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Who all runs the ARC Nucleus action?

@Steel head he has much longer experience than me with the Nuke but for me CRF was almost non-existent with AI mags with my 6.5x47. I needed to use ARC mag with an upgrade follower to push that round up and quick for it to slide underneath the extractor. Now it works just like I imagined it to.
 
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The ARC mag definitely work with the ARC actions.
My nuke hates magpul and rubs a bit on AICS but you can rest the rifle on the ARC mag and it still feeds and cycles beautiful.
I don’t use short OAL mags anymore so not a big deal.
 
Both my Nucleus 600 rounds, and Mausingfield approaching 1000 rounds fired not including dry fire which of course doesn't involve feed seem to getting even smoother .
 
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I've got an early right hand SA 1.0. I got 3 bolt heads for it (.223, .308 and magnum) but ended up only doing a .223 and a 6 Creed on it. I use it as my .223 trainer and spin on the 6mm barrel and use it as a backup gun for big matches or to split up barrel use on my main gun (Defiance Deviant Elite) when I have back to back 2-day matches. It's got some decent mileage on it (6500rds of .223 and 1000 6 Creed). I had zero issues with it until I started running some Hornady Steel Match 75gr .223 ammo and got some light strikes so I swapped in a 19# spring and that solved that. I think it's a great action, to be honest.
 
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Herinaz,

I have never touched an Archimedes, but I have 4 Nucleus. What is the physical in your hands advantages of the Arch over the Nuke?
The Archimedes has it's different primary extraction so the bolt lift only cocks the trigger instead of cocking the trigger and primary extraction.

I think it is an advantage if you are going to reload and push pressures that might cause sticky bolts.

Beside that, it has an integrated recoil lug and a keyed scope mounting rail. Those are features that some people value, some not so much.

Both have a Mauser claw style extractor and both rotate with the bolt (unlike a Mauser or Mausingfield) but since the Archimedes doesn't do primary extraction on bolt lift, in effect it is more like a Mauser claw than the similar extractor on the Nucleus.

The differences are not huge but they are enough to feel a difference.

I think an Archimedes is a good choice for a high performance long action Magnum chambering.

For non Magnum short action chamberings, Nucleus is probably perfectly adequate but Archimedes will do just fine too if you want to spend the money.

Nucleus will do fine with high performance long action Magnum chamberings also, it just won't handle very high to excessive pressure as gracefully.

If you are a reloader who knows when to say when, the Archimedes might help you tiptoe on the edge. If not, the Nucleus might complain more when you are going too far which could be a good thing.
 
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I am running a Nuke SA in 308, still a low round count. It is my first custom action and has ruined factory actions for me. I recently shot an RPR next to my nuke and the ruger felt like trash. I'm still new to bolt guns and haven't handled a ton of custom actions, but the Nuke has treated me well so far.
 
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Extraction is the big difference. Because of the lever extraction, the bolt has a different feel to it, especially on the end of the stroke rearward.

I like mine so far, just have not run it enough to get a good feel for it. I might do a video or something later comparing. Some guys have sold Nucleus to go to Archimedes and some have gone the other way.

I love my Nuke 1.0 so I won't sell it at all. Comes down to whether I keep the Archimedes or swap it to Nuke.
How do you identify different versions of the Nucleus or at what serial number do the versions change? I was kinda curious about the same for Mausingfield. I love my Nucleus but my Mausingfield is my main squeeze.Steelhead jump in if you know.
 
I have Nucleus set up 3 different ways.

1. Fiberglass stock with an Badger style AICS bottom metal in 300 win. Feeds perfectly from Magpul magazines.

2. APO Chassis, I have tried it in 6.5 Creedmoor. Feeds perfectly from Magpul magazines.

3. Magpul 700 stock with Magpul AICS system. Feeds perfectly from Magpul magazines.

I have a barreled 6mm creedmoor Nucleus action waiting to be bedded to a Greybull Precision stock and I am going to use Magpul bottom metal for it.

