juststarting wrote:You have convinced to get one! I hate you. Well, I don't really. I was like 90% there for my range rifle, but now you've just cemented that opinion.
I'm hesitant to state that accuracy with the chassis is better in the centrefires over the original stocks, but only because accuracy has always been so impressive with the Americans (despite what some non Ruger owners here keep saying) making it hard to measure a difference. I put three .204 rounds into 20mm yesterday at 180m though so I think it's definite that accuracy certainly does not deteriorate with the chassis. Ergonomically though I feel like it's easier to shoot them accurately, and I find the pistol grip allows me a finer control over cant as well. I was playing with cant with the .22 at 180m - 600mm holdover _really_ shows up even very slight deviations from a perfectly plumb reticle. I was particularly pleased with the .204 as I've been expecting it to start demanding I scrub the barrel out but it's still shooting very nicely so I'll give it a bit longer yet.
Numrich has cheap AR15 bits, but collapsible stocks might be a problem for customs unless you lodge import permits before ordering. For not much more money though, Brownells.com.au already has the permits in place so they're a good option. I browse the US site for what I want, then load the AU portal and if the items aren't listed I email Bruce and he sorts it out for me
It is certainly viable to just have a single chassis and swap in actions as required, I tried the .204, .243 and 7mm-08 in the one chassis before ordering more of them, but it is nice to have them already set up, although somewhat expensive.
They are set up for Magpul's M-Lok or MOE rail systems which I find fiddly as f***. Since I had to drill and tap standard rails onto the left side of the receivers anyway, I put the same rails under the fore ends as well. Because bolt actions need to remove the bolt out the rear of the receiver, the buffer tube is mounted lower than on an AR15 receiver. This makes it unsuitable to use standard AR15 single-point sling attachments at the buffer tube castle nut as they interfere with your hand. And I find the 22" rifles hang better when slung from just above the trigger.