Ive been in the process of making pillars for my gun and Im using the bottom metal from PTG and action with experimentation to get the right length. Ive been using a empty piece of brass to do this with, but its also partly because an empty brass feeds harder due to there being no bullet to transition rough points smoothly and will magnify everything that could be off. Primarily, it will affect the feed ramp itself. In order to make the mag work so that it will feed an empty case, the bottom metal has to be pretty far up, or at least the front of it does.
The rear does not need to be so far up towards the action, but if I go to far, it affects the trigger group and basically locks down the sear and trigger.
So I guess what Im trying to figure out is does it matter if I can feed a empty case or not? Or do I need to modify the bottom metal to make it level with the action. What I mean by level is the rear end of the bottom metal is further away from the action then the front. If i dont need to make it so that the ramp could feed an empty case, then I could lower the entire assembly and it would mean that the bullet would be the only thing that would have to clear the lip which would theoretically give me an extra .15 inches considering its 30 caliber.
Edit: So I tried using a case with a bullet in it and even though the cases themselves wont feed without the bottom metal real close to the action, the complete cartridge will feed flawlessly. The main reason I worry is if they are suppose to be able to feed regardless. My remmy 700 will feed empty or loaded cases, but the feed ramp is quite a bit different too so really, this is more precationary than anything. Once I get the pillars figured out, I can finish inletting my McMillian and start the bedding process!! In case I forgot to mention, this is using AICS magazines. I figured out how to do pictures so here it is...
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