WARNING: very long post with many pictures. For those interested in CDI bottom metal or Alpha magazines (AICS pattern).
Well, here goes. Over the past few months I've had many questions, done much research, and posted quite a bit. Since many of my questions I previously had would be answered by this post, I thought I'd do one for anybody that may be in the same position I once was.
Today I received in the mail my stock from Mr. Allen at CDI Precision Gunworks. Mr. Allen had my stock for five days total (good turnaround time, I think). My first point I have to make is that Mr. Allen is just simply outstanding to do business with. He's excited about his products, he's insanely pleasant on the telephone, and just (rambling...) a stand-up guy.
The inletting on my stock (B&C Medalist A2 for a Savage 4.4" centre feed) was very good, I thought. A clean, very tight (but not too tight) fit to the bottom metal.
Next, the bottom metal. Seems very well made, with a great finish on it. The fit to the inlet was perfect. No additional inletting whatsoever was required. Mr. Allen was great here. I called him up, and he made me an offer: I could either wait two weeks for the 4.4" part to get anodized or he could send me a new version that is universal for both Savage screw spacings (4.25 & 4.4). It's a sort of slotted cut hole. The fit here was about 99% perfect. About 30 seconds of filing made the screw go in. I only had to file about 1/10 inch off of the front action screw so it wouldn't stick into the action and block the lugs from locking.
Now that I had the bottom metal in, it was time to test the magazine. I had also purchased an AICS short-action .308 10-round magazine from Mr. Allen. The magazine locked up nice and tight with a little rattling that was mostly eliminated once loaded and the bolt closed. The magazine fed and ejected perfectly a full load (tested four times). Flawless function. The mag detach latch is easy to locate and drops the mags VERY effectively. I was surprised how easy it was. But it's not so easy as to enable accidental detach. Just all around great function so far.
Now, in anticipation of getting the bottom metal, I ordered two magazines from Alpha Manufacturing Industries. These are 10-round, AICS pattern, single feed, dual-stacked metal magazines. I purchased the .308 Type 2 magazines (they allow a slightly larger COAL than the Type 1 mags). The price was $132 for both (including shipping). Quite a bit less than the AICS 10-rounders that I could find anywhere.
I have to say, these mags are simply fantastic. They look better than AICS mags, seem more well-made, etc. Just simply blow the AICS mags out of the water from my initial testing. They have less rattle than AICS mags, they're shorter, and feed and function flawlessly in CDI bottom metal. Fed, ejected, and detached 12 times without a single miss. Just outstanding.
For some comparison, here is an Alpha (top) and an AICS (bottom). Note the length difference.
Here is the Alpha (left) and AICS (right). Note the lack of a spacer on the Type 2 Alpha that allows the larger OAL cartridges to be used.
In summary, if you're on the fence about CDI bottom metal...HOP OFF IT! And buy some.
And also, if you're going the 10-round mag route (which, I mean, why wouldn't you?), just get the Alpha mags. In my (admittedly limited) experience, they're just better. And Mr. Parker at Alpha is a great guy.
Hope this has been helpful/entertaining/annoying to at least someone.
Cheers!
Brian
Well, here goes. Over the past few months I've had many questions, done much research, and posted quite a bit. Since many of my questions I previously had would be answered by this post, I thought I'd do one for anybody that may be in the same position I once was.
Today I received in the mail my stock from Mr. Allen at CDI Precision Gunworks. Mr. Allen had my stock for five days total (good turnaround time, I think). My first point I have to make is that Mr. Allen is just simply outstanding to do business with. He's excited about his products, he's insanely pleasant on the telephone, and just (rambling...) a stand-up guy.
The inletting on my stock (B&C Medalist A2 for a Savage 4.4" centre feed) was very good, I thought. A clean, very tight (but not too tight) fit to the bottom metal.
Next, the bottom metal. Seems very well made, with a great finish on it. The fit to the inlet was perfect. No additional inletting whatsoever was required. Mr. Allen was great here. I called him up, and he made me an offer: I could either wait two weeks for the 4.4" part to get anodized or he could send me a new version that is universal for both Savage screw spacings (4.25 & 4.4). It's a sort of slotted cut hole. The fit here was about 99% perfect. About 30 seconds of filing made the screw go in. I only had to file about 1/10 inch off of the front action screw so it wouldn't stick into the action and block the lugs from locking.
Now that I had the bottom metal in, it was time to test the magazine. I had also purchased an AICS short-action .308 10-round magazine from Mr. Allen. The magazine locked up nice and tight with a little rattling that was mostly eliminated once loaded and the bolt closed. The magazine fed and ejected perfectly a full load (tested four times). Flawless function. The mag detach latch is easy to locate and drops the mags VERY effectively. I was surprised how easy it was. But it's not so easy as to enable accidental detach. Just all around great function so far.
Now, in anticipation of getting the bottom metal, I ordered two magazines from Alpha Manufacturing Industries. These are 10-round, AICS pattern, single feed, dual-stacked metal magazines. I purchased the .308 Type 2 magazines (they allow a slightly larger COAL than the Type 1 mags). The price was $132 for both (including shipping). Quite a bit less than the AICS 10-rounders that I could find anywhere.
I have to say, these mags are simply fantastic. They look better than AICS mags, seem more well-made, etc. Just simply blow the AICS mags out of the water from my initial testing. They have less rattle than AICS mags, they're shorter, and feed and function flawlessly in CDI bottom metal. Fed, ejected, and detached 12 times without a single miss. Just outstanding.
For some comparison, here is an Alpha (top) and an AICS (bottom). Note the length difference.
Here is the Alpha (left) and AICS (right). Note the lack of a spacer on the Type 2 Alpha that allows the larger OAL cartridges to be used.
In summary, if you're on the fence about CDI bottom metal...HOP OFF IT! And buy some.
And also, if you're going the 10-round mag route (which, I mean, why wouldn't you?), just get the Alpha mags. In my (admittedly limited) experience, they're just better. And Mr. Parker at Alpha is a great guy.
Hope this has been helpful/entertaining/annoying to at least someone.
Cheers!
Brian
