My 375 Musgrave only takes 3 rounds in the magazine and it would be nice to have 1 up and 3 in the mag. But not loading from the magazine for the 1 up the bolt doesnt pick up the round as it should if you insert a round to have the desired effect of 3 in the magazine and 1 up.

Now how bad is it for the action or bolt to fire a round that hasnt been picked up properly from the magazine ?

It doesnt mean that I will be using it in that way to fire a round but if needed and hunting for DG as backup it would be better for mind and safety to have 4 shots instead of only 3 before reloading ? In other words it will only be fired in this way as backup.

What do you have to say?

In my Winchester Model 70, with three down in the magazine, I can introduce the fourth cartridge by slightly pushing down on it as if trying to get it into the magazine but just enough to allow the extractor to cover the rim. I then close the bolt. This might work in your Musgrave.

Otherwise there is the method whereby you squeeze the extractor at mid-length, bending out the claw which allows it to ride over the rim as you close the bolt.

I'm sure the real Mauser experts may have other suggestions.

In my rifles, I can hold the 4th round down partially with my thumb while I work the bolt. This gives me a full magazine and one up the spout.

I have a rifle or two where this technique will cause problems with ejection of the first fired round, for some reason.

My H&H 404 was 3 down with no option of getting the 4th half way in so you could load it properly. sooo. used to load one round into the mag, chamber it and put the safety on. Pop magazine floor plate open and drop three rounds in and close floor plate.

Have had to teach several candidates this trick for our PH shooting exams (one shoot calls for 4 rounds with no convienient place for a reload)

quote:

Now how bad is it for the action or bolt to fire a round that hasnt been picked up properly from the magazine ?

Once the round is chambered, there is absolutely no difference to stresses on the action when it is fired. There is often discussion about whther the act of chambering a round in this manner stress the extractor during the loading process. But once the extractor has snapped over the cartridge rim and the round is fully chambered, firing the round at this point or simply ejecting the unfired round isn't the issue.

My personal belief is that loading a cartridge by hand and forcing the extractor to snap over the rim isn't that big of a deal. While maybe not ideal, I believe the risk in most well made firearms is insignificant. Minor modifications to the extractor can make this very smooth.

Bill

Frederik

You need a new butom metal magazine from Recknagel they make a 4+1 in .375 H&H.
The old Winchester model 70 pre-64 is also 4+1 in 375 H&H.
I do not know why the newer Winchester model 70 is a 3+1 only
It seems lke old guns are just better in every way
I hate low capacity


Cheers,

André

My .333 jeffery is 4+1
-"- .416Rigby is 4+1
-"_ .270weatherby pre-64 custom is 3+1

Many believe when having a custom-mauser made in a another caliber... they can use the original 8x57/30-06 magazinebox and thats is far from right. Almost each cartridge require its own customfit magazine in order to feed well.

Here are some "tricks" you can try to get 3 1/2 ctgs down. Then you can usually get a ctg manually into the bolt face from below without snapping the extractor over the rim.

1. you can shave the floorplate and even make it concave.

2. You can also widen the box by filing the inside walls. That will allow the ctgs to sit down flatter and give you more room.

3. You should look closely to see if there is anything stopping the follower from seating flat on the floorplate. To do this, open or remove the floorplate and push the follower down against it. Sometimes, by shaving the sides of the spring in a specific area, you can get it to sit down further.

If that doesn't work, you can either

1. Force the extractor to pop over the rim on a ctg that you manually push into the chamber. Most mauser actions have enough clearance in the slot that the extractor rides along to allow this. The extractor is a spring and it should not break if you do this but it may, eventually. To disassemble a Mauser bolt, you have to bend the extractor claw away from the bolt centerline a LOT further than is necessary to get it to pop over a ctg rim, so it should take it. If it won't pop, the action is probably crowding the movement of the claw so don't force it. Use the method below. If you polish the bevel on the extractor, it will pop over the rim easier.

2. Remove the bolt, insert the ctg behind the extractor, and then slide the whole thing into the action while holding round no 2 down so the bolt can pass over it. If round no 2 won't go down enough, see tricks above. This takes some dexterity but it can be done.

There is no reason to think this will stress the action. It only stresses the extractor claw, and these are designed to take this stress.

There is also no reason that ejection of this first round should be any different than ejection of the third round (which also has to ride over a round sitting under the RHS lip).

Thanks for all the replies.

I've tried the following and it works great.
Pushing down the 3 rounds in the mag and then putting the 4th round as far as I can down. Closing the bolt and then pulling back the round to almost ejecting it and then pushing it back in. And that will or I think it will lock the bolt like it has been picked up from the mag.

My M70 in 300 Win Mag is unfortunately only 3+1 and im very tired of that i want a 4 round or 5 round capacity for it soon what can the price on a complete magazine and metal bottom setup cost?

My custom VZ 24 Mauser in .404 is 5 + 1 so there its a good load of having ammo when needed.

This was all discussed the other day in Gunsmithing,

https://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/9411043/m/391101048