I have three Savages that all are centerfeed and have the top bolt release and 4.40" spacing and all have shilen varmint contour barrels. I would like to convert 2 of them (i.e. 223 and 308) to AICS style detachable mag systems and would prefer a stock over a chassis. I have searched the forum and my head hurts. I like Boyds and B&C stocks and they are working fine. What has worked for you and please be specific. I talked to CDI and they suggested getting a stock that was already setup up for a DM. However, I don't like how recessed the CDI bottom metal can get. Accurate Mag looks interesting, but I am not sure if it is a true drop in or not. Help!
I converted a .308 12FV to a DBM using the bottom metal from a 10 FCP and a Boyd's stock. Other than having to make some action screws that perfectly fit it went together just fine. I personally don't get the love of the single stack AICS mags. The 10 rounders are just too long.
What Boyds stock did you use? What mags does the fcp take? Accurate Mags? Are they any good? I am not married to AICS if there is a good alternative.
It was an used thumbhole lightweight that I got on the forums. I used the 10's trigger guard so I had to widen that channel a bit, but other than that it just slipped right in. The mag is a Savage part and essentially looks like a stock metal upper with a custom plastic lower. It's a double stack centerfeed so it stays relatively short.
Nice work. Looks really good. Could be a much cheater solution.
I used a h-s precision stock. Sent it too cdi and they inlet it for there bottom metal. It turned out great. There Inlet is a perfect fit. I am very happy with the finished product.
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Do you recall which HS Precision stock you used? The recess on that is nothing compared to some on the CDI FAQs section where he shows examples.
I bought it used. But I believe it is this one
https://www.hsprecision.com/shop2/ri...-stock-psv102/
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Besides CDI and Accurate Mag, PTG also makes a bottom metal for aics pattern magazines.
here is a pic of a boyd's stock and a Accurate mag or CDI bottom metal (Can't remember anymore)
It's almost a must to glass bed the boyd's stocks, but I've seen one fella at the range that didn't glass his and it shot amazing anyways.
BTW: The shooter is my Aunts husband (my uncle now I guess). He's Catalan ( Catalonia is in Spain) and he's a good conservative fella.
The magazine is a MDT but I much prefer Accurate Mag mags, AI mags and the Pmag AC 7.62 are good too.
The only complaint I have for the AICS mags is the noise. Fine for range use but not so much for hunting IMHO.
I've had my 20" .308 FCP-SR for several years. It is an excellent shooter but the OEM mags, in my rifle, were unsat. Unless pressure was applied to the bottom of the mag, it seemed to sit maybe 1/8th of an inch too low for the bolt to reliably engage and feed the next round. I ran across a gent making reconfigured mags from the OEM's, guaranteed to work. They didn't (I bought three).
Searching for an easy install, not requiring any routing or shipping off the stock or action (This market is very confusing, sadly Remington 700s seem to get 99% of the after-market attention). Locating a kit on Brownells (a 10% off & free shipping ad caught my eye on Christmas) which included one magazine (Your choice, a 5 or 10 round straight feed AICS style), I had to jump on it,
MFG Accurate MAG; "https://www.brownells.com/rifle-parts/receiver-parts/bottom-metals/savage-308-5rd-bottom-metal-and-trigger-guard-sku100008974-73348-101966.aspx?cm_mmc=affiliate-_-Itwine-_-IR-_-57565&utm_content=57565&aid=332675&utm_source=ir&u tm_campaign=itwine&utm_medium=affiliate&source=ir"
The kit arrived several days ago, including two new knurled socket head cap screws with 3/16 Hex heads. Both 1/4-28, a long one (For the middle screw) and short one for the front, both too long. I trimmed them to fit. They are easily & quickly cut off with a Dremel on high speed using a disposable cutoff wheel. BTW, the OEM screws being replaced are button head screws with 5/32" hex heads. The nice thing about the magwell and trigger guard (two pieces) is that they fit snug into the accustock with no special work to relieve any portion of the stock. You will need to use a punch to tap the Savage bottom metal out--easily done, and use a nylon tipped light hammer to snugly seat (bottom out) the new magwell and trigger guard. Savage's trigger guard had a small raised boss on the top of its right side, I don't know what function it served, but after final install without that feature on the new trigger guard everything worked fine.
