wondering if anyone has welded a couple of small shaped pieces of steel onto a mauser floorplate and then reshaped the thing so that it looks like one of those fancy straddle floorplates one sees on the custom floor metals.

Pictures?

Or, does anyone know of anyone who makes a straddle flooplate to fit the old style Mark X floor metal?

It would be easier to make the whole thing than to weld wings on one.

Carmichael's book shows you how to convert a drop fp to hinged with a lever release.

Jim Wisner and Sunnyhill both make straddle floor plates for less money than effin around trying to cobble
together something that will look like shit in the end anyway.

quote:

Originally posted by setters5:
Jim Wisner and Sunnyhill both make straddle floor plates for less money than effin around trying to cobble
together something that will look like shit in the end anyway.

Yes, but will they fit the Mark x guard?

They make them for both

There is no better floorplate than the mil style. You don't need to dump all the ctgs other than perhaps at the end of the hunt. Just eject the one in the chamber and close the bolt over the others. Hinged floorplates have a habit of popping open under recoil; and a lever release is in exactly the wrong place for hand carry. Extended release is as far as I would go on a heavy-recoiling rifle.

The other option that is worth some thought is the removeable clip. This gives you more capacity without busting the bank, and ease of unloading/reloading particularly if you in a state that forbids a loaded rifle in the vehicle.

RG is right; I was afraid to say that, but on my personal rifles, I just use the Military type. I sell the fancy hinged ones to the flatlanders who think it's something they need. Everyone these days wants the drop box, one extra round, wide floor plate, and other marginally useful accoutrements.
(The original Mauser floor plate is easy to open if and when you want it to)
I still get guys who will pay $300 for custom bottom metal when I would give them a perfectly good one for free.

I agree that if one is looking for pure utility the military floorplate works fine. But these three barreled Mark X and FN actions didn't come with military bottom metal. They came with hinged floorplates and I think the hinged straddle floorplates look the nicest. After all, when one is out hunting one looks at his (her) gun a lot more than shooting it.