Product Review – Nesika Model C Action

By Rob Carnell

I was prompted to write this review by a competitor at a recent match. Guess this is a pretty good idea, since I have now campaigned this action for the past year.

I initially decided on the Nesika Bay action after some postings on the benchrest.com board. Someone posted a note asking whether they should buy a Stolle or a Farley. There were lots of replies showing personal preference. Then there was the post from Glenn at Nesika that caught my eye. Glenn suggested that the poster should certainly check out the other actions, but that Glen would be prepared to send an action built to the customer’s specifications for him to trial. He suggested that if he liked the action to send a cheque, or if there was anything at all he didn’t like about it to just send it back!

I had been in the market for a custom action for a while, but this post made up my mind. I figured that anyone with that much confidence in their product had to be choice for me.

Purchasing a custom action can be quite a battle trudging a path down the legal necessities, but eventually I received my nice new shiny Model C. Cost was around US$900 when I bought mine last year.

The first thing that struck me about this piece was it’s sheer beauty. It is so beautifully finished that it is a work of art. The action itself is made of 15-5 stainless steel and the boltways are wire-cut with very expensive EDM equipment. Nesika feel this is a better way than other methods where the metal is cut away and can result is molecular distortion and material stress. The Model C is essentially a round action, but has a scallop out of the bottom to make it partially flat to save weight and also to make bedding a breeze. There is a trigger hanger supplied so the trigger can be removed from the bottom of the rifle via the trigger cutout without any pins, just two hex head screws. The top is drilled and tapped to take screw on bases, you can order these from Nesika as well.

The bolt body is made from a single piece of E-4340. Yes, that’s right, the bolt handle is an integral part with no silver soldered joint, which has been known to cause trouble on occasions. The bolt is spiral fluted and has “Borden Bumps”. These are very small ridges on the front and rear of the bolt which cam when the bolt closes to lock up tightly. When the bolt is opened, the bolt moves effortlessly. Extraction is via a sliding claw in the face of the boltlug. The boltface has a 60 degree cone and I ordered the optional ejector. I felt that the spring initially supplied was way too strong and I replaced it with a gentler version so the fired case just flops out of the action.

The Model C I chose was recommended by me friend Speedy Gonzales from SG&Y Rifles in Dallas Texas. I believe Speedy had some input into this particular design to save some weight. Final weight is a mere 25 oz, I think about 710g. You can see some pictures of Yvette Gonzales’ (Speedy’s wife) Model C on the Nesika website at www.nesika.com.

The thread is a little shorter than on my previous action, a Stolle Panda, but is plenty long enough to hold a large barrel. Thread is the same, 1.0625” dia 18 threads per inch.

Nesika’s are quite new to Australia, however there are at least 3 others that I am aware of. Keith Highfield has the only other Model C that I know of. He is really happy with his also, he even managed to win the NSW 4 Gun title last year shooting 3 legs with his then brand new Model C.

I believe the Nesika Bay line of actions are a wonderful addition to the world of benchrest, and I recommend them wholeheartedly.