Re: bottom metal for f-class
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: XTR</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> The only person I've ever watched shoot that had to put the bullet in the mag and have it strip was a guy with a pre-64 Win action. </div></div>
Then you've never seen someone shoot an M14 in slow fire. You snap the round down in the mag while it is in the rifle, then pull the bolt back to single load the rifle.
Technically M16 mags are of the same design, however no-one over 5 years old has fingers small enough to snap rounds into an M16 type rifle while the mag is in it.
AICS mags cannot be "topped off" easily while in the rifle - the round slides in from the front as it is a double stack, center feed magazine. AW mags (standard length not 300WM) are a double stack, alternating feed magazine, which can be topped off/loaded while in the rifle IF the ejection cutout in the rifle is sufficient to allow you to do so. An actual AW action or Badger variant really does not have sufficient finger room to do so, nor would any of the benchrest/target type of actions that have very small ejection cutouts. Not that you would want to use any of those for a tactical/field/F-Class multi-use rifle.
The AI vs. AW magazine decision is not a bottom metal decision BTW - it is an action cutout decision. Your common bottom metals will take either/both mags. Defiance makes a cut that will allow the rifle to feed both. Other gunsmiths make a mod that allows the rifle to feed both. Some custom actions only take the AICS mags.
OP, most certainly you an run a mag system in your rifle and shoot F-TR (or F-Open for that matter) matches, load one round at a time from the mag or just put in by hand, and be compliant with the rules.