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I do not like detachable magazines for hunting guns. It is just one more thing to forget, or fall out, or get lost. I think a hinged floorplate on a box magazine is far better. How many of you agree with me? "How's that whole 'hopey-changey' thing working out for ya?" | ||
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LE270, I'll be the first to agree with you.   Member NRA, SCI- Life #358 28+ years now! DRSS, double owner-shooter since 1983, O/U .30-06 Browning Continental set. | |||
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I'll agree, but there are exceptions. I missed a deer once because the magazine had not latched securely (there was some dirt on it, I had dropped it) and dropped down enough to not strip the top round, so when I shot an unloaded gun at something all I got was a click. One thing I do like about them though is in situations where you need to have an unloaded gun that can be used rapidly. If you live in the country it is nice to keep one by the door and the clip separate but easily reached at the same time. for every hour in front of the computer you should have 3 hours outside | |||
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I do not. | |||
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The mark of a Dude........A magazine that you can hold in your hand. Chuck | |||
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I can see downsides to DBM's such as available oal is compromised... But I have never bought the "it might fall out scenario... A hinged floor plate might come unlatched. It's a mechanical device it can be well made or poorly made. If hinged floor plates are the savior why do PH's screw or duct tape there's shut? Mike Legistine actu quod scripsi? Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue.  What I have learned on AR, since 2001: 1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken. 2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps. 3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges. 4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down. 5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine. 6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle. 7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions. 8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA. 9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not. 10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact. 11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores. 12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence. 13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances. | |||
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I do not agree, I have both and have had no problems with either. Browningguy Houston, TX We Band of 45-70ers | |||
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No offense meant, but if you are having problems with mag feed weapons, I'll bet it is operator error 99% of the time....unless something is broken. The whole world uses mag feed guns and they seem to manage to make them work for the last 100 years or so. If anyone was around for the transition from revolvers to semi-autos in police departments, it took a couple trys for some people, but even the fumble fingered folks eventually got the hang of it. The year of the .30-06!! 100 years of mostly flawless performance on demand.....Celebrate...buy a new one!! | |||
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That's not an argument for detachable magazines -- it's an argument, instead, for blind magazines such as in the Remington 721 or 700 ADL or the Savage 110. "How's that whole 'hopey-changey' thing working out for ya?" | |||
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I do not like them Sam I Am. I do not like DBMs and ham. Would you? Could you use a box? Would you could you shoot a fox? I would not, could not use a box. I would not, could not shoot a fox. With apologies to Dr. Suess | |||
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+1 U sed to hunt with a Sako 75. It has what is probably the best detachable magazien system of any bolt action rifle. Double column, staggered feed, so it can be reloaded from the top while in the rifle. Recessed latch at the front, where it is protected, yet easy to find and actuate. And good looking too. However, the king of all detachable magazine systems has to be the M16/AR15 family of rifles. Amazing ergonomics! | |||
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Perhaps I’ve experienced extremely good luck when it comes to firearms but I always sort of sit back and chuckle when I read posts about all these supposed “problems†with rifles. Most of my rifles are bolt actions with integral magazines, but I also own a few with detachable mags and have never really found a problem with either style. Obviously, its quicker to insert a magazine than it is to load single rounds at a time, especially with a scope attached...but since I am not fighting in a war, or competing in rapid fire competition matches requiring reloads, that advantage doesn’t really play into that equation much. If a guy is all that worried about losing or damaging a detachable mag just carry a spare with you, it’s not like they weigh all that much. | |||
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Rick, the advantage of a detachable magazine in a hunting rifle is that unloading it is a slightly more organized process. Open chamber, catch ejected round, remove magazine. | |||
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I agree also. I have a CZ 527 carbine, and it is a great little gun in all respects but one-the damme detachable magazine!! "Bitte, trinks du nicht das Wasser. Dahin haben die Kuhen gesheissen." | |||
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I don’t disagree...as I said, I don’t really see a whole lot of difference and either type is just fine. | |||
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I use both and haven't had any problems with either. | |||
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How many here have had one of those happen? And if you forgot, dropped, or lost your magazine, why would you not forget, drop, or lose your ammunition? This whole argument is silly. | |||
