Can I do this and if not, why?

I have an acquaintance I shoot with that shoots long action rounds with a short action rifle. He single loads only as it's a competition rifle and if he needs to unload without firing a chambered round he just presses the bolt release and the bolt then can be pulled back enough to allow the round to be extracted and ejected.


I have a Model 10 that I would like to do the same by just changing barrel to 280, etc. (from 6.5 Creedmoor). Naturally I'd need to stick to a caliber that uses the small shank but what limitations would I have, like ejection port length etc.

I also have a Remington with "Remage" barrels and it too is a short action. It's mounted in an MDT-Tac-21 chassis and I just stuck a piece of 7/8" dowel in the buffer tube to use as a bolt stop. I can control the amount of distance the bolt travels to the rear (within reason) by just shortening or lengthening the dowel.


Why? I've been retired for 14 years and have plenty of time to "Play". :p Sometimes I just like doing things because I can. Anyone know if there's a reason I can't do this with a short action??

Yes, you can but it's not a great idea.

I built a 338 Edge and sold it to a friend a few years ago. The load that it liked put the bullet out so far that it would not eject a live round. This winter during an elk hunt, he was removing a live round. With the bolt fully back, the firing pin released from the detent as he was removing the round from the loading port.

Fortunately, he suffered only a small wound to his thumb, and a few small bits of shrapnel to his face, and ringing ears for a couple hours.

It was a freak event. I have no idea how the cocking pin left the detent at the top of the cocking ramp. Possibly there was some debris, or he knocked it out of the detent.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I won't be handling a live round on the end of a cocked bolt.

That’s one thing that’s always bugged me slightly about the design. A little easier than most platforms to hit the cocking pin and kaboom.

If you were closer I'd just trade you a long action for a short action.