Remington once again showcased a “civilian” production version of the Remington Arms Chassis System (RACS), first shown at the 2011 SHOT Show. The full-adjustable, modular RACS are designed as drop-in upgrades for any Rem 700 action. A Rem 700 action is clamped directly (metal on metal) to the center section of the RACS, which has a V-block type profile and central magazine well. There are both short-action and long-action versions of RACS. These look nearly identical in design, other than the length of the action section (see photos below by EdLongrange.)
The RACS features a folding stock, with adjustable cheekpiece, LOP, and buttplate height/cant/cast-off. This stock will accept AI magazines which also come with the kit.
No Release Date or Price Yet
What we still don’t have is a firm price and a date when RACS will actually be released to vendors. This system attracted much attention when first introduced, and it appears Remington has made evolutionary upgrades, but right now Remington is still not disclosing a final prices or a reliable delivery date. So keep your figures crossed, but don’t get too excited. Rem’s RACS may remain “vaporware” for an extended time.
The Tuff 1 Grip Cover is a simple new accessory that may benefit tubegun shooters, AR owners, and pistol enthusiasts. Tuff 1 Grip Covers are made from a proprietary, grippy rubberized material that can stretch up to 200%. This elasticity allows the covers to easily fit all revolvers, semi-autos, and rifle or shotgun pistol grips. As you’d expect, Tuff 1 grip covers give you a more secure hold. Importantly, the material also helps absorb recoil (though not as much as Hogue grips). When fitted over a standard, hard-plastic AR grip, the Tuff 1 sleeve definitely provides a more comfortable, “high-traction” feel in the hand. On semi-auto pistols, Tuff 1 grip covers give a secure hold without the rough feel you get with stick-on skateboard tape.
Boa or Bad-Ass
Three surface patterns and four colors (Black, Olive Drab, Desert Tan, Hot Pink) are offered. We prefer the raised button “Boa Snake” pattern, but there is also a grid pattern with raised lines, and a skull pattern, for those “bad-ass” types. The $16.95 MSRP is the same for all colors and surface patterns. You can order from major vendors or directly from the Tuff 1 Online Store.
The one-size-fits-all Tuff 1 grip covers are easy to install. Simply roll the rubberized grip up like a sock, place it on the grip, then unroll it. (Watch installation video below). The Tuff 1 covers can be just as easily removed without harming the rubber.
Useful Product — But Consider Other Options
If you sweat a lot or shoot in wet climates, Tuff 1 grip covers provide a simple, low-cost upgrade. A Tuff 1 grip sleeve does markedly enhance the standard plastic AR15 pistol grip, which is hard, and slippery when wet. But then, for not much more money, you can select among a half-dozen or more aftermarket AR grips which will probably fit your hand better AND provide more cushioning.
For wood-handled wheelguns, we like the Tuff 1 covers in Boa or ‘Double-Cross’ pattern. The Tuff 1 grip sleeves provide better “traction” and cushion the hand a bit without changing grip geometry or making the grip overly thick in your hand. For a tubegun, we prefer the feel and ergonomics of a wood grip, such as those crafted by Doan Trevor (photo at right). These cost $75.00 from DoanTrevor.com or CompetitionShootingStuff.com. For $175.00, Doan also offers fully customized stippled grips, fitted to the shooter’s hand, and finished in satin or gloss.
Gary Eliseo tells us: “The new CG INCH is a very robust triple-lug action designed by Robert Chombart. The CG INCH’s unique rear lug design allows the loading port to be much closer to the shooter than with a rem-style action. The port is about 1.5″ further back. With the CG INCH’s rear three-lug design, the bolt throw is shorter than a front lug action so the bolt handle is no further to the rear when the bolt is open. This design makes loading from the shoulder much more convenient.” Another nice feature of the CG INCH is that no separate recoil lug is required with the CSS Kit. The rear of the action is milled perfectly square and this acts as the recoil stop once the action is assembled into the CG1 chassis. Gary says the only downside to the CG INCH action is that the three-lug bolt does require a bit more effort to lift and cock than bolts in most two-lug actions.
