lots of good bedding area. Very smooth in operation. Take helacious handloads in their small casehead versions (.308 and smaller). Outstanding almost press fit to Kelbly rings (get the double rings, with 4 screws per ring). Probably won more BR matches than any other two custom brands put together.

A comment on tightening action screws. With pillar bedding, you need very little torque. About 30-40 inch-pounds (that is, 2-1/2 to 3-1/3 ft. lbs.) is plenty. You're just snugging up a mechanical fit of two metal pieces, not trying to crush wood to where it won't give any more. When the screws come up snug, you're there. Any more is like doing a "crush" fit to barrels, and just not necessary.

AC