I wanted to trim the two new screws short enough to ensure there was still clearance to torque them both properly. The third required screw is the one which came with the rifle, reused on the rear of the trigger guard. The third screw is fastened into a polymer piece of the stock—so just make certain it is snug, after torquing your action in.
I didn’t measure the two new screws OAL length or the length of their shanks.
After trimming the longer, for the middle; the shank (from bottom of cap to tip of threads) is 1.798” by micrometer or 1-13/16 by ruler or 45.67 mm.
The front shorter one’s shank was 1.144” or 1-1/8” = 52.21 mm
If you mangle your screws the best place to find replacements is at the nearest Fastenal store. ¼-28 isn’t a common thread pitch. Home Depot had everything but and a hardware store that carries nearly everything didn’t either—but a clerk there referred me to a Fastenal store about two miles away.
The length of both screws is fairly critical; if the front one is too long it will prevent the head of the bolt from locking into battery. I found, before trimming, that with the bolt in place if the front screw was making contact, preventing lock-up, backing off ¼ a turn was enough to provide clearance.
The longest screw,before trimming, protruded into the rear of the receiver about ¼”.
After trimming both screws, I seated them snugly, function checked the weapon, then torqued each 20 inlbs at a time, finishing the middle screw at 40 inlbs and the front screw at 45 inlbs.
Function checked again, then snugged up the OEM rear screw, then loaded the Accurate Mag AICS magazine and made sure that it fed and ejected some brand new match grade cartridges.
The torque specs used were found to result in the best accuracy with the rifle when new. Next trip to the range may require adjustments.
Hopefully this post will be of some value to another shooter wanting to replace their Savage magazines with the highly reliable AICS style. I was apprehensive about making the switch, but excepting the screws needing trimmed, it is a simple task.
The new position of the mag release is another bonus, my mag drops freely when the lever is pressed forward. The rifle's release is top, and the distance between the screws is 4.4 inches. I considered changing stocks or going to a chassis system, but decided the Accustock is a good platform, I just wanted reliable magazines.
Last edited by Bulwark425; 01-06-2018 at 04:01 PM. Reason: fumble fingers, missing letters.
GREGW72 "Accurate Mag looks interesting, but I am not sure if it is a true drop in or not. Help!"
Greg, My Accurate Mag 4.40" spacing .308 kit from Brownells, fit perfectly, with no routing necessary. The metal is not recessed in my Accustock, moving back towards the trigger guard it's actually, eyeballing it, raised about 1/16" to 1/8". And the magazine which came with it, I selected a 5 round version, fits snug in the magwell--can be wiggled slightly but doesn't rattle, as some have experienced. Those who experience the noise problem find Magpuls straight wall mags mitigate any noise. You probably will need to trim the length of the two screws which are included with the Accurate Mag kit. I've posted, in this thread, the dimensions necessary for screw lengths in my .308 FCP-SR 20". With the .223 your may vary.
Last edited by Bulwark425; 01-06-2018 at 04:19 PM. Reason: Added quote for reference.
