I see folks get all worked-up about their actions, & everyone seems to think one particularattribute is more important thanall others. It's just that no one can agree on what that oneattribute is. I hear about strong actions,and smooth actions, and reliable actions, and safe actions, and... Thus far, I've just been content if the gun went "bang" when I squeezed the trigger.

I've heardwonderful remarks about Weatherby Mark V actions, but the ones I'vetried this week felt fairly sloppy when I cycled the bolt, and the short bolt throw didn't make me all weak-kneed. I've heard good things about Rugers, but that bolt seemed especially wobbly during cycling. I've handled Savages, & they seemed sloppy/wobbly, too. I've got a Remington 700, & it seems OK: nothing special.

I suppose that in the grand scheme o' things, what the bolt feels like when it's traveling back & forthdoesn't matter nearly as much as how well the thing locks up when you put the handle down. Still, I wonder if there's something... more.

When I was growing up, my fathershot a 7x57 custom Mauser, & that's the only rifle he had. So, my notion of a bolt action rifle was that the bolt should move forward and backward like it was gliding on perfectly trued rails. The bolt should feel so effortlessly urged on that it seems as ifit's simply willed to do so by the shooter. The bolt should track laser-straight,never deviating even in the slightestinthe absolutely silent journey along it's North-South path. Yeah, well...I haven't felt anything remotely like that rifle since I left home.

I hadn't tried any other centerfires growing up, so I shouldn't have known whether it was good, bad, ugly, or indifferent. Still, when I handled that rifle, I knew that it was something special. I felt like I was working with a precision instrument.

Was that wonderful feeling due to the type ofactionthat my father's riflehad? Was it due to the specific rifle he had, that it had perhapsbeen breathed on, caressed, and lovingly fondledby weathered & wisened craftsmen? Was that just how all rifles were built in the 1920's?

I'm sure we could all argue ourselves into a big hole as to whether or not it matters. A $200-ish Stevens 200 will print tiny groups and kill animals as dead as they can possibly get. So I'm trying to avoid having thisthread go down that road.

I guess I'd just like to know, "do they build 'em like that anymore"? And if so, where would I find one?

Rambling on as usual,

FC