ec-10
Member
That isn't a photoshop. That is a ten round M1A magazine installed in my Ruger Frontier rifle chambered for .308. I think we can all be honest with each other here and call the Frontier what it really is. It is a Ruger Compact with a $60 barrel rib installed on it, masquerading as a scout rifle (and doing a pretty good job of it). So right there is two product lines of Ruger that can be modified to do this.
Actually, to say that I have modified the rifle is again inaccurate. I can have the rifle back to it's original configuration in less than five minutes. It is the magazine that sacrifices it's life to achieve this result.
Just think, there will be twice as many rounds in that picture once I place my order.
Anyway, I had the idea of somehow shoehorning an M1A magazine into my Frontier rifle to alleviate the 4+1 round capacity that restricts it to the hunting relm. This is after-all my SHTF rifle and I would like a few more rounds to help make up for the fact that I am such a lousy shot.
This is what constitutes the magazine of the Ruger Frontier.
When I started comparing the Ruger's magazine box to that of the M1A I started getting ideas.
When I held the M1A magazine up to the bottom of the receiver I realized it was an almost perfect fit. I knew that I would have to trim the lips off of the magazine to get it to seat high enough so that the bolt would actually grab the rounds to feed them (this renders it to a blind magazine). The other problem is the ejector. I had to notch the M1A magazine to clear it. It was at this point that I started to investigate what would be required to make this work with the stock. I figured I would have to open up the mag-well on the stock and probably trim the latch/catch off of the M1A magazine. I was positive that I would have to fabricate some sort of retaining bracket to keep the magazine in place. This is where I was pleasantly surprised.
The bottom of the magazine latch lines up perfectly with the top of the front flange of the trigger guard. I insert the magazine, install the trigger guard and it is in there solid. There is some slight side to side slop but it is minimal.
The front magazine hinge/recoil lug retainer is replaced with some washers.
This is the extent of modifications I made to the M1A magazine. Yes, the work I did is extremely sloppy. I do not have access to a shop at this point. I did these mods on my kitchen counter with simple hand tools. When I get my twenty rounder I will probably have my gunsmith do some cleaner mods.
The important thing here is that it fits and that it feeds. There are two problems with this mod so far. The follower in the magazine is not designed to be compatible with the bolt of this rifle. When I go to close the bolt while the rifle is empty I have to push the follower down out of the way. The other issue is that loading the second round into the magazine is somewhat difficult. The first round goes in with no problem and so do rounds three through ten. This is a cheap mag from Ebay so I suspect it is the mag and not the mod. These are both minor problems. Again, the important thing here is that it fits and that it feeds. It works as well as the factory four round magazine IMHO.
A quick glance through my reloading manual tells me that this mod would probably work with rifles chambered in .243 and 7mm-08 in addition to those in .308. I do not believe it would work with .300WSM or .358 Federal as the case diameter would probably be too big for the follower. I have tested it so far by loading ten rounds and then working the bolt ten times. Each round feeds perfectly and they all eject as they should. I can't wait to get to the range.
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