March 2001
Nesika Bay Precision
Part
II: Nesikas Tactical Rifles
by
Jacob Gottfredson
Copyright 2001 The Accurate Rifle Magazine
Synopsis: This is the
second in a three part series dealing with Nesika Bay Precisions tactical
rifles. Part I took an in-depth look at their various actions, and in particular
those that Nesika has chosen to fill tactical roles from .308 to
.338 caliber. Nesika Bay Precision is the manufacturer of one of the highest
quality, precision made actions in the world, having gotten its start in
the most demanding and prestigious of pure accuracy endeavors: Benchrest.
Having then branched out into 1000 Yard Benchrest and other forms of competition,
as well as varminting, and hunting, Nesika is taking on the tough task
of building actions and rifles for tactical needs. This series of articles
is offered in three parts, beginning with the evolution of their tactical
actions, the performance level of their production rifles, and concluding
with my own spec built tactical match rifle. This article explores Nesikas
production rifles and evaluates their performance level.
I met Glen Harrison and Mike Allen for the first time in Phoenix,
Arizona at the Cactus Classic Benchrest match in early March of 1999. At the
end of the two day competition, Mike helped me load two of their tactical rifles
into the back of my Durango for the long journey home.
These first paragraphs,
which start Part II, are being written October 28, 2000. Thus I have held
possession of their rifles for eight long months. I am sure they are about
to pull their teeth, or drive to South Texas, whack me over the head, and
reestablish possession. However, I have had the opportunity to study and
shoot the rifles extensively during the better part of this past year. They
are my idea of what the term "Ultimate Rifle" means.
I hope to show you why in this article.
The Ultimate Rifle
Having said that I consider
Nesikas tactical rifles to be
an "Ultimate Rifle" begs definition, so I guess I ought to start
there. Like many of us, I am, for the most part, a hobbiest rifleman. I complete
in traditional 100/200 benchrest, 1000 yard benchrest, and tactical matches.
I am a hunter as well. Though not enamored with curios and antiques, I love
specialty rifles. That is to say, the modern day caricatures of what rifles
were first invented to do: provide and protect. I get excited about Cyborg,
the 125 pound rifle Skip Talbot shoots in 1000 yard matches; or those contorted
examples they call free rifles; or the traditional 100 pound benchrest rail
gun that returns to battery after each shot and makes looking back through
the scope for each successive shot unnecessary. But I would not use any of
them to provide and protect. Particularly when I was forced to carry such
a thing through the mud, or on my back for miles, or shoot from any of a
dozen, immediate, and very uncomfortable positions.
Thus, to be brief, my idea
of the "Ultimate Rifle" is
one that can be made to shoot like a competitive rifle, but which can be
carried on ones back anywhere, go through anything, and keep on performing
at a very high level. It must be able to endure hardship and harsh environmental conditions.
It must be heavy enough to be stable but light enough to carry.
It must be mechanically reliable (no batteries please). It should be subdued in
color. Last, but not least, it should be superbly accurate from ranges
of less than 100 yards to 1000 yards and more. It is the simple but efficient
tool of the hunter or tactical shooter those back to basics endeavors of
providing and protecting. And it is the type of firearm that peaks my interest
most. The Nesika Bay Tactical Rifles fit the definition of "Ultimate Rifle" .
The Nesika Bay Precision
action is the heart of their tactical rifle. Part I of this series covered
Nesikas high
quality actions. They are examples of some of the best the world has to
offer in modern day bolt actions. EDM and CNC technology are used to produce
exacting tolerances from quality materials. The standard configuration incorporates
TiAN coating that provides a very tough, corrosion resistant surface that
will take considerable abuse.
Starting with their basic actions, Nesika Bay has created
tactical rifles that will be covered and evaluated in this article.
The Nesika Tactical Rifles
To quote Nesika Bay,
"The reason Nesika
Bay Precision started building Tactical rifles is that we believe that a
higher quality, more accurate rifle can be built using an action developed
for extreme accuracy and manufactured using state-of-the-art CNC and EDM
technology than using a hunting action that needs to be reworked and trued.
