Recommendations for Rail Gun Action

S

Steve Lee

Active member
I'm starting to assemble parts for a new rail. I'm planning to use a BAT action, right bolt, left port, right eject. My only real question is...should I order one of the big, fat round actions or order a 7.5 SB multi-flat action like the one on my LV?

The advantage of ordering a multi-flat action is that is could be re-purposed to build a light varmint at some point.

I've talked with one knowledgeable person who was of the opinion the large round action did not perform better than the lighter weight action on a rail gun. Just want to get some additional opinions before placing my order with BAT.

Thanks.
Steve
 
Gary Ocock has done very well lately
http://benchrest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=65204&highlight=OCOCK+unlimited
with his rail gun, pictured below. Beyond looking at the action, you might look at where the barrel is clamped, and how it is clamped. If I remember correctly, he prefers to remove his empties, rather than have the action eject them.
Visalia10-18-09fiveshotunlim017.jpg
 
Last edited:
Steve,

Is this going to be a dedicated Railgun action? The reason I ask is, BAT makes a large round action that has the loading port moved closer to the 10:00 position. You can lay a round in the port, fire the one in the chamber and cycle the bolt....presto...loaded. Then you just toss the next in the port while returning the gun to battery. This make a rail very fast. Call Stevens, he may have one he uses or know who has one and you can ask their opinions. I know Billy's brother has one and says it's the cats meow.

Hovis
 
HovisKM said:
Steve,

Is this going to be a dedicated Railgun action? The reason I ask is, BAT makes a large round action that has the loading port moved closer to the 10:00 position. You can lay a round in the port, fire the one in the chamber and cycle the bolt....presto...loaded. Then you just toss the next in the port while returning the gun to battery. This make a rail very fast. Call Stevens, he may have one he uses or know who has one and you can ask their opinions. I know Billy's brother has one and says it's the cats meow.

Hovis
Click to expand...

Kevin,
I remember hearing about that but had forgotten. I'll call Billy and ask. I was thinking it would be nice to have an action that could be repurposed at some point in the future, so my original plan was not to make it a dedicated railgun action, but after you reminded me about that I may change my mind.
 
Francis,
Yeah...that's pretty much the opinion I had gotten before. Kevin's argument for the top mounted loading port, however, is interesting and I 'm going to research it a bit.
 
I liked my Diamondback drop port on mine and then it became a LV. I think a smooth receiver is most important and the drop port was really nice.
Butch
 
Drop Port

I went to a Stiller Diamond Back Drop Port during the Winter, and did quite well with my Rail in our first Unlimited Match of the year.

I got away from the Delrin Sleeve this year. Instead, I went back to a V-Block. But, what I do now is take just enough off of the barrel's OD where it mounts in the block so that it is dead straight. I then lap it in the V-Block and use just enough torque on the bolts to secure it. That seems to be about 80 inch pounds.. ......jackie
 
Looking at the pic of Gary's rail above...if you have a drop port where do the fired cases wind up? Do you mount a container below the port to catch them?

I have a Young platform on order and I'm just trying to think about where the cases will land.
 
Howdy,
Reread my post. I believe that he said that he doesn't use an ejector, but prefers to pick them off of the bolt face. Did you use the link that leads to the thread about how he did in the match?
 
Boyd Allen said:
Howdy,
Reread my post. I believe that he said that he doesn't use an ejector, but prefers to pick them off of the bolt face. Did you use the link that leads to the thread about how he did in the match?
Click to expand...

Yeah. Some incredible shooting! I've been shooting an ejector in my bag gun for five years now, but my rail has a "pick 'em out of the port" Hall B. My bag gun shoots great and I'm pretty much commited to going with an ejector for the new rail.

I ordered the platform from Jay Young last September and he's saying it should be ready this fall...hope that's not wishful thinking. I'd sure like to have it by the Nationals...which will be the first NBRSA Nationals I've ever attended.
 
Steve

One other thing. A Rail Gun is no different than any other Benchrest Rifle. Get a great barrel, some really good bullets, hit a good tune, and it will shoot one hole. Miss any of those three, and it will amaze you how porrly one can shoot.

Many say that a Rail Gun is really no more accurate than a good Sporter, LV, or HV. That might be true, but I can rarely shoot as small of groups on a consistant basis with my Bag Guns as I can my Rail. It might be that all driving errors are eliminated with the Rail.

Good Luck...........jackie
 
Jackie,
You are probably correct about driving errors, but I also think that aiming errors caused by mirage are a big factor. Shooting fast whenever possible is the key to shooting small aggs. When there is mirage with a bag gun you have to take the time to read the mirage between shots. With a rail you can let the bullets fly as long as the flags don't change.
 
Steve,

Using a action for a dual purpose is a good idea. Actually, that is what I have done. If a person wants a dedicated Rail action, the BAT top load is hard to beat. The diamond back drop ports seem to be getting a following.

Also, I've sent you a email.

Hovis
 
BAT Top Load

Steve,
I have two of the BAT 3 lug top load actions and have done really well with it on my rail gun. I bought the second one because I plan to build a second rail and wouldn't use any other action. The top port not only lets you get 10 fired faster but with the right eject the cases roll out into a plastic little box and are out of the way without handling them, very fast and accurate. The blue box Brady uses for his bullets works well with a little cutting and fitting. Tom Dixon from BAT uses one too, if that says anything, he should know a winner.

Call me if you want, but I'd go for one.

Al
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top