I prefer a either a detachable mag or a hinged floor plate cycling every round to unload is a pain. I really like the A bolt hinged floor plate, it keeps the dust out when the mag is not in the rifle. My Weatherby Vanguard is about a 1/2 lb lighter with a detachable mag. However for a dangerous game rifle I think top load is a good idea.
Detachable magazines in hunting rifles...why?**Poll Added**
- Thread starter rem338win
- Start date
i have a hinged floor plate. the only time i wish i had a DM would be when i am truck hunting. but is dont take long to slam 2 in the mag as i jump out the seat. i drive with the bolt open and the ammo in a holder on my steering wheel. plus what happens if you loose your DM.
I own rifles with detachable, blind and floor plate. The detachable is the ticket for alternating different ammo along with the convienience others mentioned. Also a magazine caused feeding issue can be instantly resolved by dropping and swapping mags.
When I coyote hunt larger farms I take a mag of 55gr V max for 0-300yds and a mag of 69gr for 300yds+ or windy conditions. The DBM makes change outs simple even with gloved hands.
When I coyote hunt larger farms I take a mag of 55gr V max for 0-300yds and a mag of 69gr for 300yds+ or windy conditions. The DBM makes change outs simple even with gloved hands.
I think it depends on where and how a guy hunts. For the most part, my rifle gets loaded and stays loaded all day, or for days. So, I prefer the simplicity and looks of floorplates or blind magazines and, unless the rifle uses AR 
)) mags, have zero use for a detachable box magazine.
)) mags, have zero use for a detachable box magazine.Personally, I get to the trailhead/hunting area, the pack goes on and the rifle gets loaded, then I head for the hills. Just curious, is that "loaded prior to legal hunting time" in MB's hunting regs?
Yes, you can't load your rifle prior to legal hunting hours. I like to walk into the bush, and sometimes its a long walk in the dark. I like to get to my spot well prior to hunting hours as I have dreams of spotting the big one as they head back to bed down.
It's handy too when at the end of a hunt I catch a ride back from a friend on an ATV. Easy to unload and only one cartridge extracted from the chamber to handle (which sometimes falls into the snow!).
Its all just general convenience for any step of loading or unloading.
shortaction
CGN Regular
- Location
- Manitoulin Island, Ontario
Personally I have never lost a DM and have only heard of one person losing one, so that is pretty much a moot point, even though I hear that example frequently. Most hunters that use a DM usually carry a spare as it is a nice neat handy cartridge holder, which just snaps into your firearm. If you don't, I guess you are stuck with a single shot!
I have seen two people with drop hinge mags not properly close the floor plate and when they went to pull their gun out of the case it had unlatched and became stuck which resulted a damaged floor plate that would not shut again and had to be replaced.
ROAD HUNTERS...
Alberta used to allow hunters to carry a few in the magazine, while rolling down the dirt roads. When they (tried to) bannned that practice, sales of rifles with detachable mags exploded, plus guys modified rifles to take detachable magazine.
FWIW, I only own one rifle with detachable magazine, a CZ-858. Which is not a hunting rifle (in my mind), but is hell on tin cans...
Alberta used to allow hunters to carry a few in the magazine, while rolling down the dirt roads. When they (tried to) bannned that practice, sales of rifles with detachable mags exploded, plus guys modified rifles to take detachable magazine.
FWIW, I only own one rifle with detachable magazine, a CZ-858. Which is not a hunting rifle (in my mind), but is hell on tin cans...
crazyboutshootin'
New member
- Location
- prince albert, saskatchewan
My first experiance shooting a center fire rifle was in the Reserved Forces. FN FAL LAR detachable magazine 20 capacity. Awsome rifle and I loved the looks of that big mag hanging down there. I've owned levers top feed and many detachable mag rifles and my favorites are all detachable magazines just a prefference to the ease of loading and unloading. All bolt action rifles with detach should have at least a 10 round capacity!!!!
The rifle I take to the deer camp is a hinged floor plate style. Most of the guys at the camp prefer detachable mags. It makes it easy to unload when crossing a road, getting in a vehicle etc. Also makes it quick to load if you see something too.
Hhmm. I didn't think silly laws had made it that far west yet.
- Location
- Ottawa origanally Muskoka
X2. And cycling all those rounds through a blind mag is a pain and will at some point wreck a plastic tipped or soft point bullet.
And catching them all in your hand from a floor plate is only minutely better.
Some ranges also require that you gun not only have an open chamber on a cease fire but also be empty of rounds in the mag so on that note. Its one more convenience.
So much easier to eject the chamber and remove the mag.
If you don't like the unsightly look but like the convince of a mag, look for a flush mount mag.
never happening to you doesnt mean it s not happening ...
for more than one year i ve seen more than one hunters loosing it and i can tell that for xbolt, tikka T3, rem 700 and 740 and 760 ... i ve even seen one hunter that lost is bolt ....
while guiding i was more than happy when hunter was showing up with a magazine (safety).
when i was in the army i never lost a magazine but some of fellows friends lost some ...
all the best.
Phil
- Location
- Yellowknife, NWT
Wow....I have to refute basically your entire post.
To start with....for most users, the DM is a preference, not, as you stated, a need. I have yet to know someone who refused to buy a rifle because it offered no detach mag.
In my opinion, and that , I believe, of many others,
-most look just fine. They are generally unobtrusive. That's objective, though, and unproveable, as was your assertion to the contrary.
-they do not rattle or shake. Perhaps on some well-worn military rifles, but not hunting arms. Unless you have a particular example in mind.
-they usually match the capacity of their fixed-mag counterparts.
-the latching systems work just fine. In 35+ years hunting I have never had an unexpected unlatch or a stuck mag. Ever.
I currently own 3 rifles with detachable mags, 7 without. I like both systems, but prefer a detach mag.
Why? I enjoy the convenience of the quick unload, especially with gloves on. Pop the mag, pocket it. Eject the chambered round, if there is one. Pocket that. Done.
Dropping the floorplate is usually almost as easy, though it is easier to fumble a loose cartridge and drop it in the snow. And pocketing the mag, again with gloves on, is easier than reinserting the follower in the well and closing the floorplate. Again, my opinion.
I have seen shooters who dislike detach mags mistakenly think it's for the quick load. Not in my opinion; I generally load with bare hands, so can easily fill a fixed mag in a couple of seconds.
A couple of other points.
I have seen posts where people say they dislike DMs because "they are too easy to lose or leave behind, and if you do, you're hooped!"
That comment ranks right up there in my estimation with "Don't buy a .260 Remington (or anything else less common than the .270 Winchester), if you forget your ammo on a trip, you're hooped!" Either way, if you are dim enough to go on a hunting trip a ways from home without checking your gear to make sure you have your entire rifle, and ammo, you will probably forget your knife, licence, food and sleeping bag too, so you can get all those items when you turn around and go home.
Finger Toes
Regular
- Location
- Yellowhead County
+ shortens functional COL
