Omark/mab

[mick]

what must be done to an omark/mab toget them to shoot well? What trigger would you use? Would one of these set up well be in the race with the likes of a quadlock/quadlite,barnard?

[Mark Hamersley]

Hi Mick

I have 3 rifles on Omark actions and all shoot pretty well as is. All I've done on the actions side is lighten the trigger pressure for f-open. (If you want a good trigger I'm told the Davies trigger is the go).

First was a 308 which I bought second hand and shot TR without modification. Off a rest it did 0.4 MOA with handloads, maybe a bit more in it with more attention to handloading.

Second was a 223 which was put together from a free action and stock, and a 1:8 chrome moly barrel from MAB. Once bedded it would do 1/3 MOA with handloads on new cases, stretching to 3/4 MOA as the cases got to 8 reloads. Not certain why but I think it relates to use of dies with an expander ball working the necks & stiff loads. I'll see what happens with Redding Comp dies.

Third was a 6.5x55AI which has a donated action, TR stock and Maddco barrel. It does 1/4 MOA and has gone under 0.2 with 3 shot groups.

Groups above were for 5 shots (unless otherwise stated) and at 100m from a bench. Handloading involved work on seating depth, powder charge, primer pocket uniforming, flash hole deburring, case weight sorting (308 and 223) and with the 6.5 neck turning.

In my opinion a good target barrel on a properly bedded Omark action with careful handloading should produce good results for f-class.

I haven't used a custom action to make a comparison. Some have said the best use for an Omark is source material for railway tracks. I rather enjoy getting a good bang for the buck so to speak. Perhaps a custom action might be a bit more accurate, probably smoother to operate, but for f-class the Omark does pretty well. Maybe others will direct experience with both will give their views.


Mark Hamersley

[mick]

I have been told by many people with more skills than me,to get rid of the omark.As some say the best use for an Omark is source material for railway tracks.I am yet to work out why.

[littlebang556]

Nothing wrong with the old Omark that I have been using in fullbore comp.
I have shot numerous double possibles with it, the latest being 100.13 @ 600 yds.
When fitted with a good quality Kreiger S/S barrel (available from Esperance Trim & Canvas, in West Oz) they spit slugs out in rather small groups.
When fitting my last barrel at the beginning of this year I slapped a nice Leopold scope on and let it rest on some fine F Class front and rear rests and fired 40 rounds all in the 10 ring from 500yds on a day with about 1 minute of 90 degree wind.
A Davies trigger is a must for the Omark.

Having said all that, if I had a quantity of money that just happened to be burning a sizeable hole in my pocket (and I managed to hide it from my wife for long enough) I would certainly invest in a Bat or Stolle aluminium action from the states-around $1600 to $1800 delivered.
Other top brands are Hall, Viper.
A jewel trigger would be a must have if you spent that amount of money though.

Cheers

Rob A

aka

littlebang556

[Jagumba]

Mick

I have just had a rifle built by Keith Hills on an Omark action. I kept the original trigger but got Keith to do a trigger job on it and it is fine. The barrel is still being run in but nothing has gone over 1/2" over a dodgy rest so far. Obviously not as fancy as some but certainly not railway tracks either...

Cheers
Matt