Order Now for Delivery in 6-8 Weeks
Eliseo has finished his first run of CG1 Chassis Kits, but they are all pre-sold. He will commence another run soon, which should be available in 6-8 weeks. Get your order in soon if you want a kit from the next run. The price is $850.00 with choice of 150 powder-coat colors. Anodized or Cerakote finish is $75.00 extra. For more information, visit CompetitionShootingStuff.com or call CSS at 714-630-5734.
Jonathan Ocab, a High Power shooter from California, had gunsmith Doan Trevor install a Sako-style extractor in the Rem 700 bolt in Ocab’s 6mmBR Eliseo R5 tubegun. Jonathan produced an excellent video showing how the Sako extractor improves the ejection of the short, fat 6mmBR cartridges in his rifle. Jonathan’s video demonstrates 6mmBR case ejection with an unmodified Rem 700 factory bolt versus a factory bolt fitted with a Sako-style extractor.
Johnathan explains: “Note how even when slowly operating the bolt, the bolt with the Sako extractor easily ‘kicks’ out the brass on ejection with minimal chance of operator error resulting in a failure to extract. While the unmodified bolt has issues ejecting brass on slow operation, it will eject if the operator pulls the bolt back quickly (fast and with some force).
While a Sako-style extractor isn’t an absolute necessity, this video shows the definite improvement this modification provides. For short cartridges like the 6mmBR, this is very useful. This modification is highly recommended for competition shooters, especially High Power competitors who seek improved function in rapid-fire stages. This modification is fairly inexpensive and any competent gunsmith should be able to perform the work (usually under $100 with parts and labor).”
EDITOR’s NOTE: In his video, Jonathan deliberately worked the unmodified Remington bolt slowly to show how the standard Rem extractor can struggle with short fat cases like the 6mmBR. In fact, when you work a standard, unmodified bolt more quickly, the extraction can be much more positive. Cycling the bolt with more “snap” provides more energy to eject the cases. We have run an R5 Tubegun chambered in 6mmBR with an unmodified Rem 700 bolt (no SAKO extractor), and the extraction was reliable, provided the bolt was worked quickly.
Gary Eliseo of Competition Shooting Stuff (CSS) builds great TubeGun rifle kits and he’s a superb shooter to boot. This past weekend Gary won the California State Palma Championship in Coalinga, California. Gary was shooting his CSS BN1 tubegun with a Barnard action, Krieger 1:13″ twist barrel, and Berger 155.5gr bullets.
Gary reports: “Conditions went from super easy to pretty vicious. The scores haven’t been published yet but mine was 889, and I think the next three were: Lane Buxton 886, Martin Tardif 883, and Jim O’Connell 881. I was using one of my B1 rifles, Barnard P action, Krieger 13 twist barrel, Berger 155.5s. My load was N150 with Winchester .308 brass weight-sorted to 1%. This was the same rig I used at Phoenix (AZ) but I wasn’t completely happy with the performance at 1000 yards. Then, in German Salazar’s Rifleman’s Journal Blog, I read that Mid Tompkins was ‘soft-seating’ the same bullet in his Palma gun. So, I gave that a try for Coalinga and the results were much better. Elevation at 1000 was excellent — the gun holds X-Ring elevation with ease.
The way soft-seating works is that I load long with pretty light neck tension. The bullet moves back about .010-.012 as the bolt is closed. If I extract the round I can barely see any engraving mark on the bullet. But be careful when extracting a soft-seated round because it is possible for the bullet to stick in the rifling. Anyway, the results with soft-seated bullets were much better. So this is a method which works with the .308 case and the Berger 155.5s and my well-worn throat. I don’t necessarily recommend this with other bullets, calibers and throat configurations. And if your discipline often requires you to extract loaded rounds, soft-seating is not advised.”
Top Row: Gary Eliseo (far left), MartinTardiff, unknown, John Giles | Bottom row: Randy Tesseidre, Marco Rojas, Allan Morita. Note that nearly all the rifles are CSS (Eliseo) tubeguns.
To learn more about shooting with Eliseo’s innovative CSS stocks, read German Salazar’s article: Adjusting the TubeGun Stock.
