?

I am working on it but no answer yet.

You talking about detachable bottom metal or hinged floor plate?

Nobody is making a dbm but I saw one of their new models had the option. Might call Kimber.

Hinged floor plate. Kimber already makes the part. It's just a question of wether it would work with the Montana stock.

This question come up from time to time. Kimber has said that in order for the kevlar stock to be sufficiently strong, they needed for the blind magazine. Seeing that new synthetic stocks are at least $600 and a factory only fit, that's some expensive experimentation.

I have a hard time believing that, unless Kimber stock isn't very robust. The examples I have handled seemed to be pretty stout, so I doubt that's the case.
Wonder if McMillan will inlet a Compact for the Kimber?

Why would you want to?

You can believe whatever you want, I guess. A retired Kimber engineer used to post here. He stated emphatically that the Montana's blind magazine was a necessity to retain the strength of the stock.

All blind mag stocks are stronger than ones with a floorplate. No news in that regard.
I am going to modify an existing alloy tg&f assembly. Have not finished it yet.
The floorplate has a number of advantages.

what are they?

For starters I have had a follower freeze down. Much easier to clear with a floor plate.

The make of that rifle?

Sako AV.
I was tracking deer after a snow storm on a windy day. Between the blowing snow and snow falling of the trees the follower became frozen in place along with the cartridges.

Gotchya, thanks Ben. I wasn't aware Sako made a blind magazine.

The stock as it comes is very strong and rigid but if you section a Montana stock down the long axis into symmetric halves you'll see that inletting for DBM raises some issues that are difficult to overcome. The stock was very well designed to work as is so I can't fault Kimber for not making a stock that would play nice with DBM. I added a front sling swivel to my Kimber Talkeetna (removed the barrel band) which involved cutting a 3/4 hole through the barrel channel and foam core ending up at the inside surface of the lower forend. It came out great.

There is a difference between DBM and a floorplate. I believe the question related to floorplates.

It's basically the same problem whether it's retrofitting Kimber bottom metal or DBM from another vendor. Anyway, here's a photo showing an 84L that has been sectioned down the long axis to create two symmetric halves. The arrow points to a foam-filled void that could easily be filled with an epoxy/fiber blend after inlettting. The Kimber bottom metal shown is 0.25" thick. Whether or not the stock would be seriously weakened by cutting out the bottom of the magazine well is open to debate (the Hunter is essentially like that) but it would depend to some extent on how well fitted the bottom metal is. The good news is that the rear inletting where the trigger guard sits is already done (mostly) since the trigger guard has the same outline as the bottom metal. A benefit of this swap would be a one round increase in magazine capacity if that's important to you. Obviously, doing something like this would void the warranty of the stock but I had no concerns adding a front sling swivel stud to my Talkeetna and would try this modification if I wanted the features offered by the bottom metal.

Learn something new everyday

I'm not sure if Sako made a blind magazine AV, Brad. My sako has a floor plate. I should have been more clear.

The new open coutry will come with a carbon stock and a detachable floorplate. But the stock is completely different that the montana and probably engineered to have thicker sidewalls than the montana for structure.

So, in theory, water could have found its way into the mag well through the floorplate as easily as from anywhere else. And, of course, the Sako AV shares the same water slot (safety slot) that the M700 has.

Nice thing about the Kimber MT is that it's about as close to a "sealed action" as a guy can get. Safety on bolt shroud (no water slot) and no floorplate.

I prefer floorplates on some rifles, but not on the MT. And I have to say I've never had any issue with MT's function over the last 13 years in all kinds of Montana weather. Mine have been soaked in rain, covered in snow, hunted from -25*F to the 90's in dry, dusty weather.

I'll be curious to see how this all pans out with the Bottom Metal Mod for the the MT, but I can tell you I wouldn't do it. No way.

Well I guess some people just like to tinker with stuff.

Brad, the safety slot on the Sako AV is shrouded such that there isn't a direct path to the inside of the action, unlike a Rem 700.
The safety slot also had nothing to do with the issue I had as its well behind the magazine box.
I would also say that it's hard to compare hunting in a Upper MI cedar swamp with Montana. Assuming you are in black timber in MT the understory of a UP cedar swamp is such that your exposed to much more snow. Then there is the humidity, which is much higher in MI. Also our hunting season starts November 15 and runs until the 3Oth. In MT most guys are done hunting by this time and as such aren't exposed to the amount of snow we are. It's really hard to appreciate how nasty the climate is where I live until you have been here.

Ben, I will say it's true that only about every other year lately am I hunting in below zero weather and snow. But I can tell you going up and down mountains in deep snow can load up a rifle with snow. And we certainly do hunt in rain and freezing rain. At least I do. As to not knowing what the UP is like, would you consider hunting upstate NY's Adirondack's to be a good comparison? How about coastal AK?

If you want a project, far be it from me to tell you you shouldn't. But I also have been at this long enough to know it's not necessary. It's a want, not a need, and is not without risk.

As to water not being able to find its way through from the safety slot or from the gap at the bottom of the bottom metal... all I can say is water has a mind of its own and does logic defying things. Also, a rifle is not a static thing in only one position during a day of hunting.

I'd be far more concerned about a typical closed trigger (like the Kimber's) than a BDL vs ADL magazine setup. To me, the ultimate is a blind magazine Model 70 with traditional open trigger.

My question to you is, what's your experience with the Kimber MT in the UP weather you describe that makes you think the blind magazine will be a problem?

Here's a Kimber MT and a little eating sized elk I took a pic of on a typical snowy hunt. My rifle looks like this as often as not on a snowy day.



-28*F

Brad, I never said it would be a problem. I just prefer rifles with floor plates.
I can't comment on the Adirondack as I have never hunted them. I have hunted Alaska, but it was in the Brooks range and there were no trees to speak of.