Question about benchrest actions

[JimSC]

I have noticed most serious benchrest shooters use Turbo's or 2500 actions. There are a few , very few really , that might use a Suhl, Anschutz, Hall, Remington or Cooper action to build their rig. Can anyone explain what makes a Turbo perform more accurately than say a Cooper or Anschutz if both were built using the same brand barrel and trigger then tested in a machine rest in a tunnel ?

I doubt there will ever be enough interest in my area to warrant going into unlimited but was thinking I might pick up a rifle just to have fun with. I figure I could pick up a new VuDoo single shot or a gently used Turbo etc for about the same price but everyone says forget the VuDoo and go for the used Turbo/2500. Just wondering why. Is it the position of the firing pin or the timing or what that makes those two actions so special ? Not trying to start a big fight, or question the status quo, just trying to learn

 

[1Merlin]

Not trying to start a big fight.... Sure you're not.....

 

[USMCDOC]

he said she said mines bigger than yours.. oh boy

 

[Hi-NV Shooter]

I have noticed most serious benchrest shooters use Turbo's or 2500 actions. There are a few , very few really , that might use a Suhl, Anschutz, Hall, Remington or Cooper action to build their rig. Can anyone explain what makes a Turbo perform more accurately than say a Cooper or Anschutz if both were built using the same brand barrel and trigger then tested in a machine rest in a tunnel ?

I doubt there will ever be enough interest in my area to warrant going into unlimited but was thinking I might pick up a rifle just to have fun with. I figure I could pick up a new VuDoo single shot or a gently used Turbo etc for about the same price but everyone says forget the VuDoo and go for the used Turbo/2500. Just wondering why. Is it the position of the firing pin or the timing or what that makes those two actions so special ? Not trying to start a big fight, or question the status quo, just trying to learn

What makes them perform better over others. go to your bathroom and look in the mirror there is your answer. if you took 10 of the top say ARA shooters and had them all shoot the same rifle, be it a Turbo or 2500 the scores would not be the same. the better shooter of the 10 would out score the others and so on down the line.
main reason for the popularity of the Turbo and 2500 is availability and design purpose. they are BR actions.

Lee

 

[Kookie]

I believe the Turbo and 2500x actions took over rimfire benchrest because of availability and ease of use/assembly, i.e. threaded receiver, left loading port, quality triggers readily available, etc. compared to what was previously available. I don’t know much about the Vudoo actions, but Turbo and 2500x actions are already proven to work well and rimfire gunsmiths are familiar with them, so why would you want to go a different route?

 

[JimSC]

Like I said in the OP I am just trying to learn . Thought maybe there might be a ignition advantage between having the firing pin at 6 o'clock instead of at 12 o'clock etc. Maybe firing pin spring strength or having a 2 lug bolt instead of a three lug or something.

I get the shooter skill point and totally agree. As to why go a different route when and if I decide to buy a unlimited gun a lot will depend on what's available at that time. $3500 for a single shot VuDoo with a 6 week build time might be preferable to a 6 to 9 month build time with a $6K price tag or buying a used rifle that could be up for sale because it did not perform.

It's a moot point at this time anyway, maybe next season if we get more unlimited shooters at my local matches but this year I want to focus on factory only. I might start seriously looking in October if I decide I want to go the unlimited route. Until then I just want to soak up as much knowledge as I can

 

[Hi-NV Shooter]

Like I said in the OP I am just trying to learn . Thought maybe there might be a ignition advantage between having the firing pin at 6 o'clock instead of at 12 o'clock etc. Maybe firing pin spring strength or having a 2 lug bolt instead of a three lug or something.

I get the shooter skill point and totally agree. As to why go a different route when and if I decide to buy a unlimited gun a lot will depend on what's available at that time. $3500 for a single shot VuDoo with a 6 week build time might be preferable to a 6 to 9 month build time with a $6K price tag or buying a used rifle that could be up for sale because it did not perform.

It's a moot point at this time anyway, maybe next season if we get more unlimited shooters at my local matches but this year I want to focus on factory only. I might start seriously looking in October if I decide I want to go the unlimited route. Until then I just want to soak up as much knowledge as I can

I only shoot at the club level both unsanctioned RBA (similar to iR50) and sanctioned ARA for that I travel to AZ where friends run the matches. I had 3 custom Falcons at one time and sold them all I shoot a 58-year-old match 54 Anschutz put together with parts and a benchmark barrel I have been competitive with it. I have about $1500-1600 in it.
I also have a H&R M12 I put together for BR and actually won my very first ARA UL match with it. I have even less of an investment with that rifle. my point you don't have to spend a lot of money to be competitive.

Lee
P.S
there is a 10X3L for sale at RFC I know the seller he is a good guy he had one of my Falcons and won his first ARA UL with it. under $3000

 

[linekin]

Kookie nailed it, look no further into it than that. 2500's need almost 0 done to them & Turbo's, from what I've found, is minimal. That & their still in business.

