mods for additional magazine length

I may have to go custom or Remington to achieve this, but does anyone know of a way to add cartridge room to a blind magazine? I have a magnum long action that is a blind magazine, the max cartridge length I can get is 3.6. Typically that is enough, however I have a 28 Nosler that I want to run 195 Bergers out of without jamming the bullet into the powder space. I will be ordering another custom barrel for the 195 berger but would like know if I can get some mag room with a modification of the blind mag. I know Remingtons and customs have the Wyatts extended magazine but not sure if there is a Savage option. Any help would be great!

Short answer is yes. Long answer it is possible, but takes a buch of modifications to the magazine and possibly to your action. Even the, the results may not be completely reliable.

Do you have a centerfeed or staggerfeed action?

I have a centerfeed action

I have a .338 lapua Stealth chassis and mag that would solve your problem...

If you stick with Savage, something like that is going to be your easiest solution, getting a stock or chassis meant for a 338 Lapua or Rum.

That also can bring up a point that the magazine port in the bottom of your action maybe a little shorter than you like but you can Mill larger easy enough.

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@ hereinaz, It would almost solve my problem. A chassis would be too heavy for a hunting rifle. Can you tell me the mag length of the 338? Maybe I will buy a 110 LRH in the 338 Lapua and stick a 28 nosler barrel on it.

What length are you trying to get? When I first saw that they were designing the 28 to work in a 30-06 action I thought it would be a problem. I don't know what bullet was being used in my friends gun- but even on the factory round the bullet was seated so deep it looked funny.
Any chance you could modify the bolt stop and mag box and get a little more room on the back side?

To be honest I dont have a COAL I am shooting for. I just know that at 3.6 a 195 Berger is taking up powder space. I know I can make it work by having the barrel built to 3.6, however I was hoping to not lose powder room and keep the cartridge from looking silly. It seems likely that modifying the bolt stop and mag box would work, I was just hoping there was an aftermarket stock or extended mag that would solve my issue. Likely I will just have to Mcgyver it or have my gunsmith rack me up another bill. I trade computer work for gun work, so its not so bad if I have to go to the smith.

You can't modify the bolt stop on a Savage. At least not like you can on a Remington.

Honestly, I hate to say it, but Remington is a better action for the long OAL rounds. It's very easy to mod the action for a Wyatt mag box that gets your 3.8" A little more work and you can get almost 4.0" with the Wyatt centerfeed box.

@ geargrinder I have considered selling my current 28 nosler that spits out 180 bergers like a dream and using the funds to build a 700 clone. Likely I would go with the bighorn arms SR3 action with a Wyatts, this would allow me to get the 195s in a mag. I haven't got the 195s in yet, so I may just load them to 3.6 and see how it goes. I was just in hoping there was a mod someone knew about to solve my issue.

The Nosler 26 has a case length of 2.590. The 180gr Berger is 1.525” in length. If we add the two together, we get 4.115. Now subtract your 3.6” COAL and the result of .515” is the amount of bullet you will have below the case mouth. The Nosler chambering has a neck length of .276, subtract that from .515”, and you have .239” of bullet crammed into your usable powder space. Almost a quarter of an inch.

I built a Savage repeater for a 338 Edge. It could handle a COAL just a touch under 4". I basically milled out my stagger feed mag opening to mimic a centerfeed. Then I had to do some extensive mods to the stagger feed magazine to allow the long COAL. Then I had to afix the modded magazine into the stock like a centerfeed. I think the mag box only held 3 rounds.

It was a lot of work, not worth the effort. Especially comparing it to the amount of work it takes to put a wyatt into a Remington action.

@hotolds442. That's alot of bullet stuffed in a case, I would prefer powder. The way my current 28 Nosler is setup it shoots very well and fast. I just hate seeing so much bullet stuffed in the case.
@geargrinder. I have come to the conclusion that I will have to do a Remington. Its unfortunate as I would prefer not to, but it is the best option. Thanks fellas for the input.

Bullet seated deeper into the case will not sacrifice much velocity.....

Here is a pic of how I have to sit the 240 SMK in a 300winmag because I don't have the freebore for it....

Attachment 4424



Getting very good accuracy and velocity is good too. I worked up to 77 gr of RL-33, 2,764 fps, ES 2, SD 1, and no hint of pressure signs. Best accuracy was at 76 gr at 2,744 fps, ES 11, SD 4.
Ambient temp 23 f (-5 c). 26" Shilen barrel 10" twist.

Here is a pic of the 76 gr group at 220 yards. 4-shot groups for testing, trying to save some barrel life.

Attachment 4426


So don't worry too much if you have to seat the bullet a little deeper into the case than optimal.

@zer0333 I need to measure the difference in length between the 195 and the 180. I am still waiting on the 195's to show up. With the 180's seated pretty deep I have seen great accuracy and velocity. Maybe I have made too big of a deal out of this

Quote:

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Originally Posted by colt56

@zer0333 I need to measure the difference in length between the 195 and the 180. I am still waiting on the 195's to show up. With the 180's seated pretty deep I have seen great accuracy and velocity. Maybe I have made too big of a deal out of this

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You're not making a big deal out of it. Whenever possible we all should try to sit the bullets out farther to get best performance out of the combination.
So we ask around to see if there is a remedy...
But sometimes the headaches are not worth the cost and time and having to live with the bullet seated deeper in the case is not as bad as we think. And we shouldn't forget a bullet because of such scenario.