Bat Vampire 7 saum build

[Alex Wheeler]

These are still pretty new so I thought some one may want to see how they turn out. This rifle wasn't meant to be ultralight, just a medium weight that carries and shoots well. Heavy enough to not need a brake in a medium caliber good for just about anything with in reasonable range.

These actions are really cool, aluminum body with a steel insert like a Panda. The teflon coating makes them smoother than a steel action in my opinion. The timing is spot on right out of the box with the Jewell, and there is plenty of firing pin fall and energy. They come inletted for a cfe-9 Wyatts box but I made a spacer and used a standard length cfe box for the saum case. After some tuning of the box and spring it feeds like butter. I bedded it into a McMillan game warden max (now discontinued), its a carbon shell with a version of edge fill that will take any caliber. It weighed in about 28 oz. These actions do have a lot of places to trap air pockets, so they are a little trickier to bed. I used a #5 Lilja 8 twist 3 groove barrel cut to 26". The bullet of choice is the 175 LRAB which should need at least an 8.5 twist to really shoot its best. Overall it weighed in right at 7.5 pounds.

 

[Ledd Slinger]

Very nice

That would definitely be really hard to keep air pockets out of that area where the top of the screw thread post meets the flat bottom of the action. Great job on the bedding.

 

[jkohler]

Very nice Alex. I just received my two vampires they are very nice actions. Now I just have to figure out how to make them feed a 280ai case with a center feed box.

 

[Jud96]

Beautiful work as always Alex. Looks like another great action option.

 

[Alex Wheeler]

Very nice Alex. I just received my two vampires they are very nice actions. Now I just have to figure out how to make them feed a 280ai case with a center feed box.

That may be tricky, the cfe is for magnums. Id fit the feed lips first and if the round is too low cut the top of the box down, then make up a spacer to hold it up. The simple solution would be a mbe box and stagger feed.

 

[STOMP442]

Beautiful rig.

 

[jkohler]

That may be tricky, the cfe is for magnums. Id fit the feed lips first and if the round is too low cut the top of the box down, then make up a spacer to hold it up. The simple solution would be a mbe box and stagger feed.

Ya it sounds like more work than it’s worth. I talked to Kevin about it he said if I installed a insert to make the box narrower and worked over the follower it would work.

 

[Alex Wheeler]

Thats right, the smaller diameter rounds will bind in that wide of a box. Id say to avoid it. Even though the saum does need a little work to make feed, its still easier than that. I like my 280ai but if I did it over Id go saum. Ballisticly about equal. And better components.

 

[284winner]

These are still pretty new so I thought some one may want to see how they turn out. This rifle wasn't meant to be ultralight, just a medium weight that carries and shoots well. Heavy enough to not need a brake in a medium caliber good for just about anything with in reasonable range.

These actions really cool, aluminum body with a steel insert like a Panda. The teflon coating make them smooter than a steel action in my opinion. The timing is spot on right out of the box with the Jewell, and there is plenty of firing pin fall and energy. They come inletted for a cfe-9 wyatts box but I made a spacer and used a standard length cfe box for the saum case. After some tuning of the box and spring it feeds like butter. I bedded it into a McMillan game warden max (now discontinued), its a carbon shell with a version of edge fill that will take any caliber. It weighed in about 28 oz. These actions do have a lot of places to trap air pockets, so they are a little trickier to bed. I used a #5 Lilja 8 twist 3 groove barrel cut to 26". The bullet of choice is the 175 LRAB which should need at least an 8.5 twist to really shoot its best. Overall it weighed in right at 7.5 pounds. View attachment 1259881View attachment 1259882View attachment 1259883View attachment 1259884View attachment 1259900View attachment 1259901

Talked to BAT. 7-9 months on a Vampire action. Called bullet central, out of stock. I wish you didn't post these pics. Now I'm gonna be waiting 7-9 months for one of these. I have a love hate relationship with this forum.

 

[Alex Wheeler]

Talked to BAT. 7-9 months on a Vampire action. Called bullet central, out of stock. I wish you didn't post these pics. Now I'm gonna be waiting 7-9 months for one of these. I have a love hate relationship with this forum.

Trust me, I know. I don't get any preferential treatment, my wait times have gone up without notice too. On every part I use, barrels, actions, stocks. Makes it really hard to plan. Despite of that I still can't help but give credit where its due when they make good stuff.

 

[jkohler]

I was very surprised. I got both my vampires in two months from BAT and one of them is a left hand. I just about craped when they called.

 

[Alex Wheeler]

Ok, you get to order all my actions for me LOL.

 

[284winner]

Trust me, I know. I don't get any preferential treatment, my wait times tripled without notice too. Makes it really hard to plan. Despite of that I still can't help but give credit where its due when they make good stuff.

No argument there. Just thought I'd swap out my plan to use a trued Rem 700 LA action for the Vampire. Got it to around 1lb 15oz. Skeletonized the bolt handle and action body, aluminum knob and fluted body. Seemed to help but nothing close to the Vampire. I'll get one on order.

 

[Taylor Stratton]

Something I’ve been wondering about on these actions and others similar are why the posts where the action screws go? I was taught (which may be wrong) that any parallel opposing surfaces need to be relieved in bedding. If you have a recoil lug and two more posts that seems like a lot of extra real estate to bed that could cause stress?? Similar to why you’d tape off or relieve the back of the tang on a BR action? Just trying to be educated.

 

[Ledd Slinger]

I just picked up my first BAT action last week. It’s a LiFe treated HR model with Lapua bolt so kind of off topic, but it’s one amazing piece of machinery. Mounted up a BnA TacSport Pro trigger I had laying on the shelf and it was perfectly timed. I mean DEAD NUTS PERFECT!
Crazy smooth bolt operation even on the upward cocking stroke and absolutely zero cock on close. Pin fall measured out at .244”. Never felt an action with everything so perfectly timed from the cocking ramp, to the bolt lug abutment ramp, and trigger sear all at the same time. No possible way to make it any more perfect than the way it comes right out of the box. I’ve had Defiance, Kelby, and many factory actions that I’ve timed as good as you can get them. While some others are very nice, this BAT is on a whole ‘nother level. Haven’t put a barrel on and shot it yet but I can already tell I’m hooked

 

[Alex Wheeler]

The posts are there to give more thread engagement since your threading into aluminum. I have seen nothing negative about bedding parts of an action like that. Actions with an xp cut have opposing surfaces, Neuvos have 2 square cuts similar to an xp cut, Stiller vipers had a course fly cut along the entire length of the action that locked into the bedding the whole length of the action. There are many examples of actions that do have more than one registering surface that hold records. In fact a couple current agg records in lr br are held by such a set up. One of the most consistent rifles I have seen was a Panda with 2 recoil surfaces. You would be doing no harm by taping off all those surfaces but consider the friction between the bedding and action body where the screw goes through. If I relieved around that boss, what would I achieve? Its not like its going to move so long as the screw is tight. Mentally I would prefer a single surface, but in reality I cant argue with what has worked.