Magazine Insertimg Too Far in Action

[tac29136]

Hi guys, I have a custom 300wm, the build spec is as follows,
* Kelbly's Atlas Tactical Action
* Jewel Trigger
* Atlasworks bottom metal
* 24" Proof Sendero Carbon barrel
* PSE Composites ETAC stock.

I love the rifle but it's got one issue thats annoying me. When I insert the magazine with the bolt open, the magazine inserts too far to allow the bolt to be pushed forward, to chamber a round.

The magazine will click home, and then some (maybe 5 mm or so..) and this prevents the bolt from closing.
It hits the top of the magazine. In order to close the bolt, I have to pull the magazine down until it catches, then it'll cycle perfectly.

Any idea how I can rectify this issue? Any help or advice appreciated.

 

[HonestJohn]

Go back to the builder as they’ve not done their job

 

[finnbear270]

^This.!

 

[HonestJohn]

Look at the bottom metal, it’s sitting quite deep, likely it was bedded and pillared based on ‘specs’, not with the mag fitted to ensure tolerances on each component matches if they are out of standard specs.

I’ll hazard a guess the bottom metal isn’t bedded, only the rifle action, and the action and floorplate are too close to each other. Proper work is to bed the floorplate, jimmy rig is to put spacers under the action screws

 

[Donkey Basher]

Has it actually been bedded or just sat on pillars?

I’m no expert but I’ve had a couple of rifles bedded by people who are & have done a couple myself & they look very different to yours. Yours has a visible gap between action & stock all the way around by the look of it - it’s normal when bedding to remove a little material all around & then the bedding compound fills the gap to make a custom fit to the action. You then see a thin grey line between action & stock, plus you get more of an indicator under the chamber of the barrel ahead of the action.

I’d also say that if it’s been pillar bedded then the pillars are too short as the bottom metal should be flush as others have said. Assuming of course that it’s even got pillars fitted?

Do you have any photos of the stock with the action & bottom metal removed to show the bedding job?

Unless it’s a second hand purchase, I’d go back to whoever built the rifle for you & request they rectify the issue at their expense as it appears they’ve not bedded it properly!

 

[Foxyboy43]

Hmmm.
Occasionally had issues with my Remmy when putting the stock back on - invariably it was because one of the two screws was too far in and a simple tweaking of both sorted it. Your pic suggests that the floorplate front is very deep in the stock so maybe try easing this screw and gently tightening the rear one - assuming there is one of course?

 

[jthyttin]

If the action and bottom metal are too close together but the magazine locks in place bolt closed -> somebody's also been fiddling with mag latch (shortening it)

But the mag should stop at the front lip with contact to action. At least in SA AICS it does that. So real problem would be that bottom metal is positioned too far back in regard to the action. It might be somewhat tricky issue, since e.g. original SA mags have binder plate in front, and thus allow for longer fore-aft contact with action. Then there are SA mags with binder plate removed, allowing for longer COAL. But then magazine needs to be further back (otherwise bullet tip would get stuck under the lip in the action). Don't know if this applies to LA mags too.

 

[Greenmist]

Easy way to find out, take off the bottom metal and fit washers to see if it solves the issue, if that works you could rebed yourself, but as its a new build I'd contact the builder as it appears it wasn't checked for function before being returned.
Does this happen when you load the mag with the bolt closed? Is it a new or old mag?

 

[webley701]

Is this the rifle you mentioned in this thread from 2021?

If so was the magazine issue present at that time?

Thread 'My new build.... 😍'

Nov 9, 2021

Finally collected my new build last week from Dom's Custom Rifles in Ireland. Absolutely delighted with it.... the build spec is as follows;
- PSE Compostes Mil Spec ETAC stock.
- Kelbly's Atlas Tactical Long action
- 24" Proof Research Carbon wrapped Sendero Profile barrel
- Timney Trigger
- Atlasworx's Bottom Metal
- MDT magazine
- Tier One 40mm Mounts
- IOR Recon Optic.

Calibre: 300 Winchester Magnum.

• tac29136
• Replies: 10
• Forum: Rifles & Calibres

• 
• 

 

[HonestJohn]

Is this the rifle you mentioned in this thread from 2021?

If so was the magazine issue present at that time?

Thread 'My new build.... 😍'

Nov 9, 2021

Finally collected my new build last week from Dom's Custom Rifles in Ireland. Absolutely delighted with it.... the build spec is as follows;
- PSE Compostes Mil Spec ETAC stock.
- Kelbly's Atlas Tactical Long action
- 24" Proof Research Carbon wrapped Sendero Profile barrel
- Timney Trigger
- Atlasworx's Bottom Metal
- MDT magazine
- Tier One 40mm Mounts
- IOR Recon Optic.

Calibre: 300 Winchester Magnum.

• tac29136
• Replies: 10
• Forum: Rifles & Calibres

• 
• 

would have been nice to know before unleashing the beast of the forum

 

[Donkey Basher]

Is this the rifle you mentioned in this thread from 2021?

