What would be the value of a Wichita 1375 action with ppc boltface? Is the Wichita 1375 a decent action for building something like a 30 br rifle with? They don't have any recoil lug on the round action and I was wondering if it can be used without a recoil lug? I really wasn't wanting to glue it in a stock and was wondering if it could be used with a lug something like on a remington rifle. Thanks in advance for any help.
Pretty much worthless, so send it to me so I can dispose of it.
Seriously, I seem to recall an unused action that sat on GunBroker for a long time at around $850 with no bids, so that must be more than it is worth. The Wichita seems to be a good enough starter action for benchrest competition. You hear this all the time, but my Wichita 30BR seems to be capable of shooting better than I can aim it. If you do a search on this site, you will find a long thread on the advantages and disadvantages of three-lug actions. The steep cocking ramp is something that is noticeable relative to a two-lug. It takes more force to lift the bolt, which may upset the gun in the bags. The ramp can be tuned up, but is unlikely to ever be as smooth as a two-lug. The bolt handle is short on the Wichita compared to most BR actions manufactured today, which also increases the bolt lift force. Pressing down on the bolt shroud while lifting the bolt helps. Lightening the spring helps, but you can get in trouble with too light a spring. You may also have to hold the buttstock to keep from rocking the gun during bolt lift.
On the other hand, three points define a plane, while two points define the fulcrum of a rocker. This may be the greatest perceived advantage of a three-lug action, however in practice, the benefit is debatable.
The biggest disadvantage of the Wichita is that, so far as I know, they were only available in right bolt right port and left bolt left port.
(***Wrong, see the following posts.***) This makes loading and shooting quickly difficult.
You can certainly glue it in without a recoil lug, but I would recommend a lug for screw-in. You may get other opinions from those on this site with more expertise than me, but the accuracy benefits of glue-in seem to be pretty clearly established. It's not a big deal to pop the action out of a glue-in if and when you need to, so why do anything else? You do want your gun to be as accurate as it can be, right?
Hope this helps,
Keith
