Little help with bottom metal selection

.300 Dakota

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Jul 21, 2018
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652
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Moss Point, MS
I have 1 Kelbly Atlas Lite LA built into a 6.5 SAUM. It wears a Hawkins Hunter flush mount system. I HAVE NOT attempted to use the magazine to feed. Main reason, is I FORGOT it when I went for initial break-in/testing. The magazine in place is full length Ultra Mag magazine for the proper width/depth. Not sure how it would feed, and I don't really have time to go load rounds. So I guess I should give that a shot first just for grins and giggles.

I received my 2nd Kelbly Atlas Lite LA Mag face today. I'm going to make it into a lightweight hunting rig. I'm going .30 caliber to burn a faster powder with a relatively larger case capacity without a ton of muzzle blast. I will limit barrel length to 20". My initial choice of cartridge was the 300 SAUM. I have 2 available stocks. Stock 1 is inletted for my action andca Proof Sendero barrel. Also, A Hawkins M5 DBM. I do not have the bottom metal bought.

Option 2 is a McMillan Edge Fill Game Warden inletted for a long action ARC Nucleus, but minimal inletting is needed to fit the Atlas Lite. Very minimal. That stock is inletted for a Bartlein 3B, which can be fluted and cut to 20" and ended at about 3 - 3 1/2 ounces heavier than the Proof. That stock is already fitted for the Accurate Mag system, and has the bottom metal and an Ultra Mag magazine installed.

Wondering if I need a longer cartridge to feed properly, option 2 is a .308 Norma Mag (NOT .300 Norma!!). It's about the next case capacity up (besides a WSM, which would not be significantly longer than the SAUM). I do not want to go any higher in case capacity and do not want a long throat (freebore). Yes, I'm well aware that brass for both is rare, but I've already taken care of that. If I were to chamber the 308 Norma, Hawkins says their Hunter mags aren't designed for belted magnums and may not feed well. I will incur several more ounces of weight if I move to a standard M5 Hawkins DBM. I can get an Accurate Mag .300 Win magazine in 3 round, which shouldn't stick out much farther than flush. The 2 aren't drop-ins for each other. The Hawkins take more material removal to inlet for.

I don't want to add weight, but I want everything to feed correctly. Do you guys think I'd be ok running the Hawkins Hunter 3.715" Ultra Mag magazine with a SAAMI .300 SAUM, or would I be ok running the same magazine with the belted .308 Norma? Or should I use the Accurate Mag and just buy a .300 Win Mag magazine and run the .308 Norma there? Or keep the Accurate Mag Ultra Mag magazine and run the 300 SAUM?

I originally picked the Accurate Mag for it's weight savings. However, the Mesa stock I requested be inlet for that system, was inlet for Hawkins M5 instead, and the Accurate Mag had WAY too much slop whereas the Hunter DBM fits like a glove. That's how I know the 2 aren't drop-ins for each other. I guess the answer would be to use the AM with a dedicated .300 Win Mag magazine if you don't think feeding the SAUM from an Ultra Mag Hawkins into a Kelbly is advisable.

Thanks in advance.
 
Update: Accurate Mag is off the table. It wasn't my Accurate Mag bottom metal he finished the McMillan inlet for that I sent for installation. It appears to be a Hawkins M5 BDL. Ordering Wyatt LA box, Hawkins follower for LA magnum, and an aftermarket spring made by RCM from Redhawk. Guess I'll see if it all fits and go from there.
 
That's ALOT of choices! Wonderful times we live in. Been going through similar decisions lately, but don't have the plethora of components as you. Let us know what the end product is and how it works.
 
Well, let me back up. Let me make a confession. Bottom metal variation and compatability are not my forte'. I'm all but clueless. I went and read some posts on Sniper's Hide (because that's what came up when I Googled) about this issue. I have a little better understanding of M5 vs BDL now after self-educating for a couple hours.

What I have is NOT an M5 Hawkins Obermeyer set up. It MAY be Hawkins, but it's BDL. That's the one that was rough-cut by McMillan for the Accurate-Mag. I bought Accurate Mag thinking it would work for an action requiring M5. Not sure what I saw on their site that led me to believe that. Maybe I ordered or received the wrong item. At any rate, the McMillan stock is perfectly inletted for BDL bottom metal. The other stock, the Mesa/Pure Precision, is inletted for M5.

So my real question, I suppose from the get-go, should be/have been which would be better to feed a .300 SAUM from with a Kelbly long action, a BDL set up with Wyatt box, or M5 with Ultra Mag magazine? Or I could get the Hawkins BDL that fits an M5 inlet and use a Wyatt's box. Kelbly says either will work (not necessarily for a short SAUM cartridge), but action is cut for CIP-length (3.850") set up.

And if neither will work well, which one would be best to use for belted magnum, long action to avoid feeding issues? BDL, I'm guessing, but unsure of what's out there. Remember, I can't add a chunky M5 and have the corresponding steel magazine extending due to excessive weight. Adding a full pound of bottom metal after taking pain-staking steps to reduce weight by action, stock, and barrel choices.
 
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Trust me you're not the only one confused by bottom metal fit/choices. I definitely don't have a good handle on all the different options.
And what's REALLY bad is when you have over $4k into the production of a custom rifle only to find out your action isn't compatible with your bottom metal. At best you have to rebuy a bottom metal system for $300 or more, and at worst, you have to buy a new stock and have it inletted appropriately ON TOP OF having to buy a new bottom metal system! Would like to avoid this AGAIN.
 
And what's REALLY bad is when you have over $4k into the production of a custom rifle only to find out your action isn't compatible with your bottom metal. At best you have to rebuy a bottom metal system for $300 or more, and at worst, you have to buy a new stock and have it inletted appropriately ON TOP OF having to buy a new bottom metal system! Would like to avoid this AGAIN.
Might be possible to get the stock filled and re-cut
 
I have a 7 SAUM on a long action and had to manipulate the centerfeed lips because the shorter case to wants to slip up out of the mag lips before being "guided" through the feed ramps.
I still have a bit of issue if I cycle too fast.

Had the same problem with 6BR out of standard short action.

However, they both worked out but I'm never super confident that it'll work 100% of the time.
 
I have a 7 SAUM on a long action and had to manipulate the centerfeed lips because the shorter case to wants to slip up out of the mag lips before being "guided" through the feed ramps.
I still have a bit of issue if I cycle too fast.

Had the same problem with 6BR out of standard short action.

However, they both worked out but I'm never super confident that it'll work 100% of the time.
See, THIS ^ is what I'm trying to avoid!
 
Your chosen bottom metal system.
Oh, I gotcha. Yeah, I can recut the McMillan for M5, but I'm not sure if I need an M5 or not. I feel like after reading the post on the 7 SAUM, that I need to be thinking about running the .308 Norma cartridge. But what system then to feed a belted magnum that's lightweight? Sounding like I may need to look hard at available BDL options compatible with 3.850" overall length magazines/boxes. And key is they have to be lightweight. Not much more lightweight than an aluminum BDL/Obermeyer floorplate.
 
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