If so was the magazine issue present at that time?

Thread 'My new build.... 😍'

Nov 9, 2021

Finally collected my new build last week from Dom's Custom Rifles in Ireland. Absolutely delighted with it.... the build spec is as follows;
- PSE Compostes Mil Spec ETAC stock.
- Kelbly's Atlas Tactical Long action
- 24" Proof Research Carbon wrapped Sendero Profile barrel
- Timney Trigger
- Atlasworx's Bottom Metal
- MDT magazine
- Tier One 40mm Mounts
- IOR Recon Optic.

Calibre: 300 Winchester Magnum.

• tac29136
• Replies: 10
• Forum: Rifles & Calibres

• 
• 

Certainly looks like it from the pics - strange if it’s only now started having problems?

 

[tac29136]

Easy way to find out, take off the bottom metal and fit washers to see if it solves the issue, if that works you could rebed yourself, but as its a new build I'd contact the builder as it appears it wasn't checked for function before being returned.
Does this happen when you load the mag with the bolt closed? Is it a new or old mag?

The builer is no longer building rifles. Yes this issue is present from new. I emailed Kelblys and they don't fit a magazine catch because doing so, would limit the action to particular brands of magazine. They informed me they custom make an L bracket to fit onto to bottom metal to resolve the issue.

The builer who built this rifle for me was top class and has built previous rifles for me also, never an issue. The barrelled action was bedded by PSE Composites who we all know are top class also.

It looks like the lack of a magazine specific catch is a feature of these actions, in order for one to be custom make at the time of the build, in order to facilitate a particular brand of magazine.

 

[tac29136]

Certainly looks like it from the pics - strange if it’s only now started having problems?

No it was always present mate.

 

[tac29136]

Reply from Kelblys....

 

[Greenmist]

Would this bracket be an inverted L, wondering if it be set too high for this particular brand of mag, do you perhaps have access to a different mag to try, or possibly look at have the bracket adjusted (assuming its fitted how I imagine it is)

 

[Tazz]

I thought part of the point of going to a “ Custom Builder” is that you get a hand built rifle better than you can buy off the shelf

 

[tac29136]

Would this bracket be an inverted L, wondering if it be set too high for this particular brand of mag, do you perhaps have access to a different mag to try, or possibly look at have the bracket adjusted (assuming its fitted how I imagine it is)

The MDT Mag is the second mag I've tried, had a different plastic one first...same issue.

 

[jthyttin]

Here's a pic of my SA AICS. Upside down, barrel facing right. Please zoom in, and look for the "lip of the action" I marked with red. That is the part that stops magazine from moving up.

If the LA mag is the same, there is no way to modify / have different kind of mag that would not move up (if you added material to the front of mag, the cartridges would stop at that and not go into chamber.

I think the Kelbly "L solution" is an inverted L shaped piece of sheet metal, where the long side is attached to the front wall of magwell, and the short side is acting the same as "lip of action" in my pic.

 

[tac29136]

Here's a pic of my SA AICS. Upside down, barrel facing right. Please zoom in, and look for the "lip of the action" I marked with red. That is the part that stops magazine from moving up.

If the LA mag is the same, there is no way to modify / have different kind of mag that would not move up (if you added material to the front of mag, the cartridges would stop at that and not go into chamber.

I think the Kelbly "L solution" is an inverted L shaped piece of sheet metal, where the long side is attached to the front wall of magwell, and the short side is acting the same as "lip of action" in my pic.

View attachment 402716

Cheers for that. Yea I think that's the story. It's just the way kelblys manufacturer that particular action.. they retro the L into the bottom metal so it's a custom hold for whatever mag ya choose to use..I've given all this info to my gunsmith so hopefully he will sort it.

 

[ejg]

I don't think we bedded that rifle or can't remember. Was that rifle in Ireland? We can only bed T3 stocks with a slave action.
One point, Atlasworx deliberately manufactures their bottom metals with the release catch a bit too long. Just in case the floorplate is fitted a bit far out.
We mostly remove around 0.8-1.5mm from the release lever.
Long action AICS in Rem 700 clones can be a bit loose. Meaning the magazine can be pushed too high and cause issues. Not all magazines have the same catch ramp and size. Maybe bedding the mag system lower could help in your case and leaving the mag catch as is. This might stop the magazine from being able to go too high. One reason for this is that the single row long action aics mags are very narrow and depending on the action the mag might not rest against any part of the action when up. One could test this by adding shims under the mag system to lower it. Just be careful not to strip threads when the action screws only grab a few threads. Spare levers can be obtained just in case needed. I don't think the "5 mm or so" can be reached though.
In my 300wm's the mag would also go slightly too high when the bolt was open. I left the bolt closed when inserting the magazine. Or pulled the magazine down before feeding. Not ideal but did not bother me. Not sure if it would be better with the longer CIP magazine (3.85") but that needs the CIP mag system. We don't have an Atlas Action with us to try replicate.
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