Bolt-Action Rifles of the 20th Century

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Bolt-Action Rifles of the 20th Century

By Rick Jamison, Reloading/Rifles Editor, Shooting Times.

If you had to pick just one rifle as the top centerfire bolt action of the 20th century, what would it be? Here’s what Rick has to say on the subject.

aming the best centerfire bolt-action rifle of the 20th century requires a lot of thought and consideration because there are so many good rifles that have come along during the last 100 years. The better ones are still being made. One of the questions I am asked most often is which bolt-action rifle is best. A gun buyer’s usual dilemma concerns the popular rifles—Winchester, Ruger, Savage, Marlin, Weatherby, Browning, Remington, etc. My answer is that they’re all good. All modern bolt rifles function reliably, any of them will last for generations, and nearly all of them give acceptable hunting accuracy. A person would do well to simply pick a rifle he likes and feels comfortable with in an appropriate chambering at a price he wants to pay. Do this and you won’t go wrong with any of the popular bolt-action rifles made in America today.

It is possible that a rifle may not shoot as well as you would like. You can get a poor-shooting rifle in any brand, but you can also get a tackdriver in any brand. Accuracy, that nebulous factor which is so important, is also elusive, and it’s an individual thing. A rifle will either shoot or it won’t with a particular load, and I have not yet met a shooter or gunsmith who can tell you why and can always make a poor-shooting rifle shoot well. This factor of really getting a handle on accuracy and making every production rifle shoot well continues to elude us into the 21st century.

Aesthetics is another of those inexact variables. While shooters want a rifle that looks handsome, or right, it means different things to different people. And there are so many different variations in rifles—a blued barrel or stainless, synthetic stock or wood, long barrel or short, heavy or light, and on it goes. These are some of the reasons why I think a shooter can only decide for himself which rifle is right for him.

Like most shooters, I have preferences or biases regarding various aspects or functioning parts of rifles. While the designs of nearly all bolt rifles of this century are influenced by, and in fact are variations on, a rifle from the 19th century—the Mauser, with its turnbolt locking lugs—those variations are significant in many respects. Perhaps it would be best for me to start with what I think are the best of the best features. There is not room here to discuss all the various design aspects, but I will cover the major parts of a rifle, one at a time. I’ll make it quick and won’t mince words. Following that, I will name my candidate for the best rifles overall of the 20th century. I say rifles because I think a rifle that is affordable to most hunters is in a different category than when cost is no object.

Bolt Locking System
The heart of any bolt-action rifle is the locking system, and I like the front- locking designs. The two-lug approach is as good as any. You can reduce bolt handle lift by making three lugs, but the two-lug design is almost universal. It’s simple, and I like it. Some makers have machined multiple smaller lugs from a full-lug-diameter bolt body, and this reduces the machining time and effort and possibly encourages smoother bolt travel by virtue of the larger bolt body, but it makes for a heavier bolt and receiver. I like the traditional larger-than-bolt-body dual locking lugs.

The big-lug rifles include nearly all of today’s popular ones—the Remington Model 700 series, the Savage 110 series, the Winchester Model 70, the Ruger Model 77, the Marlin MR-7, the older Sako, the Howa, and others.

Ideally, the bolt design would include some feature to prevent the striker from dropping unless the lugs are turned fully into locked position. This feature should work even in the event of a failed safety or sear.

Extractor
I like a claw extractor for its controlled feed. With it, a round is under control from the moment the rim pops up out of the magazine box, unlike push-feed designs where the round is free to move and rattle about. The claw extractor also makes for a straight shot at the chamber as the round is held to the boltface and in line with the barrel by the claw. An open boltface is required with a claw extractor and controlled feed. A rim of steel around the boltface is not compatible with this system.

Ejector
I like a standing ejector. With a claw extractor and standing ejector a round rests in the chamber without any side-cocking tension on it as there is with a spring-loaded plunger ejector. When the round is extracted from the chamber, the standing ejector system allows it to be pulled straight out without dragging on the inside of the chamber and receiver ring as it does with a plunger ejector. A standing ejector, which is stationary, has few parts. In my experience, a plunger ejector can become stuck in its boltface recess from grit while a standing ejector has not given me a single problem.

Another thing about the standing ejector is that the ejection force is controlled by the user withdrawing the bolt handle. The bolt can be withdrawn with force so that the round is flicked several yards from the shooter, or the bolt can be eased back to gently tip the round out of the rifle where it can be grabbed for reloading. A plunger ejector ejects with the same force, regardless of the shooter’s desires or how the bolt is worked.