[USEBOTHHANDS]

Originally Posted by ineverFTF

Sure there is a best rifle. It's the one you personally can drive a nail with at 100 yards

i can't drive a nail @ 100, but if i were you, i wouldn't stand out in front of me @ any range.

ruger M77 .270

[headhunter]

I'd like to thank the people who wrote and posted the first several pages. I enjoyed them and felt I profited by reading them. Through no fault of the moderator the thread seemed to degrade. At the end the only thing that someone didn't expound on was that their rifle was way prettier than brand "y" (just a little humor). Again, thanks.

[samnev]

Having had a number of 700's and Weatherby' and both are fine actions. But the finest rifle actions IMO are the Sako TRG and the AIAW actions. Expensive yes. But you get what you pay for.

[Don705]

Hello...I'm brand new to this thread and to any forum for that matter. What has intrigued me to sign up for this forum is this very thread...at least, the understanding I see for this thread in the first place. I see that this thread was intended to provide a comparison surrounding the Remington, Winchester, and Howa action from a technically analytical perspective. When I was searching the Internet for bolt/action variances and how they stacked up, I came upon this. The "Dillinger" fellow actually answered the questions I was having except one.

My follow up question to this thread ---> Using the Winchester Model 70 (new FN S. Carolina) action and the Howa/Vanguard type action for comparison, how does the front action retaining screw location relate to inherent accuracies? The Winchester Model 70 has its front action screw behind the integral recoil lug, and so this recoil lug can be readily bedded all by itself, and the action can be pillar bedded separately at the retaining screw. Looking online at a Howa 1500 action, the integral recoil lug also holds the front action retaining screw placement. The pic of the Howa action is foggy what I saw online, but it does look like the intent is to pillar the recoil lug right up against the bottom of the lug, so I don’t know about also bedding it there as well. I know that my Weatherby Mark V Accumark in 270 Winchester uses the integral recoil lug as the front action screw retainer, is not pillar bedded up against the bottom of the recoil lug, and in effect both this recoil lug and the back tang area maintains a downward pressure from the front and rear action retaining screws. It seems that I remember reading somewhere that when the Winchester Model 70 (new FN S. Carolina) started back up, they sent out prototypes of their upstart Model 70, and the first prototype had the integral recoil lug holding the front retaining screw, and whoever were the prototype reviewers and testers advised FN S. Carolina that this type of action screw retainment was a big mistake in that it has the tendency to put stress on the action, therefore not inherent to accuracy, and therefore FN S. Carolina changed the action screw retainment to be what it is today.

I think that all, if not most of the high-end benchrest actions, do not mix the recoil lug and retaining screw together at the same location, which would be my driver to follow this spec even with the factory actions.

Hopefully, Dillinger or someone who has experience with building rifles with the different placement of screws retaining the action can respond and advise here. I'm not looking for someone to respond and tell me they like there rifle action just the way it is, and it is a MOA rifle, but looking for the technical comparison data like Dillinger laid them out waaay back at the beginning of this thread...THANKS in advance.

[greydog]

I have always felt having the screw into the recoil lug, at the extreme front of the action, created a complication. Winchester obviously thought so as well since they moved the location when they developed the model 70 from the Model 54 which had it's screw going into the lug. On action with the screw into the lug (Sako, Howa, Enfield, Springfield)I have bedded the bottom of the lug on a pillar, cleared the bottom of the lug and bedded the barrel shank, or cleared the bottom and free floated the entire barrel. On those rifles which had some bedding surface ahead of the lug ( Mauser, Enfield, Ruger) clearing the bottom and floating the barrel seemed fine. On the Sako and Howa actions, it seemed better to bed the bottom of the lug.
When building rifles on a Model 54 Winchester action, I relocate the front hole and use Model 70 bottom metal

[Don705]

Thanks for this feedback greydog. This is the exact kind of info I was looking for

[BornToHunt]

TIKKA HANDS DOWN. (Made by beretta)

[Don705]

BornToHunt…why do you say TIKKA HANDS DOWN. (Made by beretta) ?
I don’t know if Tikka runs the front action retaining screw into the recoil lug like the Howa or behind the recoil lug like the Winchester Model 70. I couldn’t find a pic of it…everyone usually talks about the guts of the action and not the external mounting surfaces. Greydog’s past response hit the nail on the head for what I was looking for regarding this, but Tikka isn’t one of the actions he lists. Can you advise please? Presently, I’m thinking of buying a Winchester Model 70, and to get started using it for hunting and target shooting to include reloading, and then potentially later down the road, upgrade to a custom barrel while truing the action as best possible at that time. My concern, which again Greydog recognized, is that when I would go to pillar and bed upgrade my action, is if I had an action that the recoil lug was also the front action retaining screw placeholder. I would like to stick with the integral lug and flat-bottom action, and so far, only see that the Winchester Model 70 offers the retaining screw behind the recoil lug….THANKS

[jpattersonnh]

http://www.firearmstalk.com/forums/f18/hunters-riflemen-i-need-your-help-87550/
He's slightly confused. But, that is JMHO. Just youth talking.

[Don705]

OK jpattersonnh...I did follow your link and see that you are thorough in "who said what and when"...I like thorough Unless someone has something additional to offer in addition to Greydog's response to my original request (which Greydog seemed to be very thorough to me), I'm satisfied here...THANKS