I have a long Nucleus 308 bolt face action I am going to put into an Iota Kremlin and a Proof barrel later this year. I think it will be a 280 Ackley. Or I might buy a 2nd magnum bolt face and build a 28 Nosler, I don't know. It will have badger style AICS bottom metal on it.
 
I have an earlier edition Nucleus in
6.5CM. It had the light strike issue and binding on bolt close (pretty sure that is what it was) I sent in to get fixed and haven't had any problems since. Have a few hundred rounds through it. It took my dumbass a while to figure out the bolt stop/release.
I haven't paid attention to it's style of feeding, but I haven't had any failure to feed or eject that I can recall to make me worry either. This is in a MPA with Magpul and AICS. I know it doesn't single feed like a Rem700.
I like it, but not 100% sure its any smoother or better than my 700.
 
CONTROL ROUND FEEDING: To get control round feeding, the body of the case below the round you are feeding needs to push the case up into the extractor. If the feed lips are too long, then there isn't enough upward pressure for the neck of the case below to snap it over the rim of the case being fed.

I cut the feed lips back on magpul mags and got control round feeding.

If you look at ARC mags next to most any other mag, you will see the feed lips are shorter for the reason above.

EXTRACTOR TUNING: Yes, you can round the bottom corner off the extractor, ever so slightly so that the case more easily snaps under the extractor.
 
Mag adjustment to get control round feeding:

Video of magpul feed lips cut back so it has more pop with the shoulder of the case springs the round under the extractor. You can see that I trimmed the feed lips back


Video of a round properly popping up under the extractor.
 
I can't find the pictures of how to tune the extractor. It is somewhere in this very long thread I started on the Nucleus when it first came out. My search voodoo isn't working right now.

Edit to add that it is just a tiny, tiny bit off the first corner that hits the case. I can get some pics and video up if guys would like to see how all this operates together.

Maybe @Ledzep has the pics. I know he has commented on it in the past.
 
The Archimedes has it's different primary extraction so the bolt lift only cocks the trigger instead of cocking the trigger and primary extraction.

I think it is an advantage if you are going to reload and push pressures that might cause sticky bolts.

Beside that, it has an integrated recoil lug and a keyed scope mounting rail. Those are features that some people value, some not so much.

Both have a Mauser claw style extractor and both rotate with the bolt (unlike a Mauser or Mausingfield) but since the Archimedes doesn't do primary extraction on bolt lift, in effect it is more like a Mauser claw than the similar extractor on the Nucleus.

The differences are not huge but they are enough to feel a difference.

I think an Archimedes is a good choice for a high performance long action Magnum chambering.

For non Magnum short action chamberings, Nucleus is probably perfectly adequate but Archimedes will do just fine too if you want to spend the money.

Nucleus will do fine with high performance long action Magnum chamberings also, it just won't handle very high to excessive pressure as gracefully.

If you are a reloader who knows when to say when, the Archimedes might help you tiptoe on the edge. If not, the Nucleus might complain more when you are going too far which could be a good thing.

Agreed. I would go Archimedes in a long action cartridge that is running hot. It would be awesome for those big ELR cases.

The minor differences are nice on the Archimedes on the lug and rail, but not enough to make me care. My Nucleus bolt lift is so nice, that it isn't a huge difference in the Archimedes yet. I still run the original spring in my Nuke, but with the heavy spring, yeah, the Archimedes has an advantage.

Archimedes feels "different" so I imagine it will turn a lot of people off. I got a barrel with a tiny burr on the edge of the chamber and I wished I had spun it onto my Archimedes when I was having to pound on the bolt knob...
 
Ultimately I am going to end up with 2 more. A 224 Valk and a 6.5 PRC. But I need to get what I have built up first.

I am that in love with them.
 
Video of a round properly popping up under the extractor.


