I put together a detent latch using an 09 floor plate and military trigger guard. With the original spring it is impossible to open. (the detent recess is 45 degrees and the button is a ball) I know it will be a try and see approach but wondered if that much force is required to keep it closed with the recoil of a 7x57?

Also, any thoughts on how to dress up the sliding button on the outside or replace it with something nice?

Thanks

I guess the button slides forward to lock. With that in mind the recoil will cause the latch to lock, not unlock. You may have a problem with the mass of the lock. With the weight of all the parts added up, it might store up a bunch of energy and when the recoiling gun hits your shoulder, The parts may continue rearward under kinetic energy and unlock. There are no real hard and set numbers for that sort of monkey business. You basically have to look at it, make a guess and try it out. It's all a very nasty balancing act between falling open on firing and being hard to open when you want it open. If it is indeed a slidedy-back-and-forth type of lock, you could sculpt it like a tang type Ruger M77 safety to remove a bunch of the mass and then checker it for gription. (new word there)

I wish I had a magic decoder ring for that sort of math, but unfortunately the manufacturer of magic decoder rings seems to be on extended holidays.