BDL Bottom Metal

[WI-2021]

I recently had two custom rifles built; one in .308 and one in .300 Win Mag. Both use BDL style bottom metal. On the .308, I foolishly chose to use factory Remington bottom metal. It’s pot metal that has no place on a custom rifle, so I’m looking to replace it with a higher quality part.

I used Mesa Precision bottom metal on the .300 and was very happy with it, so I ordered another in short action for the .308. Unfortunately, there is significant play in the floor plate on the short action bottom metal. I’d just return it, but I scuffed it a bit when I installed it since it’s just a bit larger than the inlet in my stock. There is a small amount of slop at the pivot, which I can deal with. The bigger concern is that there is maybe 1/32” of gap between the latch and the catch on the floor plate when the floorplate is fully closed which results in the floorplate rattling and leaves a small gap between the floorplate and frame. Is there any way to tighten this up short of tig welding the latch and refitting it?

Alternately, I may just cut my losses here and try a different bottom metal. Does anyone have recommendations on an aluminum BDL bottom metal that would be of higher quality and preferably fits into a factory BDL inlet? I’m aware of Hawkins, but haven’t ever seen one. I believe they use a slightly different inlet. I was also looking at an Oberndorf style from Stocky’s, but again, I have no actual experience with them. They claim to use a factory inlet, but then again, so does Mesa and it’s close, but not close enough. Is there another option I should be looking at?

I’m not totally averse to doing some inletting, but a drop in would be convenient.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Blackburn-Sierra and Sunny Hill both make custom bottom metal. Check them out. I'm searching for something for Mauser build. Nice to know who to avoid. Thanks.

 

[WI-2021]

Blackburn-Sierra and Sunny Hill both make custom bottom metal. Check them out. I'm searching for something for Mauser build. Nice to know who to avoid. Thanks.

Thanks for the tips, I'll look into them. To clarify, the only bottom metals I have experience with are the Mesa and the Remington. I got in a bit of a rush with my initial post. After rereading it, it's poorly worded and could be interpreted as me saying that the Stocky's bottom metal doesn't fit a factory inlet. That's not the case, I was referring to the Mesa part not fitting without inletting.

Mesa is batting .500 right now. If it can be fixed at a reasonable cost, I'll give it a try, but I won't be buying another one. Remington is, well, Remington. At the time I had no idea what to order (I guess I still don't) so I defaulted to the Remington, since the rifle is a Remclone.

Mesa doesn't make a Mauser bottom metal that I'm aware of, so you'll have no trouble avoiding them.

Thanks again!

 

[Donnstar]

PTG makes excellent aluminum which is what you say you are after. Sunny Hill makes stainless only.

 

[Proneshooter]

PTG makes excellent aluminum which is what you say you are after. Sunny Hill makes stainless only.

Deal with PTG at your own risk. Do an internet search then proceed at your discretion.

 

[WI-2021]

Deal with PTG at your own risk. Do an internet search then proceed at your discretion.

I've heard that about PTG too, that's why I didn't mention them. After two failed attempts at decent bottom metal on this rifle I'm not going to roll the dice with PTG.

FWIW, Sunny Hill's (horrible) website indicates that they do make some aluminum bottom metal and it turns out they're fairly local to me. They sure are proud of it though. I may give it a shot if all else fails, but $400+ for bottom metal is a bit tough to swallow, especially since it appears to be unfinished, so I'd have to cerakote it too.

Other options I'm seeing are Hawkins and Redhawk. The Redhawk concerns me a bit because it may actually be made by Mesa; they're pretty much right next door to each other.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

I've heard that about PTG too, that's why I didn't mention them. After two failed attempts at decent bottom metal on this rifle I'm not going to roll the dice with PTG.

FWIW, Sunny Hill's (horrible) website indicates that they do make some aluminum bottom metal and it turns out they're fairly local to me. They sure are proud of it though. I may give it a shot if all else fails, but $400+ for bottom metal is a bit tough to swallow, especially since it appears to be unfinished, so I'd have to cerakote it too.

Other options I'm seeing are Hawkins and Redhawk. The Redhawk concerns me a bit because it may actually be made by Mesa; they're pretty much right next door to each other.

The Mauser bottom metal at Sunny Hill is more than $500 but he said they would expand the .375 box to 404 Jeff for forty bucks extra. However, I didn't know it would be stainless. Not interested in that.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

I've heard that about PTG too, that's why I didn't mention them. After two failed attempts at decent bottom metal on this rifle I'm not going to roll the dice with PTG.

FWIW, Sunny Hill's (horrible) website indicates that they do make some aluminum bottom metal and it turns out they're fairly local to me. They sure are proud of it though. I may give it a shot if all else fails, but $400+ for bottom metal is a bit tough to swallow, especially since it appears to be unfinished, so I'd have to cerakote it too.

Other options I'm seeing are Hawkins and Redhawk. The Redhawk concerns me a bit because it may actually be made by Mesa; they're pretty much right next door to each other.

