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308 and 6.5 in a long action

Slowshot18

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Minuteman
Aug 8, 2018
229
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Houston, TX
Who has experience running SA cartridges such as 308, 6.5 creedmoor, etc in a LA? What are some major hurdles to ensure proper feeding, especially out of AICS magazines? Would it be easier to run SA rounds in a LA platform in BDL?

Planning my next build and I like the idea of shouldered pre-fits, interchangeable bolt heads, and DIY barrel swaps. This is leading me to Bighorn's offerings, especially the Origin. I'm not a fan of buying multiple high end scopes for every gun I own and I also get bored with cartridges, hence the DIY swaps. If I could run SA rounds in a LA platform, my dreams could come true.
 
yes, I run a 308 in a long action Big Horn TL2, with Manners T4A mini chassis. No problem at all. I use Magpul 30-06 magazines and they are great - rugged, cheap and 100% reliable. Your bolt throw is a few microseconds faster and your weight is a few ounces heavily but the benefits are loading the big long modern bullets out as long as you can go, meaning you get every fps of MV.

I have a Magnum bolt face and a 300WSM barrel, if I ever want to swap cartridges.
 
yes, I run a 308 in a long action Big Horn TL2, with Manners T4A mini chassis. No problem at all. I use Magpul 30-06 magazines and they are great - rugged, cheap and 100% reliable. Your bolt throw is a few microseconds faster and your weight is a few ounces heavily but the benefits are loading the big long modern bullets out as long as you can go, meaning you get every fps of MV.

I have a Magnum bolt face and a 300WSM barrel, if I ever want to swap cartridges.

Thanks for the info! Did you have to use any type of spacer etc in the 30-06 magazine? If not, do you load the 308's up against the front or back of the magazine?
 
Thanks for the info! Did you have to use any type of spacer etc in the 30-06 magazine? If not, do you load the 308's up against the front or back of the magazine?

Negative. No spacer or anything fancy. I did spend 2 minutes with a Dremel and the Magpul lips, opening them up a bit. I load rounds against the BACK of the magazine and they feed 100%. Never had a missed feed or any issues at all. I do keep my loaded mags somewhat 'safe' so they don't get bumped around before they go into the mag well; this is the only special handling required.

I will say however that other mag wells and actions might have different results. My setup is a Bighorn TL2 long action (NOT the TL3) in a Manners mini-chassis.