I have a Mark X 375 bottom metal. I am curious if you can get a Rigby style drop floorplate that would add one round. Or one that could be adapted?

Sorry but with that guard I doubt it will not help, unless they have changed the design of the new guards with the cross bolt latch.

On the older guards they reached in and cut the top front section out above the hinge area then added a thin hoop section to make it long enough for the 375.

But the hinge area is still 30-06 length.

You can make a pocket/Rigby floor plate, but as it will be restricted in the hinge area to 30-06 length, you will not be gaining any as the bullet nose will not be allowed to go down any further.



JW

All he needs is for the spring and part of the follower to go down a bit to add one round.

Jim, It is the old style, in the guard release. You are right about the hinge area, but this is kind of a budget/experimental project and I am not averse to tig welding the floorplate in place and then doing just enough mill work at the front to gain the clearance to add a third round, this is for a 416 Rigby based cartridge. I don't have near the skills to make a drop floorplate. Any good ideas? Thanks!

Comes time to recognize these "fixes" as Mickey Mouse.

I' suggest you get a new proper designed bottom meal and be done with it.

One glitch, on the Mark X, however..They got pretty enthusiastic about opening the ramp to the front, so most custom bottom metal that will hold max OAL,,the box falls short of meeting the ramp.

Then, the ring was not opened up enough to allow most loaded rounds to eject. Yeah..empties will, but in the haste to replace a soft with a solid, for instance..tings get awkward.

These actions really need attention to make a reliable DGR

quote:

Originally posted by Duane Wiebe (CG&R):
Comes time to recognize these "fixes" as Mickey Mouse.

I' suggest you get a new proper designed bottom meal and be done with it.

One glitch, on the Mark X, however..They got pretty enthusiastic about opening the ramp to the front, so most custom bottom metal that will hold max OAL,,the box falls short of meeting the ramp.

Then, the ring was not opened up enough to allow most loaded rounds to eject. Yeah..empties will, but in the haste to replace a soft with a solid, for instance..tings get awkward.

These actions really need attention to make a reliable DGR

One reason I preferred to rebarrel std short mags to either the 375 or 416 Ruger.

Well. time to 'fess up. Years ago I opened up a FN commercial for the 416 Hoffman. I modeled it after the alterations done on MK X but also opened it a bit to the rear. At the time, the Remington 416 did not yet exist. I put on a #4 contour McGowan barrel with a soldered on Dakota rib and it was a very lightweight thumper on both ends. I shot it a bunch and then it got relegated to the back of the safe. After reading the opinions of many of the armchair experts on AR about how Rigby had some specialized Alien knowledge and expertise that allowed only them to open up a standard Mauser action without it detonating and killing everything in a 50 yard radius, I decided to take the suicidal plunge and bought a 416 Rigby reamer. After opening the bolt face, I again used Duanes pamphlet to alter the feed rails to get it to feed. Shaving a bit off the back of the front top ring just enough to clear a loaded round(oh, the horrors!) It will eject a loaded round, 3.710 max. based on using the old steel jacketed Hornady RN,s seated to the cannelure. I loaded up a series of loads from entry level to max +, out of the Woodleigh manual and went to the range. It turned out to be uneventful, as all rounds fired and ejected with no pressure signs, round primers and no shrapnel! No signs of lug setback. I plan on shooting it quite a bit more with moderate loads to ensure that no catastrophic failure will occur before calling it good and stocking it in walnut with the addition of some of Duanes custom bottom metal, if it will work. I did not want to invest a bunch of money in the project until I got it functional and tested. It needs some finish polishing of the rails, but is fully functional. At this point, I am confident that my wife is unlikely to collect on my life insurance anytime soon!
Duane, I looked at two of your masterpieces for sale at DSC, one a 458 lott and one a 500 Jeffery. The work on the feed rails of the Jeffery was impressive and made me nervous just looking at it. Thanks to all the real experts who have posted here, your advice is gold to me.

Bubba, the gunhack

Zir: I tend to agree...too bad Ruger had to let ego get in the way when they named the cartridge. Something like "375 Express" and I bet these would be a go to cartridges