Centerfeed stocks are not interchangeable with staggered feed stocks. There's about 1/8" difference in the bolt holes. Centerfeeds are the ones that the mag stays in the stock.
From the Sharpshooter Supply technical notes:
Savage Centerfire Action Lengths
Savage Centerfire Action Length Identification. To help determine what action you have, here are the action screw center-to-center measurements.
Long Action: 5.062" (all years)
3rd Gen Short: 4.400" (2006 - present)
2nd Gen. Short: 4.275" (1998 - 2005)
1st Gen. Short: 4.522" (1959 - 1988)
Striker:
Additional Notes:
- The 1st Generation Short-Actions are today commonly referred to as "J-Series". This is incorrect as a "Series" designation simply refers to a slight design change. Rifles marked "Series J" can be either a 1st Gen. short-action or a long-action.
- The 2nd. Generation Short-Actions comprise most of what you will run across.
- The 3rd Generation Short-Actions are the newest production models and can be easily identified as they will have the new center-feed magazine system. The only exception is rifles originally built in .223 Remington or .204 Ruger as Savage has yet to release a center-feed magazine for these smaller diameter cartridges.
**The best way to remove any doubt as to which generation of short action you have is to measure the action screw spacing.
