Bolt action walking big game hunting rifle: Detachable magazine or Hinged Floorplate
 

What is your preferred style for your bolt action walking big game hunting rifle.

Im not asking for semi auto rifles, or high speed PRS competition style rifle. Just your bolt action walking big game hunting rifle preference.

I do like the detachable magazines and own a few, but some of my favourite rifles have a hinged floor plate, less chance of something going wrong or missing.

Always went with hinged floor plate....magazines tend to get lost, misplaced, fall out etc then you stuck with a single shot rifle but one shot is all you need....maybe:)

I own both, and while both styles have their pros / cons, I voted for a floor plate. I do think a detachable magazine is a little more convenient for a lot of things, and I never used to think I would ever lose one, but truth is I did one time. I was able to find it by backtracking, but I managed to unknowingly hit the release button in a field one time and it fell out without me knowing. I also like the looks of a nice floor plate over most detachable magazine setups that I've seen.

I voted hinged floor plate as my go to rifle is a Winchester model 70. Nothing against rifles with a detachable mag as I've owned a few and never lost a mag, I been shooting my model 70 for 30+ years and can't see any reason to change.

I never really worried about either and have owned both .
I never did take my detachable magazines out except to load them , so hinged floor plate - IF I am going to use a bolt action repeater which is not my first choice , anyway .:)
Cat

Prefer the hinged floor plate.

Years ago I had my first removable magazine; a Parker Hale, and I lost the magazine....boy was that ever hard and expensive to replace.

I have never had a hinged floor plate ever open.

It makes no difference to me. As to the people so worried about losing the magazine, do you have a string on your mitts, gloves, so you can't lose them?

I prefer a hinged floorplate first, blind magazine second, and DBM third.

I've seen too many people lose their "clip" essentially leaving them with a single shot.

Definitely a detachable mag, would never own a hinged plate way to big of PIA. Been hunting for over 40 years with numerous mag rifles and have never lost a mag yet and have never heard hunting partners mention that they ever lost theirs either so for me that is not a consideration. Suppose it could happen though.

Agreed , glad some else likes em ..much easier to load and unload . I dont care for the idea of having a handful of bullets or picking them out of the snow every time I load or unload .

I have owned detachable mag hunting rifles. Never lost the mag but always worried I would. Now the only rifle with mag for me is my 22
My hunting rifles are single shot, lever action, bolt action with floorplate.

Just for peace of mind I will Likely stick with floorplate. With practice you can load fast.

I'm not trying to change your mind or convince you of anything, but if you open the drop plate and flip your gun upside down you can load your rifle twice as fast as you can load a dm, and if you use the same method you can unload your rifle just by tipping your rifle upright.

I actually enjoy walking up to my vehicle and unloading my rifle, I always use that little bit of time to reflect on my hunt as I take my pack off, heavy cloths, unload my rifle, 10 seconds either way has never made a difference. I do drop a few bullets in the snow but meh, that's how it goes sometimes.

Exactly total PIA can't believe guys use these when there are much better options out there but doesn't really matter to me I don't have to use them.

My favourite is the Mannlicher Schoenaur magazine system!:sHa_shakeshout:
Cat

I've had both and prefer a hinged floor plate. If one is too ham fisted to get loose rounds from rifle to pocket without dropping them, or vise versa, then I suppose a removable magazine is a good idea. In any other case I don't see any real advantage to a DM.

I’ve got rid of a lot of very nice accurate rifles and have turned away from rifles I really wanted because they were a hinged floor plate. I hate everything about them and prefer a DBM in every way.

I use either floodplates or blind mags. I don’t and won’t buy a rifle with a magazine unless it’s a .22 as I hate the way they feel and look. I’m not worried about losing a DM but they’re ugly as sin. As someone else mentioned, I also enjoy loading an internal magazine when I step out of the truck and unloading it after a kill or on arrival back to the truck.

My first choice is a quality detachable mag, second choice is a hinged floorplate.
I’ve had more than a few blind mags, and I would like to say never again.... (but I guess we will see).

I sure like the DM on my rifle vs dads floor plate. He bought me a second DM to go with my 308 lever that I got for my 16th bday. I'm 50 now, been all over the woods, never lost one yet. I love having an extra DM sitting in my hunting coat pocket ready to go or when sighting in.

Surprised to hear of so many stories of hunters losing their DM.

I'm sure it happens, but I think it's one of those things that get repeated often enough that some people think it more common that it actually is. Story gets retold; " I know a guy ..... blah blah blah"

Love dm for coyote hunting.

I somehow had a Sako S Mag magazine fall out of a stand during a major snowfall. Never could find it then. Recovered the next spring. Not perfect ,but would like to know what type of string you recommend

ohh that is a nice system. That little button press and it all flows. I wish one of these smart companies with their fancy cnc machines could pull that off again.

What makes a floorplate hard to operate? It seems to be a real problem for some.

Have DM, hinged, tube, yes on a bolt, and blind box mag. My go to rifle has a blind box mag. Never found any big advantage of one over the other. I can empty the blind mag or drop floor almost as fast as I can dump a DM and not loose any of the rounds. Only advantage of he DM is you can load it once, and it stays that way for the next 6 weeks and it is easy to carry a second DM rather than loose spare shells.

Have always bought at least one spare mag, usually 2, for every detachable I own, in 50 years, have never lost a single mag, but have made some REALLY good money selling the spare to guys that did. Think $300 for a Browning BLR mag that I bought for 20 with the gun or $425 for a Bruno mag.

For those not familiar with the Mannlicher magazine, the little button you see on the receiver gets pushed and the cartridges flip right out into your hand!!:)
Cat
https://i.imgur.com/Iabd9aq.jpg

About the least space efficient way of packing amo is in a DM. Being a guy who likes to carry minimal gear in as small of a pack as possible, even when I have a detatchable mag firearm I generally don't carry spare rounds in another mag.

There simple and fast only route I'll ever go. Magazines are for the road warriors lol

Had all versions at one time or another, I prefer hinged floorplates, or just a blind mag, or a cartridge carrier on my belt, will do fine for me. I've shot a few critters because people couldn't find their mags.