Thanks for all the information on the accurate mag. I've got one coming on Tuesday and I'm curious to see if it will fit in the HS Precision stock or not. Will let you know.Originally Posted by Bulwark425
All, just wanted to update you on my progress adding an AICS mag to my rifle. I started with a 12 FV in 22-250 [which is unique to Cabelas] and bought used HS Precision stock from a guy that had a 12 LRP in 6.5 Creedmore. The HS Precision stock fit perfectly. Next, I took the above advice and called Accurate Mags and talked to the owner. He said that the bottom metal he sells should be a drop in replacement. Note that the bottom metal on the 12 LRP is the all metal version with the metal locking button in the front, not the plastic locking tab on the package guns. I got the parts and the front part that holds the mag required me to do about 5 mins of light sanding to clean up the fiberglass of the HS Precision stock and it dropped in. The trigger guard assembly was 0.060" larger than the original bottom metal and required about 30 minutes of sanding. I was able to file the flat part, but in the rear where is rounded I had to use the dreaded Dremel. I would rather us a mill any day over a Dremel, but I don't have one. Anyhow, the rear rounded portion is visibly bigger than it needs to be, but the parts went together fine. The bolt that come with the Accurate Mag kits are black oxide socket head cap screws (that don't look the best) and must be cut to length. The bottom metal itself is of high quality and has a good fit/finish. With MagPul AICS mags, everything works fine. The mags fall out when empty and feeding is flawless. I would highly recommend Accurate Mag.
Some great info on this thread! I have a question since this is one of the few threads I am finding with current information (lots of threads in google searches that are pre 2015) on the subject and is still active. I have one of the oft restocked HogHunters and I am looking at changing the stock on it and this thread very much is the same situation so figured keep the information together since it is all about restocking 10/110/11/111 actions.
Does the CDI/Acurate/PTG setups drop right into Boyd's or other aftermarket stocks? I was considering going with OEM stock metal setup, but what you save in $ on the less expensive savage trigger guard and DBM metal, you seem to lose quickly in mag cost. ($50/ea or more for a 4rnd) I have also considered a number of times adding a 308 AR to the safe, so sharing mags would be very nice (magpuls I am told fit AICS and AR guns?).
Gregw72, have you had a chanc to take it out and shoot it yet?
I have not shot it, but I have cycled several tens of rounds through the gun and it is flawless.
Accurate Mag used to be the supplier to Savage for the bottom metal when the 10-FCP formerly used AICS mags. The newer 10-FCP apparently use Savage mags. So, the Accurate Mag bottom metal is literally a drop in if you have a detachable mag system for your rifle as provided by Savage and the bottom metal from Savage is all metal [not plastic like on the XP package guns]. The CDI does not seem to be a drop in, but I talked to the guy and he will inlet your gun for free, but you have to pay for shipping to Florida and back plus $210 for the bottom metal. I had the Accurate Mag bottom metal delivered to me in Oregon for under $150. I am not sure about the Pacific Tool & Gauge (PTG) stuff. I have read on forums that their customer service is not all that. In fact, I contacted them and they indicated there were no refunds, whereas the Accurate Mag folks said I could return it [if I didn't mess it up] if it looked like it would not fit. My advice is to either go with Accurate Mag if you have the right stock or CDI... both had really responsive owners that were easy to talk to.
Hey man! hope everything is well, used to talk to you when I lived in WA (waguns.org).
As far as I know the only one that will "drop" into a factory inlet is the Accurate Mag. The PTG metal from my 308 build with a Manners stock didn't drop into my accustock and I believe the CDI is a bit wider than a factory inlet(no hands on experience there). I had to slightly trim the corners where the rear of the magwell sets in the stock for the AM metal in factory accustock. The trimming was just the plastic portion not the aluminum portion. As far as feeding I've had no problems with it, but it is a 223 and I'm using MDT mags.
As far as the Magpul mags, the AICS pattern mags will not work in a 308AR setup. There are some rifles that can use both because they are designed that way.
HAHA! Great to hear from you again. I appreciate the info, I jut realized that the mags were different too. :-/ there goes that grand plan.
Right now I am actually considering just buying OE DBM parts an installing in a Boyds, or I may even just contact the factory about a Scout stock (prefer a laminate varmint stock though). The savings of using cheaper mags is more than offset by the cost of the dbm settups from the big three (CDI, Accurate, PTG) and I do not need more than one or two mags for a bolt gun.
I went Accurate mag. Had no problems and all my rifles do NOT have the BBR. Hs precision is my stock of choice.
It also depends on what your doing with it. If it's just range time and a hunt now and again i wouldn't bother with aftermarket stuff. I like to think one day I will shoot a competition or something but that will in all honesty never happen.
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