Hey guys,

This Mod 70 FWT 270 WSM should carry 3 rounds in the magazine. When I put three in the magazine, the bolt doesn't want to close properly. The bolt seems to be scraping against the last round in the magazine. The rifle has never been shot, I just got my ammo in today and started to play with it. I took it apart the other day to adjust the trigger. Did I f%ck something up? Has any one had this problem or know how I can fix it?

Thanks again.

Corey

Corey, the wsm's are fat-hog cartridges, period! When you close the bolt, push the rounds down... the fit will still be tight and the bolt will still scrape the top of the last round slightly... it's the nature of the beast. I wouldn't worry about it.

Brad

Brad,

Thank you for your reply. When I go to close the bolt, and it scrapes the top round, the bolt is awfully hard to close. I can only push them down very little, to a stopping point. Should I not worry about that either? I'm just sort of afraid I will make an indention on the case trying to close the bolt. But, this is my first short mag and if these things are normal with the fat cases then I will forget about it.

Thanks again,

Corey

Those short fat cartridges are to blame. I just completed a 300 WSM on a Winchester 300 WSM barrelled action and it will not accept three rounds in the magazine. Live with it or shim the bottom metal out until it will clear the 3rd round.

There are several companies that make different and by different I mean better bottom metal (trigger guards, magazine boxes and floorplates) for most of the popular actions. They are not inexpensive but they would probably solve your problem.

If it were my rifle and I felt I needed the extra round in the magazine I would call Winchester Customer Service and ask them about it...they may have a Customer Service Center near you...this is usually a gunsmith they send small work to rather than have you send it back to them.

Let me add that forcing the 3rd round down into the magazine will almost certainly scratch your brass and won't help feeding at all....I wouldn't be suprised if when you cycled the action that the rounds wouldn't pop out from the release of pressure.

[ 07-25-2002, 18:31: Message edited by: DB Bill ]

Corey, my 300 WSM M70 does exactly the same thing you describe in the same way. Regardless, this "problem" has generated no additional trouble other than the annoyance of a tight fit. Like I said, I wouldn't fret over it.

Brad

Isn't it funny that the belt on "old fashioned" magnums gets singled out by the snakeoil salesmen for (amoung other ills) feeding problems, then these new cartridges are designed without a belt but with a built-in feeding problem all their own: They're short and fat, and the production rifles that are chambered for them are not engineered to house them properly.

I'm sure a high-end gunmaker like Lazzaroni has addressed this issue in the right manner with it's own action and magazine box system, but it's pretty clear that Winchester and Remington are unwilling to create proper magazine boxes that allow these cartridges to feed without a hitch.

And the question begs to be asked, what are we really gaining with all this? An action that's a half-inch shorter and a few ounces lighter?

Big deal!

AD

[ 07-25-2002, 21:41: Message edited by: allen day ]

Allen....this is an old argument.

The length of the action determines the spacing of your hands on the rifle and for those of us who wear shirts with sleeves of 32" or less, rifles with short actions "feel" better than those with long actions. One size doesn't fit all.

Don't believe me...take your favorite rifle and mount it.....take it off your shouder and move your forward hand out 3/4" and do the same thing. Notice the difference?

Well, it's about time someone "discovered" one of the big compromises with the "magic" short-fats. Most action magazines will comfortably only hold two rounds (at least if it were a shotgun it would be legal for migratory birds!)

The standard Mauser will hold 5 + 1 in .30-06 for DOUBLE the number of available shots. Loaded to equal pressures, the .300 WSM will have, at best, 100 fps on a .30-06, and the .30-06 will feed flawlessly. Now which one looks like it's magic?

Look at it a different way. One less round in the magazine means less weight to lug around!! Hit what you shot at and you don't even need the second shot!

Yes , why worry about it ? With one up the spout and two in the magazine you have plenty of shots for any sort of non-dangerous game anyway .

Do you have another rifle (in a standard cartridge) to compare it with?

My 300 RUM A-Bolt magazine just came in yesterday and the whole body of the magazine is fatter than the 300 Win magazine.

I would really hope they widened the mags on the M70's....

Db Bill,

You lost me on that one. I don't buy your argument. If your hand is moved further by 3/4 of an inch it is because of a longer length of pull. There is plenty of room on the forearm to accomodate longer arms. You can hold a short action stocked rifle exactly the same way as a long action. What am I missing?