Stiller Tac30? Or TL3/Mausingfield?

[TheBigCountry]

Starting the slush fund for a new rifle. I have had a Tac30 from AO before, and for the cost savings versus a TL3 or even a Mausingfield, I don't want to count the Tac30 out. The Stiller I had was a fine action, and I regret selling it to this day.

Any thoughts? What does a TL3 or Mausingfield offer in price over the Stiller in regards to features, durability, etc?

Thanks all.

 

[padom]

This has been beat do death. There is a Bighorn TL3 thread that covers and discusses all of this. TAC30 is a nice action, I had one for years. For $1250 Id go with the TL3 any day. I have a second TL3 arriving any day.

 

[NateVA]

I just got out of bed but I'll try to remember some differences. I think anyone on here will tell you that both and TL3 and the Mausingfield are worth the extra cash over the Stiller. Each action has its own cult following.

The Mausingfield and TL3 both share these features over the Stiller (I'm probably forgetting some):
- Controlled round feed
- Inertial ejection so you can control how far the round ejects
- Interchangeable boltheads so you can switch bolt faces
- The Mausingfield has an a unique scope rail interface that prevents it from coming loose under recoil


Then you get into the differences between the Mausingfield and Bighorn which is a little more muddied.
- Mausingfield is more bomb-proof than the Bighorn, though I doubt that's a huge deal for most people because we all think we'll never screw up.
- Mausingfield is harder steel with a larger extractor and flange at the back of the bolt to re-direct gases if you mess up badly
- Josh can make shouldered prefit barrels for the Bighorn more easily according to him, so once he's seen your action he can spin up barrels for it without having it physically there.
- He said it's a similar situation with the Mausingfield but he has to take a second look at it if you change bolt faces
- Bighorn can take a .223 boltface (not sure if the Mausingfield can?)
- Not sure about this one but I've heard that the TL3 has less bolt-lift than the Mausingfield


Those are just some of the differences I remember off the top of my head. I was torn between these two actions for months while planning my next build. I chose the Mausingfield and will be putting in the build order with LRI in exactly 8 days. Not like I'm counting down the minutes or anything.

 

[TheBigCountry]

This has been beat do death. There is a Bighorn TL3 thread that covers and discusses all of this. TAC30 is a nice action, I had one for years. For $1250 Id go with the TL3 any day. I have a second TL3 arriving any day.

Maybe I sure have paraphrased this better. I have read the whole post prior on the Mausingfield and Bighorn. Lots of nice info in that post. Im trying to figure out in my mind what exactly I am getting in the extra cost associated with a Stiller vs other actions out there, mainly being the Bighorn and Musingfield as those get a lot of the attention lately.

The Stiller is cheaper, but is that because it is an inferior action in any shape or form?

 

[padom]

Inferior, no. The others have more features is all. Like I said, the Stiller is still a great action. With the TL3 now only $1250 the cost difference is minimal which is why I say go TL3. Also the TL3 accepts AW mags although you can get a TAC30 AW now also.

 

[brianf]

Nothing wrong with a stiller at all.
you will not see a difference in accuracy.
the others have some nice options but they are options. all three will chamber, fire and eject.
if you dont plan on switching calibers/bolt faces or using the options you might be able to save some money.
that being said if a few hundred buck wont break the build budget, those options might make the end product more personalized, if that maters to you.

 

[BullzeyeNJ]

Never cared for the Stiller Tac 30 actions I owed. Nothing wrong with them but nothing great either. Cycling the bolt was never super smooth and that bothered me. If I could use a surgeon 591 or even a trued 700 factory action I would choose those over the Stiller. They just cycle smoother. I have a TL2 and a TL3 and those are great actions as well with some nice added features.

 

[kRcu]

I actually went through the same process recently. I wanted a custom action and was tied between the same small list of actions listed in the OP.

To me, the stiller didn't offer much above what I could have by blueprinting my R700 action, which didn't help justify its $1k price. After holding one of everything in my hands, I ended up going with the TL3. The floating bolt head was a big item for me.

When it came down to it, the action was only half of the cost of the new setup I was seeking. When I was already committed to $1k for the barrel and gunsmith work, saving $200 on the action didn't seem that important. That extra $200 over the stiller left me feeling like I got a lot more in my new action over my current R700.

 

[LRI]

This floats:

This does not:

Just a thought. . .

 

[kRcu]

This floats:

[IM://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/39/1c/11/391c11a906015fe160919cba650d862b.jpg[/IMG]

This does not:

[IMGhttp://www.brownells.com/userdocs/products/p_855000283_2.jpg[/IMG]


Just a thought. . .

Well I was lied to and I'm going to cancel my build now.

 

[Badfinger]

Unfortunately, that water is now somewhere in Jacksonville ...............