What Type Of Magazine Do You Prefer On Your Bolt Action Rifle?

[Bonk]

I have this thing about detachable magazines on bolt action hunting rifles. I don't care for them. It's mostly personal preference but the few bolt action rifles I've had feeding issues with were detachable magazine rifles. Coincidence? Probably, but I still don't like them. Give me a hinged floor plate any day. In fact, when I'm perusing the used rifle rack at gun stores all I look for are hinged floor plate rifles. If it has a removable magazine I look right past it. Not interested.

The down side is there are some really good rifles that have removable magazines. Cooper, Weatherby, Browning to name a few. My CZ550FS in 308 has a removable magazine. So does my Cooper 300H&H. Love the rifles but I'd much prefer they had hinged floor plates.

What about you? Does it matter to you either way?

 

[SaintPanzer]

I kind of like my rotary mags. Herr Schönauer did a really nice job on those...

 

[Challer]

Rotary

 

[deewayne2003]

I agree with you on hinged floor plates, however I think the detachable magazine/blind magazines are simply a part of making everything cheaper to produce; What I find infuriating is when premium products are obviously cheap.

This group is from a Kimber 84m stainless .257Roberts- shoots great, but I can’t get over the cheap plastic stock and the trigger guard is plastic & molded into the stock.

Further amazed by the inability to load this rifle from the top- you must remove the magazine completely to load.

 

[crs]

I will stick with my 1953 Model 70.

 

[gajie270]

I'm not really sure why I don't like detachable magazines as well, I like the reliability and ease to unload the magazine on a hinged floor plate, and I also think they are more fun to load.

 

[Hogpatrol]

I now use H.S. Precision box magazine setups and have used Wyatt's without any issues. Agree the factory offerings are usually plastic el cheapos. It's the old story, you get what you pay for.

 

[Nyati]

Hinged floor plate for me.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

I’m personally fond of the old fashioned military floor plate release. Robust and secure. The only disadvantage (if you consider it to be one) is that you can’t quickly change the rounds in your magazine. You’ve to manually keep cycling the bolt in order to get all the cartridges out.

Second choice goes to magazine floor plate release catches which are located outside the trigger guard.

I personally see nothing wrong with detachable magazine rifles IF THEY’RE PROPERLY BUILT. Hambrusch Hunting Rifles & Voere Rifles in Austria both build excellent detachable magazine rifles on modified Mauser 98 style actions (although Voere doesn’t offer their wares in any caliber larger than 9.3x64mm Brenneke).

 

[steve white]

I just like mine FULL

 

[318AE]

I find detachable box magazines look best on push fed rifles with trigger safeties, muzzle brakes and bare barrels (no iron sights or swivel mounts). Best chambered in 6.5 creedmoor, 243 Winchester or similar

 

[Forrest Halley]

I prefer a full magazine with appropriate cartridges for the game at hand.

 

[Boyd Brooks]

After being quite successful with a muzzle loader, I only load one in the spout and one in the magazine, here in Ontario. I only own commercial Mauser’s with floor plates, sold my A-bolt with the removable box magazine years ago.If I was in Africa I’m pretty sure I would load the magazine to capacity.
The only magazine I have ever had some trouble with was a Ruger 10/22 factory mag. The replacement works fine as well as a aftermarket 25 shot banana clip.

 

[BeeMaa]

Blaser R8 rotary-detachable box magazine that can be locked in place to prevent accidentally dropping it out.

Which is what I believe @Challer was referring to.

 

[Safari Dave]

For PG, I like good quality DBM rifles.

For DG, hinged floor plates or even blind is fine with me. I never dump cartridges using the hinged floor plate, because I don't find it all that efficient and I don't want to risk wearing out the catch.

 

[Safari Dave]

and always FULL!




Tactical reloading is fine with me.

 

[Mark A Ouellette]

I'd like a detachable magazine for large cartridges much like those on .303 SMLE.

 

[ldmay375]

I have this thing about detachable magazines on bolt action hunting rifles. I don't care for them. It's mostly personal preference but the few bolt action rifles I've had feeding issues with were detachable magazine rifles. Coincidence? Probably, but I still don't like them. Give me a hinged floor plate any day. In fact, when I'm perusing the used rifle rack at gun stores all I look for are hinged floor plate rifles. If it has a removable magazine I look right past it. Not interested.

The down side is there are some really good rifles that have removable magazines. Cooper, Weatherby, Browning to name a few. My CZ550FS in 308 has a removable magazine. So does my Cooper 300H&H. Love the rifles but I'd much prefer they had hinged floor plates.

What about you? Does it matter to you either way?

I prefer, a reliable/secure/operational hinged floor plate. Though, nothing against a secure/reliable detachable magazine either.
My least favorites are blind magazines. But, I do have a couple of these. And any hinged floor plate that is secured with a screw requiring a tool to open is about the same as a level of like.

 

[Puddle]

Like it or not, Mr. Murphy shows up at the most inconvenient times.

I like to keep it as simple and rugged as possible when I'm far from the shack.

 

[Challer]

Blaser R8 rotary-detachable box magazine that can be locked in place to prevent accidentally dropping it out.

Which is what I believe @Challer was referring to.

When study magazine design, rotary trends to have the least friction and smoothest feeding. The Blaser lock on the magazine solves the accidental dump.