I have one of the last pre-accutrigger Savage 111Gs in 300 RUM. Standard wood stock and open sites. Has shot MOA. Recoil is stout but entirely manageable, especially while standing. I like this rifle very much.
Except for one little problem - THE WRETCHED MAGAZINE. :x :noway: :rain: :sniper:
Maybe you guys know what I'm talking about - what looks clearly like an attempt to save money by just welding together two regular length magazines. Well the welds aren't exactly the straightest in the world, and not the most flexible either. They're well finished though. :? From day one this mag was hard to load and feed from. The lips were too tight at the top to begin with, and have resisted all attempts at permanent correction, from prying them open inside the gun to overbending the box after removing it from the gun.
Basically I don't think anything can be done to save this thing. Am I alone here? It seems that this magazine is completely the wrong shape and dimensions for feeding cartridges that wide double stack. The magazine metal seems to have just the worst behavior to being fixed.
Which is where my latest crazy idea comes in.
My idea was to say forget the original mag. Just pop it out. And install something better. No, not a replacement. A full feeding system upgrade.
This would involve one of two things.
a.) A complicated single piece machined aluminum magazine that would fit in with minimal alteration to the stock to accomodate a tab under each stock screw. It would effectively replace the factory magazine.
b.) A more substantial stock insert that would double as an aluminum bedding. At this point you might as well make a new stock to go with it. In addition to the feeding woes, I've found 2rd capacity to be a little anemic. I usually load shots individually and have grouped well, but in the field, 5 rounds just feels more natural. So this seems like a good opportunity to develop and install a detachable magazine. The end result would be a new stock, designed however I want it, with an aluminum bedding and a 4/5rd detachable magazine. (Heck, why leave it at that? Oh yeah, because ammo's $40 a box...)
Questions:
1.) Am I the only one to experience this magazine trouble? Friends of mine have had no trouble with their standard long and short action Savages.
2.) If I'm not alone, should I make more than one upgrade system like this? (Yes, I have the technology...)
