DeeBee , The detachable mag really does not thrill me that much . I love the rifle and it is the most accurate bolt gun I have ever shot . I have a friend that is a sniper on the local PD , he shoots a Remington 40X with a Leupold police scope and a bipod , with him shooting Federal match and myself shooting Federal 150 ballistic tips [my guns favorite factory load] you would be hardpressed to tell which group came from which rifle . It will consistently shoot 1/2"-5/8" 100 yard groups off of bags . The problem is that I am a chronic tinkerer and I always think that I can make something better . I would like to make the gun as damage proof as possible , I feel like the main weak link in these rifles is the factory DM . If I had it pillar bedded in a sturdy solid bottom stock I feel like it would hold up to a lot more abuse , hopefully I would never have to test this . The only thing that sticks in my mind is if I do this it might not shoot as well as it does now , which is why I want to have a pro do it [to eliminate the Mike factor] . The factory stock is pretty cheesy and flexible in my opinion and I can load a standard internal mag rifle faster than I can load the DM mags when they are empty , the mags are OK when you have extras to pop in but realistically you would probably only have 1 spare and after it is empty you would have to load them by hand also . In the DM rifles I have used the mags have quite a bit of play and I am concerned about feeding reliability , plus the bottom metal is made of cast aluminum which after 1 good hit would probably make the gun a single shot , after you broke off the bent trigger guard so you could pull the trigger that is . My gun had to have the bottom metal replaced when new , one of the mag catch slots was broke right out of the box , this has always bothered me and was one of the reasons I thought I would spend some money on it this winter . The main reason for the ADL style over the BDL style on the stock is the cost of the steel floor plate and associated parts , plus I never drop the floor plate to unload anyway . I am going to look into the Warne peep base and front sight you mentioned . Thanks , Mike...
[This message has been edited by Mike Baugh (edited November 13, 1999).]