Trying to decide which to go with in a .30 cal hunting rifle. What are your likes and dislikes of each option.

Some people seem to really dislike detachable mags. I guess they are kind of clumsy and occasionally release the mag by accident.

I hunt with both and don't really have a preference. MY BAR's and HK SLB have detachable mags, and my bolt rifles all have internal magazines. I've never had a problem with either one.

quote:

Originally posted by teesh:
Trying to decide which to go with in a .30 cal hunting rifle. What are your likes and dislikes of each option.

My first centrefire rifle was a .303 so I got used to detachable mags early on. Up here it's against the law to have a loaded rifle in a vehicle, so if you're in and out of a truck often while out in the bush the detachable mag has definite advantages. Contrary to what some will tell you, it is fairly difficult to accidently release a mag. Remington has a good design but the best design I've come across is the Savage.

quote:

Originally posted by teesh:
Trying to decide which to go with in a .30 cal hunting rifle. What are your likes and dislikes of each option.

War or hunting I prefere the internal magazine .( I haven`t been war to though)
The shootingrange a detachable(M16) and such
is ok.
My humble opinion

I'll stick to the internal magazine.....detachables are easy to lose or (rarely) drop from the rifle if not properly installed.

In fact the difference is minimal and not big......but a lost magazine is a real disappointment.

I like DM magazines, because i find them more practical. Easy to keep an extra magazine loaded in the pocket and then that many of them keep cartridges in a straight line, which make feeding a new cartridge very easy in the chamber (cartidges don´t hook up). This is not always the case with other kind of magazine constructions.

If You hunt alone, internal has the edge for not beeing able to get lost. If you hunt in a party who get together many times a day to reorganice, a DM is very nice.

This question comes up all the time and I still can't figure how people lose magazines. I've never lost one in 30 years and I have every detachable magazine I've ever bought. I've never had one fall out of a rifle. But I have no real preferance, I use both without problems

I only have a couple rifles with Detachable mags. I just don't detach them except when cleaning. All my other rifles mags are in the stock.

I prefer detachable Magazines. I do two types of hunting. One type I will be by myself for the whole day and load the gun once in the day. Alternatively if I am group hunting I might load and unload 20 times in a day. When its -20 and your fingers are stiff with cold and a push feed is ejecting shells into the snow a clip is sure a blessing.

Except for quick reloads, as in a battle rifle, I've never seen the practicality of DM hunting rifles. Just something else for Ole Mr. Murphy to get his teeth into.

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Originally posted by fredj338:
Except for quick reloads, as in a battle rifle, I've never seen the practicality of DM hunting rifles. Just something else for Ole Mr. Murphy to get his teeth into.

Ditto.

I bought my son a Remington 700 with an internal mag. Given the amount of times I make him load and unload the rifle to make it safe. Whether we are moving from place to place, climbing in a stand or standing around it became burdensome and awkward for him. I converted his rifle to a detachable mag and he loves it. I say make the gun safe, he drops the mag out removes the bullet from the chamber and we're done. He carries a couple of spare clips in case of hostiles in the field and he's a happy guy. I like it a lot too.

Like it has been mentioned, it depends on if you have to unload your weapon a bunch during the day. Popping the floorplate and catching rounds in yer hand can get old after a while. Personally, I like the DM, regardless of how many times I have to unload in a day.

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Trying to decide which to go with in a .30 cal hunting rifle. What are your likes and dislikes of each option.

In all honesty, this would rank down near the bottom of my selection process if I were looking for a new rifle. Instead, I tend to look at cost, accuracy, reliability of feeding, and overall appeal before I split hairs on the magazine. Were I in your shoes, I would buy whichever rifle I liked the most overall and could get the best deal on. But that's JMHO.

I prefer an internal magazine. If you are road hunting and in and out of a vehicle a bunch maybe a magazine would be better but I try to not do that type of hunting much. Even then it really isn't too difficult to lower a floorplate and drop the rounds into your hand, or with a crf run them 1/2 in and extract them before they chamber.
I've never lost a magazine in the field yet it just bothers me that I could............DJ

So true Tex/dj. I wont' buy a M700mtn for because of the DM. I'm sure they are popular though, otherwise the manuf. wouldn't make them, unless they are trying to sell extra mags.

I agree w/ Tex21 - I can't say as this has ever factored into which rifle I would purchase.

I strongly prefer detachable magazines, and I have never lost one or had one jump out of the rifle (kinda like I've never had a gun just go off). I think that the Sako 75 detachable magazines are the best.

From a usage standpoint, I prefer detachable mags simply because they are so convenient to load/unload. That being said, I almost always go with an internal magazine. Nothing to loose and detachable mags are not cheap if you ever loose one, especially for obsolete guns.

-Lou

Well, I certainly appreciate the replies and opinions. Made me think of some reasons for both options that I hadn't thought of. In my case, I have already purchased an internal mag and it works for me. But I now can also see circumstances where a DM might be preferred. Thanks again.

You already have plenty of food for thought on the pro's and cons of detachable mags. I will throw in if you buy one with mags, buy a couple of extra mags when you buy the rifle. Every mag rifle I have ever fiddled with seems to have only one mag, and the rifle was made years ago and mags are not available. It doesn't cost much to buy a couple of extras when you buy the rifle, but a few years on they are impossible to find.

The only exception to that has been Ruger on their 22 rifles, they have offered the same mags for years and there akways easy to find.