Not exactly sure if this is what you're looking for: https://www.badgerordnance.com/m4-triggerguard-remington-306-02-03.html

 

[Proneshooter]

Andy makes top quality items, and quality costs money, he is about the only shop left making custom bottom metal. I do notice this statement "This assembly is designed with the assumption that the customer will fit into a custom stock" that makes me think it might require some inletting. Guys I'm not going to try and justify Andy's pricing, but if you want quality it is going to cost some money.

 

[WI-2021]

Not exactly sure if this is what you're looking for: https://www.badgerordnance.com/m4-triggerguard-remington-306-02-03.html

Thank you. I'd forgotten about Badger. They're a bit spendy too, but may be a contender. I didn't see if they are steel or aluminum on their site, so I'll have to dig a little deeper.

 

[WI-2021]

Andy makes top quality items, and quality costs money, he is about the only shop left making custom bottom metal. I do notice this statement "This assembly is designed with the assumption that the customer will fit into a custom stock" that makes me think it might require some inletting. Guys I'm not going to try and justify Andy's pricing, but if you want quality it is going to cost some money.

Thanks for the vote of confidence on Sunny Hill's quality. I may have to give him a call. I'm not afraid to spend the money, but for that money I expect it to be damn near perfect.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

The Mauser bottom metal at Sunny Hill is more than $500 but he said they would expand the .375 box to 404 Jeff for forty bucks extra. However, I didn't know it would be stainless. Not interested in that.

Sunny Hill's Mauser bottom metal is "soft steel" which will work for me. If he can make the magazine fit 404 Jeff without my gunsmith having to experiment jerry rigging something, the money is well spent. Figure I'll have to pay someone to do it, may as well be a guy who comes highly recommended.

 

[WI-2021]

Thanks to everyone for the input so far.

Regarding the current Mesa bottom metal: Do any of you have experience with tightening up the fit of a floorplate? If so, how did you do it? If there's a good way to do it that won't cost me as much as a new part, I'll give it a shot. Otherwise I'll just consider this a sunk cost and move on.

Regarding new bottom metal, I see the following options: Sunny Hill, Badger, Hawkins, Stocky's, and Redhawk. Blackburn-Sierra doesn't appear to make Remington-pattern bottom metal. I could also roll the dice on another Mesa or PTG, but I'd be sure to inspect it thoroughly before installing so I can return it if it's not up to par. Actually, I'll definitely be doing that in the future regardless.

It looks like Sunny Hill and Badger only sell them in the white, and both will end up varying degrees of expensive by the time they're finished and installed. If that's what it takes, that's what it takes, but if one of the lower cost options is of consistently high quality I'd prefer to go in that direction. This isn't a pretty rifle, so I'd actually prefer a utilitarian flat black anodized finish, preferably hardcoat. I mainly want it to open when I want it open, stay closed when I want it closed, not be pot metal, and not rattle. Minimizing the inletting I have to do is preferred, but not a real big deal.

With that in mind, does anyone have first-hand experience with any of the lower cost ($200-ish) pre-finished options? Are the Oberndorf style any less prone to floorplate rattling? I've never used on in that style?

For reference, here's a picture of the rifle in question, with the .300WM in the background. It's no Rigby, but I don't think I could bring myself to drag a Rigby through the brush anyway. To answer the inevitable questions: the .308 is a Defiance Rebel w/3-position safety, 16.5" Proof, Triggertech Special, Grayboe Outlander, and a Dead Air Nomad LT. The .300 is a Mesa Summit S/S, 22" Carbon Six, Triggertech Primary, AG Carbon All-Terrain, and a TBAC Ultra 5.

Thanks again for the input!

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Let's think about this from a different angle. As I understand it, you have a hinged floor plate that rattles, correct? I would think fixing what you have shouldn't be that complicated. Is the hinge loose or the lock loose or both? If the floor plate is loose on the bottom metal hinge pin, I would think the floor plate socket could be squeezed or peened a bit. Or a gunsmith could drive out the pin and redrill both bottom metal socket and floor plate socket to fit a proper pin that matches both holes. If it's the lock that's loose, I would think there could be a couple of easy fixes. Perhaps simply very slightly bending the floor plate so it binds tighter against the bottom metal might work? Of course it won't work if the floor plate is cast but I strongly suspect it is either machined or stamped. If it's stamped it should be fairly maliable (which may be the problem?).

Just trying to think outside the box a bit. Not sure if it helps.

Edit: Sorry, I should have reread your original post rather than working from my failing old man memory. The latch is the problem and the floorplate is obviously machined. As machined metal it still should be somewhat bendable I would think. It's obviously not stainless. Sunny Hill describes their bottom metal as soft steel and I suspect Mesa does the same for projects that will be blued. Why use hard metal to machine if it's not necessary? Maybe try putting a bit of a bend in that floor plate or the hinge? What's the gunsmith say?

 

[Hogpatrol]

I've used Hawkins Precision and they are good quality. Run around $175.
Edit: Found some but inflation has struck again. Still need the spring and follower.

