Tactical Bolt Knobs...why?

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  • Younggun

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    Everyone has a preference and there are plenty of products to meet those preferences. No judgment here.


    That said, why are so many bolt guns getting giant "tactical" bolt knobs? I've always preferred that the bolt knob be able to roll/slide in my hand when running the bolt and a standard or maybe large marble sized bolt knob seems to be perfect for this. Aside from being in an area where the action might freeze up, what's the reasoning behind having a large (sometimes huge) cylindrical shaped, coarsly textured bolt handle?

    Seems like it would be counterproductive to smoothly running the bolt.
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    diesel1959

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    I think some actions aren't as buttery smooth as others . . . having the extra mass of a heavier bolt handle might be of assistance in properly cycling the action. That's about all I can think of.
     

    shooterfpga

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    Cheapest way to help with heavy bolt lift. It "seems" to smooth and lessen the camming force. Plus size matters, nobody likes to grab small unribbed knobs.

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    Mikewood

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    The game of precision shooting is keeping everything exactly the same. Shoot exactly the same bullet accurate to 1/10 of a grain. Same cheek weld point, same everything. Somewhere way down on the list is grip. So your trigger finger needs to touch the trigger at exactly the same point. The heel of your hand should rest on the same point. So if you do not move the heel of your hand during bolt operation you should in theory be more precise. Removing your whole hand from the stock is bad. All this to say...
    Indexing the bolt with just your index and middle fingers and keeping your hand from moving or moving it as little as possible is better than taking your hand off the gun. When using a large bolt handle most people can keep a pivot point in contact with the gun. The proper pivot point for most people is where the knife edge of your hand meets the heel of your hand.
    This is way down the list from good prone platform and most other basics of shooting. But it looks cool so everyone thinks they need one.
     

    diesel1959

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    The game of precision shooting is keeping everything exactly the same. Shoot exactly the same bullet accurate to 1/10 of a grain. Same cheek weld point, same everything. Somewhere way down on the list is grip. So your trigger finger needs to touch the trigger at exactly the same point. The heel of your hand should rest on the same point. So if you do not move the heel of your hand during bolt operation you should in theory be more precise. Removing your whole hand from the stock is bad. All this to say...
    Indexing the bolt with just your index and middle fingers and keeping your hand from moving or moving it as little as possible is better than taking your hand off the gun. When using a large bolt handle most people can keep a pivot point in contact with the gun. The proper pivot point for most people is where the knife edge of your hand meets the heel of your hand.
    This is way down the list from good prone platform and most other basics of shooting. But it looks cool so everyone thinks they need one.
    Tactical shooting is not the same thing as competition shooting or even precision shooting. I take "tactical" shooting to mean that folks are shooting back at you and you don't always get to observe all the niceties of perfect form, etc. You can't afford a botched bolt stroke to reload your firearm in an actual engagement with such a rifle. Hell, I dunno--maybe folks are thinking about this all too much.

    FWIW--the old Mausers often had so-called butter knife bolt handles and would be nothing like the marble-sized bolt handles Youngun mentioned in his first post. Things change, and so do preferences, I guess.
     
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    shooterfpga

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    Tactical shooting is not the same thing as competition shooting or even precision shooting. I take "tactical" shooting to mean that folks are shooting back at you and you don't always get to observe all the niceties of perfect form, etc. You can't afford a botched bolt stroke to reload your firearm in an actual engagement with such a rifle. Hell, I dunno--maybe folks are thinking about this all too much.

    FWIW--the old Mausers often had so-called butter knife bolt handles and would be nothing like the marble-sized bolt handles you mentioned in your first post. Things change, and so do preferences, I guess.
    Things do change, but people always try to assume ones bolt handle gender preference.



