22 ARC Rifle review Kelby Atlas Lite

[Team4LongGun]

Today I received my @XLR chassis I ordered from Red Hawk Rifles. They are becoming my go to as of late for parts as they ship same day and have a great selection of goodies.



This rifle will be primarily for predators and wolf hunting. Initially I'll be shooting Hornady's 88gr eldm's. I'll stretch it out once I have the dope chart and see how they fly.



I am going to do a review on this Kelbly Atlas Lite with Preferred Barrel Blanks Double hex steel barrel. Here are some of the specs:

Action is Kelbly Atlas Lite SA with 75 degree bolt throw
Barrel is Preferred Barrel Blanks Chrome moly bead blasted 16", 5R, 1:6.5 twist, lapped
Mag is Magpul 308 AICS





I'm waiting on the rail and then I'll be able to mount a scope and get it chrono'd to see what kind of speeds I'll be getting with the 16".

Current weight with empty mag is 6lb 15oz.



I will be shooting suppressed. Kicking myself as after all this time waiting on parts, I'm held up by a rail, and my stupid oversight...



I will continue to edit this thread as I move along the process. Any questions, let me know.

 

[Jamr]

Sweet looking rifle. Excited to see how it shoots.

 

[sierracharlie338]

Bet that will be a sweet rig. I really like my xlr chassis’.

 

[Team4LongGun]

Decided to see what the hype is about and threw a Maven rs1.2 on.

 

[SuperDUECE22]

looks like you could use a bag rider for your chassis

 

[Team4LongGun]

From the photo I agree! I don't generally put them on, as this is the only time I'm on a bench for initial zero.
Do you use one?

 

[NWBLKTAIL]

This looks like a really fun setup, I’ve never shot a chassis but this has me thinking about trying one

 

[doverpack12]

Interested in your speed. I’m working on a 16” 22 ARC side pull from the ULUL thread. Should finish about 6 pounds with a SWFA 3-9. Preferred barrel was an option I thought about but chose a cheaper route that isn’t panning out.

So far my barrel is not shooting well and I’m only getting just shy of 2500 fps with factory 88 ELDM which means it can’t out do my 6 ARC by much in terminal range and the barrel was heavier than advertised so I only saved 3 oz instead of 6. Preferred I thought I could save 8 ish ounces.

 

[Team4LongGun]

Initial zero/grouping

4 rounds to get zeroed, fired 10 shot group. Pleased with the grouping, making 1/10 mil adj left and one up.

 

[Team4LongGun]

MV is 2556 with this 16” barrel, can and factory ammo.

 

[Jeff_Gibbons]

Sweet!

 

[jloomis1984]

Great looking rifle!

 

[WestTN2288]

Nice set up… for what it’s worth, I have used superformance to get the most velocity from the 88s. I can get ~2700 from an 18in AR. I would think you could get at least that much from a 16in bolt with some tweaking

 

[TxLite]

How are you liking the atlas lite?

 

[Team4LongGun]

How are you liking the atlas lite?

Really digging it. The 75 bolt throw is legit.

Had a ridiculous scope issue-first time I pulled off the included scope cover, it ripped off this thin rubber gasket from the eyepiece. Contacted Maven, they sent me a new one with very long detailed instructions on how to epoxy it back on. Piss poor design. I'm not going near the glass with epoxy.
Besides that, I like the Maven, I can see why others do as well.

Snow is about melted off enough to stretch it out where I shoot. More updates soon.

 

[Team4LongGun]

Stretched out the 88 grain Hornady's today on the 22ARC.

Started at 654 yards, then 988 yards just for fun....

I was pleased with the group and BC to 654. I'd hunt with this rig but not past 700. Once I got near 1k, the wind was kicking my ass on this little bullet. Got on paper, but didn't love it. It rained off and on, and my frustrations with the bullseye camera didn't leave me much time for photos.

My review on the camera is here https://rokslide.com/forums/threads/bullseye-target-camera-review.399497/

The 1k stuff was just to see how they would fly with the constant wind changes. I won't do it again haha. Obviously this rifle was not designed for those distances, that's where the 6.5 and 7 PRC shine for me.

