bolt action drop out mag or hinged floor plate ?

jdemora

jdemora

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What are the pros and cons of having a hinged floor plate or a drop out mag? Trying to decide. I have mostly hunted with a semi so am used to the drop out mags but dont know much of anything else so would like an educated opinion
thanks
 
there is absolutely no practical advantage to a magazine fed rifle. unless you find yourself getting into firefights on the way to the tree stand.

to me it's just one more thing to loose. comes down to personal preference.
 
I am a mag fan.Being able to unload my gun quickly and easily is what I want. All you need to do is drop the mag, and open the bolt.. unloaded.
And dare I make the following statement?:
It is my personal opinion and belief, that a floor plate design is an old technology that manufactures have yet to evolve into a modern " magazine style". You remember things in life and say " oh man, I remember a long time ago we used to have to do this......" well that is the floor plate design. But as long as people still enjoy its function, manufacturers will continue to produce it.
It is solely a preference thing for most people though. Its like cars or anything else we as consumers purchase. Some people love convertables and sunroofs, while others will complain about leaks, and would prefer a hard top.
Same thing holds true with a rifle. As long as the accuracy, reliability, dependability and function of the rifle are not compramised, then I dont see how one style is any better than the other for how it is loaded/unloaded unless you want to compare the time and ease of doing so.
my 2 cents.
 
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I have found that alot of the magazine style rifles limit the length of my cartridges.I went to floorplate style in all my centerfires,can reach the lands,and look to that style first when looking for a new rifle. RB
 
Amphibious said:
to me it's just one more thing to loose.
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true north said:
Mags can be too easily lost.X2
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That point always comes up about losing mags. I have been hunting with Remington 760s for over 20yrs, and keep extra mags for all of them, but haven't lost one yet. :eek:

On the other hand, some of the magazines can be a bit of a pain to get to feed right.



sc
 
If I were to hunt with a bolt action repeater, as long as the magazine let me get the bullets where I wanted them, I don't think it would matter much.
OI have a freind who hunts wioth an M70 and he simply turns it updside down , drops in a few cartridges and closes the floor plate.
Another very goo friend uses a 99 Savage with a removable magazine and he reaches into his pocket and drops it in.
Tp remopve, both guys just hit the buttons, and one pops a mag into his hand , the other the cartridges.
Me?
I drop a lever and push a single into the breach.
When I want to unoad, I drop the lever and the cartridge comes flyin' out into my hand!:D
downontheflats.jpg

Cat
 
It depends on your style of hunting. I hunt with a floor-plated M70 and find it just fine. But a friend of mine who moose hunts may visit 3 or 4 different areas in a day and finds a magazine more convenient for unloading/loading his gun when getting in and out of his truck.

ninepointer
 
Amphibious said:
there is absolutely no practical advantage to a magazine fed rifle. unless you find yourself getting into firefights on the way to the tree stand.

to me it's just one more thing to loose. comes down to personal preference.
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That is a classic example of one dimensional thinking Phib... :p
There are many practical uses for a Detachable magazine in a Bolt action rifle, not just speed. :rolleyes:

I have and use all the different types of systems in my bolt action rifles.
I think the ultimate Magazine System is the Browning Swing down system that they have used on their Bolt Actions since the BBR... and now on the A-bolts.
The Magazine can be loaded in FOUR WAYS: through the ejection port just like closed well and hinged floor plate rifles.
Or with the magazine box swung down but still attached to the hinged floorplate, or with it completely detached from the floorplate.
You can also just unsnap an empty Mag and replace it with a full one while the bolt is closed on a live round!
 
I think the drop clip style comes in handy when you are in and out of your truck or on and off your ATV. I have some that are floorplate and others that are drop clip. I like both. Although It's nice to be able to empty my gun without dropping shells. For this reason I favour drop clip . I have dropped shells in the snow with the floor plate style. It's a personal opinion they both work well. I like the Drop mag style for hunting mainly of the in and out of the boat, truck and on & off the ATV .
 
If you are so absent minded that to lose your magazine,how do you keep track of your license,or your knife,or your vehicle keys for that matter?As far as the browning a-bolt magazine system is concerned,I find it needlessly complicated and slow as a result.
 
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I like the hinged floor plate and have never found it to be inconvenient.

I have been told by the local road hunters however that they very much prefer the detachable magazines or 'clips' as they can drop it out of their loaded rifle on the seat of the truck very easily, if they see the C.O.

Sad, but true.:(
 
I like the floorplate!! I moose hunt with a M77 and Ive found it easier to
drop an extra shell or two in between shots when there is time then digging around for my spere mag. that way ive always got a full magazine to work with. I have one of those eslastic shellholders on the stock...works great!!
 
BIGREDD said:
That is a classic example of one dimensional thinking Phib... :p
There are many practical uses for a Detachable magazine in a Bolt action rifle, not just speed. :rolleyes:

I have and use all the different types of systems in my bolt action rifles.
I think the ultimate Magazine System is the Browning Swing down system that they have used on their Bolt Actions since the BBR... and now on the A-bolts.
The Magazine can be loaded in FOUR WAYS: through the ejection port just like closed well and hinged floor plate rifles.
Or with the magazine box swung down but still attached to the hinged floorplate, or with it completely detached from the floorplate.
You can also just unsnap an empty Mag and replace it with a full one while the bolt is closed on a live round!
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please get to the point, I fail to see a practical hunting advantage in any of that.

Floorplate: open bolt, insert round, close bolt, kill critter.
Mag: insert mag, open bolt, close bolt kill critter.

getting in and out of the truck a lot? a mag will save 5mins over the course of the day, tops.

Mag has the advantage......where? again. i's personal preference, but a mag has NO advantage.
 
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Amphibious said:
there is absolutely no practical advantage to a magazine fed rifle. unless you find yourself getting into firefights on the way to the tree stand.
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Not True. We hunt drives, and we move a lot. That means unloading and loading your rifle four or five times a day to get in a vehicle.
The guys with mags have a big advantage, and thier amo is not all beat up..
The Browning system has advantages, but, if I were out of amo with a need to reload in a hurry, a regular hang out the bottom magazine would be preferable for me.
Either that, or an action that allows me to throw a cartridge in at speed, and close without a hitch, like a top feed '94 Winchester.

That being said, I use a tube mag most of the time. I trade off the reloading speed for the trim lines and wieght forward steadiness of the tube.
 
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John Y Cannuck said:
Not True. We hunt drives, and we move a lot. That means unloading and loading your rifle four or five times a day to get in a vehicle. .
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Same here. I find the blind mags/tube mags a real pain in the nuts when coyote hunting. Doing 10-12 stands in a day the DM is a bonus.

All my biggame rifles are hinged floorplate except a 788 and I dont really prefer one over the to be honest.
 
It really doesn't make any difference to me, however last fall my son left the clip for his Tikka in the hotel room. I loaned him my spare rifle.
 
i don't think either is a real advantage or disadvantage. i have both as well as levers. if i see a rifle i want i would buy it with floorplate or clip. all same to me. i don't think i will ever miss a shot on an animal based clip or no clip.
 
I far prefer a hinged floorplate to a detachable magazine.

To me, a magazine is just one more thing that can gt lost, forgotten, banged up to make it inoperable, or dropped in the mud.

WHen It's time to unload, I pop the hinge and the shells fall out into my hand.

When it's time to load it takes a moment to press 3-4 shells into the magazine.

I believe that the disadvantages of a detachable outweigh the advantages. The only real advantage is that you can load a little bit faster, and that may be an advantage in road hunting, or I suppose if you have a spare mag and you miss alot! :)
 
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