The aluminum prototype kcstott made for me is close to finished. We have some changes to make but it is well on its way. The exterior has not been shaped yet, and much of the depth will be trimmed off in addition to being streamlined.



The small gap you see between the floorplates and the stock is not a design flaw. The inletting on my Boyds stock is a little shallow and I have not had a chance to deepen it. You can see by the photos that the factory and pocket plate fit virtually identically.




As the design is now it allows for 3+1 .470AR, the bolt will close with 3 down with plenty of space to spare. 4 down will not fit.




The bolt will close with 3 down .500AR but rubs the top round rather tightly and should be limited to just 3 down. This plate was originally intended for the .470AR not the .500AR. If a run of .500AR plates was ordered he intends to deepen it internally.



My rifle is still a .7mm RemMag and as soon as I get a chance I will buy a box of 7mm rounds (unless anyone close to me has 3 to spare?) and check feeding.

From this picture you can see that the final version needs to be much less deep then the prototype. The was a lot of metal left on the bottom in case the design needed to be deepend.



Thumbs up to kcstott! He has done a great job so far and been great to work with.

Sorry about the delay in testing. I also hope to pick up 4 .375 Rugers from a fellow board member this week to double check depth even though I know they will fit.

The prototype holds and feed 4 down 7mm Remington Magnums very well, no hang ups at all with everything but the pocket plate being stock.

The bolt closes easily on 4 7mm Remingtons down but might need another 1/16" or so for 4+1 without any problems.

Hi viperidae,
Got those 375R rounds for you and around this week from tomorrow thru Wed pm. Back Sun and the following week. Give a call and let me know when you want to swing by.
Cheers,
Bill

I can get 3 down in my 458 AccRel now with a few slight mods, but would be very interested in getting a 3rd round into my 500 AccRel.

Reg S&F

A special thanks to vagrouser who lent me the rounds for testing! All below photos and descriptions are for factory .375 Ruger rounds.




The prototype holds 4 down well, the below photo is 4 rounds in the magazine. The bolt will not close, ~1/8" more in depth would be needed for 4+1 down.




All rounds loaded into the magazine fed well up until the 7mm chamber stopped them. All will repeatedly feed up to this point wihtout issue.




Time to send it back to kcstott for the final revisions.

Wow!
Looking good!
I think I'm going to need one.
Any thoughts of cost?
My Ruger is stainless.

This is going to make me rethink getting another African. Thumbs up to kcstott and viperidae for doing the development on this. Hopefully they can put their heads together and fabricate a proper safety for the Ruger that offers a little more purchase.

You guys should note that the 375R ammo pictured above was scratched up when I gave it to viperidae for testing-not from this new setup.

Bill

I think the deeper one for the 500 AR would be good for me. You can never have enough ammo down.

I just stumbled upon this thread. Sign me up for one in 500ar if you make them!

any updates on Ruger Hawkeye bottom plate for the 500 Acc Rel?