how can you tell if its a long or short action

[scooterman27006]

yea yea i know this is a really stupid question but i am kind of looking for a varmint stock and i really dont know if the adl 700 204 caliber is a short or long action - does the same caliber come in short and long or is the long action mostly for the big stuff - is it possible to tell just by looking at the action and how far it takes to slide the bolt back or am i missing more than i thought-- and is it remington mostly that has the long and short -- i really hesitated on asking this question so no poking fun lol -

[model 70]

short action is for cartriges like .223rem, 22-250, .243win, 7mm-08, .308, etc.

long action is stuff like-25/06,.270win, 30/06, 300win mag, 7mm rem mag, etc.

make sense now?

[Jack]

To add a bit to Model 70's answer....
In factory rifles:
A cartridge will be chambered in only the action length that's appropriate for the cartridge (see M70's) list.
Many companies make 2 (or more) action lengths.
After you're used to looking at rifle actions, you can tell action length with the Mark 1 eyeball. The easy way, though, is to go by the cartridge length- again, see M70's post.

[Evan03]

this does get alittle confuseing between manufactures.

there are some short action cartridges chambers in long actions. some calibers are border line, 220swift comes to mind. then there are actions longer than standerd action.

what about the manufactures that use all long actions. ever wonder why ruger short actions are the same lenght as there long actions.

the 204 is considerd a short action. but a rem short action wont be the same as a rugers nor will either of these be the same as a kimber.

then on the other hand theres rifles like coopers that build the action arouind the caliber. cooper has i think 5 standerd action lenghts.

im sure im getn side tracked quite alot. hope im not makeing a confuseing topic even more confuseing.

one good way to tell with remingtons when replaceing the stock is to pull the stock from action and it will say long or short. i know for a fact the 204 adl stock is stamped short inside the stock.

Evan

[MarkL]

As Evan said, you can't tell the action length by the caliber. For example, the Tikka .308 has a long action even though the .308 is a short cartridge. By using one action length for all calibers, Tikka saves a little money.