Maximum Cartridge Overall Length COL in Savage Short Action centerfeed magazine???

[cdherman]

Well, I am sure this has been discussed, but couldn't seem to find a good hit.

I have Savage Model 12 SA with magnum boltface bolt. Was a 270 WSM if that matters, but going to become a 7mm SAUM

I am planning to make some dummy cartriges with 168 Berger VLD hunting bullets to test feeding and ejection of loaded rounds from the port.

Anyone care to give real world COL experience from the Savage short action centerfeed internal magazine? Not the floor plate or removable magazine (though if they allow longer COL, that would interest me greatly)......

Judging from my rough estimates using a caliper, it looks like about 3.2" max to get a loaded cartrige to eject. To get loaded cartriges in the magazine, looks around 2.9" max.

Do those numbers jive with anyone elses experience?

The current plan is to throat the new barrel to maximum magazine depth and see what I get, in terms of accuracy. If I like what I get, it stays that way. If its not great, it gets throated further out and becomes a single shot.

Make Sense?

 

[bigngreen]

Re: Maximum Cartridge Overall Length COL in Savage Short Action centerfeed magazine??

Just so happens I have a Model 12 270 WSM sitting here, I load the 165 Matrix with a COAL of 3.1 and it just ejects a loaded round I know it will eject them at 3.120 but not much longer or they drop back in. When I feed them in I have to be careful to put the bullet in first, if I try to just drop them in they get wedged and need picked out. You can mag feed 2.980, maybe a titch more but not much, I'm gong to try to mod my box just a bit in front then I would be able to just barely feed my loaded round at 3.1.

 

[cdherman]

Re: Maximum Cartridge Overall Length COL in Savage Short Action centerfeed magazine??

Just so happens I have a Model 12 270 WSM sitting here, I load the 165 Matrix with a COAL of 3.1 and it just ejects a loaded round I know it will eject them at 3.120 but not much longer or they drop back in. When I feed them in I have to be careful to put the bullet in first, if I try to just drop them in they get wedged and need picked out. You can mag feed 2.980, maybe a titch more but not much, I'm gong to try to mod my box just a bit in front then I would be able to just barely feed my loaded round at 3.1.

Very helpful -- your magazine observations seem to agree with what I am thinking.

I am going to the 7mm SAUM case since its about .2 shorter than the WSM to start with. I am hopeing to get the long 168 and 180 Bergers to actually reach the lands AND fit in the magazine, but I am not sure it will happen.

Shilen will throat the barrel to my specs, so long as my spec is longer than their reamer. IE, no short throat. I'm not sure I want a custom short throat barrel anyhow, as 7mm SAUM is a standard cartridge and standard manufacturer loads could prove dangerous in a short throat, if someone stuck one in....