Heym SR20
Well-Known Member
In answer to the various questions on why break actions are much more expensive than bolt actions, its because they are more complicated to make and require a high degree of hand fitting.
A bolt action rifle is basically a series of machined tubes screwed together. The critical dimension is the headspace which is a combination of lugs, how the barrel is screwed into the reciever and depth of chamber. Many manufacturing plants take barrelled receivers and then using go and no-go gauges choose a bolt that gives correct headspace. Stocks are simple inletting of a moulding, or if wood, a machine routing. Hand work will simple assembly, fitting and final adjustment. Any heat treatment is pretty much uniform throughout a single part, and there is the space to increase the size of a part to give strength, rather than using expensive high quality tool steel tempered carefully.
With a break action you have many different parts all coming together in different planes. These all require a high degree of hand fitting to give a perfect lock up. Yes modern factories and designs have reduced the complexity and cost of break actions - use of coil springs being one. But take a base level Beretta or Browning and compare it with the top grade - especially a Belgian made Browning and difference is huge. And that difference is fine hand fitting - first the parts smoked together, and once pretty much fitted, each part will then be hardened and then tempered. In fine guns this is still by hand. They are finally fitted with slip stones.
Many modern production guns don’t have this level of hand fitting and the hardening is often a nitride coating, rather than proper case hardening.
And when it comes to shotgun barrels, the difference between a good gun and an ok gun is few thou here and there. That few thou is the result of expert draw filling to get the right balance. Yes modern cnc milling is good, but unless programmed by a craftsman it will never be as good as a very experienced gunsmith. And experienced labour is expensive.
The best examples I know are a pair of Holland and Holland back action sidelocks built when Queen Victoria was very much still on the throne. That pair are still in the same family and have used most weekends on family shoots every year save the war years and this last year. They still have original barrels and stocks, but have been well looked after but are well used - no checkering left and bluing well worn on the barrels. And have had minimal maintenance since they were built.
Because break action rifles operate at much higher pressures compared to shotguns, fitting is even more critical.
With the Blaser K95 and the Prinz No1 (both, I believe, designed by the same person) they use a locking block that fits directly into the rear of the barrel. It functions like the falling block in an artillery piece. In many ways this somewhat reduces the precision hand fitting required. If the breach block is fitted properly that sorts all the headspace and the knuckle just serves as hinge, rather than critical to headspace.
From memory the K95 has just one big lug, whereas the Prinz as multiple locking lugs which makes for a very strong action. Look at Prinz Waffen
And look for Jack Rowe, Gunsmith on YouTube for his series on double gunsmithing. Will give you an idea of the skills required.
A bolt action rifle is basically a series of machined tubes screwed together. The critical dimension is the headspace which is a combination of lugs, how the barrel is screwed into the reciever and depth of chamber. Many manufacturing plants take barrelled receivers and then using go and no-go gauges choose a bolt that gives correct headspace. Stocks are simple inletting of a moulding, or if wood, a machine routing. Hand work will simple assembly, fitting and final adjustment. Any heat treatment is pretty much uniform throughout a single part, and there is the space to increase the size of a part to give strength, rather than using expensive high quality tool steel tempered carefully.
With a break action you have many different parts all coming together in different planes. These all require a high degree of hand fitting to give a perfect lock up. Yes modern factories and designs have reduced the complexity and cost of break actions - use of coil springs being one. But take a base level Beretta or Browning and compare it with the top grade - especially a Belgian made Browning and difference is huge. And that difference is fine hand fitting - first the parts smoked together, and once pretty much fitted, each part will then be hardened and then tempered. In fine guns this is still by hand. They are finally fitted with slip stones.
Many modern production guns don’t have this level of hand fitting and the hardening is often a nitride coating, rather than proper case hardening.
And when it comes to shotgun barrels, the difference between a good gun and an ok gun is few thou here and there. That few thou is the result of expert draw filling to get the right balance. Yes modern cnc milling is good, but unless programmed by a craftsman it will never be as good as a very experienced gunsmith. And experienced labour is expensive.
The best examples I know are a pair of Holland and Holland back action sidelocks built when Queen Victoria was very much still on the throne. That pair are still in the same family and have used most weekends on family shoots every year save the war years and this last year. They still have original barrels and stocks, but have been well looked after but are well used - no checkering left and bluing well worn on the barrels. And have had minimal maintenance since they were built.
Because break action rifles operate at much higher pressures compared to shotguns, fitting is even more critical.
With the Blaser K95 and the Prinz No1 (both, I believe, designed by the same person) they use a locking block that fits directly into the rear of the barrel. It functions like the falling block in an artillery piece. In many ways this somewhat reduces the precision hand fitting required. If the breach block is fitted properly that sorts all the headspace and the knuckle just serves as hinge, rather than critical to headspace.
From memory the K95 has just one big lug, whereas the Prinz as multiple locking lugs which makes for a very strong action. Look at Prinz Waffen
And look for Jack Rowe, Gunsmith on YouTube for his series on double gunsmithing. Will give you an idea of the skills required.