Hawkins Precision - Remington LA Oberndorf Bottom Metal Black Anodized - Bullet Central

Lightweight and premium quality, the Hawkins Precision Oberndorf Bottom Metal is a CNC-machined masterpiece. Our patented cantilever spring release ensures the floorplate will not open under heavy recoil for large magnum caliber rifles. Our Oberndorf bottom metal is extremely popular for...

www.bulletcentral.com

 

[WI-2021]

Let's think about this from a different angle. As I understand it, you have a hinged floor plate that rattles, correct? I would think fixing what you have shouldn't be that complicated. Is the hinge loose or the lock loose or both? If the floor plate is loose on the bottom metal hinge pin, I would think the floor plate socket could be squeezed or peened a bit. Or a gunsmith could drive out the pin and redrill both bottom metal socket and floor plate socket to fit a proper pin that matches both holes. If it's the lock that's loose, I would think there could be a couple of easy fixes. Perhaps simply very slightly bending the floor plate so it binds tighter against the bottom metal might work? Of course it won't work if the floor plate is cast but I strongly suspect it is either machined or stamped. If it's stamped it should be fairly maliable (which may be the problem?).

Just trying to think outside the box a bit. Not sure if it helps.

Thanks again! It's a little of both actually. The front has a little wobble to it, I think due to the hole through the floorplate being slightly oversized. Either of your proposed fixes would probably do the trick nicely there. The main concern is at the latch. It is a machined part, so I could try to slightly bend the hook on the floorplate to close the gap. It may break the hook, but I'm not going to use the floorplate in its current state anyway.

You actually just gave me another idea, if merely bending the hook doesn't work, I could put a small relief cut in to allow it to bend, then tig the relief cut to stiffen it back up. This may simplify cleanup of the weld.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

See my edit. The hinge issue may be an easy fix by simply squeezing the hingepin hole in floor plate with padded pliers or tapping on it with hammer and punch, depending on accessibility. Machined metal latch ... is the problem side to side slop or between the floor plate slop ... or both?

If you have 1/32 slop, bending the floorplate might not be the fix you want. That might put a significant bow in it. Sounds like Mesa didn't get the magazine box side machined properly. Took off too much metal. Or the latch is machined wrong.

 

[WI-2021]

See my edit. The hinge issue may be an easy fix by simply squeezing the hingepin hole in floor plate with padded pliers or tapping on it with hammer and punch, depending on accessibility. Machined metal latch ... is the problem side to side slop or between the floor plate slop ... or both?

If you have 1/32 slop, bending the floorplate might not be the fix you want. That might put a significant bow in it. Sounds like Mesa didn't get the magazine box side machined properly. Took off too much metal. Or the latch is machined wrong.

Thank you. I'm reasonable certain that squeezing the hinge pin hole will work in front. At the latch there is slight side to side play, but most of the play is vertical. Hopefully a picture will help me explain this better. The tab sticking up from the floor plate is slightly narrower than the slot, which allows a bit of side to side play. With the floorplate fully closed, there is about a 1/32" gap between the angled surface on the hook and the latch, which allows the vertical play.

Sorry, missed your edit. I haven't managed to get to the gunsmith yet.

 

[WI-2021]

I've used Hawkins Precision and they are good quality. Run around $175.
Edit: Found some but inflation has struck again. Still need the spring and follower.

Hawkins Precision - Remington LA Oberndorf Bottom Metal Black Anodized - Bullet Central

Lightweight and premium quality, the Hawkins Precision Oberndorf Bottom Metal is a CNC-machined masterpiece. Our patented cantilever spring release ensures the floorplate will not open under heavy recoil for large magnum caliber rifles. Our Oberndorf bottom metal is extremely popular for...

www.bulletcentral.com

Thank you. I do have a mag box, spring, and follower. They're actually Remington parts, so standard length, not extended. It originally had a Wyatt's box, spring, and follower, but had feeding issues off the left rail. The gunsmith had the Remington parts on-hand, so we tried them and it fixed the feeding, so they stayed.

Have you seen any play at all in the Hawkins floorplates?

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Thank you. I'm reasonable certain that squeezing the hinge pin hole will work in front. At the latch there is slight side to side play, but most of the play is vertical. Hopefully a picture will help me explain this better. The tab sticking up from the floor plate is slightly narrower than the slot, which allows a bit of side to side play. With the floorplate fully closed, there is about a 1/32" gap between the angled surface on the hook and the latch, which allows the vertical play.

Sorry, missed your edit. I haven't managed to get to the gunsmith yet.

View attachment 529686

Looks like Mesa probably drilled the pin for latch in the wrong spot. Fixing the latch on the trigger guard side is probably a better choice than floor plate latch. Not much metal on that side. Is the floor plate recessed into the bottom metal? If that is the case, I would simply bend the floor plate to take up slack at latch. It is totally flat and should be quite maliable. Recessed the bow in floorplate's shape probably would not be noticeable.