what is needed to run a badger m4 floorplate instead of m5 on a surgeon action?
- Thread starter J MITCHELL
- Start date
Since no one has replied yet I will try to shed some light on this as I have some first hand experience with this issue, though I am not a true expert and invite others to chime in:
A couple of years of ago I had Robert Gradous build me a rifle with a Surgeon 591 and Badger M4 floorplate. I ordered all of the parts myself, when I placed the order for my Surgeon 591 I specifically told them the rifle was going to be a floorplate rifle and not DBM, I also specified my floorplate choice was the Badger M4. When I received the action there was no markings on it (or in the plastic bag) and I did not think much about it at the time. When I received the remainder of my parts I mailed them to Robert. A few months later he built my rifle and upon test firing the rifle he experienced feeding issues. He and I were dumb founded until he broke out his calipers and started measuring the internal dimensions. He found out I either received a 591 action for WSM or DBM but was not sure which, all he knew or relayed to me was the dimensions did not match the action I had ordered. He made a quick call to Surgeon and they made good on the mistake. I would like to thank Robert again as he built my rifle twice essentially and made sure he and I were totally happy before he shipped it. I was only charged once for the riflesmith work and I am sure this hiccup caused him to lose a couple of days if not a week of production, so THANK YOU!!!
The point is, if you are building a floorplate rifle using a Surgeon 591 there is a difference in the actions they make. Obviously all Surgeon 591 actions have the same external dimensions, however the internal dimensions are different for WSM, DBM, and floorplate rifles. On top of that a few years ago I remember on Surgeon's website they advertised every few months they would make a batch of 591's for floorplate rifles. They only did this every few months because the most demand at the time was for DBM rifles (maybe 50 actions a year were produced). That notice is no longer on their website probably because demand is very high for DBM rifles and they are currently behind on production.
I will say I love my Gradous built Surgeon w/ M4 floorplate. It is a very simple, durable, and accurate rifle. If you can make this happen you will not be disappointed. Sometimes I wish I had a DBM on this rifle but the way it shoots I don't want to change a thing. I have other rifles setup for DBM so I can use them if need be. This was my first custom rifle and I learned a lot during the build process. I enjoyed personally selecting all of the parts and having the rifle built to my specs.
So rifles built on Surgeon 591 actions using Badger M4 Floorplates do exist, they are not myths like I once thought and here's proof:
Parts:
Final Product:
A couple of years of ago I had Robert Gradous build me a rifle with a Surgeon 591 and Badger M4 floorplate. I ordered all of the parts myself, when I placed the order for my Surgeon 591 I specifically told them the rifle was going to be a floorplate rifle and not DBM, I also specified my floorplate choice was the Badger M4. When I received the action there was no markings on it (or in the plastic bag) and I did not think much about it at the time. When I received the remainder of my parts I mailed them to Robert. A few months later he built my rifle and upon test firing the rifle he experienced feeding issues. He and I were dumb founded until he broke out his calipers and started measuring the internal dimensions. He found out I either received a 591 action for WSM or DBM but was not sure which, all he knew or relayed to me was the dimensions did not match the action I had ordered. He made a quick call to Surgeon and they made good on the mistake. I would like to thank Robert again as he built my rifle twice essentially and made sure he and I were totally happy before he shipped it. I was only charged once for the riflesmith work and I am sure this hiccup caused him to lose a couple of days if not a week of production, so THANK YOU!!!
The point is, if you are building a floorplate rifle using a Surgeon 591 there is a difference in the actions they make. Obviously all Surgeon 591 actions have the same external dimensions, however the internal dimensions are different for WSM, DBM, and floorplate rifles. On top of that a few years ago I remember on Surgeon's website they advertised every few months they would make a batch of 591's for floorplate rifles. They only did this every few months because the most demand at the time was for DBM rifles (maybe 50 actions a year were produced). That notice is no longer on their website probably because demand is very high for DBM rifles and they are currently behind on production.
I will say I love my Gradous built Surgeon w/ M4 floorplate. It is a very simple, durable, and accurate rifle. If you can make this happen you will not be disappointed. Sometimes I wish I had a DBM on this rifle but the way it shoots I don't want to change a thing. I have other rifles setup for DBM so I can use them if need be. This was my first custom rifle and I learned a lot during the build process. I enjoyed personally selecting all of the parts and having the rifle built to my specs.
So rifles built on Surgeon 591 actions using Badger M4 Floorplates do exist, they are not myths like I once thought and here's proof:
Parts:
Final Product:
Here are the specs:
Surgeon 591 Action
Krieger 1:10" .308 MTU 5R, 22" from the lug
Manners T5A coyote tan
Badger M4 floorplate
Timney 510 trigger
Atlas Bipod
The scope in the picture is a 8.5-25x50 Leupold ER/T TMR with Badger tall rings (1.125).
She now wears a Steiner 5-25X56 MSR w/ Sphur mount.
Surgeon 591 Action
Krieger 1:10" .308 MTU 5R, 22" from the lug
Manners T5A coyote tan
Badger M4 floorplate
Timney 510 trigger
Atlas Bipod
The scope in the picture is a 8.5-25x50 Leupold ER/T TMR with Badger tall rings (1.125).
She now wears a Steiner 5-25X56 MSR w/ Sphur mount.
Thanks for the info.