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People prone to dropping/losing stuff are going to have a hell of a time with single rounds. About the one and only problem I have ever encountered with detachable magazines had to do with the operators inexperience, not the mag itself. There are those wacko’s out there that forget about the round in the chamber when “unloading†by popping out a magazine and then proceed to pull the trigger on what they thought was an unloaded weapon. Those types would probably do the exact same thing with a hinged floor plate though so as you said, this whole argument is a bit silly. | |||
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I've been shooting detachable magazine rifles since 1975. I have every one that I ever bought. I have never lost one, dropped one or had one fall out. I've never forgotten one in my other pocket, my car or my house on a hunting trip. I have never had a problem or issue with a DBM. Frank "I don't know what there is about buffalo that frightens me so.....He looks like he hates you personally. He looks like you owe him money." - Robert Ruark, Horn of the Hunter, 1953 NRA Life, SAF Life, CRPA Life, DRSS lite | |||
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I agree that detachable magazines are just terrible: constantly being forgotten or getting dropped or lost. Thank God the military doesn't use detachable magazine fed rifles.  Mike Wilderness is my cathedral, and hunting is my prayer. | |||
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Detachable mags work & have always worked fine for military rifles. They will work fine for hunting rifles too! Operator error is the problem!  Doug Humbarger NRA Life member Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club 72'73. Yankee Station Try to look unimportant. Your enemy might be low on ammo. | |||
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I really don't like um either, but I have to agree with Mike, I wouldnt thing they would be any more prone to fall out than a floorplate on a bolt gun. Savage 99's seem to do fine with mag's. Billy, High in the shoulder (we band of bubbas) | |||
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hi frankly I don't know what is wrong with a detacheable magasin, nearly all of miltary guns are equped with the detachable magasin. fn fal,g3, klshnikov and it seems they do fine. why not a detachable on a hunting gun? i wish Ruger made some detachable magzin for their M77 rifles that i could swap from soft nose to solid quikly . regards yazid Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy; its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery. | |||
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I guess that is why manufacturers provide us with choices of magazines styles: Blind, hinged, detachable but including single shot... Some will always attribute difficulties to human error or ignorance or some argument of the kind, To each their own! I prefer single shot solid bottom receiver bolt guns personally... To the extent in that if I do build on a repeater action I replace the follower with a ramp for single shot feeding, but then again that is just my personal choice. DMB would require a bit more extensive training to become proficient in the heat of the moment, but on a bolt gun kind of a waste of time or mute point, IMHO. But not for the reasons you have stated above... Detachable magazines do have there place when supported by the proper weapon system platform and of course dependant on what you are hunting and the protocol employed for that pursuit.... Augustis ><> To Be Safe, First Think You Might Not Be. | |||
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This is the most important point. Military and police forces have a different use for firearms and different firing and use patterns than do game hunters -- or at least what game hunters OUGHT to have. Thus magazines that are appropriate and even needed for military and police work are not needed for hunting. Many hunters, after all, get along quite well with single shot and double guns, but those are rarely used nowadays by military or police forces. "How's that whole 'hopey-changey' thing working out for ya?" | |||
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In 36 years of hunting I have lost only one detachable magazine. It was a Colt Woodsman 22 pistol that I was packing in a shoulder holster. I started at age 10 with a Rem 760 in 30-06 and then used the pump guns for the next 10 years or so. I have hunted with all types of guns over the years. Bolt guns with blind and hinged floor plates. Levers and a single shots, and just am goin back to the detachable magazine. The wife bought me for Christmas, a Rem 700 SPS DM in 30-06. Along with a Leupold VX 3 in 2.5x8. I will have to pack it a couple of years before I put a Borden stock on it just to make her happy. Jim Wisner Custom Metalsmith | |||
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Most certainly not, but I was told by a friend many years ago now about an instance where his father was forced to lay down surpressive fire and to form a skirmish line with two other gentlemen to prevent an attack by a Grizzly Bear feeding in a landfill up here in Montana that had already been hit 2 times at about 50 yards with little effect other than outrage and defiance which perpetuated a charge in their direction! ;o) Back in the day when the big bears were hunted of course by special permit and before it was required that landfills be covered with dirt before leaving the site for the day. When they skinned the bear they learned the fat layer was so thick from the bear feeding in the landfill that the lead core bullets barely penetrated the fat. It was a steady succession of FMJ bullets from an M1 Garand that dealt the fatal blow to the charging bear and the quick reaction time with the magazine and charging handle on the M1 that was luckily sitting idol in the pick up. As to my point "of the heat of the moment" in this instance, because some of the animals here in Montana bite back severely and it seems to be more frequent than simply by chance anymore. In some areas of Montana it is not a good idea to use cow /calf elk call anymore, to the bears you are inviting attack by blowing the dinner bell which brings them running in your direction which has been observed by outfitters in Paradise Valley (upper Yellowstone River) and hunters in Taylor Fork (upper Gallatin River drainage). Humans admittedly can be another form of dangerous game in some remote instances, but like you already said: "Hunting people and animals are rather different activities... " So we can leave it at that for the purpose of this thread... ;o) Augustis ><> To Be Safe, First Think You Might Not Be. | |||
