March 16, 2011
By Joseph von Benedikt
Originally designed by Glen Harrison, a serious benchrest shooter who at the time lived on Nesika Bay (near Puget Sound), Nesika actions are built from 15-4 vacuum arc remelt PH stainless steel.
By Joseph von Benedikt
I confess that prior to learning of the Freedom Group's acquisition of Dakota Arms, which holds the rights to the Nesika Bay line of actions, I'd never heard of a Nesika rifle--exactly. I had read about Kyle Brown's world-record, 10-shot, 1,000-yard benchrest group. It measured 4.2278 inches and was fired using a rifle built on a Nesika action.
Originally designed by Glen Harrison, a serious benchrest shooter who at the time lived on Nesika Bay (near Puget Sound), Nesika actions are built from 15-4 vacuum arc remelt PH stainless steel. It's a strong, warp-free, rust-resistant material. The bolt is a two-lug design machined from heat-treated 4340 steel hardened to Rockwell C-38. The bolt handle is integral to the bolt body, although the knob itself is screwed on, allowing different contours of knob (teardrop, round, and so on). The lug raceways are wire EDM cut, a method enabling particularly precise tolerances. The sleek bolt shroud is nicely made of aluminum, and in the event of a case rupture, gas is vented via two small holes on the left side of the bolt just aft of the locking lugs. Extraction and ejection is achieved via a Sako-type claw and Remington-type plunger.
Advertisement
There are several variations of the action, including square-bottom and round, single-shot and repeater, and of course, sizes to accommodate different-size cartridges. Being a benchrest dabbler at best, I'm less familiar with Nesika actions built for competition than those adapted to hunting. Interestingly, and showing great savvy on Nesika's part, said hunting actions are round-bottomed and approximate the footprint of a Remington Model 700 action, allowing a capable gunsmith to easily fit custom projects on Nesika actions to stocks built for Remington 700s. They also accept Remington bottom metal and aftermarket match triggers made for 700s, so those desiring to build a custom rifle on a Nesika action have a plethora of options.www.riflebarrels.com ), from which I've drawn some of the information included above, with Dan's permission.
Joseph von Benedikt
Raised in a tiny Rocky Mountain town 100 miles from a stoplight or supermarket, Joseph von Benedikt began shooting competitively at age 14, gunsmithing at age 21, and guiding big game hunters professionally at age 23. While studying creative writing at the university he began publishing articles about firearms and hunting in nationally distributed magazines, as well as works of short fiction about ranch life. An editorial job offer presented an open door into the industry, along with an eye-opening two years stationed in the Petersen Publishing building in Los Angeles.
A position serving as Editor in Chief of Shooting Times magazine took von Benedikt and his young family to Illinois for four years. Homesick for the great Rocky Mountains, von Benedikt swapped his editorial seat for a position as a full-time writer and moved home to the West, where he's been writing full-time ever since, along with hosting the Backcountry Hunting Podcast.
Favorite pursuits include high-country elk and mule deer hunting, safaris in Africa, deep wilderness hunts in Alaska, and wandering old-growth forest in Europe for stag, roebuck, and wild boar.
Full Bio + |
See more articles from Joseph von Benedikt