Although hunting actions have been used for tactical applications for many
years, we believe that it is time to develop the ultimate tactical rifle
founded on modern technology where reliability is a requirement. Our actions
are stiffer, have better mechanical properties, and are proven in the field
where extreme accuracy is also a requirement. There is no method, style,
technology, component, configuration or caliber that we cant do and do better
than anyone else."
Nesika is currently producing two configurations of tactical
rifles.
-
The "Urban Tactical" rifle incorporates a
1.350" receiver and short barrel for quick handling. It uses a MIL-STD-1913
mount (two steel press fit pins and six 8x40 steel screws), stainless "BDL" bottom
metal or detachable box, and adjustable trigger. It weights approximately
10 pounds and comes in either .243 or .308 Winchester.
-
The "Heavy Tactical" rifle is the same as
the "Urban Tactical" except for a 1.470" diameter action,
heavier vertical grip stock, and 24" inch barrel in .308 Winchester,
26" barrel in 300 Winchester magnum, and 29" barrel in .338
Lapua. A 20 minute sloped MIL-STD-1913 mount is included. The heavy
tactical can also be chambered in the Patriot and Warbird cartridges
from Lazzeroni.
Photo 1 (caption: Thomas
Blahnik of Snipers Paradise
tries the Nesika Bay Urban Tactical rifle. Note the safety forward
of Thomas finger. The safety is installed in the usual position on the
Heavy Tactical rifle. The Jewell trigger safety can be ordered either way.)
The rifles can be ordered
either coated or uncoated with a peened, non-reflective surface. The dark
coating on my samples is TiAN: Titanium Aluminum Nitride. This coating is
extremely hard ( approximately 92 HRC) and improves corrosion resistance.
And since black or very dark colors shed heat faster than light colors, this
coating will serve that purpose as well. Speaking of cooling, the rifles
were amply floated with enough clearance to promote cooling via air flow
as well. The dark coating is also non-reflective and meets my criteria of "subdued" very
well.
The rifles that I received have fluted Hart barrels. I am
not certain whether Nesika intends to promote that in future rifles or not.
While Nesika can do just about anything you might desire, I found that the
flutes pick up dirt and mud in tactical situations, and I, for one, would do
without.
Both the receivers on my
rifles are Model Ks chambered in
.308 Winchester. The light is 1.350" diameter, and the heavy model is
1.470" diameter. Nesika stated that they will use their Model L for
the .300 Winchester magnum, again in either diameter, and the Model M will
be used for the Lapua and Warbird. Lazzeronis Patriot will be built around
the Model S.
Let me step aside from
the subject at hand for a moment and explain in a bit more detail a statement
I made above. Benchrest competitors, to include 1000 yard benchrest competitors,
often use a single shot action for its additional stiffness. In traditional
100/200 yard benchrest they also do so because they shoot sighters throughout
the group, making a magazine impractical. During the past few years, many
right hand shooters have taken to ordering the loading port on the opposite
side. That is, a right hand shooter might leave the bolt on the traditional
side for a right hander, but have the loading port on the left side. This
facilitates speed somewhat and puts the port where it can be seen. When the
bolt is pulled to the rear, the shooter extracts the case with a finger,
throws a new cartridge on the loading ramp, and runs it home with the bolt.