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    dee

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    The game of precision shooting is keeping everything exactly the same. Shoot exactly the same bullet accurate to 1/10 of a grain. Same cheek weld point, same everything. Somewhere way down on the list is grip. So your trigger finger needs to touch the trigger at exactly the same point. The heel of your hand should rest on the same point. So if you do not move the heel of your hand during bolt operation you should in theory be more precise. Removing your whole hand from the stock is bad. All this to say...
    Indexing the bolt with just your index and middle fingers and keeping your hand from moving or moving it as little as possible is better than taking your hand off the gun. When using a large bolt handle most people can keep a pivot point in contact with the gun. The proper pivot point for most people is where the knife edge of your hand meets the heel of your hand.
    This is way down the list from good prone platform and most other basics of shooting. But it looks cool so everyone thinks they need one.
    It's more muscle memory than staying constantly the same. Most can't fully cycle and feed a typical action custom or not without moving some. Know if you have a left bolt right port type action it can be done but that's not overly common.
     

    Dawico

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    The longer handles allow more torque for heavy/ stuck bolts and rounds that are tight in the chamber.

    The extra grip helps too.

    The big drawback is they don't like to go in the case very well.
     

    Vaquero

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    The longer handles allow more torque for heavy/ stuck bolts and rounds that are tight in the chamber.

    The extra grip helps too.

    The big drawback is they don't like to go in the case very well.
    I've seen the times I'd have liked a bit more leverage on some twice fired, neck sized only cartridges.
     

    dee

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    The longer handles allow more torque for heavy/ stuck bolts and rounds that are tight in the chamber.

    The extra grip helps too.

    The big drawback is they don't like to go in the case very well.
    Be careful doing that. When the bolt is stuffon closing it can cause galling of the bolt lugs.
     

    benenglish

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    ...why are so many bolt guns getting giant "tactical" bolt knobs?...
    I note that your question does not limit the disciplines in which you've seen this behavior.

    In International shooting, oversize bolt knobs are often changed so the color matches the outfit or the paint job on the rifle. Or the mood of the shooter.

    In High Power, a shooter (I believe a young lady) showed up at Camp Perry a few years back with a billiard ball (yes, a real billiard ball) that had been drilled, tapped, and threaded onto the bolt handle. Looked more like a fashion statement to me but I suppose it gave her more leverage. Anybody with a full set of Precision Shooting back issues might be able to publish a picture.

    Of course, little tiny bolt knobs can work just great with a smooth action and someone who knows how to work it...with basically just one finger, even, like this:

     

    benenglish

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    Be careful doing that. When the bolt is stuffon closing it can cause galling of the bolt lugs.
    I hope you don't speak from experience.

    Personally, I know it's possible to close a bolt on a grain of sand, repeatedly. I'm too embarrassed to post pictures of what I did to those poor locking lugs.
     

    dee

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    I note that your question does not limit the disciplines in which you've seen this behavior.

    In International shooting, oversize bolt knobs are often changed so the color matches the outfit or the paint job on the rifle. Or the mood of the shooter.

    In High Power, a shooter (I believe a young lady) showed up at Camp Perry a few years back with a billiard ball (yes, a real billiard ball) that had been drilled, tapped, and threaded onto the bolt handle. Looked more like a fashion statement to me but I suppose it gave her more leverage. Anybody with a full set of Precision Shooting back issues might be able to publish a picture.

    Of course, little tiny bolt knobs can work just great with a smooth action and someone who knows how to work it...with basically just one finger, even, like this:

    That would be David Tubb in that vid with one of his Tubb guns. He's arguable one of the best out there in that game. He dables in prs and is a pleasure to shoot with. Talk about a wealth of knowledge. I keep kicking around trying his reticle system out just can't leap for it.
    I hope you don't speak from experience.

    Personally, I know it's possible to close a bolt on a grain of sand, repeatedly. I'm too embarrassed to post pictures of what I did to those poor locking lugs.
    I've seen pics. I was told it's worse of certain "stainless" actions than anything. The gunsmith with the info has a pet cartridge that requires ff to which this subject got into a deep conversation about jamming vs false shoulder. He privider pics to back uo claim and is considered one of the best gun plumbers in the states.
     

    texanite15

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    I once wondered the same thing. I guess its just easier when you have gloves or if you have big hands and want to really pull the thing hard and fast to show the girls how cool you are
     
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