Gunsmithing Savage 116 Action in MPA BA Lite Chassis Feed issues

[Elkslayer24!]

Being my first post, I apologize if this is the wrong forum to post this into. I just finished my first true rifle build. The gun is shooting lights out but I have a feeding issue I am hoping to get some ideas on.

The donor gun was Savage 116 Bear hunter. The action was blueprinted and trued. Installed on an MPA BA Lite Chassis with a Proof barrel. The gun is shooting an average 3 round group of .19 at 100 yards so I am more than happy with how it turned out.

The other day in preparing for an upcoming Mountain Goat hunt I clipped in a loaded magazine and realized I had an issue. At first the rounds would not chamber at all. I was able to easily modify the feed lips to take care of this issue.

The next issue is that every 3rd round or so, The friction of the previous round being loaded into the chamber is causing the tip of the next round to get stuck beneath the feed ramp.

Being my first chassis build i have been scouring online trying to find possible reasons and ways to fix it.

My round has an OAL length of 3.55" being used in an MDT .300 Win Mag 5 round magazine with a an outside 3.715 with an internal max OAL of 3.615. This extra bit of room is what is causing my issue.

I spoke to MDT a bit and I was told that this size of magazine is never built with a binder plate to restrict length which in my case would help the issue.

I have checked the recoil lug and everything seems to be well mated and within spec.

I have read where guys machine a notch into the feed ramp to allow the bullet not to catch and this seems like my only choice at this point.

From you experts, I wanted to make sure there wasn't anything else I should be looking at prior to making this modification and if this really is my only option for this specific chassis/action set up?

Thanks in advanced for any info you may have!

 

[Praeger]

Don't notch or relieve the feed ramp. Try another brand magazine, although I didn't see any that had a shorter max OAL than 3.615. You can also try opening up the mag feed lips to allow the cartridge to "nose up" as it is pushed forward. Make small changes, a little goes a long way.

 

[Elkslayer24!]

Thanks for the reply and we will do. I have played with the mag lips a lot! It is a little better but I still have a stuck round Id say every 8-10 loads. I have a 3 round Accurate Mag coming in the mail. Hoping it may be better. I also thought about somehow installing my own "binder plate" to the front of the mag with a well fit shim and epoxy.....

 

[Elkslayer24!]

Here s a pic of the rifle in final form. if some close up pics would help at all please let me know.

 

[Elkslayer24!]

Alright, so I got out and shot this weekend. The 3 round Accurate Mag worked flawlessly. It too was getting a round hung up under the feed ramp every 10th dry cycle or so but while shooting, It never jammed. I am guessing that the recoil from the previous shot is enough to keep the rounds to the back of the magazine. The 5 round clip was still having issues. My guess is due to differing spring tensions? I think I will experiment with the 5 round mag and add my own "binder plate" to the front to take up the slop.

 

[gnochi]

Alright, so I got out and shot this weekend. The 3 round Accurate Mag worked flawlessly. It too was getting a round hung up under the feed ramp every 10th dry cycle or so but while shooting, It never jammed. I am guessing that the recoil from the previous shot is enough to keep the rounds to the back of the magazine. The 5 round clip was still having issues. My guess is due to differing spring tensions? I think I will experiment with the 5 round mag and add my own "binder plate" to the front to take up the slop.

Recoil makes the rounds move forward in the magazine, not backwards. It probably is related to the different spring tensions, but might also be shoulder vs rib locations or a whole host of other things.

A blueprinted and trued action should be sitting forwards in the stock/chassis, which if anything would give you more space to work with. Do you have any feeler gauges to check:

• How much space there is between the front of the magazine and the front of the magazine well in the chassis
• How much space there is between the front of the magazine well and the front of the feeding ramp

Also, am I correct in assuming you bent the feed lips on the MDT magazine so the top cartridge sits slightly higher?

It’s important to note that there is no actual standard for “AICS” magazines; it’s probably worth reaching out to MPA to see which magazine they designed the chassis around. Adding a .010 inch shim between the recoil lug and the chassis might not be a bad idea either, assuming the action bolts still fit. You might have gotten a near-worst-case tolerance stackup.