hey everyone what are the pros and cons of both the floorplate style magazine and the detachable magazine as i am trying to weigh up the options
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hey everyone what are the pros and cons of both the floorplate style magazine and the detachable magazine as i am trying to weigh up the options
you cant leave a floorplate at home....
you cant have two floor plates with two different loadings...
floorplates can only hold Xamount of rounds....
detachable MIGHT be available in larger capacity...
floorplates dont dig you in the back or stick in hand when carrying
hmmm it seems I like floorplates LOL.
My first rifle was a zastava. Highly under rated and a bit heavy. But then went to tikka. Much nicer but i do miss the floor plate for above reasons. And nice to top up the mag.
But upside is bombing up goats with 3 or 4 mags is alot more efficient
I often top up mag in the zastava....always have done so...and the model 70 before it.....shooting wallabies can be hard on ammunition and very hard on the round at bottom of magazine.
Apart from the old man’s 222 Vixen all my rifles have had detachable mags so I can’t really comment except to say having a filled mag in my pocket makes for a quick load-up.
I much prefer the floorplate option - more comfortable to carry the rifle in my hand.
A flush fitting detachable mag would be second place.
The only rifles I have/had with detachable magazines that stick out below the stock are rimfires. I would consider a centerfire one for target shooting, but then I'm not carrying it all day.
Iv had a heap of 85s with a flush detachable a heap of tikkas and now only have floor plate it’s my preference you can top load the 85 though was kind of the best of both worlds I prefer floor plate I did use my .308 far to long with a lost mag was a pain so may have tainted my feels. I like the unloading process of a floor plate
I have preferred a detach magazine over a floor plate - first one was my Krico .270 from 1981 and then the earlier Tikkas from early 90's. Currently still using T3 with T3X stock from 2004. In between the odd floor plate with a Winchester .243 late 80's but went back to detach mag.
Prefer the ease of clicking the mag off and sliding the bolt back when approaching camp or when hunting from a ATV/vehicle. Safety aspect for me more of a positive action than having rounds drop out the floor plate when the button pushed or those people that use custom blind mags where you have to chamber the rounds out. Generally seems to be a European thing versus US with rifle design.
When previously culling hundreds of goats in the day with a 7.62, magazines rule for ease of reloading in the field and safety.
Personally prefer a floorplate, as you can usually fit a longer cartridge overall length compared to a magazine.
For those worried about a slow reload on a floorplate, you need to buy some Federal factory ammo as they all come with these plastic clips enclosed (usually white plastic now but used to be a helpful red/hunter orange).
Attachment 193460
Attachment 193462
You now have 10 extra rounds at hand, but you can add more if you want to feel like a cowboy on a goat mission :thumbsup:
Attachment 193465
OK, part two of how to load a floorplate quick.
With the bolt closed (no rounds in chamber), flip the rifle over and pop open the floorplate. Hold the spring and follower together against the trapdoor and then load however many rounds into the magazine well.
You will need to remember which side the rifle feeds from when loading but apart from that, you can now pop the trapdoor back whilst still squeezing the spring and follower together.
Not quite as fast as a detachable magazine, but if you have a big scope mounted low to the reciever (and fat fingers) this is a much easier method compared to loading single rounds down from the top (especially on the short action Rem 700 which has a tiny ejection port).
Video showing what I am describing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKIvdbGnOEo
I prefer a floorplate but a good trick with a detachable mag is to drill a wee hole in it and cable tie a fishing 'swivel clip' or the like to it. The clip can be used to clip the mag to the rifle so it cant be lost
I prefer floorplate, you can't leave the mag at home and much nicer to carry. The only rifle I know with a mag that carries nicely is a 10/22 where the mag sits nice and flush.
For long range varminting where you are shooting from a static position I prefer the drop out mag.
120 years ago the Lee Enfield rifles had their mag secured to the rifle partly so the soldier could not lose it. The idea was that the soldier just kept it topped up and if things got exciting he could pull it out and slap in a fresh one without losing the original. Clearly WW1 changed all that.Quote:
Originally Posted by Moa Hunter
GPM.
Pretty much what I did when I fitted the 10 shot mag to my Sako 22, I used nylon coated cable (such as used when fishing for fish with trace cutting teeth!)Quote:
Originally Posted by Moa Hunter
And soldered a small wire loop to the mag to attach one end of the cable to and the other end around the trigger guard, the cable already had tight coils so it tucked out the way pretty good.
To remove the mag you just pull it back then down and I was worried it could do that while carrying the rifle or when slung over my shoulder.
Murphy’s Law - it’s never looked like coming loose by itself!!
It really depends on what type of hunting.
If you have a 223 for say bush stalking you may find the floor plate is the better option. However with that same 223 and you want to go bomb goats up you'll probably want the detachable magazine.
