How are the Santa Barbara Mauser actions? I'm looking for both good points and bad points. I am interested in building a working man's 416 Taylor and would like to know if this action would be alright? Thanks for your input.
Craig
Posts: 530 | Location: Kulpmont, PA | Registered: 31 December 2000
I found some info about the Santa Barbara in a couple of Frank de Haas' books. The SB's were made in Spain as was the Parker-Hale 1200. The complaints around either rifle centered around things such as having a poorly shaped alloy triggerguard. I have a .458 Win Mag built on a Parker-Hale 1100 and have no complaints. I guess my biggest reservation would be the cost. There are some pretty good deals on surplus Mauser actions out there. They may require more work but that can be factored into the price.
The Santa Barbara actions are as good as the Interarms MarkX maybe even better. In fact in the Santa Barbara receiver ring the inner collar extends entirely around the case head except for extractor cut as in the K98's. The FN's & the MK X's have this collar cut in half. It's cheaper to cut it in half than to do it the way it was originaly intended. They came with steel or alloy trigger guards. SB went out of business in the mid 1980's if I remember right. I used to have a 257 Rbts & a 358 Win that I built on SB actions years back. Very accurate guns.
Posts: 8351 | Location: Jennings Louisiana, Arkansas by way of Alabama by way of South Carloina by way of County Antrim Irland by way of Lanarkshire Scotland. | Registered: 02 November 2001
I have one of these actions (previously an '06), made into a 375 Whelen AI Safari rifle. I like the rifle alot, and had no problems with it, except for feed problems the gunsmith didn't do right the first time. I imagine a surplus Mauser might have been a cheaper way to go, considering the cost of them vs the cost of a SB, but I got mine for free. ~~~Suluuq
I would think a Santa Barbara would be alot cheaper. It doesn't need a bolt handle welded on, it's alreadt drilled and tapped, and it has a nice hinged trigger guard.
Posts: 3097 | Location: Louisiana | Registered: 28 November 2001
One thing to watch out for in Santa Barbara actions. If it's blued, look for a reddish color in a band around the front ring. Some of these actions were way too hard and there were some spectacular failures. The importer quietly recalled a bunch of these actions in 1976 and said they got them all. I've seen several since then. Beware!! They can be dangerous, but the bad ones can be drawn back and made safe.
I used to have the pieces of a SB receiver that was 61 Rc !!!!
The Santa Barbara was an alloy action but it was still heat treated as are all. It's just that some are treated prior to the machining operations. At some point the factory was trying slightly more hardness in an attempt to make the actions "slicker". They apparently had some difficulty in this. It is often difficult to treat alloys in complex shapes. I once made some splined shafts with integral gears from 4140. I hardened them by heating to about 1420, as I recall, and quenching in oil. My drawing furnace was screwed up so I had to wait for the other furnace to cool down so I could use it. I left the parts sitting on the bench while I cleaned up (something I don't do often enough). I heard a kind of a "plink" and looked over just in time to see another gear tooth jump ship! In all likelyhood the oil was too cold when I quenched this one and it featured some formidable stresses! The splined end was also split. The oil was warmed up for the next piece and it was ok and lived until the drawing operation. It has been in service for 5 years and seems fine. I have seen actions that had cracked everyplace there was an internal corner from improper treating. Not a Santa Barbara though! Regards, Bill.