 

[Tad_Earhart]

The short answer is the customs (turbo/holeshot) are just easier in about every aspect. There are a bunch of little things that go into it but there is the basic answer. Another thing to consider is for the most part, the customs are a much stiffer action than the other factory type actions you listed as well. It may or may not be benificial but if it is a chance that it is, why not help stack a couple more odds in your favor? Plenty of odds out of the shooters favor from the onset.

 

[butchlambert]

Have you tried to contact Turbo and visited with them. I did and bought a 2500X. I think you get the point.

 

[JimSC]

Thanks for the advice all. I looked around a bit and found a deal on a match winning (club level) Remington 40X for a good price that will work as a good beginner rifle. If it looks like I have some talent and later on I decide to get a custom built later on I will certainly remember this conversation I will have it built on a Turbo action

 

[TRSR8]

I only shoot at the club level both unsanctioned RBA (similar to iR50) and sanctioned ARA for that I travel to AZ where friends run the matches. I had 3 custom Falcons at one time and sold them all I shoot a 58-year-old match 54 Anschutz put together with parts and a benchmark barrel I have been competitive with it. I have about $1500-1600 in it.
I also have a H&R M12 I put together for BR and actually won my very first ARA UL match with it. I have even less of an investment with that rifle. my point you don't have to spend a lot of money to be competitive.

Lee
P.S
there is a 10X3L for sale at RFC I know the seller he is a good guy he had one of my Falcons and won his first ARA UL with it. under $3000

Hey, Lee, I asked over there who built it. You have any idea?

 

[Hi-NV Shooter]

Hey, Lee, I asked over there who built it. You have any idea?

If you are asking about the 10X I can email the seller I know him. his name is Glenn.

Lee

 

[USMCDOC]

Have you tried to contact Turbo and visited with them. I did and bought a 2500X. I think you get the point.

you talked to the wrong person.. Jason Frymier is the person you should have talked to..

 

[Hi-NV Shooter]

Hey, Lee, I asked over there who built it. You have any idea?

Gorham, FYI the seller is starting to get cold feet and may pull it off the market. he is only selling because he has a Trident.

Lee

 

[flatlander]

The first 22RF rifle I built for myself was based on a Stiller 2500XR action, but I was wanting a trainer for my tactical/practical CF rifles. The Stiller action was a dandy, even though it was a repeater as opposed to a single shot for BR use. Jerry has put a lot of thought into designing his line of 2500 actions, and they're popular among BR shooters.

I later sold the 2500XR rifle to another friend who was shooting some tactical/practical 22RF matches with us, after I'd sent a couple of CMP 40X actions off to Jonathan Elrod for the conversion into repeaters using the Vudoo 10rd magazines. I really enjoyed shooting those 40X/XB conversion repeaters in matches, but got to yearning for a V22 action after they became available, so sold the 40X repeater, and built myself a V22 with a Krieger bbl. One thing lead to another, and there are now four V22 repeaters (including a Three-60 model) in the closet, and I'm very pleased with all of them. So when VGW announced the availability of their new single shot action, I decided to try one for a rifle that I planned to use in both 22RF BR & F-class smallbore prone. I liked this rifle so much that I ordered in another V22S action, and had Doan Trevor build a very nice prone stock out of an English walnut blank, to be used for smallbore prone. I believe these actions have a lot of potential, and have been watching for feedback from guys who're shooting them in all three of the match formats that I mentioned. As time goes on, I expect to see more experienced 22RF BR shooters trying these actions

 

[TRSR8]

I would not hold my breath waiting for wide acceptance with the RFBR crowd. The biggest issue is there is little appetite for that big tenon requiring a barrel stepddown or a bushing.
Evelio Macdonald has built a few BR guns and has commented that after several hundred rounds, a fairly sharp and unexplained accuracy falloff. This, some time back and then heard nothing. Would love to hear if there was a solution.

 

[mudduck]

I would not hold my breath waiting for wide acceptance with the RFBR crowd. The biggest issue is there is little appetite for that big tenon requiring a barrel stepddown or a bushing.
Evelio Macdonald has built a few BR guns and has commented that after several hundred rounds, a fairly sharp and unexplained accuracy falloff. This, some time back and then heard nothing. Would love to hear if there was a solution.

There’s plenty of ara shooters shooting big tenon action. Some even with a large tenon barrels down to 3/4 tenon receivers.

 

[TRSR8]

There’s plenty of ara shooters shooting big tenon action. Some even with a large tenon barrels down to 3/4 tenon receivers.

You mean 40X holdouts? Fewer and fewer over time, fewer still lined up to build one. Quite a few smiths won’t even touch one.
Name me one solitary gunsmith that’s built a top contender on one in recent memory?
Large tenon barrels down to 3/4” tenon receivers? I assume you mean .900”+or -.

 

[Todd Earhart]

All of our rifles are large tenon no matter what thread size.
Todd