Didn't know if anyone would be thinking of building a LR single shot rifle. Maybe for 1000 yard matches or Palma. Anyway, I ran across this:

http://www.gunbroker.com/Aucti....aspx?Item=538022570

Not mine and I do not have a dog in this fight. Just thought it might be of interest.

quote:

Originally posted by drhall762:
Didn't know if anyone would be thinking of building a LR single shot rifle. Maybe for 1000 yard matches or Palma. Anyway, I ran across this:

http://www.gunbroker.com/Aucti....aspx?Item=538022570

Not mine and I do not have a dog in this fight. Just thought it might be of interest.

DR:

Not to sound like a jerk, but this action is about the worst action you could choose for a LR gun.

I just bought an Interarms Mark X rifle and have other 98 actions. I love them, but LR actions they are not. Now I am sure someone will come out of the woodwork and say they have a 98 that shoots one hole groups, etc. But even if it did, that horrendous lock time is enough to give me a case of the heebie jeebies.

If you asked a gunsmith who specializes in long range rifles, they would never suggest this action.

The mauser has a slow lock time because it was designed as a military action and it was made to be robust and reliable under military use. It can be made faster with a speedlock kit that replaces the firing pin and spring. You can add an aftermarket "match" trigger. You can also have the action "blueprinted". What that will give you is a very capable and accurate long range rifle action. But if accuracy is your number one desire, sub 1/2 MOA for example, you are better off starting with an action designed specifically for that, one that already has a fast lock time, target trigger, and is machined to tight tolerances with accuracy as the number one design consideration.

quote:

Originally posted by Grenadier:
The mauser has a slow lock time because it was designed as a military action and it was made to be robust and reliable under military use. It can be made faster with a speedlock kit that replaces the firing pin and spring. You can add an aftermarket "match" trigger. You can also have the action "blueprinted". What that will give you is a very capable and accurate long range rifle action. But if accuracy is your number one desire you are better off starting with an action designed specifically for that, one that already has a fast locktime, target trigger, and is machined to tight tolerances with accuracy as the number one design consideration.

That is why see 98s show up at long range shoots and why every custom LR builder offers them?

I agree you can improve it (you didn't mention you can sleeve them to help with flex), but it is still a second rate action for LR rigs.

You can build a sub-MOA rifle with an unmodified Mark-X action. But making the leap to competitive accuracy is going to take more. The 1000 yard benchrest record is about 3" for a ten-shot group - far beyond reasonable expectation for a Mark-X. It all depends on the level of accuracy you desire and how much money and effort you are willing to spend to get there.

agree with you there Grenadier

For me the biggest problem isn't lock time but stiffness.

Why would you start with an action that is literally half or a third as stiff as a dedicated bench rest action like a Hall, Stolle, BAT, Defiance, Surgeon or Nesika?

The tenion on a Mauser 98 is so short that it is about half as long as one on a 700, and a 700 is still too short to run with the big boys.

What you all say here may be true, but there were hundred, if not thousands of Russian soldiers present during the siege of Leningrad that might disagree about the accuracy shown at well over 1000 yards.

Ditto for the Mosins...

Idaho, accuracy considered sufficient for sniping and hunting is not the same as the accuracy required for competitive target shooting. Consider the Parker-Hale sniper rifles, based on a Santa Barbara mauser. They were used by more than one country for decades and they performed their duties admirably. But they are a military rifle at heart and give up a little accuracy in exchange for weight, robustness, and reliability in varied environments. Nice as they are, the Parker-Hale sniper rifles do not possess the level of accuracy a dedicated competition rifle does.

Again, it depends on what one is going to use it for.

Shot Long Range and Palma matches for several years and can say that it was rare that a Mauser, Springfield or pre64 Win. action was being used for the rifle. Reasons for this are those pointed out previously, but it can be done, just not the best selection. The common Rem. 700 action in those days were pretty much the one seen the most. Granted some trueing up of the action, excellent trigger, properly bedded stock had been taken care of, but the 700 style action easiest and most economical to get where you want to be for the rifle. NRA Long Range and Palma are not bench matches, but prone/sling/micrometer sights or optics and weight of the rifle normally somewhere in the 12-15lb. weights. If you are to use the rifle for F class or actual long range bench shooting the actions named above are excellent and budget permitting, they would be the way to go.
However, you can build an excellent performing rifle using the lowly Rem.700 action which will perform above the shooters skill for quite a while.

I'm going to give it a go with my OM 70. It has a Kenyon trigger, and Bartlein is making me a Whitley Palma Contour barrel in 8" twist and chambered in 6.5-284.

thanks to all who shared their knowledge and experience.

Rich