Horses for courses aye
Never lost a magazine before but then never had a Tikka bolt fall out either, maybe I'm doing it wrong?
I see no reason to need a detachable magazine for a hunting rifle but at the same time I'm not going to discount a rifle due to having one.
It would probably be the last thing I considered when choosing a rifle.
A detachable magazine is probably of no benefit for culling mobs of goats etc if you only have one magazine - you can probably reload a floorplate just as quick as a detachable magazine.
The benefit only comes from having several magazines already loaded.
....never seen a 10 shot floorplate....Quote:
Originally Posted by Cigar
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nickoli
LOL!:D
For hunting, i must say i do tend to prefer my rifles that have a flush hinged floor plate, I have a number of Model 7's and a semi custom Rem 700 and my full custom rifle that i specified every part on it and i chose to run a hinged floor plate mag on it too. I do have a couple of T3's and an older Tikka M595 as well which all run detachable mags. I lost the mag of the M595 once while hunting which really pissed me off, not easy to get replacements and quite expensive. About 3 years later I did actually find the lost M595 mag again, which i couldnt believe.
Im now always worried about loosing it again, so much so that when using that rifle i have a wide rubber band slide over it so even if the release gets bumped it will not fall out.
The rifle i use the most is my Model 7 7mm Saum which has a hinged floor plate, and its just easy, nothing to leave behind or fall out. You watch under these new rules of having bolts out of rifles while in cars etc, there will be tones of cases of people leaving the bolt in the glovebox or where ever you keep it.
I can imagine that a detachable mag on a target rifle or varminting rifle can be handy though.
Well, people who use detachable box magazines must think this isn't even a question.
It's gotta come down to the scenario you use it in and personal preference.
I like magazines for the ease of unloading and I find the 3 shot Tikkas are fine for most of what I do hunting wise.
My CZ550 in .375 H&H has a floorplate, it's how they come.
All the pros and cons are listed above. You don't plan to leave the magazine home but it has happened.
Also Tikka magazines can limit cartridge overall length , mostly ok but an issue for some wanting to seat out.
surprised nobody who owns a savage lever or styremanlicher hasnt chimbed in with smartarse comment that "they both primative compared to an internal rotary mag"
I find the detachable box mag better for quickly unloading the rifle when I get to camp or reach a track where I'm unloading. I think it's less alarming to people you meet to touch a button and unload than without fuss than work the action untold times and end up with a handful of jingling ammo. The rifle is very visibly in safe mode when the bolt and mag are out. Also better for loading up as I have ammo stored in the mag (not for days at a time) where its clean dry and protected in my pocket or bumbag then just click it in when I start hunting.
I don't like the way unloading a floorplate leaves the leaf spring and follower ( fairly critical parts for reliable function) swinging in the breeze, vulnerable to damage, dirt and requiring careful reassembly before the gun can be used again. You then need to catch the loose rounds in mid air and carefully store them somewhere with one hand.
FFS better stay at home if you worry about stuff like that.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bagheera
The USMC and US Army fielded floorplate equipped sniper rifles in the M40 and M24, eventually they both changed to AICS box mags but I suspect that was down to the people shooting back at them.
Wanting to get a floorplate set up- what are some newer off the shelf versions to look at? Kind of wanting either 7mm Rem Mag or 300 Win Mag for it. Cheers
My browning has a mag that clips onto the floor plate. Seems a good idea so far
I like drop plate staggered feed for it's top loading as well as no mag to lose.
I must be the only person who likes my blind mag ��
Nah I do too.Quote:
Originally Posted by makka
Chopping a hole in a stock doesn't do much for rigidity.
you are right Cigar - shooting mobs of goats in fact I used to shoot single shot-after emptying mag - load one fire load one fire and that worked on mobs - floor plate nice to carry - dont rattle and cant lose - mag only of benefit if big say 7-8 shot - and two of them - pig to carry and to use though especially lying down - but realistically how often is it needed - how many of us shoot up mobs of goats really -Quote:
Originally Posted by Cigar
My thoughts too, and nice to carry. They aren't as bad or "dangerous" to unload as others make them out to be as well.Quote:
Originally Posted by 7mmwsm
My ruger ranch has detachable flush 5 round mags. I love it, I carry a spare mag in my pocket. It doesn't dig into my shoulder when carrying, 5 rounds is a bit better than a 3 round floorplate - and I can pop in another mag real quick or run supers vs subs in different mags if I want. I don't like how the new ruger ranch's use those big AR style mags.
My savage model16 in 22-250 has a flush msg which I like as easy to carry. My .308 is a single shot break open so easy to load. I'm not a fan of floor plates either to me they just seem agricultural