This gear review is by respected prone shooter German Salazar. German recently received the first production version (Serial No. 0001) of the NEW Borden Action espressly designed for Tubeguns. German reports this is “really a great piece of equipment” and it’s affordable at $800 for the single-shot version or $850.00 for the repeater.
NEW Action for the Tubegun Revolutionby German Salazar
If you’re a High Power shooter then you know that the Tubegun Revolution is in full swing both in across-the-course and prone matches. For many reasons, including accuracy, availability, cost, delivery time, ergonomics, familiar feel (for AR15 shooters) and more, the Tubeguns are becoming the norm in High Power. I recently built a 30-06 Tubegun for prone matches and have been extremely satisfied with the results, but I had a desire for a better action for it, now that desire is a reality.
While most Tubegun stocks are made to take Remington 700 actions or clone, it has become difficult to get bare Remington actions and bargain priced 700s are non-existent these days. Buying a complete rifle to strip, then blueprinting the action leaves you with about the cost of a custom action invested in the Remington — not the most economically sensible outcome.
Seeing the need for a custom action to fit the Tubeguns at a moderate price, Jim Borden of Borden Rifles is now making a Tubegun Special (TGS) action –- actually six variants of it. The TGS action is made to fit the Tubegun stocks without alteration and has been designed in cooperation with Gary Eliseo (Competition Shooting Stuff) to ensure compatibility and functionality.
Special Features Optimized for Tubegun Installations
The TGS is a full round action, without the scallops of the Borden Alpine/Timberline series and without the flattened rear bridge of the Remington 700. This full round surface presents a much larger surface area for epoxy if you intend to glue-in the action, and simply a better fit if you intend to bolt the action into the tube. Additionally, the TGS has no scope mounting holes or bolt stop since these are not required in a Tubegun stock and their elimination reduces machining costs, helping to keep the retail price competitive with a blueprinted Remington.
Beyond the action profile, there are a few choices in the TGS. You can order it right-handed or left-handed, long action or short action, single-shot or repeater. The single-shot models have a coned bolt as shown in the photos, which helps feeding from the action trough, whereas the repeaters have a flat-faced bolt like a Remington to ensure reliable feeding from a magazine.
The TGS has the familiar Remington-type plunger ejector and a claw extractor similar to the Sako. I have put over 4,000 rounds through my 6BR Borden Alpine with 100% reliability from the extractor. It’s a solid, reliable design. The bolt is nicely fluted in a spiral pattern and the fit and finish of every bit of the action and bolt are first class. It’s almost a shame to epoxy it into the tube, but that’s what it’s meant for!
Borden Accuracy is now a distributor for the CG triggers (X-tremeshooting.com) and can time the action to the trigger before delivery. Other triggers are available from Borden as well and the action takes any Remington-type trigger. Finally, Gary and Jim have standardized locations for the serial number and manufacturer information and the CSS stocks have small windows in the main sleeve to allow those to be seen at all times.
If you’re planning to build a Tubegun, you should take a close look at the Borden Tubegun Special action, it’s a very practical and cost-effective approach with the single-shot actions priced at $800 and the repeaters at $850 as of this writing.
Here’s a cool video created by Ed Cole and Roy Cole, twin brothers from Texas. In the video, the Coles demonstrate two Eliseo prone rifles, a bright green/orange Savage-actioned S1 and a pumpkin-colored R1 with Stiller Predator (Rem footprint) action. Both rifles are chambered for .223 Remington, and fitted with 31″ Brux cut-rifled barrels. In the video, the Coles shoot with slings and iron sights at targets 600 yards away. We have to say the day-glo colors on the Eliseo S1 will get anyone’s attention. WARNING: Loud music track and shooting sounds — turn the volume down if you are at work.
