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cz1997

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Hello, I am a new hunter to big game hunting. I own a Remington 700 5r. Due to the limitation of the budget. I cannot buy a new hunting gun this year, I am planning to take it to hunt. I bought a legacy sports magazine conversion for her years ago. I am a little confused about whether it is better to use magazine or bottom cover in hunting. Could anyone give me some advice? thanks for helping. Sorry for this silly question.
 
People have their preferences... it really does not matter which you choose. I prefer hinged floorplates for my hunting rifles, but I do alot of remote hunting and you can't loose a floor plate... that said, I have only lost one magazine in more than four decades in the Bush and that was from a defective latch spring... even if you do loose the mag, you can still single load, so it is not the end of the world.
 
for a treestand or ground blind situation I would probably opt for a floorplate model because it is less likely to get in my way vs a magazine that can snag on something while trying to be silent getting into final shot position. I'm fairly new to treestand hunting and have so far found that streamlining my gear has been necessary.
The only time I really like having a magazine fed rifle is predator hunting , otherwise I'm indifferent.
 
As has been so well stated, this choice is basically a matter of personal preference.
That being said, I am a floorplate guy myself, and only own one rifle with a detachable
magazine. The remainder all have floorplates. Dave.
 
I prefer a box magazine on my rifles if possible, hunting rifles especially but I don’t hunt from blinds or stands much. If you spend any time on or in a atv or vehicle you’ll appreciate a detachable mag for loading or unloading. I don’t find they get in the way while I’m hiking and I’ve yet to loose one, it will really depend on your style of hunting as both have their place.

I spend a fair bit of time on logging roads getting into areas where I’ll hike and frequently get in and out of the truck to check out a spot or take advantage of an opportunity to take a shot at small game along the way, a magazine works well for me.
 
All personal preference...

Losing it or catching it on somthing are very, very small problems. Training/practice will usually negate that.

I perfer to run a bolt action hunting rifle with a fixed mag with a drop floor plate. Less to think about.

Vehicle, quad, etc. I see the benifit of a detachable.
 
For most hunting I far prefer a hinged floorplate. If you are loading and unloading often (in and out of vehicles for instance) a detach mag is probably a good choice. I am not a fan of any of the flush mount detach magazines, either. If I am going ot use a detach magazine, I prefer one that protrudes somewhat.
 
A side note... depending on how you hunt. Lugging around a heavy barrel 700 5r precision rifle sounds like a PITA. Again, depends on how you hunt.

A good quality used hunting rig can be found cheap. Buy a cheaper used Husqvarna and slap a cheap scope on it. You’ll be knocking them down with an accurate rifle for under $600.
 
It going to be a personal taste thing, I can't say what you will prefer.
What is on your rifle for optics and what are you planing to shoot for a load? I carry my 700 BDL Varmint a few times each season for deer and black bear and I don't find it as objectionable as some posters would make a heavy rifle seem. I'd spend as much time and ammunition as you can shooting from field positions. In the future you may want a lighter more all around rifle.
 
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Like 45ACPKING said "there is really no wrong answer for this thread. "

I don't hunt with any detachable magazine rifles at all. My old Ross I got in 1967 has a fixed mag, my first (and only) new rifle (1976), a 243 Remington model 700 has a blind box magazine. My other rifles are all top loaders too, though a couple have hinged floorplates that make unloading easier.

I suppose a magazine may help loading in a hurry if you are road-hunting, but if I see a game animal while driving, I can get out and load two cartridges in through the top fast enough. I can't remember any occasion where I've lost a chance by being too slow doing that. Get out of the truck, extract the rifle, shove two into the magazine, ka-chunk one into the breech, and I'm loaded and ready to shoot. There is always the chance of misplacing the magazine inside the vehicle or having it drop out of the rifle while hunting too. I have seen my friends with detachable mags do that.
 
Prefer Hinged Floor Plate for Hunting. As it is our only option at this time, the 700 5R will fine for your first time hunting, especially from a blind or stand. Stainless Steel a good thing for damp environments. If you enjoy hunting and continue with it, you can always find a dedicated hunting rifle.
 
Detachable mags for me. Easier unloading when in and out of vehicles. Also quieter than top loading one by one as I always get to my stand before legal time. I always carry two full mags and keep them in different pockets. Pretty unlikely I'd ever lose both.
 
ya there is really no wrong answer for this thread.


Oh but this is Gunnuts, someone will eventually come in here and proclaim half the people here are wrong..... :)


I prefer a detachable mag, flush mount, and an easy to use mag release. However not all my rifles have this option. I do a lot of hunting using quads and a little truck hunting /scouting early in the season. There is a lot of times where loading and unloading are required and its just easier to have a loaded mag in your pocket then messing around with loose rounds.
 
Whichever you feel more comfortable with. Some guys prefer mags for ease of swapping them out, but in almost 50 years of hunting, I have never been faced with a situation where the rounds in my rifle were not enough, so it's not much of a factor for me. If I was walking through rough bush, I preferred and enclosed mag (usually a tube mag on a lever gun) - you can't lose one. If you're in a stand or stationary, not much difference. If you do a lot of loading/unloading - driving, boating, ATV, a mag is quicker to unload and load.
 
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