Savage model 12 .223 internal mag question.
I bought a used model 12 in .223 with a bull barrel from a friend. My question is the gun has an internal magazine that holds 5 rounds. Is there anyway to convert this gun to a detachable magazine in anyway be it a stock change or some aftermarket parts? Thank you kindly!
Edit: I ask because I just took this gun prairie dog hunting over the 4th and love the gun but man does it suck loading from the top 5 at a time around the scope!
Posted Jul 6, 2018, 8:45 AM UTC
214
If it has an internal box magazine, you can just replace the bottom metal and use detachable magazines.
If it has a blind magazine, you can replace the stock with one inletted for a DBM and get a DBM to use magazines.
Or you can put it into a chassis which has magazine functionality built in.
If you don't want to spend any money, you can shoot it single-shot, which may be faster and less annoying than using the magazine.
I am pretty sure it has a blind magazine the stock is all plastic and one piece no metal door under the internal mag. Are there any modifications that need to be done besides buying a stock that can take DBMS and what sort of magazine would it use? If I could find something that would use my AR 15 mags I’d be in heaven!
Edit: basically I’m wondering if this is feasible or if I should just trade this gun for a Ruger American ranch or predator in .223 that takes AR mags. Or just buy a good upper for my AR 15 for prairie dog hunting.
If you are confident that the rifle is accurate and shoots well, I would keep it. But you could almost buy a RAP for what it will cost to get a stock and DBM.
Thank you
I know this is an old thread, but I was looking at model 12 posts. I have a 2st gen short action, stagger feed blind mag. It is a PITA to find parts nowadays because Savage changed all sorts of shit in an overlapping timeframe. You need to know what you have before sourcing bottom metal bits for the action. I went down that route and found two solutions for me, one stopped producing the kits, and the other one, is (was?) in Australia. Check out this post from Savageshooters.com to help you figure out what you have and then knowing this, source the proper stuff.
The only reason I kept mine is that its just so damn accurate for a gun I paid $527 for (in 2005). I did ditch the stock, I hated that tupperware POS, but I ended up turning mine into a proper varmint gun with a Bell and Carlson #2299 stock. Love the gun even more now, but its a tad on the heavy side nowadays.
I don’t have the gun in front of me this weekend but after this post I called savage and gave them my SN the nice lady told me I have a model 12FV .223 which is a cabelas exclusive model. Does this change much in the way of finding a stock to convert it to an external mag?
Depends on the date of manufacture. Pull the action out of the stock and measure the dimensions of the action screws.