Anschutz 54.30:a big improvement over the 2013 ?

[larry]

Since it came out on the market a couple years ago , I'm wondering if this new action is actually a major improvement over previous design from Anschutz. ..

Any thoughts ?

[Tim S]

The bolt is shorter, and lock time is reduced. It's an improvement over the 1913/1907, but lacks the fast no-gunsmithing barrel-change facilty of the 2013. Compared to the competition, the bolt isn't as short, and the trigger hasn't been updated. If you already have a tired Match 54 barrel in a good modern stock and with good sights, a 54.30 barrel/action would be much cheaper than a whole new rifle. But here in the UK, the KK500 isn't much more expensive than a 54.30 Precise with sights.

[svensta]

One shooter at my club bought a 54.30 barreled action and dropped it into his stock. It shoots very well but he is also a good shot which helps.
He does not really notice the slight weight reduction but thinks the longer sight radius (than he previously had) when using the blooper tube is an
advantage and it's a little more comfortable to load. Based on his scores I can't fault the 54.30. One thing to note is that it's no more accurate
than his old Anschutz but the longer sight radius now allows a more fine grained sighting adjustment.

Personally I don't think it's a major improvement over the pinned or clamped actions of prior models.
Take the 1913 action, shorten it + the bolt, flip the firing pin to 6 o'clock and screw in the barrel.
Not too much R&D went into that but I could be wrong.

[Piefou]

KK500 has a lot more to offer, for not so much added coins.

But I wonder why they gone back to a round action, while the 20** was a square one like all others manufacturers.

[patriot]

I bought a 54.30 out of the first US shipment. It is very accurate. Since I've shot 1913's for years, the K500 would have introduced too much of a learning curve. Some feel the 54 round action is inherently more accurate than the square; never owned a 2013 so I can't judge.

Mark

[dc.fireman]

One of the questions I have regarding the KK500 vs. the 54.30: How do you scope it for any sight competition?

I use an Anschutz ASR rail, and a Leopold Competition scope, on a Feinwerkbau 2700, and that was no small feat to line that up; Is it possible to accomplish this with the KK500?

[pfiori]

The Anschutz Scope Rail fits and works on the KK500.

Pete

[dc.fireman]

The Anschutz Scope Rail fits and works on the KK500.

Pete

Thanks for the info Pete!

[vicfox]

With 3 years past since this thread was active there should be a few more people who would had more to contribute to the performance of the Anschutz 54.30 '

I have a 2013 that I use for bench-rest and am particularly interested if there is an advantage with 54.30 given the changes which you would think should be an improvement.
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

[vicfox]

With little to be found on the web and with Anschutz North America reluctant to confirm whether a 54.30 was any more accurate than the 2013,
I had to find out for myself and go buy one.

The 2013 that I own [unmodified] and have shot bench-rest with for the last 3 and a half years is very accurate but you need to be on your game and have a great batch of ammunition to be competitive.
BUT more often than not either the Rifle or me just needed that bit more accuracy to win. A few of the custom built riflers were the ones giving me the most grief.

I had the opportunity to buy a near new 54.30 back when I last posted here and in the end I purchased it, fitted up the tuner, fitted up my scope and headed down the range.


So far shooting it with a variety of ammunition I am pleased to report that the 54.30 that I now have OUT SHOOTS my 20013 and in my first week of ownership have managed to shoot a personal best which took my 12 months to beat.


Lapua has proved to be the preferred rounds as was the case with my 2013 and SK+ shoots exceptionally well with Centre X and Midas+ super consistent.
SK+ was my go-to round with the 2013 for practise given that its half the price of Centre X so to have SK+ shoot so well I can see the value of my practice increase my consistency and my confidence. Not to mention saving lots of dollars

Eley Match and Tenex were good but just lacked the consistency of the Centre X and Midas +. RWS similarly as good as the Eley but given just how well the Lapua is shooting I don't see the need to do any more testing of any thing else.

Early days yet but its clear that the 54.30 is less finicky with ammunition to shoot consistently than the 2013 and ultimately more accurate.
I'd noticed other rifles in the club be able to shoot really well with a variety of brands and standards of ammunition compared to my 2013 but confident I'll be winning a few more matches and enjoying my shooting jusdt that little bit more.

I was confident that if Anschuts went to the trouble to make changes and introduce a new model it would be their priority and intention to improve accuracy. For me it appears they have achieved it.

I hope anyone else that has or is going to move to a 54.30 finds it a pleasure to own and shoots as well as mine.

[henrikka]

How easy is it to change barrel with 54.30 system? Something you can do in 15min without any special tools?

[Tim S]

How easy is it to change barrel with 54.30 system? Something you can do in 15min without any special tools?

54.30 barrels screw into the receiver. If the new barrel had been chambered and threaded already, and the length of the tenon machined for correct headspace in your action, it might be possible to unscrew the old one and fit the replacement fairly quickly. Do barrel vices and action wrenches count as special tools? If you include the time to chamber and machine the new barrel, I suspect it will take much longer.

The 54.30 does not clamp the barrel like the 2013.