Just for reference, that was a 308 feeding from an ARC magazine in an MPA BA Comp chassis. That Nucleus is now a 6.5CM and feeds the same. It's an early Nucleus and I'm still running the original 16lbs striker spring. The only failure to ignite primers were when I tried to shoot some mil primer 7.62 ammo. It's been 100% for all FGMM 308 and all 6.5 ammo I have tried (factory Hornady, Federal, Prime, Berger, etc. and handloads with S&B primers so far). So, I'm keeping the 16lbs spring in there, but I do have the higher rate springs incase I run into anything in the future.
I'm a big fan of the technology that ARC builds into their actions. From the Mausingfield to Nucleus to the Archimedes, etc. I really like my Nucleus and like someone mentioned above, it's ruined me for factory actions. LOL. If I were buying another action today, it would be the Nucleus. Though I like the Archimedes, I like the price point of the Nucleus better.
 
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CONTROL ROUND FEEDING: To get control round feeding, the body of the case below the round you are feeding needs to push the case up into the extractor. If the feed lips are too long, then there isn't enough upward pressure for the neck of the case below to snap it over the rim of the case being fed.

I cut the feed lips back on magpul mags and got control round feeding.

If you look at ARC mags next to most any other mag, you will see the feed lips are shorter for the reason above.

EXTRACTOR TUNING: Yes, you can round the bottom corner off the extractor, ever so slightly so that the case more easily snaps under the extractor.
Besides spring pressure the early release mags presents the rim at a slightly better angle for the rim to slide up into its happy place.
 
If I were buying another action today, it would be the Nucleus. Though I like the Archimedes, I like the price point of the Nucleus better.
[/QUOTE]

Unless the Archimedes really surprises me, the price point is why I will probably buy Nucleus again. I don't know that I would sell my Archimedes, but for the money there is nothing that I don't like about the Nucleus. Even the upgrades on the Nucleus are nice, but I would buy a 1.0 again to save money.
 
If I were buying another action today, it would be the Nucleus. Though I like the Archimedes, I like the price point of the Nucleus better.

Unless the Archimedes really surprises me, the price point is why I will probably buy Nucleus again. I don't know that I would sell my Archimedes, but for the money there is nothing that I don't like about the Nucleus. Even the upgrades on the Nucleus are nice, but I would buy a 1.0 again to save money.
[/QUOTE]

I really like my OG nuke.
I’d get one for the same reason.
 
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I'm not sure about extractor mods on the Nuke. I had a good instructional post about the early MF's that were helped by a little bit of material removal depending on the extractor cut on the brass being used. At one point I had a picture of the modification to the bolt shroud plunger to get rid of the hiccup on closing the bolt, too.
 
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I'm not sure about extractor mods on the Nuke. I had a good instructional post about the early MF's that were helped by a little bit of material removal depending on the extractor cut on the brass being used. At one point I had a picture of the modification to the bolt shroud plunger to get rid of the hiccup on closing the bolt, too.
Yea.
I did that plunger mod thanks to you.
I’ve shared it with a few others here as well.
 
I've run my 1.0 as a 6.5CM and now as a .224V as I bought both boltheads during the initial release. I used Alpha mags for the Creedmoor and MDT CH Precision modded .223 mags, no feeding problems in a KRG Bravo. Still kicking myself for not picking up a 1.1.
 
Nothing wrong with that! I would have done the same as you if we had as good of a used market up here in Canada. I figured I'd get my hands on another 1 or 1.1 since they still share the same bolt heads. Will add to my overall versatility once I can get more barrels for my two nukes.
What is the difference between 1 and 1.1?
 
1.1 was kind of an intermediate version between 1.0 and 2.0 but it was offered for $795 or $800.

All the updates that the 1.0 got and some of the 2.0 but not destined to be built more than to get rid of the left over updated 1.0 parts. I believe they are sold out now (I haven't checked).

Compared to a $1,400 Archimedes the Nucleus 1.1 was a bargain, it just wasn't the latest and greatest.
 
What is the difference between 1 and 1.1?