It is quite surprising how fast some competitors can manage to shoot a five
round group this way. Some can manage it smoothly and without stress in less
than 20 seconds. The reason benchresters do this comes from the desire to
shoot all 5 rounds in the same condition, beating it, so to speak, before
the condition changes. Of late, manufacturers of custom actions have been
building actions with a mini-port on the right side as well and including
a weak ejector spring. This speeds up the activity a bit more, relieving
the competitor from having to flip the spent case out with a finger. Thus,
as the bolt is being pulled to the rear, the competitor is reaching immediately
for a new case and placing it in the loading port on the left side of the
receiver. The spent case, meantime, is rolling out of the receiver through
the mini-port on the right side and onto a towel placed on the bench below
the rifle. I have watched Mike Radigan complete his 5 round groups in under
12 seconds using this method, placing all five shots in the same hole at
200 yards. Something to think about when you shoot your next twenty-second,
five-dot exercise. In any case, I have brought this up to illustrate that
Nesika can manufacture any such scenario you might be interested in. They
dont know it yet, but Im
going to have Nesika build me one just like that describe above. I just have
to beat Mikes speed no matter the size of the hole in the paper!
Photo 2 (caption: Note the length of the bolt handle
on the Nesika Heavy Tactical rifle. The rifle was shot off the Hart front
rest a great deal, but a Harris bipod was used also.)
Photo 3 (caption: Trina Anthony with the Heavy
and Thomas Blahnik with the Urban Tactical rifles from Nesika Bay Precision.)
Both of my rifles were fitted with Jewell Triggers and had
superb, crisp let-offs. The Jewell trigger never failed. Both rifles were also
fitted with McMillan fiberglass stocks. The heavy rifle included a rail in
the forearm for bipod attachment or any other typical forearm enhancement the
shooter might want.
Photo 4 (caption: This
photo shows the safety in the usual position on Nesikas Heavy Tactical
rifle. Also note the slots in the forearm to facilitate cooling of the
barrel. The fluted bolt can be seen as well. Dirt is rotated out of the
receiver with this configuration.)
The Hart match grade barrels
were first rate examples of Harts
work. The first most pleasant thing about the barrels, and the rifles overall,
of course, was that they were superbly accurate which I will get to later.
The second most pleasant feature about both rifles barrels was that they
did not foul. This proved true also of the Nesika Spec Rifle, the subject
of Part III of this series.
As I sit here writing this, I have the 14 pound rifle propped
up in front of me on the table between the keyboard and the monitor. The forearm
is squarish and flat on the bottom. Three slots have been installed in the
side of the forearm to promote barrel cooling. This is something that may not
be included in future rifles as they tend to attract mud and dirt in harsh
conditions.
I mounted a 6.5-20x50mm
Leupold Long Range Tactical scope with side focus, mil dot reticle, and 30mm
main tube. The rings are Leupolds
Mark 4 rings mounted to the MIL-STD-1913 base.
Photo 5 (caption: The MIL-STD-1913 mount can be
seen in this photo with the Leupold Mark 4 rings in place. You might remark
that the scope is not positioned as well as it could be. Although I agree,
I never changed it while shooting several hundred rounds of ammunition. )
The stock has an almost vertical pistol grip and palm-finger
swell with a slight swale for the thumb. The comb is straight and an adjustable
butt plate was included. Swivel connects for a sling are included front and
rear. The exterior is a mottled black color with fine, splatterings of gray
throughout.
The light rifle is similar in color, but has a much smaller,
traditional mountain style stock that is checkered at the forearm and grip.
The light weighs approximately 10 pounds, and the heavy approximately 14 pounds.
The stock has been pillar
and glass bedded. The floor plate is steel, providing the strength necessary
to torque to 65 pounds according
to many, including Chandler, Remington, and the FBI, the extra torque is
conducive to accuracy.
Although I am not adverse to muzzle brakes, they have their
place. One of them is not on a light tactical rifle, which I consider both
of these to be. You can do without the barrel extension when carrying; trash,
dirt, and mud clog up the holes; and during rain or snow conditions, they leave
too much area exposed for a drop of moisture to be introduced into the bore.
A raindrop in the barrel will send the bullet in very odd directions. Of course,
one can cover them with electrical tape, and the first shot will go to the
same impact point as when zeroed, but the noise generated is still a problem
to others around you. The flash produced has a much greater area of exposure
as well. The .308 is a small enough cartridge to handle in these rifles without
such aggravations anyway (my opinion). These Nesika rifles did not incorporate
muzzle brakes.
