Quote:
Originally Posted by Norwest Alta
Well what is the benefit of a short action? Weight and length of bolt? Is there anything else?
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I'm responding against my better judgment and am not interested in a ****ing match, but here goes...
- Length of bolt which equals length of rifle. This may not matter to everyone, but I would argue that it's a far more significant and quantifiable factor in deciding on a rifle/cartridge combo than many that are frequently cited on internet forums and in gunshops as deal makers/breakers.
- Weight is a big one for many people If you have ever tried to go lightweight you will know that it costs big $$ to cut ounces, the choice of a short action can govw you ounces for free. This is not nothing, don't try to pretend it shouldn't matter just because it doesn't matter to you.
In addition, ammo is lighter for short action cartridges, for people who cut the handle off of their toothbrushes, I'd say that counts.
- Effeciency, less powder burned, etc. This might not matter if you sight in your rifle with 3-5 shots every fall before hunting season, but for people who like to shoot for fun, it's a money saver.
In addition, there's the benefit of reduced recoil with these shorter and more effecient chamberings.
- Muzzle blast and recoil. As above, not a big deal if you sight in and go hunting, but a massive benefit if the rifle will double as a range gun.
Can you get low recoiling long action loads? Of course, but they won't outperform a short action cartridge, and will not share some of the other benefits of a shorter action, so are inherently a compromise solution.
- Scope mounting. A big one for me personally as Inlike to use one piece ringmounts, rather than seperate rings and bases, when at all possible. Can you get offset bases and cantilever rings? Obviously, but they are again, a compromise that is not neccesary with most short action rifles. I have often made scope purchasing decisions around the rifle and mounting system I prefer, in fact, I recently sold a Zeiss Conquest 2-10×42 that at 5.3 inches of tube length, didn't quite fit on a .270 Sako 85.
I will just state here, I am not a 6.5 Creedmoor fanboy by any means, I do own a Ruger Hawkeye Predator so chambered, and I enjoy it's low recoil and accuracy. I don't care if people want to knock the Creed, doesn't bother me in the least if you all hate it, what does bother me are illogical and poorly supported arguments such as, "you will lose game" or "short actions are for sissies who wear rainbow toques and are too weak to cycle a long action". This bothers me because it's lazy, innacurate rhetoric that boils down to "I want to argue against this, so ill just say some things that sound good in my head".
I only jumped into this thread (page 1 or 2 I think) because marky_mark or whoever was saying the 6.5 creed isn't good for hunting deer. That is an absurd statement in my opinion, and I will hold up the ballistically inferior (in factory loads anyways) 6.5×55 as irrefutable evidence of it's effectiveness. If that makes me an emotionally reactive creed fanboy, then so be it.
Now I'm responding to the rather pointlessly ignorant assertion that short actions have no inherent differences from long actions that are noticable to a man healthy enough to brave the outdoors sans his gay pride rainbow toque. I will repeat, this is a stupid argument, doesn't neccesarily make the arguer a stupid person, just bullheaded and obtuse in this instance ;-)
Are short actions superior to live actions? Of course not, as a blanket statement, that would be a ridiculous argument to attempt to defend. Both shprt and lomg actions do however have their various and sundry compromises and triumphs when compared to other cartridges and rifles.
I have more long actions than short actually, and I have never, and never will argue that magnums are for men with smaller plumbing, or that the 6.5 creedmoor is a 600yd elk round, or that a .30 calibre magnum is the minimum for moose, or any other of the various and sundry fallacies you see on internet forums
Live, and let live. Just don't make irrelevant and/or ignorant statements that add nothing useful to the discussion and the world will be a better place.