Long or Short?

[JimBoIHN]

I see references to SHORT actions, as if all actions are either long or short. Seems like they would be everything in between. Do the gun makers stick to some industry standards re actions?

 

[Johnboy]

well you have cals like a 223-308 ( short action ) then you have 25/05-300wm ( long action ) this is why you have both short and long.now you can with the right bolt size use a long action for a choice of cal.( say 308 )will it hurt anything NO.for the most part it will allow the shooter to load bullets really long for longer/heavier bullets.matter of fact or US Army snipers are useing on the M24 Long actions chambered in a 308.but now when the 308 has been shoot out they are rechambering/rebarreling to a 300wm.along with opening the bolt face up to fit a 300wm.

so this is why we have both

 

[rscott5028]

If you try to run a cartridge that's normally long action (e.g. 30-06, 270) in a short action, you will have to single feed because they won't fit in the magazine and won't eject cleanly.

Like the above post states, you can technically run a short action cartridge (e.g. 308, 223) in a long action. Also as pointed out, ther are times when that makes sense.

A short action weighs a little less and is generally stiffer because it's the same diameter/thickness, only shorter. So, that often comes into play depending on your requirements.

There are some mfgs that do sort of have in-betweeners. But, I can't list them accurately so I won't try.

In any case, it's mostly not meaningful to cross compare since a Rem 700 bolt short or long win't fit a Winchester action anyways.

-- richard