Hi

I have just purchased the rifle and find you cannot set the projectiles out any further than the standard cartridge length. Is this normal, long 200gn have to be set well into the neck of the case.
Any ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks ozzy

I have a left handed model 70 that has been chambered to 330 Dakota (oringal calibre being .338 Win) that too suffers from a short for cartridge magazine box liner.

there is a partial remedy however, although one that will require a litte gunsmithing.

To the rear of the fabricated steel magazine box liner there is an isert spot welded in place that removes around 1/4 inch of useful magazine length, by removing this plate, extra magazine length will be gained.

As part of the process however the bolt stop and ejector blade will need cutting back so as to permit the bolt to be drawn back the extra amount gained by removal of the plate.

Sorry if this sounds a little confusing, basically all you are seeking to do is to remove the obstruction form the mag box and then adjust to permit the bolt to be drawn back the same amount, this will hopefully permit you to place longer loaded rounds in the magazine.

I just had this done on my 300wm. John Lewis # Carolina Precision did the work. 1. 375 factory box, 2.375 ejector, 3.grind back the bolt stop.. this cost about $60.00 He did not change the followler & it works fine.

John's phone # is 803-827-2069

Does this same process apply to the "Express" length box??

Thanks for the infomation.
I though it may be possible to remove the spacer in the back of the magazine box liner and wanted to know if others had the problem.

Regards ozzy

I don't know how easy it is to get M70 parts these days - in particular outside of the US. So it is probably worth trying to remove the mag spacer. If the parts had been readily available, I would have preferred obtaining a magazine for the .300 Wby/.375 H&H length cartridges. At least that would have given you the option of going back to the short magazine, should you ever want to.

The comments you have received above regarding modification (or replacement) of the boltstop are also 100% correct. Without this, you risk the cartridges loaded in the magazine will hang up on the boltstop intended for the shorter bolt travel associated with the short magazine.

I personally prefer having a long follower in a long magazine, but I certainly can't say the short follower won't work. I just find the positioning and feel of the short follower in the long magazine to be subject to too much adjustment, and therefore not particularly positive. But I guess, if I did not have access to the parts, I'd try the short follower first and see if it worked.

- mike