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Remington 700 LA to SA... Stuff I found
sandwarrior
Member Posts: 5,453 ✭✭✭
FWIW, I had to go try this myself. Using my Rem 721 (predecessor to the Rem 700). I don't know how different these two rifles are made and what changes over the years the 700 has gone through.
Using 4 dummy rounds loaded to 2.800" COAL, 150 gr. ball ammunition.
Recoil simulated by a hard smack to the butt of the rifle.
What I found:
If I load one dummy round the rifle feeds perfectly.
If I loaded a mag full of dummy rounds sometimes the round on top wants to take a nosedive down into the front of the magazine box after I gave it some 'recoil'. But, unless I did that it fed just fine. This is one of those things that may get overlooked when someone decides "It's all good."
So, then I tested a mag full of dummy rounds pushed to the front of the magazine. The top one fed just fine. The lower ones wanted to kick fore and aft when cycling upper cartridges into the chamber. This caused the lower rounds to point nose down into the magazine.
So, what I suggest: Since the .308 has about the same shape as the 30-06 up to it's height (2.015", rim and base of .473" and shoulder of .454") and the rails of the rifle (magazine) fit that profile, I would count on seating cases back that far back in the magazine. If you wanted to, and this would take someone who knows sheetmetal, to make a block for the front of the magazine and shorten the follower. Or, you could use a phenolic. This block would also have to serve as a feed ramp extension. This is a bit awkward to load the magazine as the case heads are under the rear receiver ring. But it is doable.
Otherwise, widen out the entire front of the magazine and rails so you can put the block in the back of the magazine. Personally, I would choose the first option.
FWIW, the M24 is a long action and there are numerous complaints about feeding through it. As noted there are no blocks in the magazine. When the rifle recoils, some of the bullets want to go forward (or aft depending on how the operator loaded the rifle.) And it causes what I described above. The first round may be fine. The next two will {edit:} jam as the case walls are not being pushed evenly against the rails and follower.
Unfortunately, as I stated previously that this seems simple, this is not simple. It needs to be fully addressed so as not to cause rounds to go haywire in the rifle while shooting. Otherwise having this situation with the magazine is worse than useless. Spending time unjamming a mag is a real PITA.
What I also did was look into the .257 AI that I had. I had noted that the rails had been massaged. And due to the more "squareness" if you will of the cases they didn't tend to bump back and forth. The cases are also approximately 1/4" longer than any of the .308 based cases. So it was easier for the bullets to reach the feed ramp. I'm not sure if it would have benefited from shortening the follower and installing a ramp {edit: extension}. But I was never in a position where I was jostling it.
Using 4 dummy rounds loaded to 2.800" COAL, 150 gr. ball ammunition.
Recoil simulated by a hard smack to the butt of the rifle.
What I found:
If I load one dummy round the rifle feeds perfectly.
If I loaded a mag full of dummy rounds sometimes the round on top wants to take a nosedive down into the front of the magazine box after I gave it some 'recoil'. But, unless I did that it fed just fine. This is one of those things that may get overlooked when someone decides "It's all good."
So, then I tested a mag full of dummy rounds pushed to the front of the magazine. The top one fed just fine. The lower ones wanted to kick fore and aft when cycling upper cartridges into the chamber. This caused the lower rounds to point nose down into the magazine.
So, what I suggest: Since the .308 has about the same shape as the 30-06 up to it's height (2.015", rim and base of .473" and shoulder of .454") and the rails of the rifle (magazine) fit that profile, I would count on seating cases back that far back in the magazine. If you wanted to, and this would take someone who knows sheetmetal, to make a block for the front of the magazine and shorten the follower. Or, you could use a phenolic. This block would also have to serve as a feed ramp extension. This is a bit awkward to load the magazine as the case heads are under the rear receiver ring. But it is doable.
Otherwise, widen out the entire front of the magazine and rails so you can put the block in the back of the magazine. Personally, I would choose the first option.
FWIW, the M24 is a long action and there are numerous complaints about feeding through it. As noted there are no blocks in the magazine. When the rifle recoils, some of the bullets want to go forward (or aft depending on how the operator loaded the rifle.) And it causes what I described above. The first round may be fine. The next two will {edit:} jam as the case walls are not being pushed evenly against the rails and follower.
Unfortunately, as I stated previously that this seems simple, this is not simple. It needs to be fully addressed so as not to cause rounds to go haywire in the rifle while shooting. Otherwise having this situation with the magazine is worse than useless. Spending time unjamming a mag is a real PITA.
What I also did was look into the .257 AI that I had. I had noted that the rails had been massaged. And due to the more "squareness" if you will of the cases they didn't tend to bump back and forth. The cases are also approximately 1/4" longer than any of the .308 based cases. So it was easier for the bullets to reach the feed ramp. I'm not sure if it would have benefited from shortening the follower and installing a ramp {edit: extension}. But I was never in a position where I was jostling it.
Comments
Thanks so much to everyone that responded on my origial thread, and special thanks to nononsense for providing his amassed institutional knowledge on the topic.