Medium Actions for hunting

[XLR]

As long-range shooters become more popular every year, we are seeing higher BC bullets progress for every caliber. With this progression, we have seen calibers become very limited due to magazines' internal length. Action manufacturers see this issue becoming more prevalent and have started producing Medium length actions. Medium action magazines allow you to seat bullets out to 3.255" vs short actions only allow for 2.890". This is super beneficial for most of the Saum, WSM, and 6.5 PRC cartridges! Defiance and Lone peak were the pioneers with these actions but companies like Zermatt and Stiller are jumping on the bandwagon because they see the huge potential of these actions! What are your thoughts on the medium actions and will this allow bullet manufacturers to go even longer with bullets?

See the full article below!

Medium Length Actions

Discover how Medium Length Actions have enhanced COAL and BC, revolutionizing precision shooting and ballistics. Find out what action, caliber, or chassis might work best for you!

xlrindustries.com

 

[WeiserBucks]

Tikka has entered the chat.

 

[Justin Crossley]

Tikka has entered the chat.

Tikka is the reason the others had to build medium actions....JK

To the OP: I think the trend will continue. A lot of shooters have seen the benefit of running long bullets with shorter cartridges.

One of my favorite rifles is a Tikka action, 300 WSM in the Element 4.0 long action chassis which allows me to seat the 215 Bergers at the proper depth. I'm able to run at 2950 FPS with a 24" barrel. Tough combo to beat in the 30 cal class of cartridges.

 

[XLR]

Tikka has entered the chat.

You are correct! It is more of an extra medium action! 3.470" internal length so it has even more room. Almost too much though for the Saums, WSMs, and PRC. Now if you are running a 284 or 3006 I think that the long action tikka is the best option.

 

[XLR]

Tikka is the reason the others had to build medium actions....JK

To the OP: I think the trend will continue. A lot of shooters have seen the benefit of running long bullets with shorter cartridges.

One of my favorite rifles is a Tikka action, 300 WSM in the Element 4.0 long action chassis which allows me to seat the 215 Bergers at the proper depth. I'm able to run at 2950 FPS with a 24" barrel. Tough combo to beat in the 30 cal class of cartridges.

Have you had any issues getting the WSM to feed? Or is it finicky at all?

 

[Justin Crossley]

Have you had any issues getting the WSM to feed? Or is it finicky at all?

None whatsoever. It works very well.

I just wish you guys would find someone to make lighter magazines for the long-action Tikka chassis. It sucks spending all the money on magnesium and carbon fiber for weight savings and then using an 8 oz magazine.

 

[WeiserBucks]

I just wish you guys would find someone to make lighter magazines for the long-action Tikka chassis.

A quality chassis that accepts factory style Tikka magazines with a Tikka type mag release would be a winner. One of my only reasons for abandoning chassis is that I hate rattling, protruding AICS mags and I hate big, stupid mag releases mounted to the trigger guard even more.

Some day the chassis companies will realize that not everyone is a PRS shooter or an AICS nut swinger. XLR, MPA, MTD and KRG offer a quality chassis at a weight appropriate for hunting, but the magazines suck, and the oversized, protruding "go ahead and accidentally drop my mag in the mud" mag releases suck even more. I've probably lost $500 worth of AICS mags in the brush over the years, some of that is my fault, but the stupid mag release drives me insane.

 

[XLR]

A quality chassis that accepts factory style Tikka magazines with a Tikka type mag release would be a winner. One of my only reasons for abandoning chassis is that I hate rattling, protruding AICS mags and I hate big, stupid mag releases mounted to the trigger guard even more.

Some day the chassis companies will realize that not everyone is a PRS shooter or an AICS nut swinger. XLR, MPA, MTD and KRG offer a quality chassis at a weight appropriate for hunting, but the magazines suck, and the oversized, protruding "go ahead and accidentally drop my mag in the mud" mag releases suck even more. I've probably lost $500 worth of AICS mags in the brush over the years, some of that is my fault, but the stupid mag release drives me insane.

Patience... we are always working on improving the chassis and love to hear everyone's feedback so if you have anything else you don't like please let me know!

 

[LookinforDirt]

I think it is a solution looking for a problem in the majority of hunting situations. But demand, regardless of appropriate or need, is what will drive it. Out to 500 and even 600 yards, “old school” cartridges, bullets, and chambering is more than adequate. In some cases, out to 400-500 yards, are better choices. The long range specific stuff doesn’t kick in with any significance until after those distances. And the number of hunters that should consider shots much over 400 yards (hunting, not the bench) dwindle very rapidly from 400 on. Calibers, for hunting purposes, are not limited by magazine length. Some peoples fantasies are. Just because you have a cape doesn’t mean you can fly.

That opinionated opinion being said, I would definitely take into consideration action length if I were buying a new rifle. My range and some land available to me offer 600-1200 yard shots. Even though I don’t shoot that far often, I would still buy a rifle that could help max out ballistic performance for it. So I don’t see why not to building actions to accommodate it.

