Seekins PH3

[wind gypsy]

Here’s a pic of two of my bolt. If I cycle the bolt from straight on, or near the handle stem, it’ll cycle just ok. Use the handle and it’s bad. I can pretty much lock it up against the side of the action. You can see the wear line in the bolt and where it appears to bind on the action just behind the safety. I’ve left a voicemail with Seekins to get their take. I know others have had good experiences with their customer service so I’ll wait and see what they have to say.

Yeah, your action seems to have some fubar in it. I think seekins sends out just as many turds as many mfrs but they just seem to offer a better experience than most in dealing with them.

Just in handling a few off the rack ph3s, if my memory isn't playing tricks on me some have felt slick and some felt like crap.

 

[waspocrew]

Yeah, your action seems to have some fubar in it. I think seekins sends out just as many turds as many mfrs but they just seem to offer a better experience than most in dealing with them.

Just in handling a few off the rack ph3s, if my memory isn't playing tricks on me some have felt slick and some felt like crap.

This. First PH3 I played with at Missoula Scheels was super slick. I was thinking about picking one up.

Saw one locally and it wasn’t smooth at all.

 

[Gulogulo]

Mine was a bit sticky but after lots of cycling on the couch and 300+ rounds, it now smooth with no binding. Agree with others about the single round feeding issues. The round needs to be slanted up and finger pushed to get it started. I tried to be not over critical on the cf mag but it still sucks. I have the mag spacer from Seekins but haven't purchased a steel mag.

 

[Fitz]

I did some more shooting of my 6CM since me and the boy plan on using it on a hunt next week. I have mixed feelings on the gun after more time with it.

Likes: Trigger is good, fit and finish is great, I love the M-loc and have an Arca plate on it that’s easily reachable on a tripod for adjustment. It’s around an inch or a little worse with factory ELDX 103s. I tried some 108s and it likes those a little better.

Dislikes: The gun is heavy. I have similar stature customs on Defiance actions and steel barrels, as well as Tikkas, and the Seekins feels like a brick in comparison, and my other guns aren’t ounce saver configurations.

BIG dislike is the bolt bind. The gun has a ton of grease in it from the factory. The bolt gets filthy after several rounds. I thought that was causing binding since it’s just dirty. I cleaned the action and the bolt and it’s still not great. If you cycle it nice and straight it’ll go reasonably well. Any sort of misalignment(like pushing solely on the bolt handle) and it drags and binds against the rear of the action. It’s just not good at all. I don’t know that it impedes the rifle’s functionality as a hunting tool, but for $2000 that thing should be butter. Maybe that’s just the nature of their rifles?

The bolt still rubs across the top of the carbon mag and adds a degree of grittiness to the cycling.

We’re gonna take the gun on the hunt next week. It’ll still do the job so I’m not worried about that. But I’ll probably contact Seekins once I get back. Maybe I’m nitpicking and I don’t want to be that guy. But there’s an expectation when you buy quality products that they work as advertised.

Just picked up my right handed 6.5cm element hunter and I see what you were talking about with the bolt binding. It slides smoothly however if I apply any amount of right lateral pressure it binds on the action. No interference with the CF magazine. Just an initial observation, haven't cleaned, lubed, or shot it yet.

 

[rookie7]

An important question for all of you Ph3 owners: would you buy it again if starting over? The design behind the rifle is a step forward IMO. Accuracy reports across all models have been positive - at least from what I have read. I handled a PH2 a few months back and loved it.

My concern would be the incosistency from rifle to rifle where some folks have handled one and it was fine and another and it wasn't. I have not handled a ph3, but was planning on ordering one as soon as they came in stock.

To their defense, most actions can and will bind with side pressure.