Lock time comparison

[lilabner]

The question of lock time came up in the thread on the new Ruger rifle. Out of curiosity, I looked through the web for data and here is what I found:  Savage 110 has the fastest lock time of American made sporting rifles - 1.65 MS. Remington 700 is second with 2.6 MS. Ruger and Winchester measured over 3 MS. I couldn't find any data for other American made sporting rifles. The numbers are for out of the box long actions - short actions are faster. Most  military rifles are slow - 4 MS or slower. I couldn't find data on foreign rifles but would guess there are some fast times. Lock times can be improved by installing aftermarket parts - strikers, sears, more powerful springs etc. I couldn't find data on how much improvement is possible. This data came from a wide variety of sources and like anything you find on the internet, accuracy is questionable. Savage was identified as fastest by three sources.

[Cement Man]

Thanks, lilabner.  Very interesting data!

[espalding]

Yes thanks that was my question in the other thread and your research may well lean me to a Savage for my .308 offhand "work" but the Tikka grey laminate is tempting!
Ed

[Val]

Pardon my ignorance. Can you please clue me in on the significance of lock time? Just want to increase my knowlege base. Thanks.

[james]

Val,
Sometimes, movement of the rifle can take place from the time the sear breaks until the firing pin hits the primer.  The shorter the lock time, the less movement is possible.   With a high magnification scope you can see the movement of your heartbeat when shooting a sporter weight rifle.  A heavy target rifle on a solid rest is less prone to movement.   I think the fast lock time of  Remington 788s and Savage rifles is a major reason for their accuracy in the sporter weight rifles.
James

[Cement Man]

I agree with James.  Although all the other conditions in the accuracy equation must be optimized as well.

I didn't pay much attention to it a few years ago, but Remington came out with the "electronic ignition" rifle and ammunition?   Do they still make that?  I believe that would have had minimal lock time? 

[lilabner]

I found mention of the Remington electonic ignition rifle. It was by far the fastest thing available but it must not have been marketed. The second part of the problem is time lag from primer ignition to bullet exit from the barrel. Until the bullet is out, movement can still affect things. Seems like short barrels could help minimize this problem.

[Cement Man]

Our local gun shop had one in stock.  As I recall, it was in .22-250 and he wanted about $1500 for it.  "Etronics"

Did a search and came up with this article.  Seems it was a great idea, but Remington didn't use its most accurate barrels on the rifles it built with this system and the benefits of the lock time were therefore not fully realized.  Interesting article...

http://www.outdoorlife.com/outdoor/gear/gunvault/article/0,19912,453991-2,00.html