Today I saw a gun built by Jim Cloward and it was built on a Texas Magnum action. Does anyone have any info on these actions? thanks

They were made by Ranger Arms in Gainesville, Texas back in the 70s. They advertised in Handloader and Rifle Magazine I think.
The were one of the first other than Weatherby to make a left hand magnum action. They also made a shorter action called the Maverick.
The action is detailed with photos in Frank DeHaas' book "Bolt Action Rifles".
There are 4 pages and 6 photos of the rifles and disassembled actions

Jim,
I may have a little info to add to this subject. I barrelled the first Ranger action in 1966 as the proto type was presented to me by Homer Koons who got credit for the design and a court case got involved as to who was the designer. John Brandt claims that he designs the first actions. I can't remember what the ruling was, but a few years ago I met John Brandt's son and he claimed that Koons stole the design.

I also helped with the first six months of production at Gainesville. The early actions had a problem feeding the smaller calibers like the 2506. It didn't have a ramp base to lift the shell into the chamber. My conclusion was that it would never work as designed for the smaller cases. I left the company and them they redesigned the action by rotating the bottom lug of the receiver so it would be the ramp. That solved some of the problems. The larger caliber bullets would lift enough to load into the chamber.

The cams on the cocking piece had three lugs and it was hard to get all three to work together inorder for the lift of the handle to be easy on the hand. It had a very strong firing pin spring. The fall of the pin was set at .189. This was a very fast lock time.

The actions were machined from 4340 bar and it was hard to get some reamed because of the work hardening of the alloy steel. I believe that the bolts were 4140. The shear test of the bolts were around 200,000 lbs. The sixty degree lift of the bolt handle was hard. That is have I remember after some 41 years.

The short action came after I left the company in 1967.

Les

quote:

Jim,
I may have a little info to add to this subject. I barrelled the first Ranger action in 1966 as the proto type was presented to me by Homer Koons who got credit for the design and a court case got involved as to who was the designer. John Brandt claims that he designs the first actions. I can't remember what the ruling was, but a few years ago I met John Brandt's son and he claimed that Koons stole the design.

I also helped with the first six months of production at Gainesville. The early actions had a problem feeding the smaller calibers like the 2506. It didn't have a ramp base to lift the shell into the chamber. My conclusion was that it would never work as designed for the smaller cases. I left the company and them they redesigned the action by rotating the bottom lug of the receiver so it would be the ramp. That solved some of the problems. The larger caliber bullets would lift enough to load into the chamber.

The cams on the cocking piece had three lugs and it was hard to get all three to work together inorder for the lift of the handle to be easy on the hand. It had a very strong firing pin spring. The fall of the pin was set at .189. This was a very fast lock time.

The actions were machined from 4340 bar and it was hard to get some reamed because of the work hardening of the alloy steel. I believe that the bolts were 4140. The shear test of the bolts were around 200,000 lbs. The sixty degree lift of the bolt handle was hard. That is have I remember after some 41 years.

The short action came after I left the company in 1967.

thanks for the history on the action, and thanks for the insight on difficulties encountered- it ain't the "A-B-C bodda-bing" many would think it is.

Pics. Sold this one last year. 300 WM.

Les and all, thanks for all the info.After reading this I decided that it was better off with the orignal owner.

richj, it looked just like yours, except it had been re-barreled with a SS 7mm.

Stuart Otteson has quite a bit of info on the history and evolution of this action and the folks that built them. This is in Vol. 2 of his book, "The Bolt Action". I think that this is now available on DVDs from Wolf Publishing in Prescott, AZ.

What are the details on the one that is for sale?
Caliber? Stock? Price? Location?

How much would a Ranger Arms Rifle in great condition be worth today?

quote:

Originally posted by A1DEADZIP97:
How much would a Ranger Arms Rifle in great condition be worth today?

Blue Book 22nd says:

"Although somewhat rare in that there were not a large number manufactured, collectability to date has been limited, with specimens in 90% + condition, typically priced in the $375-$500 range."

The only rifle I ever bought at or near BB values was from that one old lady..

sorry Grandma

Rich

quote:

Originally posted by craigster:

quote:

Originally posted by A1DEADZIP97:
How much would a Ranger Arms Rifle in great condition be worth today?

Blue Book 22nd says:

"Although somewhat rare in that there were not a large number manufactured, collectability to date has been limited, with specimens in 90% + condition, typically priced in the $375-$500 range."

quote:

Originally posted by richj:
The only rifle I ever bought at or near BB values was from that one old lady..

sorry Grandma

Rich

quote:

Originally posted by craigster:

quote:

Originally posted by A1DEADZIP97:
How much would a Ranger Arms Rifle in great condition be worth today?

Blue Book 22nd says:

"Although somewhat rare in that there were not a large number manufactured, collectability to date has been limited, with specimens in 90% + condition, typically priced in the $375-$500 range."

When it comes right down to it, it's only "worth" what you can get for it. The market will determine the "value."