True to their Nesika heritage, the actions sported the long
bolt handle and tear-drop, knurled end piece.
Photo 6 (caption: The short barreled Urban Tactical
with high Harris bipod and Nightforce NXS 5.5-15x50mm scope.)
Performance
Working the actions on
these rifles felt identical. To satisfy military criteria, firing springs
in the 28 pound range have been included. This tends to make the actions
a bit stiff over their predecessors. The "Borden
Bumps" have to be polished so that after the TiAN coating is applied,
the bolt assumes the original dimension and moves effortlessly and smoothly,
and does not tighten up too much when cocking and camming a spent shell out
of the chamber.
Both rifles included double-stacked,
four-round, boxed magazines. This was a point of contention with me when
I was shooting matches. Most courses of fire are either 5 or 10 rounds.
Four rounds make loading more awkward than it needs to be. Nesika is working
to change this, but the manufacturer has not yet complied. While these rifles
are not necessarily meant for match shooting, the larger magazines in the
14 pounder would not hurt anything. It would somewhat off set the purpose
of the light rifle, however but each to his own.
The rifles (as I used them) were the simple tools they ought
to be. There are no cheek pieces that need adjusting and that are subject to
failure, no fancy, adjustable butt pieces that gather trash or must be held
open in a positive way by placing a foreign object or empty case in the opening.
Anyone can grab the rifle and feel relatively comfortable enough to make the
shot.
The actions are super strong and continued to feed positively
without failure. After a great many rounds, I saw no notable degradation of
the bolt face, lugs, or the barrels. Barrel life, at least, is one very positive
feature of the .308 Winchester cartridge.
I fed several varieties of ammo through these rifles.
-
Federal 168 grain Gold Metal Match
-
Federal 175 grain Gold Metal Match
-
Lapua 167 grain Scenar
-
Lapua 170 grain Lock Base
-
Winchester Supreme Competition 168 grain Nosler HPBT Match
-
Samson 168 grain HPBT Sierra MatchKing
-
Hawks View Custom
Ammo with 168 grain Sierra MatchKing
-
Remington 168 grain Match
-
Several varieties of reloads using 168 and 175 Sierra
MatchKing bullets
The majority of these loads
shot very well. Some mild reloads were poor. But others of the ammo listed
shot consistently in the .2" and
.3" range. I produced a few groups in the very low .2s and some in the
.1s. The Federal 168 grain Gold Metal Match, Winchester Supreme, and the
Hawks View Custom Ammo produced outstanding results. This Hawks View stuff,
by the way, is great, and I will be doing an article about it soon. Mark
provided 3 lots, each with progressively more powder. They all shot well,
but one of them shot better than the other 2 in all 3 rifles.
I did not baby the rifles while shooting. I shot them cold
and very, very hot. Like a well built rifle should be, it did not matter. I
shot several rounds without cleaning. That did not seem to matter either. Cold,
clean barrel shots went right where they should. I also had the opportunity
to shoot them in both cold and hot weather. All shooting was done near the
coast, however, with elevations running only 60 to 100 feet.
Photo 7 (caption: A close up of the Urban Tactical
rifle with the NSX 5.5-15x50mm scope.)
To test accuracy, I followed
approximately the same procedure throughout. I would show up at the range
before daylight and be ready by first light. This gave me about 2 hours each
morning of near perfect conditions. I had chronographed the ammo early on,
and so did not have to worry about that any longer. I would run 5 shot strings
at one hundred and then at various distances to 600 yards. I drove to a friends
range one day to sight the rifle in at 1000 yards. This, however, was only
done to find the clicks required to get to the longer ranges for an upcoming
match. What surprised me was that the Hawks
View 168 ammo hammered the 12" x 12" steel target at 1000 yards.
The rifles were shot using a typical benchrest competition
technique. Wind flags were placed and mirage boards tacked next to the targets.
