I see that Centerfire Systems is selling La Coruna actions for $119.97. I'm wondering if these are the old Santa Barbara/ Centurian actions from the past. I have some bottom metal and stock for a mauser and was thinking of building a 7x57 without spending an arm and a leg. I've heard some conflicting things about these Spanish commercial actions. Does anyone have the real scoop?

Geronimo

built for side safty (which I dislike)... means 150 ish for a safety, and 50 for a trigger...

right there you are at the price of a new CD with bottom metal

jeffe

This oughtta make Jeffe happy.

This is perhaps the one instance where I would choose a CD action. They are to be preferred to the Spanish actions IMO.

Around here complete CD rifles can be had for less than $300.

la coruna was an arsenal that built military rifles, the post war ones of which there were several variants all looked more or less like a vz-24. i haven't seen the ad but i'd be willing to bet what's referred to are actions stripped from these rifles and not commercial ones.

The ad shows an action with a with the typical bolt for scope use, no thumb cut out, and no stripper clip cut out. So, at least in the picture, these look like commercial actions. My main concern was as to the quality and brittleness of these actions. I have one of the converted VZ-24 actions made by CZ and imported by EAA which I purchased several years ago. These actions are a bit rough, but I guess are of a less questionable pedigree than the Spanish mausers. Maybe I'll just forget trying to be economical and just go my usual route.

Geronimo

ALF posted an article a while back from Oct 1981 Rifle magazine. It was about Spanish Santa Barbara Mauser action heat treatment. I pretty sure the author was the foreman that had something to do with the heat treatments.
Maybe do a search or ALF might have it at hand.
Bob

Century has Santa Barbara actions, with no bottom metal, for something like $126 at the moment. They don't say whether they're commercial or military actions, only that they were made by Santa Barbara.

I have a santa barbara action rifle. It says spain on the side of the tang. It looks pretty, all polished up but the bolt works a little rough. I read they seem like some kind of alloy steel( not the best), The fireing pin spring is also stiff along with the action not beiend slick working. Belk said watch out for a redish coloring ring on the front ring. Brittle??.
Mine looks nice and is a C ring but isnt any where close as smooth operating as my FN , belgiums or huskys. Plus this one has a rinkydink aluminum alloy bottom metal and hokey trigger.

yeah, i spoke out of turn. checked de haas who deals with these quite well. he has separate sections for centurion as well as santa barbara. as to mfgr, he says while not verified he does have a report that the bolts and receivers were made at the arsenal at la coruna. he shows - and notes as such - that the centurion had the standard m98 bolt sleeve while the santa barbara had the fn style. he also mentions that the centurion actions were just marked "spain" as noted by another poster but also said the santa barbara actions were similarly marked and had serial #'s beginning with "Z". and he also criticizes the stiffeness of the mainspring. he notes actions being available w/ either steel or alum bottom metal. likewise criticizes as being so rough internally as to be near inoperable in a practical sense.

If there is no thumb cut, it is a commercial to me.
http://www.centuryarms.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=38&o...e83bf3aef165885ad58c

I have a custom rifle made by some 1 in texas, it is a well finished accurate rifle but the trigger had a 8# pull so i ordered a bold trigger for it, it did not fit, neither did a timmley, my gunsmith took parts from several triggers & a bunch of cursing to get me a good 3# trigger..he had worked on a few before and said it was normal for parts to not fit,

I sent off to Century and got one for $129.87 free shipping.
It is a fine polish above the wood line and a rough sand blast fisish below the wood line.
The bolt looks like a converted military.
On the reciever thumb cut area, I can't see any weld lines from welding up the thumb cut, so it may have been original sporting.

I also have some early 1950's La Coruna actions to compare.

The military La Coruna actions from the 50's have the full "C" inner stop ring. The sporting action I just got has two semi circles. The bolt lug race on the left side just keeps going.

The Centerfire Systems Feb-March 2006 catalog, that arrived yesterday, shows the La Coruna actions on page 22 for $119.97 [you can bet no free shipping].
That catalog says, "Also available in Magnum action for an additional $10."
Thier web site just says that they are out of stock:
http://www.centerfiresystems.com/miva/merchant.mv?Scree...CT&Category_Code=MAU

A good factory magnum conversion of opening up the bolt face, extractor, and mag feed lips would be worth $10, but not if done in the back room at Century or Centerfire Systems.