Rifle Actions

Gun makers have paid out some huge settlements when sued in recent years. Gun accidents are most likely from operator error, ignorance, or poor judgment. But lawyers have become a part of gun design.

The "lawyer effect" has been that gun makers sometimes build trigger pulls heaver than desired, and safety devices which can detract from the gun's functioning and appearance. I should add that this led to 'some' better trigger and safety designs.

Long ago I heard this little story: A hunter is out with his wise old Indian guide when they hear five shots fired. The hunter says, "Someone got a deer!" The old indian guide says, "No deer!" The hunter ask, "Why do you say that?" The indian, "One shot dead deer! Two shots, maybe! Three shots, never!"

While that is not always true; it's often true. The point; make your first shot count and you won't need follow up shots. Another truth is that the deer is often relaxed and standing for the first shot. Likely moving and harder to hit after the initial shot.

Single shots are among the simplest and maybe the safest guns. With no magazine; they are either loaded or empty. No magazine also means some are three or four inches shorter in overall length when compared with other actions.

Single shots can be very accurate, strong, and can have great triggers. The best are among the highest quality guns made. A few good mid-priced models are also available. Some low-priced guns appear to be of decent quality, but some real "junk" has been made.

Not often seen in our country; the double rifle is like two single shots made into one gun. The combination gun has a single shot rifle and a single shotgun barrel (we make a few of these). The drilling is a single shot rifle built into a double barrel shotgun.

The double, drilling, and other combinations can be really "cool," but are found more often in Europe, Africa... They are often among the very best quality guns made. Some cost about the same as your car, or even your house.

These guns will handle a wide variety of factory loads and hand-loads (reloads); with few problems. The guns can be built as light or as heavy as needed. New bolt action guns are available in a wide range of prices, and most are of very good quality.

Lever guns have few actual advantages other than handling. The lever action is only a little faster to cycle than the bolt action, and seldom as accurate. Few have great triggers, and some won't handle the most modern cartridges. Most have tube magazines which are slower to load and unload. Tube magazines should not be loaded with pointed bullets, unless they have soft plastic tips.

But still the lever action is a "git-r-done" rifle action, and it's done the job well for a long time. New style lever action rifles come and go. Marlin and Winchester have built millions of their traditional guns with few improvements for more than a century.

There have been some cartridge improvements, but the old .30-30 is what most of us think of when we hear lever action. This old cartridge is easy to shoot and works well on deer at woods ranges.

The lever action may be like some beautiful women; you just love the way they look and feel, and sometimes that's all you need.

Pump action rifles offer fast repeating shots. They may have a clip magazine, and are often chambered for modern cartridges. But their trigger pull and accuracy is not usually equal to the bolt action.

If you go in a gun shop and ask to see a pump rifle it will probably be a Remington 7600 series. It's about the only pump center-fire rifle to stay in production. It may be a good choice if you shoot a similar pump shotgun and you hunt in the woods. Few would recommend it as a long range rifle.

Some would argue that the manually operated actions are still more dependable. The manual actions 'are' probably more dependable, but they must be operated by humans... so that argument may not be valid.

Today most semi-auto guns will reliably function with correct factory ammunition. The typical semi-auto would not be a first choice for long range shooting. The trigger pull and/or accuracy is still not on par with most bolt actions or some single shots. Reloaded ammunition may not function the gun. You will have to find your brass after it has been ejected.

Rifle action choice is what you like if you are a short-range woods hunter. If you hand-load, or need more serious accuracy, you most likely should use a good bolt action, or a quality single shot.

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