Small, mostly subtle differences that seemed to improve quality of life enough to make a noticeable difference. The bolt close is certainly smoother than my gen 1. Here's Ted's thread on SH. They're sold out on ARC's website now, but you might be able to find some at other vendors. The thing to keep aware of is the boltheads between the 1 and 1.1 are compatible. The gen 2.0 and Archimedes share the same bolthead. Gen 1 and 1.1 will work in the 2.0/arch but not the other way around as Ted points out in Post #41.
 
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Can any of you guys find the pics or instructions for the mods to the Nuke, like the plunger mod and the extractor tuning? I have seen them, but I spent 10 minutes trying to find them again and couldn't.

I want to be able to find them easily again when it comes up, like in this thread. The original Nucleus Order thread has more than 25 pages, lol.
 
Can any of you guys find the pics or instructions for the mods to the Nuke, like the plunger mod and the extractor tuning? I have seen them, but I spent 10 minutes trying to find them again and couldn't.

I want to be able to find them easily again when it comes up, like in this thread. The original Nucleus Order thread has more than 25 pages, lol.
I don’t have a pic of the extractor mod but it’s easy.
I slightly round the entry area that is behind the hook and break the edge at the bottom of the hook.
My second magnum face bolt head/extractor was already slightly profiled in that manner compared to my original 308 bolt head/extractor.

Plunger mod looks like this.
05557463-3018-4DDA-8FAF-DE29EA5B0AA8.jpeg
 
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Besides spring pressure the early release mags presents the rim at a slightly better angle for the rim to slide up into its happy place.
How much do you take off of mag lips? I’ve sat and cycled mine with dummy rounds and watched the feed with Magpul mags and thought precisely that but too much of a novice to try, I guess all I have to lose is a mag.
 
How much do you take off of mag lips? I’ve sat and cycled mine with dummy rounds and watched the feed with Magpul mags and thought precisely that but too much of a novice to try, I guess all I have to lose is a mag.
Arc mags have the the end of the lips at about 1.535 from the back of the mag

AICS is about 1.75ish.
Can’t find a magpul mag.
 
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How much do you take off of mag lips? I’ve sat and cycled mine with dummy rounds and watched the feed with Magpul mags and thought precisely that but too much of a novice to try, I guess all I have to lose is a mag.

I was in a hotel room with a sharp knife and just kept trimming on my magpul, slowly, till the shoulder was pushing the case up.
 
I was in a hotel room with a sharp knife and just kept trimming on my magpul, slowly, till the shoulder was pushing the case up.
I looked at d-tools on Amazon today, and failed to buy.... I worked on one mag today with a small, fine file and it seems to be feeding better. I just wish I knew where to stop, kinda been a lifeLong problem, I guess I’ll know soon.
 
I looked at d-tools on Amazon today, and failed to buy.... I worked on one mag today with a small, fine file and it seems to be feeding better. I just wish I knew where to stop, kinda been a lifeLong problem, I guess I’ll know soon.
Well I kinda think theArc mag spec I posted would be a good minimum.

If it starts working well and if feeding consistently that’s a good place as well.
 
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Mag adjustment to get control round feeding:

Video of magpul feed lips cut back so it has more pop with the shoulder of the case springs the round under the extractor. You can see that I trimmed the feed lips back


Video of a round properly popping up under the extractor.


Which magazine do you think would work best on a long action to get proper CRF?
 
I have a Nuke running 300 prc in a krg bravo chassis and I cannot get it to pick up the round. I am not messing with the mag (Accurate 300wm cip length) to solve a problem with the stock or action. Anyone experience this?
 
I have a Nuke running 300 prc in a krg bravo chassis and I cannot get it to pick up the round. I am not messing with the mag (Accurate 300wm cip length) to solve a problem with the stock or action. Anyone experience this?
As in it won’t pick up a round from the magazine?
 
I’ll see if I can post a YouTube video of mine and see if that will help. Give me a day or two.