Limitations of the Omark action.

tom1 · Post by **tom1** » Fri Sep 06, 2013 3:19 pm

I was at the Yarloop prize meeting two weeks ago and I noticed that there were only about six Omarks being used by both Target rifle and F class.
I shoot target rifle with an Omark , Maddco barrel and Davies trigger. I have also recently purchased a Cronk stock that I am very happy with. My rifle shoots well , better than I can shoot at the moment.
Are there limitations with the omark action that are seeing them left behind by the Barnard and RPA ? I have read on another forum that omarks are competitive out to 700 yards then can struggle at the longer ranges.
Another very good Fclass shooter told me the the omark action is just not as solid as the Barnard or RPA.
I am not in the market to upgrade any time soon as I have other priorities to spend my hard earned on.
Would be interested in the opinions of gunsmiths and those that really know what they are talking about .

Brad Y · Post by **Brad Y** » Fri Sep 06, 2013 5:03 pm

The main problem with omarks is getting parts. If you spoke to rob behind the bar he would have told you the dramas he is having. The omarks are fairly old now and it's just getting a bit much. In 30 years time the same might be said about barnards you never know. That's a bonus of using an action that can utilise rem 700 parts. I was shooting a pierce action in the blue stock with a barrel block. Any rem trigger will fit and replacement firing pins and springs and sako extractors are common.

Seddo · Post by **Seddo** » Sat Sep 07, 2013 10:24 am

I was at TSE yesterday and Tony showed me the new omark style actions he was making that had the barrel adapter machined in them. If they are still making action si thought parts would have been easy to get??

Brad Y · Post by **Brad Y** » Sat Sep 07, 2013 9:01 pm

Dunno Scott, everytime I hear someone trying to get gear for Omarks I always say try TSE but they reckon they either dont have any in stock, have long lead times or in one case I know someone who had a part made and ended up sending it back as it didnt work.

Seddo · Post by **Seddo** » Sat Sep 07, 2013 11:47 pm

Brad,

I cant explain that, he has to make parts maybe its a time verses return thing. I know Tony has made his last batch of Omark barrels, form now on you will need an adapter to get a new barrel fitted. I was lucky enough to get one of the last batch.

Brad Y · Post by **Brad Y** » Sun Sep 08, 2013 12:49 am

Yep and unless someone is hoarding them, adapters are getting rare and expensive at that. It probably wont take long for them to be more expensive to maintain than buying a rem 700 sps and using it as a donor rifle.

tom1 · Post by **tom1** » Sun Sep 08, 2013 9:45 am

I understand that parts can be hard to source at times, but can a well set up Omark compete with a Barnard or RPA? Are these actions simply more accurate than an Omark or is it some shooters prefer to be seen with expensive rifles?
Is it a case of these newer actions have better triggers, bolts chambers etc
that just outshade an Omark? Not wanting to start a this is better than that rant , would like to know why shooters have upgraded from an Omark to a Barnard or RPA and other actions.

Courtz Day · Post by **Courtz Day** » Sun Sep 08, 2013 10:41 am

Hi Tom

The accuracy does not come from the action, any custom action will do omark to the Barnard etc...
99.9% of accuracy comes from the 3B'S
Bullet Barrel Bedding

I use Barnards for the smooth operating but have got a lot of omark an neilson to shoot just as well. For example a Neilson I built 9 months ago shot a 60.10x a few weeks back at 800m

hope this helps
Courtney Day

David B · Post by **David B** » Sun Sep 08, 2013 2:48 pm

Simple when I open my bolt I know my RPA will pull out the spent case...no banging the handle, struggling or screw drivers involved

tom1 · Post by **tom1** » Sun Sep 08, 2013 3:36 pm

Thanks for the replies. I know where you are coming from with stiff Omark bolts , mine is the same. I have never had any extraction problems with my Omark yet.
Just got back from shooting this morning @ 500 yds 50.3 and 48.4 with my Omark. Blowing my own trumpet here , second application I didnt pick a wind dropoff for one four and put a bad shot at 10 oclock for my last shot.
Appreciate all replies ,as I said my rifle shoots better than I can.

Tman · Post by **Tman** » Mon Sep 09, 2013 12:11 am

I have recently upgraded from an Omark with a Maddco barrel, to a Barnard with a Truflite barrel, to shoot FClass. The Omark exceeded all expectations at the time to shoot FClass, but I had issues on extracting reloads, so would shoot factory rounds, especially travelling to prize meetings, teams matches etc. The Omark I will convert back to a TR gun for grade matches, where as the Barnard I will use for FClass and reload for it as well.

The Omark was an experiment to get across FClass shooting, its limitations in its stock and getting a consistent position, as well as possible trigger issues, the sights positioning from TR to FClass vary considerably. To me the stock of the Omark is more suited for TR as that is what I have used for the past 35 years, me fitting to the rifle, IE sling position, length of pull etc.
My main focus in all of this is FClass, but there are elements of TR that are useful as well.

The stock that I have for the Barnard is a new type of stock modelled on the Anschutz 2013 stock, out of Aircraft-grade aluminium and made in Australia. And in this case, I can adjust the rifle stock to fit me, not the other way around.

I have an Anschutz 2013/690 for shooting smallbore and the level of adjustment on this rifle is just incredible, some of this carrying across to this new Barnard stock, although the shooting style is different.

In the past I used to shoot smallbore as cross-training for TR, for position, shoot release and follow-through, my biggest problem more recently being visual dwell on the sight picture, looking too long at the target, shot release and follow-through, all issues to work on. Getting back into smallbore will hopefully fix these problems, and the benefit going across to FClass and TR.

Omarks are a very useful stepping stone in FClass, parts can be an issue, but a great way to start, until such time as you wish to progress further in this great sport.

Tman · Post by **Tman** » Mon Sep 09, 2013 12:16 am

See the following link for the stock that I was talking about go to https://plus.google.com/u/1/photos/1071 ... 3044880833

I will be shooting in the Queens in Sydney as well, so come and have a look

Cheers

Ben

tom1 · Post by **tom1** » Mon Sep 09, 2013 12:49 pm

Thank for the input . It seems that I can sleep easily knowing that I am still going to be competitve with my Omark if I can master all of the little things in shooting.
Now here is a question that may stir a hornets nest . If I decided to update to a new action in .308 for target rifle would I buy a Barnard or an RPA ?
Does anyone know if the Omark bolt handle can be modified so that it is longer thus easier to open?

johnk · Post by **johnk** » Mon Sep 09, 2013 1:08 pm

If I had my options over again, it would be Barnard - quality, availability, service support & price - not that the RPA isn't a bad piece of kit.

You can mod the Omark quick & dirty by boring & tapping a hole in the knob in line with the handle & fitting a suitably machined bolt of your choice, or have somebody with cred machine the knob externally, thread it & fit an extended bolt knob to gain the extra length. Keep heat away - that handle is only brazed onto the body. The first looks like a snake that swallowed a bowling ball; the second can be quite smart looking.