Defiance Tenacity magazine misalignment.

[Solitude78]

My rifle won't feed from the magazine, the tips of my ammo catch under the bottom of the action, no matter how short I load my ammo. There looks to be almost a .100" misalignment between the action and the mag well, and it's the same with the mdt and xlr chassis I've tried also. Any insight would be appreciated!

rifle configuration
defiance tenacity in 6.5 creedmoor
grayboe Ridgeback with hawkins m5 dbm
Accuratemag magazines

 

[HousePlant]

And you've contacted Defiance?

 

[Solitude78]

And you've contacted Defiance?

yes, I don't expect to hear anything til Monday as I just emailed this morning.

 

[ormandj]

My rifle won't feed from the magazine, the tips of my ammo catch under the bottom of the action, no matter how short I load my ammo. There looks to be almost a .100" misalignment between the action and the mag well, and it's the same with the mdt and xlr chassis I've tried also. Any insight would be appreciated!

rifle configuration
defiance tenacity in 6.5 creedmoor
grayboe Ridgeback with hawkins m5 dbm
Accuratemag magazines

What cut does your action have? I don’t know which all they offer on that action, but some are better than others. The accurate magazine you are using, are they binderless? If you’ve got the Wyatt’s cut and are trying to use binderless magazines, if the cartridges move forward from bolt cycling friction (stripping a round at the top will push the round under it forward a bit) eventually it’ll be under the feed ramp. You generally have to notch the feedramp if you want to use binderless magazines with the wrong cut for them.

Do you see the problem with the first cartridge if you ensure the cartridge is all the way to the rear of your magazine? And after you strip off the first round cycling the action, then pull the bolt back, is the next cartridge fully to the rear of the magazine, and binding under the ramp? Have any pictures from the top looking in, showing the cartridge placement in the magazine in addition to the nose under the feedramp?

 

[Solitude78]

What cut does your action have? I don’t know which all they offer on that action, but some are better than others. The accurate magazine you are using, are they binderless? If you’ve got the Wyatt’s cut and are trying to use binderless magazines, if the cartridges move forward from bolt cycling friction (stripping a round at the top will push the round under it forward a bit) eventually it’ll be under the feed ramp. You generally have to notch the feedramp if you want to use binderless magazines with the wrong cut for them.

Do you see the problem with the first cartridge if you ensure the cartridge is all the way to the rear of your magazine? And after you strip off the first round cycling the action, then pull the bolt back, is the next cartridge fully to the rear of the magazine, and binding under the ramp? Have any pictures from the top looking in, showing the cartridge placement in the magazine in addition to the nose under the feedramp?

What cut does your action have? I don’t know which all they offer on that action, but some are better than others. The accurate magazine you are using, are they binderless? If you’ve got the Wyatt’s cut and are trying to use binderless magazines, if the cartridges move forward from bolt cycling friction (stripping a round at the top will push the round under it forward a bit) eventually it’ll be under the feed ramp. You generally have to notch the feedramp if you want to use binderless magazines with the wrong cut for them.

Do you see the problem with the first cartridge if you ensure the cartridge is all the way to the rear of your magazine? And after you strip off the first round cycling the action, then pull the bolt back, is the next cartridge fully to the rear of the magazine, and binding under the ramp? Have any pictures from the top looking in, showing the cartridge placement in the magazine in addition to the nose under the feedramp?

I looked at the defiance website and the only cuts they seem to offer are DBM cut that works with AI or AW magazines and BDL cut for internal magazines, I looked at the box and paperwork my action came in and it doesn't give any indication of which cut it is unless it's coded in the description.
I originally loaded ammo at about .030 off the lands to start because they fit the magazine and that's what shot well in my old rifle but they didn't clear the offset at all so now I'm at 2.825 oal and about .080 off the lands which the first round off the magazine feeds without a hitch and sometimes the second one will but then it goes south, I have to drop the mag and slap it on my palm to reseat the rounds to the rear of the mag.

 

[chevy_man]

Looks like it's cut for a ADL/BDL.

Probably have your smith open it up, or send it to defiance.

 

[TRPrecision]

You MUST run magazines with a binder plate with a Tenacity action or they will not feed. You can notch the feed ramp on the action to allow the binderless mags if needed. If you run a cartridge who's COAL will fit in a binder plate mag, using said mags is a better option. As an alternative, Magpul mags work quite well with this action up to the point that the mags fail mid match...

 

[rijndael]

MDT polymer mags feed my ACC/Tenacity amazingly well.

It’s super smooth.

 

[ormandj]

I looked at the defiance website and the only cuts they seem to offer are DBM cut that works with AI or AW magazines and BDL cut for internal magazines, I looked at the box and paperwork my action came in and it doesn't give any indication of which cut it is unless it's coded in the description.
I originally loaded ammo at about .030 off the lands to start because they fit the magazine and that's what shot well in my old rifle but they didn't clear the offset at all so now I'm at 2.825 oal and about .080 off the lands which the first round off the magazine feeds without a hitch and sometimes the second one will but then it goes south, I have to drop the mag and slap it on my palm to reseat the rounds to the rear of the mag.

Yeah, you‘ll have to notch the feedramp if you want to use those magazines/load to the longer COAL. A gunsmith can do this for you. What you’re describing is exactly what I’d expect. Measure the internal length of your accurate magazines, I’m guessing they’ll be 2.960-2.970 or so, which are the binderless magazines. Your other option is to get magazines with binder plates, and just load to that COAL.

 

[ormandj]

You MUST run magazines with a binder plate with a Tenacity action or they will not feed. You can notch the feed ramp on the action to allow the binderless mags if needed. If you run a cartridge who's COAL will fit in a binder plate mag, using said mags is a better option. As an alternative, Magpul mags work quite well with this action up to the point that the mags fail mid match...

That’s only true if you don’t have the guardian cut (AI/AW cut on the options page, but keep in mind Defiance has a lot of options that aren’t always on every page on the website). With the guardian cut on a Tenacity, you can run binderless magazines without an issue, but you can’t use a BDL setup. Most places default to ordering the BDL cut, so they end up needing to be notched if you need to run binderless magazines.

 

[Solitude78]

That makes sense, I got the action from redhawk rifles and I think their emphasis is more in hunting rifles. Are there risks to having the opening cut to feed from my current mags, or are they junk? Thanks for the input!

 

[Average guy]

I had to notch my tenacity. It’s actually pretty easy to do at home with a dremel. Works like a champ with MDT mags now.

 

[ormandj]

That makes sense, I got the action from redhawk rifles and I think their emphasis is more in hunting rifles. Are there risks to having the opening cut to feed from my current mags, or are they junk? Thanks for the input!

As long as the notching is done properly (correct size/depth/centered/etc) and burrs aren’t left, no major downsides I’m aware of. It may not be as nice feeding from BDL setups with it though, that part I can’t comment on. I’m sure some folks who’ve run notched actions in a BDL setup can comment with their experience.

Accurate AICS magazines are my favorite; nothing wrong with them at all, I own a ton of them (all binderless, but I also order the AW/AICS cut with Defiance) and they all work great with every action I own.

 

[Solitude78]

I had to notch my tenacity. It’s actually pretty easy to do at home with a dremel. Works like a champ with MDT mags now.

I'm not sure I'm prepared to go after it with a Dremel myself!

 

[Average guy]

I'm not sure I'm prepared to go after it with a Dremel myself!

Simple mod for a local smith also. A image search will bring up what’s needed, pretty simple job.