What is a long vs. short bolt action?

Question

I was reading an article about the new family of WSM cartridges introduced a few years back.

It said that the objective was to create a family of cartridges that are capable of being chambered in a "short action" rifle vs. a "long action". What does this mean with respect to a bolt action rifle?

What is the difference and what is the advantage of one over the other?

Thanks

Answer 1

It refers to cartridges (WSM's as well) as far as their respective case length. Most short action calibers result in a shorter ,but for lack of a better term "fatter" case. Example..a 30-06 and 7mm Rem Magnum are considered a "long action" cartridges as compared to the 308 Win or 223 Rem. which are "Short Action" cartridges..Different length cases....30-06 & 7mm being a longer case than that of a 308 Win or 223 Rem caliber case....

*The advantages are that the shorter standard or WSM case can hold as much powder as some longer length cases, and in some cases the shorter cartridge cases burn powder more completely due to the compressed size over longer cartridges..In "Short Actions" in regards to Bolt Action Rifles in particular, the shorter cartridges result in a "stiffer" action and increased in accuracy is a direct result....

Answer 2

Cartridges come in different lengths (bear with me here). The 30-06 was the standard cartridge for the US military for a long time, and the action of the rifles needed to be long enough that when it opens it'll pick up a cartridge from the magazine and push it into the chamber. In the 1950's, the US changed to the 308 cartridge, which is shorter. Because of this, the M-14 rifle action could be made shorter and still function properly. The same principle holds true for all cartridges, and in general when you read about these, the "short action" is one made for cartridges the length of the 308, the "long action" one made for cartridges the length of the 30-06, and the "magnum action" is made for cartridges the length of the 375 H&H. Each manufacturer decides exactly how long they are, of course, and in fact Sako used to make five different length actions.
It's nice not to have the action too long for the cartridge, because of the general slop involved in cycling a short cartridge in an action that's unnecessarily long, but the shorter action is also stiffer and in theory may be able to produce better accuracy. On the other hand, many a 257 Roberts has been built on a short action, and it works with some loads, but if the magazine's marginal, you may not be able to use some of the longer bullets in the cartridge. People also make something of the "short bolt throw," with the short actions, and cite the problem of not pulling the bolt all the way back on loading the second shot under stressful circumstances, but I've never talked to anybody who's ever short-stroked one, so I don't know that it's a real consideration. Mostly, it gives the gun writers something to write about.

Answer 3

Short Bolting

Answer 4

A short-action will be marginally lighter, because it has marginally less metal. The bolt travel will be shorter. Some believe that a short action is more accurate because it is stiffer, but I think that the accuracy difference is in the calibers and how they burn powder. Other than that, not alot of difference. However, a long-action can be chambered for both long- and short-action calibers. Not so with short actions. You'll never get a .280 Remington or .30-06 Springfield in a short action, but .308s and .223s will work just fine in long actions.

Answer 5

I agree with JD and WD. The longer action allows for the longer and magnum cartridges, although some manufacturers are making "short mags" now. The idea is to get the live cartridge in and the spent cartridge out as efficiently as possible. When I was first looking for a good long range rifle I chose the .25-06 rem. The gunsmith mentioned something about having to use custom mounts for the scope, but as with many things, that is a non-issue these days. I think it is mostly geared to efficiency and speed. Although, I too have never talked to anyone who "short stroked" a long action, especially under stressful situations. You will have sufficient adrenaline to throw that bolt back and then forward if you're going for multiple hits. However, in my experience, one shot from a long or short action should do the trick.

Answer 6

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RE:
What is a long vs. short bolt action?
I was reading an article about the new family of WSM cartridges introduced a few years back.

It said that the objective was to create a family of cartridges that are capable of being chambered in a "short action" rifle vs. a "long action". What does this mean with respect to...

Answer 7

On the side-topic of short-stroking the bolt, this was one of the reasons cited when Winchester developed the first modern.30-06-length magnum cartridges, such as the .264 and .458, which were at the time (1950s) considered "short" magnums by way of comparison to the British .300 and .375 H&H, and the first generation of Weatherby Magnums based on improved H&H-length brass. Whether the British had any trouble with the extra-long bolt-throw of the full-length H&H calibres is unlikely, but the thinking was that two generations of Americans accustomed to the Springfield .30-06 and the occasional sporterised Mauser or Enfield, would not be comfortable with the existing Magnum-length action; the solution was to make a shorter but more efficient case, which ironically are now considered "long-action".

Answer 8

basically refers to cartridge length example a 308 is a short action a 30.06 is a long action, and i believe the remington ultra mags are a longer length action than a long action.

Answer 9

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Short action. Pros: Lighter, faster to operate. Cons: Restricted to use a shorter cartridge.

Answer 10

long action = 30.06 length
short action = 223, 308 win

Therefore 270 win, 280, 8mm, 300 win mag,338 win,etc are long.

243,308, 260 rem, 223rem, are short