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I agree with Rick, I have both & don't have a problem with either. The DM makes it easier & quicker to unload the rifle & keep your ammo together. They both are easier than the blind magazine style. | |||
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I’ve always felt that a guy should use what he likes and what he is most comfortable with...and who cares what others like or don’t like? Just because I may “favor†a particular brand of rifle or feeding system doesn’t mean that all other brands and feeding systems have to be proclaimed as being inferior in order to justify my preference. | |||
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There are several reasons I prefer detachable magazines for SOME hunting applications. One is when I want to be able to move quickly with relatively few motions from solids to expanding bullets or vice-versa. Don't want to have to work a magazine full through the action or drop the rifle wide open to do that. Detachable mags make it possible. (Am not talking about African hunting, ,either. What about when you're hunting relatively large game, but see a valuable fur walking by maybe 70 yards away? No sense putting a BIG tear in the off-side of that fur, if you want to sell it for full value...) And I agree with HP about the improved ease of making sure a rifle is safe in camp, using detachable mags. I do use a bit different procedure than he, though...I drop the mag FIRST, then eject the loaded round from the chamber. Don't have to worry about something interfering in the process and accidentally chambering another. I know it shouldn't happen, but when I used to inspect guards coming off duty, I saw too many eject the chambered round, let the slide close, then drop the magazine. To often the result was a round fired into the sand pit when the trigger was pulled as the last step of assuring the "safe" condition of the supposedly empty gun. The only real down side I can see to a detachable mag is the possibility of bending or otherwise damaging the feed lips while the mag is out of the firearm. Like Rick and others said, neither is a problem to a guy who knows how to use them properly. My opinions and I am stuck with them......... My country gal's just a moonshiner's daughter, but I love her still. | |||
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Each has its advantages. As a traditionalist, I generally prefer the fixed magazine to the detachable, but it's no big deal and I own and enjoy both. To those lucky souls who have never lost a magazine, I wish to add just one word: Yet.  For my rifles equipped with detachables, I keep spares.  The detachable can be useful in jusrisdictions which disallow carrying a "loaded" rifle in certain circumstances like in an auto or on a boat or ATV: The loaded detachable can be kept in a pocket and the rifle instantly loaded if the need arises. I'm not sure of the origin of the "popping open" magazine floorplate legends. I've never seen a floorplate "pop open" in all of my 42 years of game hunting and I'm not about to start duct taping my Sakos shut, wheather the 47" buffalo is charging toward me or the 7x7 elk is running away. Of course, not having a CRF rifle, I'm as good as dead, anyway.  | |||
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I use DD Ross bottom metal and anyone who can get one of those suckers to pop open accidentally is a better man that I am. Urban legends are far harder to kill than most game animals are!  | |||
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I have a couple of Steyr SBS rifles which use detachable magazines. In operation they function to ensure direct feed: my .376 Steyr will feed .375" wide meplat solids that neither of my .375 H&H CRF rifles liked at all. I believe some folks should be restricted to a single shot rifle and one round of ammunition to ensure they don't lose all their loose rounds. <--- humor jim if you're too busy to hunt,you're too busy. | |||
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I spent a year in Vietnam carrying/using either an M14 or an M16 in what I like to call the "real deal". I never had a magazine fall out of either one. | |||
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In my formative years, my Dad sent me out with a Remington 514 and one round of .22 LR ammo chasing bunnies in the orange groves...never realized it was to keep me from loosing ammo!!!....now it is all very CLEAR!! The year of the .30-06!! 100 years of mostly flawless performance on demand.....Celebrate...buy a new one!! | |||
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I don't agree on this one at all. Should be, Remove magazine, Open chamber, Remove round. Check that all is clear. Way too many N/D's have happened the other way. JMHO Don | |||
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It is impossible to have an ND when the bolt is open and out of battery. I don't ever recall adding "close bolt" or "let bolt fly into battery" to the procedure I follow. Maybe you added it in? | |||
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Well said Rick! That pretty much sums it up for me... There was one other post I kind of felt compelled to poke fun at, but I decided to leave it alone....;O) BTW, Did I already mention "I guess that is why manufacturers provide us with choices of magazines styles:" ;o) Hunter Jim, when I grow up I want a right hand bolt left hand feed/eject solid bottom receiver single shot! No problems managing my ammo what so ever.... ;o) Growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional... Augustis ><> To Be Safe, First Think You Might Not Be. | |||
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Sorry, no offense but you're still not making your case for me on the safety aspect. If the purpose is to unload and show clear with a magazine fed firearm you first remove the source of the ammo. "magazine". This way you are first doing all you can to remove any further ammunition from the equation and only have to deal with the one left in the chamber to dispose of and not the possibility of more should fumbling hands and fingers enter into the process. Which can and will happen. If you can point me toward one bonified firearm safety publication that describes clearing a firearm in your manner where you remove the magazine as the last step, I'd like to see it. To the others, I didn't mean to hyjack the thread. MPO is I like the idea of removing live rounds from below than through, so I like DM's. Don | |||
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