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Helios vs Mausingfield

muffcook

Private
Full Member
Minuteman
Feb 9, 2009
17
0
Washington State
I would be interested in comments comparing the Terminus Helios and ARC Mausingfield actions from members having experience with both.
 
very very different actions

CRF versus push feed
mechanical versus plunger
90 versus 60

Thanks for the quick reply! I'm already pretty familiar with the differences between the two actions. Am more interested in hearing comments from anyone who may have had experiences with both actions re. comparative preferences for one or the other and why.
 
Can I ask how to came to be looking at these two? What criteria did you have that excluded say TL3 or Origin or Impact for instance. I'm asking just because I'm interested in what people consider as important when going custom actions. Cheers!
 
Can I ask how to came to be looking at these two? What criteria did you have that excluded say TL3 or Origin or Impact for instance. I'm asking just because I'm interested in what people consider as important when going custom actions. Cheers!
When I made this choice I just listed the features I wanted and then decided
I wanted Savage threads, mechanical ejection, swappable bolt heads, short bolt lift and nitrided or something similar.
To me integral rails and lug meant very little.
Being made in my state and near my old stomping grounds Tipped me to the Nucleus and I have absolutely no regrets in buying it.
I’d love to get a Mausingfield some day.
They are really smooth.
 
Thanks for the quick reply! I'm already pretty familiar with the differences between the two actions. Am more interested in hearing comments from anyone who may have had experiences with both actions re. comparative preferences for one or the other and why.
comparing short actions (Zeus)

i prefer the mausinfgield if we're gonna be going hunting.

if it's just a long range target gun either will work fine. both smooth. feel good. it comes down to the features i listed in my first post
 
Once again, thanks for the input!

I actually made my made my action decision and purchase a few months back, but was interested to see whether there were any comparative comments from others on the forum. Since I am left-handed, rifle and action options was young were significantly limited for me. I learned to shoot using right handed long guns . . . rifles and shotguns. And although I never really felt handicapped, I always believed that the bolt guns I shot must have been called 'right-handed' for some reason. And since I was left handed, those guns must have been optimized for people other than me. (I should add that I actually believe a right-handed bolt gun is somewhat of an advantage for lefties like me when shooting on a bench . . . they eliminate the need to move your trigger hand away from the stock to accomplish the 'open-eject-reload' cycle.)

Unlike when I bought my first rifle, today's market offers more left handed options in both custom bolt actions and in factory rifles. That first rifle for me was a custom, based on a left-handed Texas Magnum action made by Ranger Arms in Gainsville, TX. (Most of today's shooters have never even heard of the Texas Magnum. If interested, you can find more info here: http://www.notpurfect.com/main/bolt.htm ). Like a Weatherby Mk V, it had locking lugs were spaced 120 degrees apart on the bolt head, providing a 54 degree bolt lift. I had mine fitted with a 26" med-hvy air-gauged Douglas bbl, and chambered in the 'new' .264 Win mag. The stock was rough turned from a beautiful pc of Bastogne walnut, then completed by hand. Cone-trol mounts originally held a 4-12x Redfield with adj focus objective, but it has worn several other scope/mt combos since. The long/hvy 6.5mm bullets of today did not exist at that time, and could not have been stabilized in that Douglas bbl, so I have shot mostly Sierra bullets (140 & 142gn MatchKing & 140gn soft pt/bt hunters). 50 yrs later I still have that first rifle (image below) built shortly after I was discharged from the army in Jan. '70. It looks as good as ever, and still shoots MOA 5-shot grps from a bench at 100 yds. (I was an armorer instructor at US Army School Europe, mid-'67 thru Jan '70, image below).

My recent action purchase was intended for a long range capable round in a lg base case, which limited the action choices. I started looking at .338's about 10 yrs ago . . . Lapua first, then the Norma when it arrived. That was well before either the big Terminus or ARC actions arrived on the scene. Along the way I changed my direction from .338 to .308, thinking primarily of the .300 Norma. But since that time, the really long/very high BC 6.5mm bullets started showing up and my thoughts changed to using shortened .300 Norma brass to make a large base 6.5mm wildcat. (Yes, I do like 6.5's!) I have since designed the case for that round, and have 300 pcs of Lapua .300 Norma brass to be used either shortened as the 6.5mm/.300 Norma or 'as is' for a .300 Norma. (I can say more about my thoughts that led the 6.5mm version some other time.)

The ARC Mausingfield action I bought now sits in the safe, waiting for barrel, reamers/gauges, and loading dies. I am sure that either the Helios from Terminus would also be an outstanding choice for the rifle I was considering, but here are the things that swayed my decision:

1. I like controlled cartridge/push feed, and I like mechanical ejection. That said, my Texas Magnum has neither, and it has never missed a beat!
2. I like the choice of Savage compatible barrel threads. And I bought the 'switch barrel' option with the action, so I have the option of doing both the 6.5/300 Norma cartridge I designed, and a 2nd bbl in .300 Norma. And since interchangeable bolt heads are available, cartridges with different case head designs can also be accommodated if desired.
3. Toroidal locking lug geometry, eliminates the need for lapping locking lugs.
4. After I had been following both actions for some time, when I was ready to place an order, the right-handed Helios was available, but the lefty was still some time off. The Mausingfield lefty was not only available, they surprisingly had one in stock when I called. It was shipped and in my safe in 3 or 4 days.

I will be able to comment further as the project progresses. But thus far, I am pleased with the choice.

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