I had one for a short period of time. Wasn't a fan, mag seemed to be a sloppy fit but most of all just couldn't get myself to love a big chunk of plastic on such a solid well built rifle. But yes....they do work. Would be nice to see some more aftermarket stuff for the vanguards. A nicely machined stainless and or aluminum bottom metal would be a nice place to start....to replace the fake stainless ones I currently have on my series 1. It's just pot metal and the silver paint is starting to peel off.
These guys make em....not sure how to get them up here though.
http://pacifictoolandgauge.com/204-howa-rifle-performance-parts
The aftermarket LSI conversion kits come with either a 5 or 10 round mag.
So even the 5 round mag stands "pretty proud" of the stock.
If you get a DBM model right from Wby the mag only holds 3 rounds. Factory kits are available in the US right from Wby, might be something you could source through IRunGuns (or the like) - and as noted Prophet River does sell the LSI kits.
I have "both" - my 25.06 came with factory DBM. I added an LSI kit to my 243 (Wby does not make DBM short actions). I thought that I wanted a removable mag for so many reasons.
While I still use it, in the end (cost, shipping, etc) it cost me about $150 bucks to figure out that it really isn't that much more convenient "in my circumstance", so neither of my other two Vanguard II floor plates have been converted.
But, to your question. Do they function well (the LSI's) - yes, work fine. Went in without an issue. Feed well - like I said, only complaint is the 3/4" of mag sticking under the stock - can hang up/be "pesky" if you are trying to shoot over a log, rail etc and "feels funny" if you are doing a "trail carry".
I decided that if I couldn't get the factory DBM kit, in future I wouldn't bother with a DBM.
I'm confused, are the ones from weatherby metal?
A "blind mag" is totally enclosed in the (stock) - you load through the top (open the bolt, push in the shells) and to "unload" you have to eject them, one at a time, by operating the bolt and "spitting them out" (just like if they were fired and you were only ejecting the empty case).
With a floor plate you "push a button" and the "floor plate" pops open and dumps all the shells out of the bottom - still loads the same way (through the top with bolt open), but unloads quickly.
The mag is absolutely the most convenient - you can load/unload (or not - can leave it loaded up between shooting sessions), simply snap it in and off you go - but like anything "mechanical" - every extra part or extra moving part is a potential point of failure - and usually when you have walked in 3 hours from the road and the nearest place that can fix/replace it is 10 hours drive from the 3 hour walk back to where you parked![]()
Thank you very much for the info, appreciate it! Am I right in assuming that as long as you've got a floor plate you can get a DBM for said rifle?
Maybe - there is some aftermarket kits for Vanguard/Howa 1500's and just recently there is (lower priced) options for Rem 700's. If you have very deep pockets there is kits available for just about everything, but in some cases you aren't going to do a 350 dollar conversion on a 400 dollar rifle.o
Just about all the major mfg's offer rifles with detachable mags from factory so if you think you will ever want one, that is the way to go - buy it "up front", it's always the most cost effective and will absolutely work without "minor fitting" issues.




























