Do you prefer a hunting rifle with a detachable mag?

[Whitesheep]

Hi Sidecar, What is a side feed rifle? The only ones I am familiar with are belt fed (they are definitely not light weight), or manual loading from the opposite side of ejection.

Thanks,

 

[SidecarFlip]

You can buy custom built rifles that side feed. My hunting partner has a Hart built, I think it's 7-08. It feed into the side of the stock, 4 rounds.

My cousin has an older Remington that feeds the same way. I don't have any but would consider that option if I wanted excess weight reduction at no cost issue. The 7-08 with a Nikon mounted loaded up is just over 6 pounds. Thats 3 bottles of bottled water or 2 bottles and a couple granola bars....

I've never been fond of high capacity magazines (I guess I have a distant relationship to Feinstein....lol) in a hunting rifle anyway. I never keep more than 3 rounds in a rifle and a couple in my pocket

 

[etisll40]

I like blind magazine hunting so a detachable mag is nice, but 4 rounds available is enough for must hunts. So my blind mad win 70 is really slick and light in the field.

 

[Hairtrigger]

I prefer a single shot

 

[one crazy kid]

one shot is all you need but if you get in and out of vehicles a lot clips are nice.

 

[SidecarFlip]

one shot is all you need but if you get in and out of vehicles a lot clips are nice.

Lets use the correct terminology. Clips are for 40 caliber rimless revolvers and brain dead politicians.....

It's a magazine.

It begs to ask, What does getting n and out of a vehicle have to do with a single shot versus a magazine. Safety says when riding in a vehicle the rifle should be unloaded. I usually have one under the bolt and one in the magazine bu t I remove the under bolt cartridge and replace it when out of the truck.

 

[one crazy kid]

Lets use the correct terminology. Clips are for 40 caliber rimless revolvers and brain dead politicians.....

It's a magazine.

It begs to ask, What does getting n and out of a vehicle have to do with a single shot versus a magazine. Safety says when riding in a vehicle the rifle should be unloaded. I usually have one under the bolt and one in the magazine bu t I remove the under bolt cartridge and replace it when out of the truck.

I have used a 742 woods master for the last four years and most my hunting time is spent with my best friend trying to find a rabbit so I get in and out of vehicles a lot and I find magazines much easier to handle. that said I have little to none experience with other styles such as floor plate or tube magazine rifle( not shot gun).

 

[fmajor]

No, i absolutely do not prefer a detachable magazine.

I was jaded at an early age reading stories written by PH Peter Hathaway Capstick about hunting dangerous African game. One of his accounts told about a hunter whose hinge-plate rifle dropped all it's contents on the ground at a critical time. Luckily, Capstick had his trusty 375 H&H and shot the charging Cape Buff (iirc - it's been *decades* since reading those stories). I realized i would never want that to happen to me - though i have no desire to hunt "dangerous" game.

I was first exposed to magazines via my issued M-16 and they were noisy, needed regular servicing/cleaning and opened a "hole" in the receiver into which all manner of dirt and grime would enter. I like clean rifles.

Contrasting the capability of my hunting/long-range rifles (of high precision) with an infantry rifle (of reasonable accuracy) made my preference for a blind magazine all more poignant for my style of hunting.

Unfortunately, tacti-cool is all the rage nowadays so DM stocks are more common than blind mag stocks. Admittedly, most stocks can be had without a mag cutout, but it's still easier to find one with the cutout than one without.

 

[dzlfarmboy]

I asked myself this same question gathering parts for my 7mm Rem Mag build and It is going to be a backpack rifle and the one thing I could think of is loosing a mag while in the back country hunting. That would would suck, so BDL hinged floor plate for me. And I use a Eberlestock pack with a Scabbard built in so It would be getting pulled out and put back in some and I just wouldnt wanna chance loosing it. But on my .243 LR steel rifle I have a seekins DBM and love it. Top feeding and it's 10rd AW mag is half the length of a AICS 10rd mag.

Just different applications

 

[BigXX78]

I wouldn't mind having a DM, depending on the gun itself, but I don't necessarily prefer one. I generally only load 3 rounds in my blind mag when hunting anyway. I've never needed round 2 yet. A DM would be easier for quick unloading when crossing streams, treestand or steep mountain climbing, etc. for safety, but it wouldn't be much quicker than just unloading/reloading 3 for me.

 

[fred64]

As far as I'm concerned, a detachable mag is just more stuff to spend money on that isn't absolutly required. And I'm old fashioned I spose.
If I don"t hit in 3 rounds what I'm shooting at I'm probably wasting ammo anyway.
I have an A-Bolt with a detachable mag. Pain in the ***. So I leave it alone and load from the top. Takes no more time anyway.
I LIKE being set in my ways.

 

[banjo318]

I think of it like this, that animal has ran out of sight before you can ever think about getting more than 3 shots off in most occasions. And for emptying, why empty it? Just slap the safety on and dont work the bolt, unless your headed home.

 

[jkupper]

To me it is just something extra to misplace or lose, and God knows I have trouble with that already

 

[Trophyhunter1]

Hello,
One thing that is maybe most important with long rage shooting is to keep the ammunition in aproximatley the same temperature as it was when you zero the rifle, lets say up in the mountans wher it can be a big diff in degrees a detachable magasin is fine to keep in a pocket where the powder keeps warmer and its a faster way be able to load the rifle.