On occasion a barrel mirage shield was used as well. The rifles were supported
by a Hart front rest and Bald Eagle rear. Shots were taken only in identical,
very mild winds. Once the wind became fast or switchy enough that it was possible
for an errant shot to be due to wind, the session was stopped.
Once I was confident in
the "pure" ,
no wind, accuracy of the rifles, I switched the Hart rest out for a Harris
bipod, but remained on the bench. The third set was taken from the prone
position using the Harris bipod in front and the Bald Eagle rear. I proceeded
to fire approximately 300 rounds out of each rifle this way. These were
fired in any condition that presented itself to test the stability of the
rifles. One learns, shooting benchrest competition, that a rifle/barrel combination
that will shoot in no wind conditions will not always do so well in the
wind. Bullets from barrels that delay stability because they have not quite
gone to sleep might shoot great in a no wind condition but are upset by wind
pressure against a yaw condition of the bullet in the first few yards out
of the muzzle. This was not a problem in the Nesika rifles with the better
ammo that I tested.
My wanting to complete this evaluation prevented me from practicing
any other reasonable sniper courses. By the time the sniper match came around,
I was out of ammo. Jacob Bynum quickly loaded 500 rounds for me for the match,
but as it turned out, the milder load did not perform like some of the better
ammo. Even so, the ammo Jacob produced was good enough to win.
I returned the light rifle
and entered the sniper match with the 14 pounder. I did not do well. The
Nesika rifle was ready to win, but the driver wasnt. Moving and speed targets were out of my grasp as was standing
off-hand, and a couple of other matches for that matter. However, when it came
to the pure accuracy events, I let the rifle do its work and the outcome was
to our liking (mine and the rifles).
Photo 8 (caption: An
offside view of the Nesikas
Urban Tactical rifle.)
While it is true that practice
is more important than a superbly accurate weapon, such a rifle in the hands
of a great shooter cannot be beat. And since I am not a great shooter, I
began to divine how I could increase my chances by certain changes to the
basic rifle the very catalyst for so
many strange and contorted competition rifles these days. It was this underhanded
scheming that led to the Nesika Spec Rifle that is the subject of the next
article.
Conclusion
I have evaluated several sniper rifles during the past 3 years.
All of them have been quite different in concept and configuration. None of
them, however, was based on a true custom action, and they were certainly not
in the same quality class as a Nesika action or rifle.
The concept of a true custom action as the basis for a sniper
rifle will raise some amount of controversy. Is the extra cost value added?
Is the kind of accuracy available from a rifle built around benchrest techniques
counter productive? Does an action of such quality really improve accuracy
enough (or at all) to warrant the additional cost?
It has been my experience
that snipers are less than 50% exact through a well thought out, diverse,
and difficult course. It has also been my experience that part of this is
attributable to equipment, not that it fails, but that its accuracy round after round after round could be better. Snipers
are usually content with accuracy between and 1 minute largely because
they have to be. I submit that their buyers are not being discriminating
enough. Pure accuracy of 1 minute does not translate to 1 minute in the field,
but more often double that. However, if a rifle can produce .3 minute accuracy,
one might extrapolate .6 minutes in the field. The speed courses are a different
animal altogether where I not sure that fine accuracy is nearly as important
as a great deal of practice and a smooth, fast action and a stable rifle.
Skeptics make the argument
that the quality of the action, for example, is not requisite to accuracy.
Their reasoning is that some of the barrels they mount shoot very well while
others do not. Thus the barrel, they argue, is the critical factor. And,
indeed, the barrel is extremely critical to the production of fine and consistent
accuracy. On the other hand, barrels are dependent on the action, and in
the long run, a much greater percentage of rifles will produce high quality
results using high quality actions and proven benchrest techniques in manufacture.
To be sure, if the action ceases to function, it doesnt matter what barrel
you have mounted.
High quality is indeed
expensive. I often wonder if military buyers are not concerned with this
as much as they are not highly impassioned about snipers. This may or may
not be due to two factors: First, many have never been in a snipers shoes,
and second, government decisions are far too often politically motivated.
