FN action US Palm 20" match barrel McMillian stock ANY GOOD ?

M

Metal god

New member
Well I was out looking at my next gun purchase . It was going to be a Savage Model: 10 FCP-K when I came a cross the 308 gun in the title . It's on sale for $750 and feels pretty good . Does anyone have the FN US Palm gun ? I notice the trigger was crisp but heavy , is it adjustable . What is the expected life of the barrel.

Im looking for a long range 600+ yard heavy barrel 308 . I have had my eye on the Savage FCP-K for awhile now and I'm about to pull the trigger on it . Do any of you have the savage or shot one . I was a little disapointed with the feel of the bolt . It was not garbage but I was expexting a little less play and it seemed to want to bind a little . May have just needed a little lube .

The savage Is on sale for $800 right now at my LGS . Any other gun suggestions are welcome .

Things I want

Accurate to a 1,000 yards . will be shooting 6 to 8 hundred yards often

Heavy barrel 24" preferred ( fluted not a must )

Threaded barrel

adjustable trigger

upgrade path

$800-ish ( gun only )

Long life I'll put a minmum of 3 to 4 hundred rounds a year through it ,may be as much as 5 or 6 hundred

Thanks for the help
 
SGC still building those? Here's a bit of insight at Sniper's Hide. I suppose, for the price, that it's OK... unless the mystery barrel has an issue and SGC doesn't give you any after the sale love... then it's $500-$650 to re-barrel it with a premium benchrest quality barrel.
 
In the title, check to see if the "Palm" is actually a "Palma" match barrel. If so, jump on that thing like a dog on a T-Bone.

The Palma Match is a long range match, shot at 800, 900, and 1000 yards. The weight of the bullet is limited to 155 grains, I believe.

The FN action is quite simply a Winchester Model 70 with a different name. And yes, the trigger is easily adjustable with two ignition wrenches.

Another plus might ne the stock. What kind of stock does it have?
 
In the title, check to see if the "Palm" is actually a "Palma" match barrel. If so, jump on that thing like a dog on a T-Bone.
Click to expand...
It's not a "Palma" barrel. Palma shooters typically have very long barrels (30") because of the crazy distances they shoot with iron sights and lighter projectiles. This is a short barrel with no iron sights.

Another plus might ne the stock. What kind of stock does it have?
Click to expand...
As for the stock: it's listed as a McMillan stock by more than one source. If it's indeed a McMillan A3 (and there is more than one A3 variant) then the stock is worth $500+. Check it out for yourself, the lowest I can find any FN/70 A3 for is $520 up to more than $700... I'm not sure if links to vendors are allowed so you have do the searching.

The action is made by FN and is of known quality (undisputed). Controlled feed vs push feed is a matter of preference, but regardless the action is probably worth about $400 by itself.

The big question is the barrel, which is of questionable lineage and quality. Good? Good enough for now? Good enough for free? If it is indeed a true McMillan stock and an FN action then they're giving away the barrel at the $750 sale price.

As for barrel length I'm looking at an article which lists muzzle velocities for the same loads at different barrel lengths: you lose about 25fps per inch between 20-25" with the 308 Win. Examples: 20" = 2592fps, 22" = 2646fps, 24" = 2694fps. I'll let you do the math but I'm betting that at 600-800 yards there are multiple factors that will be more of a problem than the 100fps difference in muzzle velocity (ie you).

You asked about upgrade path... with a McMillan stock and an FN action your upgrade path is eventually an upgraded barrel. 308 Win is not a "barrel burner" and the longevity is often listed as 5000rds. Quality optics are required either way.

Now for the downside: I definitely didn't like the looks of the ring formed in the brass from the link that Creeper posted. My guess is a bad reamer, but crap happens for every company. I'm not ready to trash a company because one anonymous person on the internet had one bad barrel (and was refunded his money). If this becomes a trend then that's a different story.

Here's my advice: get what you want because it's more expensive to buy something, be disgruntled, and then go buy what you really wanted later. If you're only buying the FN because of the sale then that's probably not the best reason. You don't sound thrilled about the Savage either, so maybe you should pass on that too. If the bolt bothers you now it's probably going to really irk you later. No problem, I can think of at least 3 other brands that are on par with these for price/performance.
-StaTiK-
 
Last edited:
Pass on this. You don't want a 20 inch barrel for long range work if you can avoid it, 24 or 26 is better when you have to go out to 1k.

The stock may be a McMillan, but you can get a McMillan stock for a Savage.

The FN Classic action has a very slow lock time compared to a Savage. It may win on stiffness in the vertical plane, but I'm not sure about that. The Classic M70 action disappeared from serious competitions by the early 60's internationally, but it held on a bit longer locally because the USMC was often too cheap to replace the ones they had (they just kept rebuilding them).

Jimro
 
Thanks everybody . I did in fact pass on it . There was just to many ? about it . The guys at my LGS could not even agree what parts were FN or us palm or even if it was a real McMillan stock or not .

I did how ever buy the

Savage Model: 10 FCP-K in 308 today :cool:.....:D!!!!!
x1739nq85hgkqnn4yx.png
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top