Bolt action question

[heffe3434]

Can some explain the difference between a short and long action bolt action rifle?

 

[ryan3030]

I do believe this is in reference to the length of throw to cycle a round. Smaller calibers are typically short action, whereas the larger calibers are typically longer action.

For clarity - length of throw means how far the bolt has to travel when you cycle the action on the rifle.


*edit* Here is a good forum post I found explaining the difference:

The length of the action is the difference. The short action is based on supporting at a maximum the overall length of the .308 Winchester cartrige and it will support all cartriges of that length and shorter. The heavier and longer "long action" supports cartriges the length of the .30-06. There is another classification as well and that is the magnum action length based on cartiges the length of the .375 H&H and above. Each larger action is bigger and heavier to carry as well as being longer. Therefore many hunters prefer the small action size so that their rifle can be lighter to carry. If they choose a magnum length, they get a very heavy rifle to carry.

 

[ruger1800]

.223 .308 22-250 .243 examples normally used in short action, most short action ammo can also be used in a long action, long action examples 30/06 .300 win mag 7mm rem mag .270 winchester. long action ammo could be loaded one at a time in a short action but will be to long for the magazine.

 

[kalboy]

.223 .308 22-250 .243 examples normally used in short action, most short action ammo can also be used in a long action, long action examples 30/06 .300 win mag 7mm rem mag .270 winchester. long action ammo could be loaded one at a time in a short action but will be to long for the magazine.

I'm a little confused by this.... are you saying rifles can be fired with cartridges other than the rounds for which they are chambered?
Ie, 30-06 in 308 and or vice versa?


Simple and quick answer is short action generally refers to guns chambered for the .308 and shorter cartridges and long action to 30-06 and similar overall length. It's just fitting the action length to the gun, for max compactness.

 

[Hookeye]

Normally .308win and similarly sized ammo (length) use a short action.
Savage for some time made all their rifles long action, regardless of what cartridge it was chambered in...........they even do that now, with the Savage Axis. You get the same bolt throw, be it a 270 win or .223.

Some find it tolerable, I detest it. I also hate the fact that long actions, when using 2 pc scope bases, can really limit scope position. In fact a Leupold 4-12X won't fit a Savage Axis with 2 pcs bases, even when slots moved in. No, there you need to buy a 1 pc base of multiple slots from EGW.

Anyway, you have a long action rifle that has magazine mods to be short or long cartridge. They are a bit funky though IMHO. If you want to shoot some very low drag bullets and seat them out a ways, then a long actioned rig shooting a short action cartridge might be of benefit. If you want to change the bbl to a different cartridge later then a long action would offer a wider range of possibilities.

Now, on shooting different cartridges within chambering...........they used to make a chamber insert for military rigs, that shortened a .30-06 chamber to .308 win. But that is a different topic

 

[jurassicnarc]

As a general rule, it is NOT safe to fire a cartridge in a rifle marked for a different cartridge. There are exceptions : the 6 mm Rem used to be called the .244 Rem, and the Ackley Improved series are made by firing the standard cartridge with a light load of powder in the corresponding improved chamber, expanding the standard case to one with greater capacity. If you're not sure you know, DON'T substitute ammo.

 

[UncleNorby]

I think Ruger1800 only intended to say that short action cartridges like .308 can be fired in an appropriately chambered long action gun.

The original question was, what's the difference between long and short action. It is the actual length of the "action" or receiver. The length of the action will determine what cartridges can be used. Short action guns are limited to the 308 length as noted above. Long action guns can fire long and short action cartridges, as dictated by their chambering. All other things being equal, short action guns have less weight in the receiver. I have read that short actions can have advantages as far as accuracy is concerned, as they tend to be more rigid than long actions. Most shooters would not realize the difference though.

 

[patience0830]

I'm a little confused by this.... are you saying rifles can be fired with cartridges other than the rounds for which they are chambered?
Ie, 30-06 in 308 and or vice versa?
.

Some could be mistakenly chambered and fired but rechambering for a different round is usually required (and always wise) if you want to fire a different round in the rifle.
Only real difference in L-vs- S actions is the distance the bolt has to travel to finish ejecting and chambering a round.

You can chamber long action rifles for short cartridges but it's a waste of steel. Std short action rifles could possibly be chambered for some longer cartridges but the magazine well would usually necessitate it being used as a single shot.