All I can say is: if my butt were on the line, give me a Nesika
rifle any time.
Photo 9 (caption: Although I would never win a
photo contest, I love this shot.)
So Whats With The
Knives?
Ok, so you noticed that
I included two knives in the last picture of Nesikas Heavy Tactical Rifle.
Well, I did so for a couple of reasons, both of which might not make either
the editor or Nesika happy. First, this magazine is entitled, The Accurate Rifle, not Blade;
and second, Nesika will brain me for changing the subject for a moment.
But I got to get it in urges, you understand.
During my sojourn as a "Green Beret",
I was introduced to the saying that a special forces trooper was distinguished
from all others by his taste in certain areas. For example, it was imperative
to own a Rolex watch, a Randall knife, and a Ruby ring. I somehow ended up
with a cheap digital watch. The only knife I ever carried in South East Asia
was a Swiss Army knife with several blades and tools in it and I had to pay
for it. While it was one of the most useful tools I carried, it was a far
cry from a Randall knife. I did manage to secure a rare, star ruby for my
wife, but it was a bit on the feminine side for me.
Years later I bought a
book written by a "Green Beret" officer.
One section was devoted to the knives of special forces. Several of them were "Government
Issue" to special forces. Issued to whom? I never saw anyone with anything
remotely resembling such Rambo pig stickers and hootch builders as were pictured
there.
I have been a knife lover
forever. Collecting them is a costly proposition however. Still, they seem
part and parcel of the tactical/hunters
gear. Most of my hunting entails a lot of walking. What would I leave behind
to lighten my load? Well it wouldnt be my rifle, my ammo, or my knife. Since
time immemorial, the knife has been one of the most useful tools invented
by man, and probably one of the first.
When Cold Steel offered to let my evaluate several models
that seemed to reasonably resemble those that a hunter or tactical shooter
might covet, I jumped at the chance. Not only that, but I picked a couple models
that looked a lot like what I had seen in the book previously mentioned.
The models you see complementing
Nesikas Heavy Tactical rifle
are called the SRK (Survival Rescue Knife) on the left and the R1 Military
Classic on the right. The SRK incorporates Carbon V steel (Carbon V is a
high carbon, low alloy steel) with a black epoxy powder coating on the blade.
The SRK sports a 6" long by 3/8" thick blade with clip point that
is extremely strong. The coating controls rust and minimizes light reflection.
Touted as a combat knife, it is razor sharp, uses a single quillion finger
guard and a deeply checkered, rubber like grip, and weighs 8.2 ounces.
The R1 Military Classic
is much like those purported to have been issued to special forces. It is
made of AUS Stainless. Stainless quality is achieved by adding more chromium
and reducing the carbon content. The problem is that as a steel becomes more
stainless, it becomes much harder to sharpen. Cold Steel uses AUS 8A stainless,
a high carbon, low chromium steel that hits a compromise between sharpening
ability and resistance to corrosion. The blade is 7" long and weighs 9.25 ounces. The handle is made of Kraton. The R1
comes with a brown leather sheath and includes a Norton fine India stone. "The
R1 is an exact replica of the original that has seen action around the globe
including Korea, Vietnam, Central America, and the Persian Gulf."
Yeah, they say that, but where is mine. Jealousy aside, these
are very well made knives that can take a lot of punishment and provide a lot
of use. The leather sheath on the R1 is well made, rich looking, and attractive.
It broke my heart to have to return the Nesika Tactical rifles
and the Cold Steel knives. A Nesika rifle, a Cold Steel knife, and South Texan
just seem to go together.
Nesika Bay Precision, Inc.
6112 NE Minder Road
Poulsbo, WA 98370
Phone: 360-297-5555
FAX: 360-297-3973
Cold Steel, Inc.
3036-A Seaborg Avenue
Ventura, CA 93003
800-255-4716
Jacob Gottfredson
E-mail: mailto:jgottfredson@bishopfacility.com