 

[SAUMan]

I only got 2700-something from my 20" 1:7 CMMG Endeavor .22 ARC with 80gr ELD-Xs, and an initial groupong of 2 MOA at 150 yards. It was running too rich slinging brass over my truck parked a few yards to my right. Haven't adjusted the block and retried. I thought it barked pretty good to have such a fancy brake with top ports. Just wasn't greatly impressed.

I have 3 Kebly Atlas Lites, and all 3 of mine have the older 90-degree throw, which has caused issues with scope mounting on at least 1 occasion. Kudos to Kelbly for fixing this. My main gripe is the mechanical (manual) ejection mechanism. I have to rack it hard and cycle completely to get the brass out of the way. It takes longer and more energy to cycle, and will cause a jam/missfeed if not cycled correctly. Haven't been the biggest fan of their highly touted bolt stop, either. Had issues with the first one gumming up and sticking, then the 2nd one easily stripped out while being prepared for Cerakoting by my smith. Kelbly was very responsive and sent replacement parts right away after the smith retapped everything. Still doesn't function quite as well as the 3rd one, which has had no issues so far. Still not as crazy about it as I am a factory Tikka, Seekins, or Remington Alpha 1 stop.

I would buy another one with 75-degree throw if I found a deal on it, for sure, though. 2 out of 3 of my actions were ordered with a Kelbly rail and screw assembly. The 3rd, I got a rail from Kelbly for within a week. They also sent a free set of rail screws after I thought I was one short (I wasn't).

I agree with the concept of the ejection system, but in actual practice, I'm far more likely to cause a failure by not cycling completely than because of a spring-loaded ejector failing. Of course, there is another advantage to the system, and that's for the gunsmith headspacing the barrel when initially installing or changing barrels. They don't have to disassemble the bolt first.

My rifles are very accurate, and the actions are solid, well built, and lightweight. Even better with a shorter throw now. They are not the smoothest actions out there, but better than a standard 700 for sure. Believe me or not, my Weatherby 307 is the smoothest action I own. Even better than a stainless Tikka. Definitely smoother than the Atlas Lites. Not saying I'd recommend a 307 over a Kelbly, just saying the Kelbly isn't the smoothest out there. At the price point, the Kelbly is hard to beat for a really lightweight action. All 3 of mine are long actions with magnum bolt faces running Hawkins Hunter detachable 3-round mags. Cycling has been perfect with 2 SAUMs and a 7 PRC in the long actions. Even more aggravating to have to slam the bolt to the stop with a short case.

FWIW, my smith said the Kelblys might cause a sear failure in a TriggerTech leading to a AD on close. Not sure if it had to do with timing or what. I've put Bix TacSports of various levels of performance in all mine and had zero issues to date.

OP has a beautiful weapon there that can give the performance he desires with a bit of handload tuning. If successful out to over 600 and 900 yards, I don't know what else you could ask of a .224 fired from a case that size. It's not in the same size league as a .22 GT or a .22 Creedmoor. Love the design of the chassis with suppressor!

 

[Team4LongGun]

Good info @SAUMan. I'd like to hear more about the TT and AD on close if you find out more.

I have several tikkas, but I have never owned a single one that has accuracy that impresses me. Hands down the action cycles great, as that is what they are known for, by far the smoothest. But I don't care how smooth it is if it's not scary accurate, I'm not interested. Add in the slow twists, long barrels non threaded, I get bored real fast.
Cracks me up I see a few folks refer to the "easy button".....ripping a factory rifle apart, scrapping all but the action and starting over is not my version of easy.

I'm hoping to get some handloads through this 22ARC soon and see how much better it will get from Hornady box ammo.

 

[Tbieberle42]

I built a 22 arc and a 6arc gas gun using 18" rainier barrels and the 22 arc is my favorite by far. Initial testing is great with everything from 55 grain to 80 grain. I'm using lapua 220 russian brass fireformed and so far it hammers. I can't wait to build a bolt gun and really stretch it out.

 

[Castle Rock]

I built a 22 arc and a 6arc gas gun using 18" rainier barrels and the 22 arc is my favorite by far. Initial testing is great with everything from 55 grain to 80 grain. I'm using lapua 220 russian brass fireformed and so far it hammers. I can't wait to build a bolt gun and really stretch it out.

What’s your process with the Russian please?