Gunsmithing long action .308 magazines

[Batman87]

Hi,
I am building a rifle and I started with a remington m700 long action. I hade a match barrel put on it and I had it chambered for .308 win. and it shoots great. I just ordered a xlr industries evolution chassis and have now run into a problem. The chassis is made for aics mags, which come in short action .308 or long action .300 win mag. Is there a way to alter a .300 win mag magazine to feed .308 or better yet some kit to allow a short action .308 mag fit in a long action mag well and still function smoothly. Thanks.

 

[Kells81]

Re: long action .308 magazines

I have 300wm mags I modified for 280AI, I am sure it could be swung for the 308 also.

 

[Batman87]

Re: long action .308 magazines

Thanks, that's what I wanted to hear. Did you just adjust the feed lips or did you also have to switch out the follower?

 

[Kells81]

Re: long action .308 magazines

Adjusted the feed lips using a HS Precision magazine feed lip tool... For the shorter 308 you might have to make a spacer in the back of the magazine but its possible you won't need to.

 

[TZS Gunfire]

Re: long action .308 magazines

Hello,
I just did the exact same build with my LA 700 in 308 and my gunsmith stated it should be fine without a spacer. I also have been looking to replace the BDL with a box magazine and was either going to modify the 300 magazine feed lips or I have found that H-S Precision has a 30-06 Bottom magazine which might also work for the 308 but still looking into it.

 

[LRI]

Re: long action .308 magazines

The issue at hand can be if the rounds bounce around in the magazine during recoil. This can (not always) create all sorts of hate and discontent.

Meaning:

Seating depths change on bullets due to the hammer effect.
Bullets slip forward in the magazine, causing feeding to be problematic.

Solutions:

Have someone build a stuffing block for the magazines. This is easy. I'd use delrin plastic as its very lubrice and won't encourage followers to hang up and act stupid.

Buy short AI followers/springs, and run for broke.

I've never personally done this, but it would be my first choice to solve the problem if it were to present itself in my shop.

Hope this helps.

C.