Ultralight action

G

gordon gauge

Guest
Some few years back I got an Ultralight Sporter from Bill Myers (the infamous "pink gun") and that gun shot really good but our group went ARA so in a fit of stupidity I sold it.

Now, thinking back I am wondering how that action would be in a 10.5 or Unlimited gun. Do they make a single shot? Or just repeaters.

Seems like they were considerable less expensive than the other name brands, but that action was a beauty to behold and finely machined.

What am I missing here? Or is the Ultralight a viable alternative. Thanks.


p.s. did a search and found the website for ULA. They will build you a benchrest .22 rimfire in a BR stock with choice of barrel for a little over $1,400. Am I reading that right???
 
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ULA Actions

Gordon, I have two ULA BR guns, one Sporter, and one 10.5lb gun, and they both shoot great. I got mine built by Chad Turner of Parkersburg, WV. and he does excellent, quality work. Both have Jewel triggers, Lilja barrels, and Don Stith stocks that are as close to being twins as Don could make them. Not sure which barrels Melvin is using now to build his BR version, used to be Douglas if I am not mistaken, and I know he will install a Jewel trigger for you. Been shooting mine for 4 seasons now and have had no major problems other than the Jewel trigger on the sporter broke a spring and had to be replaced. Melvin also offers both RB/RP and a RB/LP version of his actions and sometimes I wish I had waited to get the RB/LP version, but you know how good "hindsight" is! Both guns are a pleasure to shoot, easy to load, smooth operation, and quite forgiving. And, most of all, both guns will outshoot the "nut behind the butt", however I'm working on that! I know that there are a lot of them being shot thru out the Southeast and I personally have not heard a bunch of complaints. Hope this helps some.
 
Gordon I have two of them myself, good little actions but the one problem I had with it was the thread size so I ordered my second with a 3/4-16 tpi. And I got rid of the recoil lug by milling a slot I the action itself. Nice little action. It could use a little more closing cam but still a very workable action.

Also watch the firing pin set screw they like to work themselves loose every now and again. A little loctite will fix that though.

Best,

Roger
 
I may be wrong, but I think the stock they supply is a carbon fiber product. Would that be legal in the sporter division? They sure look like a nice gun.

Mike
 
Not looking for a Sporter though. I'm interested in an Unlimited or a 10.5 gun with all the trimmings utilizing an ULA action. I swear, that ULA Sporter that I got from Bill Myers was one of the best and most accurate rimfire rifles that I have ever shot or seen out here on the Left Coast. I was a damn fool to sell it, and now want to know if that action would hold up to a Turbo or Hall or squared up 40x in the heavy classes. Thanks in advance for your consideration of this question. GG


p.s. thanks Roger that is indeed helpful :)


p.s.s. I don't have Bill Myers phone number anymore - the one I have in my phone book ends up at Winchester Shooting or some such. Can you provide your number Bill so I can talk to you about building such a gun? Or is it a total hair-brain idea?
 
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Gordon: Sorry I did not read your post completely. Guess I have sporters on the brain.

Fiddler: Thanks for the info. I thought I had read that somewhere in the sporter rules.
 
Some shooters that I admire have informed me that this is a hair brained idea so I will continue to fill the piggy bank with the goal being a Turbo. Thanks, JH
 
William Smith said:
.................and have had no major problems other than the Jewel trigger on the sporter broke a spring and had to be replaced. .................
Click to expand...

For some reason the ULA actions and Jewell triggers seem to have a problem. Before I sold my ULA, mine broke the springs twice in the Jewell trigger and 3 others here that shoot them also have the same issue. It seems to last about a year before you start to notice the problem coming back. Mel reprofiled the bolt as in a conversation between Jewell and him they said the way he cut the firing pin angle put to much pressure firing pin block on the Jewell trigger. Just yesterday my friends ULA with a Jewell failed for the third time. This time Mel is reprofiling the bolt and selling him a Timney trigger which he says he has no problems with... Not sure if it's the Jewells or the ULA bolt design, but the last thing you need is a broken trigger in a match. Personally I like the Jewells over the Timney.
 
Well Bob259, here we are 30 months after the first post on the ULA actions and their worth as a BR capable action. I still shoot mine with confidence and have had no additional problems since the first and only spring broke in the Jewel trigger for the sporter. The trigger for the heavy gun has never failed me and I have it set down to just a tad over 1.5 oz for pull. First, let me say that I have never shot any BR gun with a Timney trigger so I can't do any comparison judgement. I have since also procured another ULA sporter, RB/LP, with a Jewel trigger and it also performs without problems. I think the situation concerning the breakage of trigger springs could be attributed to many other malfunctions that could have occured causing the trigger to fail as a final result and this failure may not be attributed to the action as a whole. It's a piece of machinery and failures do occur from time to time, no matter if it is a Rolls Royce, or a Turbo.
Gordon, I think that you are now down to the point of choosing which action you want to build a gun on and now it's up to "Personal Preference". The only advice I can offer is that you are the one who is going to be pulling the trigger, and you are the one who is going to have to maintain the gun in it's shooting career, and therefore you are the one that the gun has to please in the long run. I wish you the best in whatever action you choose and I hope that it performs to all of your expectations. Shoot often, shoot well and keep them in the "X" ring. Thumper
 
Some may have read this before

In my 11.5 years of CF BR shooting I have seen only 11 Jewell triggers fail and 0 other brands. I have several Jewells but prefer the Shilen. Never seen one of em break.
 
Pete,
The trigger that has been referred to, has had this problem on some sporters with the bottom safety. The fix is simple and the problem has been known by the maker for sometime now. They, I guess, would rather replace springs rather than retool or make a slight change in design. I've had one break and I put the fix on another one I had on a second sporter that I have. Got a replacement spring for the first and put the fix on it before reinstalling on the first sporter. Probems solved, no more failures!
 
Fiddler said:
Pete,
The trigger that has been referred to, has had this problem on some sporters with the bottom safety. The fix is simple and the problem has been known by the maker for sometime now. They, I guess, would rather replace springs rather than retool or make a slight change in design. I've had one break and I put the fix on another one I had on a second sporter that I have. Got a replacement spring for the first and put the fix on it before reinstalling on the first sporter. Probems solved, no more failures!
Click to expand...

Steve, can you tell me the fix... I have a broken one now that I need to get fixed.
 
Fiddler said:
Pete,
The trigger that has been referred to, has had this problem on some sporters with the bottom safety. The fix is simple and the problem has been known by the maker for sometime now. They, I guess, would rather replace springs rather than retool or make a slight change in design. I've had one break and I put the fix on another one I had on a second sporter that I have. Got a replacement spring for the first and put the fix on it before reinstalling on the first sporter. Probems solved, no more failures!
Click to expand...
I am convinced the problem is with the trigger and not the action. I had the same problem with a bottom safety Jewell on a Sako Finnfire. Have had several ULA's with either top safety or no safety and never had a problem with the triggers or the actions
Don
 
Don is correct, it's not the action. It's a slight design flaw in the trigger it's self. A while back (3yrs ago) there bout, a shooter that I know had the same problem with his sporter and thought for sure it was the action. After many dollars later it was proven that it was in the trigger. Bob259, I'll be in touch! Just to be clear, in no way am I knocking this makers triggers, since I have them on 8 of my guns and love them. The one with the bottom safety has the slight flaw on some guns.
 
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