I thought some of you guys may be interested in seeing and knowing about my first impressions on my new Haverkamp action. Well I think i like it!! The bolt is very very tight. Probably the tightest bolt i have ever felt on a custom action. There cant be .002 play in this darn thing. I hope thats a good thing!! This action is a no frills, all buisness type of action. I know the craftsmanship tom put into making this is second to none. The bolt is smooth, and the firing pin sounds repeatable and very positive. The 20MOA Davidson style rail looks, and fits up to my rings very well. There is a large internal recoil lug area under the action and the back tang is also thickened to help act as a recoil lug. My action is a 308 Bolt face, but the extractor has been modified to eject the ppc case as well. The actions threads are very smooth as well. The trigger hanger is nicely made, and my Jewell trigger fit very well. I dont remember what tom said the hardness of the steel is but it is supposed to be very very hard.
There are a couple things i would have liked to be a bit different, but nothing major. The cut out for the recoil lug on the underneath side of the action goes all the way back to the trigger hanger. I am no expert but maybe it should have stopped a 1/4" before the front of the hanger. If nothing else it would make the bedding job a bit easier. I am sure it wont matter anyway. I wish the bolt face was coned, and i am a bit concerned about the bluing. It seems to be a little fragil. I am going to do some investigation on this as i have already managed to scratch it in a few places and i have only had it for a couple of hours. I dont think it should have done that. Tom did change the bolt release from the original design and i think it looks much better, and it works very well. Overall this action should be a very functional, straight shooting tool! I am happy, and i cant wait to do some more concrete work so i can afford a stock and a bedding job.
I am thinking about doing a HV, PPC or a 6BR or both. I am really having a lot of fun shooting and learning the ppc case and i think it is now my new found obsession. LOL!! Tom is going to chamber my barrel for me sometime next week, so i will keep you all posted on the progress of this build. I do want to say, even though i think the bluing is a bit weak, it is a very attractive dark rich black color. Looks very nice. Oh one more thing. After i broke off a bolt Handel on a rem 700 last year, i have been partial to tig welded bolt handles. this bolt Handel is silver soldered. I wish it were not. However i know Tom Pretty well, and i am sure it is done properly. I know i have been talking a lot about these actions over the last couple months. I just like to see my friends exceed in life. Now that i actually own one, i can still say i think it is a great tool, and i am proud to own it. Enjoy the pics. If there is any other angles you would like to see, just ask me and i will take a few more pics. Lee
There are a couple things i would have liked to be a bit different, but nothing major. The cut out for the recoil lug on the underneath side of the action goes all the way back to the trigger hanger. I am no expert but maybe it should have stopped a 1/4" before the front of the hanger. If nothing else it would make the bedding job a bit easier. I am sure it wont matter anyway. I wish the bolt face was coned, and i am a bit concerned about the bluing. It seems to be a little fragil. I am going to do some investigation on this as i have already managed to scratch it in a few places and i have only had it for a couple of hours. I dont think it should have done that. Tom did change the bolt release from the original design and i think it looks much better, and it works very well. Overall this action should be a very functional, straight shooting tool! I am happy, and i cant wait to do some more concrete work so i can afford a stock and a bedding job.
I am thinking about doing a HV, PPC or a 6BR or both. I am really having a lot of fun shooting and learning the ppc case and i think it is now my new found obsession. LOL!! Tom is going to chamber my barrel for me sometime next week, so i will keep you all posted on the progress of this build. I do want to say, even though i think the bluing is a bit weak, it is a very attractive dark rich black color. Looks very nice. Oh one more thing. After i broke off a bolt Handel on a rem 700 last year, i have been partial to tig welded bolt handles. this bolt Handel is silver soldered. I wish it were not. However i know Tom Pretty well, and i am sure it is done properly. I know i have been talking a lot about these actions over the last couple months. I just like to see my friends exceed in life. Now that i actually own one, i can still say i think it is a great tool, and i am proud to own it. Enjoy the pics. If there is any other angles you would like to see, just ask me and i will take a few more pics. Lee
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