Raptor Arms .270 win . Opinions?

NorCalMatt

I picked up one of these from a friend for $150 bucks. Syn stock, .270 Win, looks like a Rem. 700 copy. Fit and finish is obviosuly cheap and rough. My main concern is I do not want this thing blowing up in my face or something. The metal seems soild, minus the casting marks all over it. I do not see any crack or fractures anywhere.

After the total lack of informaiton that I can find on it, and the fact the company went out of business... I can say I am honestly scared to shoot it for my own safety. Am I being irrational? It does have 4 large holes in the bottom of the bolt that are supposed to deflect any gasses down the magazine well incase of a overpressurized chamber.

I only found one article online from Guns magazine from around 99-00 that said it was "rough around the edges" but a great shooter, built with strong metals... grouping 1 1/4 - 1 1/8 @ 100 yards with poor optics. I doubt it, but we shall see.

I took a few hours today with a dremel and polished up some of the rough contact points on the bolt, and started to do my best at free floating the barrel. Anyways, it is obviously a very cheap gun but I think I can make a decent "stuff shooter" out of it.

What should I expect from this gun with a decent scope and mounts. ie: Super Sniper and Badger Ord. mounts?

Also the rear of the stock seems hollow, Is there anything I can fill that with to give it some better weight and balance? Epoxy or something of that nature? Advisable? Unadvisable? or dont bother.

I know this is turd polishing, but I like having something to mess with so I leave my guns that do not need any "fixing" alone.

Thanks.

Grasshopper

I had one last year just like yours. Mine shot fine, but as you said , just a utility gun. Shoot it and you will be ok. imo...nambu

D.S.COLE

The Raptor, same rifle, is being sold currently by Mossberg as the ATR model.
It will function as intended and I havent heard of one blowing up.
I wouldnt spend any money trying to make it better or prettier ,things you can do yourself such as bedding ,smoothing the action etc that wont take any cost but your time ,okay.
If you wont to put some weight in the butt stock no harm done by this.
Just use it as a cheap knock around ,that you dont have to worry about.
As far as accuracy ,I have an aquaintance with one in 270 who claims sub MOA with his.

Old Fool

I have a friend who has one and I researched it for him. No need to worry as they are safe and reasonably accurate rifles. They will take a deer at moderate ranges just as well as a $1,000 rifle. In addition they were made in the USA, a BIG plus!!

NorCalMatt

Thanks a lot for the info. Anything specific you would reccomend to try and fill the stock with?

Old Fool

Go to the Brownell's web sight and look into the stock weights there, you might also look at the "recoil reducers" they carry as they are quite heavy and Might help a little with the recoil.

http://www.brownells.com

D.S.COLE

put some lead shot in the amount of weight you want to add in an old sock or pouch and tie it up so it cant spill and wedge it in the hollow butt with foam peanuts or balled up paper.put the butt pad back with it wedged tight against the pad.

nononsense

NorCalMatt,

"I can say I am honestly scared to shoot it for my own safety."

Then why did you buy in the first place? Seems to me that you avoid something that scares you.

"My main concern is I do not want this thing blowing up in my face or something. The metal seems soild, minus the casting marks all over it. I do not see any crack or fractures anywhere."

I think we would have seen reports of these actions blowing up before now especially since Mossberg is still producing them. The cracks and fractures or voids that occur in actions are usually micro in size and require x-ray, magnaflux or some other investigative tool to indicate their existance. If you were able to see 'cracks and fractures' with your bare eyeball, I'd ditch the rifle also!

Any time you go near a rifle with the intent of polishing it up, that Dremel tool should be locked up in a cabinet far from your work bench. Any "rough contact points" should either be lapped, stoned or machined smooth not polished with a Dremel.

"What should I expect from this gun with a decent scope and mounts. ie: Super Sniper and Badger Ord. mounts?"

While the scope might be acceptable but overkill for a .270, I think you could do just as good with far less expensive rings. The rings cost as much as you paid for the rifle! Try looking at the Burris Signature rings.

I can't say for sure since I haven't tried to take that particular recoil pad off, you might have to cut it off instead of merely unscrewing it. If so, be careful so you can re-use it afterwards.

The solution to the weight problem is to use a small pill bottle filled with small lead shot like #9 or #12 and get some aerosol foam from the hardware store and shoot it into the stock around the bottle. It will fill all of the space (and more) holding the bottle tight yet it can be trimmed flush for the recoil pad and removed fairly easily if you need to.

Good Luck with this.

Best.

NorCalMatt

Thanks.

I have shot the gun before when my buddy had it. I was not worried what so ever then, or after I bought it from him. I only became worried about the safety of the gun after trying to research it (after I bought it...like an idiot).

As far as polishing. I did not do anything extreme.

I do trust you that polishing is not a great method for trying to smooth things out on guns, why is this? Is it because polishing does not give a uniform "flat" finish?

nononsense

NorCalMatt,

There isn't any sense in worrying about the safety of something simply because you can't find the articles written about the product. I'm quite certain that if anyone had found any safety deficiencies in the rifle or it's parts, you would have found the 'net flooded with the information and the rifles pulled from the market. What you did find is that the parts are not finished as nicely as rifles that cost more, although the current run of cheap Remingtons leaves a lot to be desired.

I think my response was towards the 'a few hours' that you spent polishing the rough contact points on the bolt. Most people spend a lot of time rounding off edges that shouldn't be rounded off. Most folks wouldn't recognize the cams on the lugs until someone pointed them out and they definitely shouldn't be polished with a Dremel. Flat surfaces on the back of the bolt lugs should be lapped in conjunction with the lug seat to be perpendicular with the bore line. Etc, etc. Flat surfaces are supposed to be flat and perpendicular or parallel, cams should be left alone and the more you polish on a receiver or bolt such as this merely accentuates the flaws, that's all.

Best.

boysonthehill

Does anybody know where to get parts for the Raptor 270 Hunting Rifle