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Surgeon action availability

lenwen

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Full Member
Minuteman
Jul 15, 2011
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I started a build last summer that seems, at this point to be unachievable. The hang-up is the Surgeon action that I ordered in early December 2012. I have my barrel(26" Proof Research in 6.5mm), my stock(McMillan A-3 fully inletted for Surgeon action and bottom metal) and my scope(Leupold Mark 4 LRT 6.5-20). I have been told recently that Surgeon is so behind in rifle production that they aren't releasing any actions. I emailed them a couple months ago and they wouldn't give me any idea when, but that they intended to fill all orders. I have begun to bail on the project. So much time has passed that I am second guessing all phases of the project and am wondering if I should try to sell the components and recoup what I can. Does anyone have info on the possibility of receiving a Surgeon in a reasonable amount of time or if getting another action may be more hopeful(Bat, Stiller, etc).
 
I started a build last summer that seems, at this point to be unachievable. The hang-up is the Surgeon action that I ordered in early December 2012. I have my barrel(26" Proof Research in 6.5mm), my stock(McMillan A-3 fully inletted for Surgeon action and bottom metal) and my scope(Leupold Mark 4 LRT 6.5-20). I have been told recently that Surgeon is so behind in rifle production that they aren't releasing any actions. I emailed them a couple months ago and they wouldn't give me any idea when, but that they intended to fill all orders. I have begun to bail on the project. So much time has passed that I am second guessing all phases of the project and am wondering if I should try to sell the components and recoup what I can. Does anyone have info on the possibility of receiving a Surgeon in a reasonable amount of time or if getting another action may be more hopeful(Bat, Stiller, etc).
Don't bail. Just go for a Defiance Deviant; it has an integral rail and lug. If you have your heart set on a Surgeon action, just buy one of their rifles.
 
Yesterday, when I called to inquire as to the status of my November order, I was advised that a batch of 591's recently came out of production and a few of them are going to be used to fill "some" existing orders. It was subsequently stated that I have a few more months of wait time until my order is fulfilled.

-Hang in there!
 
Yesterday, when I called to inquire as to the status of my November order, I was advised that a batch of 591's recently came out of production and a few of them are going to be used to fill "some" existing orders. It was subsequently stated that I have a few more months of wait time until my order is fulfilled.

-Hang in there!

Had I as many Gradous built Surgeon rifles as you I could probably hang in there. But, I can't stand waiting and if it was my first build I would explore other options.

Thanks for posting updated status on their actions.
 
Had I as many Gradous built Surgeon rifles as you I could probably hang in there. But, I can't stand waiting and if it was my first build I would explore other options.

Thanks for posting updated status on their actions.


Ahhh.. I understand.. If you don't want to wait, Surgeon has quite a few nicely spec'd out "ready to ship" rifles in stock. I was actually considering purchasing the 20" .308 winchester in the J. Allen stock.

308 Win Scalpel J. Allen | Surgeon Rifles
 
I was waiting for a surgeon also but bit the bullet and bought a stillet Tac instead, couldn't be happier with it and the coins I saved.
 
Thanks for the input. Obviously, I haven't experienced custom rifle building at this level and am less than thrilled with the process. I think I will check out some other possibilities. I am concerned about deviations in the footprint of other makes, since my stock is already inletted for the Surgeon. Any suggestions on the direction I should look would be appreciated. I will certainly look into the Defiance as suggested.
 
I too am looking for other options than the Surgeon 1086 action!! I have a McMillan stock inlettted for the 1086 - what other actions will fit into this stock without too much gunsmithing??

Bighorn SR2?? (although they are now backed up pretty good too)

Defiance Machine Deviant??

BAT HRPIC actions??

Any help will be greatly appreciated!!
 
I went with a couple Stiller TAC 30's, and I've been very happy. A Surgeon would be nice, but as a lefty, I wasn't going to hold my breath...

I do have my eye on one of those Defiant Deviants though...

Good luck in your search!
 
My personal opinion, while owning them both.... they Defiance Deviant is superior to the Surgeon 591.
Construction, machining, quality of work, tolerances are tigther, overall look is more appealing.
Takes standard bolt knobs, instead of Surgeon specific.

I will stick with the Deviants from here on out.
 
Will the Deviant "fit" into a Surgeon 1086 inletted stock??

I like Defiance Machine's stuff - I'd have no problem runnin' a new Deviant!!
 
2¢:

Unless an action has some very specific features you just "must" have, there are too many good choices out there to wait so long for one.
 
Stopped at Defiance this past Thursday to drop off my 1/2 down and FFL, on a Deviant action. Told me I should have it by late Oct, or early November. 16 weeks, give or take.

I know Surgeon is a proven action, etc. But I have issues when a buyer gets jerked around with a year or more wait.

Buy the Defiance.

FN in MT
 
Don't bail. Just go for a Defiance Deviant; it has an integral rail and lug. If you have your heart set on a Surgeon action, just buy one of their rifles.

I agree. I ordered a Hospitaller from GA Precision and was rewarded with a free upgrade from a Surgeon 591 action to the Templar V2 action, which is the Defiance Deviant. They advised that they are doing this for their customers since the Surgeon actions are so far behind. I was WAY impressed with this act of customer service. I feel that the Deviant is a better action anyways.
 
I placed an order for a 591 Jan 30. I just talked to Surgeon last week and they said it would be another 6 months. If they are so far behind, why want they hire more help?
 
Actions are being used in their own rifle builds that they are selling.
 
I'll trade a Surgeon 591 with .473 bolt for a Defiance Deviant in .378 flavor. Can ship in a few days, after receiving confirmation of a paid order in my name.
 
I have a Surgeon 591 and just got a Deviant. Both are very nice actions, I don't think one is any nicer then the other. Also FWIW they told me 10 weeks on my Deviant and I received it in about 7.
 
Surgeon updated their website a few days ago and brought the "No Backorder" sign right to their homepage. Does anybody have any new info on long they are backordered?
 
Surgeon updated their website a few days ago and brought the "No Backorder" sign right to their homepage. Does anybody have any new info on long they are backordered?

It's not often that there's a consensus on a topic here, but it seems pretty clear from a number of different threads that Surgeon just isn't shipping out actions anymore. Their current focus is building their own complete rifles. I'd imagine that at some point the poor guys with actions on back order will get theirs, but if you're not already in the system then about the only outlet I've seen is the rare action being offered for sale in the P/X or some of the other gun sites.

Southern Precision Rifles was advertising that they had a couple of Surgeon actions that they'd do custom builds on, but they weren't selling the actions alone.

I have one GAP-built Surgeon, and was considering a second custom build on a 591 action, but Defiance and Stiller are making actions that appear to be as good if not better, so I'm going that route on the new build. Several of the members I've spoken to have gone the same route with no regrets, so I don't feel as though I'm giving anything up by going with another custom action.
 
I was going to order a surgeon 591 short action but couldn't find it anywhere. I bought a defiance deviant instead. Its at GAP right now with all my other rifle parts so I cant say anything about the action in the field but just by holding it and looking it over, I felt it was well made. I hope they catch up on the 591 before my next build. If they don't I might just grab a badger action