Stiff Receivers

[Bart B.]

What box magazine receiver is the stiffest?

Bends the least from the weight of a given free floating barrel.

[FrankenMauser]

1918 BAR

[HiBC]

My correct answer is "I don't know"

I'll assume this is about commercial,common receivers,

It COULD be a surprise dark horse like a 788 Remington.

I'll hunch guess an M-70 Win. No,I can't back it up. There is a substantial amount of steel in the flat floor of the receiver going up to the integral recoil lug.

That may beat a piece of pipe with windows cut in it.

Honorable mention might go to a Ruger 77. They are at least fairly massive.

Frankenmauser may have a point there.

Happy Birthday, John Moses!

[Bart B.]

Originally Posted by FrankenMauser

1918 BAR

That's a detachable magazine rifle.

[ballardw]

Originally Posted by Bart B.

That's a detachable magazine rifle.

Wouldn't that be "detachable box magazine rifle"? Not explicitly excluded in the way the original question is asked.

[BornFighting88]

My vote is for Win-70 or FrankenMauser. Integral recoil lug, fat flat floor, lots of metal there.

The Rem700 is 4140 series steel, with only the necessary bits removed, and that is tough stuff. The only thing about those, is that the recoil lug sometimes isn’t integral. While welded on, welding sometimes removes stiffness and can induce hardness (brittle vs stiff).

That said, I have yet to see one fail with proper use.

[Scorch]

Typically, stiffer receivers have small ejection ports. For a really stiff receiver, I would look at the BAT or a Panda since they are actually built for benchrest where stiffness is a necessity.

[std7mag]

From a commercial standpoint, i might think something tubular with just the needed ports cut into it. Like a Tikka, or Savage Axis action.

Otherwise, i'd say a custom action of the same design. Kelby and the such.

[FrankenMauser]

Makes me wonder if something like a BLR receiver is stiffer than a tubular bolt action receiver.

That's a detachable magazine rifle.

Indeed. A detachable *box* magazine rifle.
The question was vague.

[HiBC]

I'll agree the question is rather vague. I also think the question is more about inspiring a thoughtful discussion than finding out who knows the answer to a trivia question.

Are we including exotic custom bench rest actions? I don't know much about those. Most are single shots.
Heat treat condition matters. Nesika Bay wire EDM's the receiver out of pre-hardened stock. I don't know if that matters.

The tubular receives like the Savage and Remington.... A tube is rigid till its not a tube. Cross section (for example) a Rem 700 through the mag box area and I think you will find the right hand rail and the left hand rail do not have that much steel in them.What is left is not a particularly rigid geometric structure.
Maybe thats why sleeving those actions is one method to stiffen them.
An XP-100 or 40-X single shot leave a lot more of the tube.

I lean toward the flat bottom receivers like the M-70 an Ruger.
Given the right chassis or stock, that might "splint" some rigidity into the assembly.

Locking lug recesses remove a lot of steel. Rear lug receivers offer other problems,But its possible in theory there might be some rigidity there. That explains my Rem 788 reference.

HMMM. The Weatherby Mark V might mitigate that some. Bolt body dia locking lugs.

As I recall the CZ 550 might add a rectangular "frame " of steel beneath the receiver...a perimeter for the mag box. Maybe. Maybe not.

There is that French military bolt gun where the mag box sides are integral...That would be rigid.


Obviously the truth would be found via testing. Hanging weights and measuring deflection would be a start...but the live dynamics of firing might show some crazy stuff.

Fun question. I'm assuming a stainless steel Tubbs type receiver would be DQ'd if the 1918 BAR is.

[Nathan]

I’m not sure, but I’d bet BAT Machine makes it!

[Lavan]

Howa looks stiff.
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