How far can it go? At some point you will be shooting a needle at animals. And the more a bullet gets specialized for long range effectiveness, the less useful it is at under long range for hunting. Paper and steel, sure.

 

[XLR]

I think it is a solution looking for a problem in the majority of hunting situations. But demand, regardless of appropriate or need, is what will drive it. Out to 500 and even 600 yards, “old school” cartridges, bullets, and chambering is more than adequate. In some cases, out to 400-500 yards, are better choices. The long range specific stuff doesn’t kick in with any significance until after those distances. And the number of hunters that should consider shots much over 400 yards (hunting, not the bench) dwindle very rapidly from 400 on. Calibers, for hunting purposes, are not limited by magazine length. Some peoples fantasies are. Just because you have a cape doesn’t mean you can fly.

That opinionated opinion being said, I would definitely take into consideration action length if I were buying a new rifle. My range and some land available to me offer 600-1200 yard shots. Even though I don’t shoot that far often, I would still buy a rifle that could help max out ballistic performance for it. So I don’t see why not to building actions to accommodate it.

How far can it go? At some point you will be shooting a needle at animals. And the more a bullet gets specialized for long range effectiveness, the less useful it is at under long range for hunting. Paper and steel, sure.

I would have to say the hunting market is seeing the benefit of running smaller cartridges and not needing a 300 rum. There are a lot of guys going back down to the WSM and Saum and then throating them out so they can actually capitalize on their performance capabilities. The 6.5 PRC has made huge strides and I would have to bet the number of guys hunting with it this year is starting to poke at the number of guys running 7 mag or 300 win mag (if they can find ammo).

I think that bullet manufacturers will keep innovating and creating good heavy bullets to put more energy on target at distance and perform well for game. How long will it go is the golden question though! I would not be surprised at all if we see a 165 grain 6.5 bullet in the future. The trends will keep happening and then die off though especially as bullets keep getting longer.

 

[Keith Stone]

None whatsoever. It works very well.

I just wish you guys would find someone to make lighter magazines for the long-action Tikka chassis. It sucks spending all the money on magnesium and carbon fiber for weight savings and then using an 8 oz magazine.

WATERS RIFLEMAN PRECISION RIFLE MAGAZINES

WATERS RIFLEMAN Precision metal magazines for the competitive, sporting and hunter shooter. Tikka T3, Tikka T3x

www.watersrifleman.com

You can get a 5 rounder for about 4.5oz

 

[XLR]

WATERS RIFLEMAN PRECISION RIFLE MAGAZINES

WATERS RIFLEMAN Precision metal magazines for the competitive, sporting and hunter shooter. Tikka T3, Tikka T3x

www.watersrifleman.com

You can get a 5 rounder for about 4.5oz

I might have missed something but those do not look like AICS magazines

 

[Keith Stone]

I might have missed something but those do not look like AICS magazines

No that was my bad I just saw tikka and mags missed the part about it setting in an xlr

 

[Hill Difficulty]

FYI

Just saw this today from MDT. New 3 and 5-round mags for medium receivers @ 3.24" COAL.

 

[XLR]

Yessir! We also have these lightweight mags from @UM GM The medium actions and accessories are progressing!

 

[madcalfe]

im still on the short action train. Terminus makes mags that accept 2.98" COAL just have to notch out the feed ramp and waalaaa.

 

[XLR]

Not a bad way to go either! I think that would work great for the 6.5 PRC but if you were running a 7 SAUM with 180s or a 300 WSM with 215s thats when I would jump up!

 

[Article 4]

A bit late here but ok, I am in.
I like the Medium action progression, especially in cartridges with 540 bolt faces building a new rifle, I am all about it. I run a few SA rifles including 6CM and 6.5 GAP. I find especially in the GAP, which is the precursor to the PRC, if I went any longer than a 140, I have to give up something in a SA to get what I want out of it. I use it primarily for hunting med sized game these days.

My thing is for target shooting, I want a high BC bullet that has max affect while maintaining some sort of bbl life which I can do in a SA and may want to do in a MA if I build a new rifle. For hunting applications especially, I wanna throw a heavy bullet as fast as I can while maintaining accuracy. Med action lets me do that without going to a LA which opens another conundrum

 

[Cactus kid]

. I've probably lost $500 worth of AICS mags in the brush over the years, some of that is my fault, but the stupid mag release drives me insane.

My work around to keep from losing mags on
hunts- some extra guy line cord tied to the trigger guard. May be a useful hack for some.

 

[XLR]

My work around to keep from losing mags on
hunts- some extra guy line cord tied to the trigger guard. May be a useful hack for some.

The new trigger guard is our solution for that!

XLR Adjustable DBM Upgrade

Description Colors The all NEW adjustable DBM will be standard on Element 4.0 and ATOM chassis systems ordered after September 2022. We wanted to make sure all previous customers were taken care of also! This trigger guard assembly allows you to update your DBM system. Featuring a flush-trimmed...

xlrindustries.com