Roy Cole reports: “My orange ‘Longhorn’ R1 is a superb shooter. After breaking-in the Brux barrel, I took it to the Panola County 600-yard range. The first round was a low 9 on the target. A simple sight adjustment yielded a 10-shot string with eight Xs. With no load development the R1 just ate up the X-Ring. The most amazing thing is how the gun simply falls into your shoulder and fits! One of the greatest surprises of the gun is how nice the Timney tactical trigger is. It is not the most expensive trigger around but it performs as if it is! The Stiller Predator action works right out of the box. Put a barrel and a trigger on it and slip it into the tube stock and have the most fun that you have ever had. My brother Ed’s two S1 guns shoot just as well as my R1 does. His guns use Savage target actions with factory-issue Accutriggers.” Shown below is Ed Cole with another one of his Savage-actioned, Eliseo S1 match rifles. This example is a more ‘sedate’ Candy-Apple red.
To learn more about the Eliseo B1, R1, S1, R5, RT10, and RTS rifle chassis kits, or other products from Gary Eliseo, visit CompetitionShootingStuff.com or call Gary at (714) 630-5734.
Carl Bernosky, 8-time winner of the Camp Perry National High Power Championships, will be switching back to a bolt gun for the 2009 competition. Last year, Carl shot an AR15-based spacegun built on Smith & Wesson M&P15 components. With that rifle, Carl became the first competitor to win the Camp Perry High Power Championship shooting an AR15-type semi-auto.
But this year Carl will be shooting a 6.5 Creedmoor CSR-1 TubeGun from Creedmoor Sports. Based on a TubeGun Chassis and buttstock by Gary Eliseo (of Competition Shooting Stuff), the CSR-1 features a Pierce Precision Rem 700-clone receiver, and a 28″ Broughton barrel.
Both the buttstock and the handguard are adjustable to suit the shooter. The handguard/float tube can rotate 15 degrees from center in either direction, allowing the shooter to adjust his desired rifle cant. The 4-way buttstock adjusts for length-of-pull, cant, buttpad height and offset. There is an adjustable cheekpiece and even two 4.8-ounce removeable weights to allow precise balancing of the rig.
The CSR-1 is offered in five (5) chamberings: 308 Win, 6.5 Creedmoor, 6.5×47 Lapua, 6XC, and .223 Rem. At Camp Perry, Carl Bernosky will be shooting a 6.5 Creedmoor version of the rifle, using Hornady components.
Just how accurate can a 6BR Tubegun be, when shot from the bench with bag-riding attachments? Would you believe 0.170 MOA at 200 yards? Yep, that’s benchrest-grade accuracy out of an across-the-course rifle.
Forum member Milan recently tested his new Eliseo R5 6BR tubegun with Berger 80gr Varmint bullets. We’ve found the Berger 80s to be extraordinarily accurate, and Milan confirmed that fact. His R5 features a Krieger barrel, Pierce action, and Jewell trigger. At right is his first 5-shot group, with the size calculated with On-Target software. The calculated group size is 0.355″, or 0.170 MOA at 200 yards. (Measured by Milan with calipers, it was slightly smaller, 0.350″.)
Milan reports: “Today, I took my brand new R5 rifle (stock made by Gary Eliseo with Pierce Engineering Action and gunsmithing, and Krieger barrel) to a shooting range for the first time. I was shooting at 200 yards and my very first shot was on target. I shot one more time in the same spot and cleaned my rifle. I shot another three shots to find the center of the target. I cleaned the rifle again and shot my first 5-shot group. Looking through my scope, it all looked like one hole. I got a big smile on my face and could not get any happier. When I got home and measured the group, it measured less than 0.350″. Bummer… I was looking forward to the challenge of finding a good load for this rifle but it seems like now I will have to look for another challenge. My load was Berger 80gr Varmint Bullets, 31.0 grains of Varget, Remington 6.5 primer, and bullet was seated 0.015″ in lands.”
Milan added: “The silver rear bag rider attachment came from CSS. I only modified it a little. I lowered my rifle about 1″. I also made my own design, shown below, which allows me to make fine height adjustment on my rear bag when shooting from a bipod and to keep the front of my rifle as low as possible. I would like to thank to Gary Eliseo and John Pierce (Pierce Engineering) for a great job. I highly recommend the services of both these guys.”
Useful Product — But Consider Other Options
Forum member Milan recently tested his new 
