Floorplate latch

[Russ16]

In one of the other threads there was a discussion of flooplate latches and the possibility of inadvertently opening at the wrong time.

My question is who here actually releases the floorplate to unload a gun? I know I almost never do and when I try I wind up dropping shells everywhere. I just partially cycle the action with it tipped slightly and grab them as they come out. Another reason I like CRF this is easier.

Amy just flat doing it wrong? Do you all drop the floorplate every time you unload?

As an aside my dad has an early .300 weatherby built on a Mauser action that belonged to my great-uncle. The floorplate must have come open at an inopportune time at some point because he took a small hammer to the latch and bent it so it can’t open at all. It’s a cool gun.

 

[coreydb]

I hate 'em too. Never went as far as bending the latch though.

 

[Grumpy gumpy]

I use the floor plate release on my culling rifles at the end of the night, just pop it open and drop the cartridges into my hand. Having been near someone who had an accidental discharge ( he said it was the gun, I said it was him and he was a dickhead) I don’t like the idea of someone rapidly working a bolt with loaded ammo
Gumpy

 

[Russ16]

I use the floor plate release on my culling rifles at the end of the night, just pop it open and drop the cartridges into my hand. Having been near someone who had an accidental discharge ( he said it was the gun, I said it was him and he was a dickhead) I don’t like the idea of someone rapidly working a bolt with loaded ammo
Gumpy

I agree on the rapidly part. When unload it is fairly deliberate. And I never push the bolt all the way home. Much less cam it closed. Just push far enough for the extractor on the model 70 to grab the rim then pull it back.

 

[Grumpy gumpy]

My culling rifles are push feed howas and a Remington, the AD was a savage
Gumpy

 

[CBH Australia]

I have usually dropped the floor plate on the following brands. Ruger, Howa, Remington 700 and CZ550.
I would certainly take extra care if I was unloading a shell or 2 through the breech.

 

[SaintPanzer]

... And people wonder why I use my Mannlicher Schönauer...

 

[Ontario Hunter]

For a CRF with two position safety I can see some usefulness for a drop plate. My Springfield 03A3 only has two position wing safety and one piece bottom metal with no floorplate. I have to be "deliberate" when unloading it with safety disengaged. But because it is CRF there is no need to close the bolt all the way to unload, thus no way it could accidentally discharge. I think this could definitely be an issue with unloading most push feed rifles. Bolt must be closed to engage extractor. My 404 on 98 Mauser has drop plate (no one makes custom bottom metal for 98 Mauser that doesn't have a drop plate). I do not use the drop plate to unload the gun or to load the extra cartridge in chamber. Definitely advise against the latter as it is very easy to stack cartridges incorrectly from the bottom leading to a jam in the magazine and failure to feed. My Mauser has 3-position Model 70 style safety which allows in position two for the rifle to be unloaded by cycling with safety engaged. 100% safe even closing the bolt all the way. Military Mauser and Springfield safeties are also 3-position (Enfield is only 2-position but also CRF). For me the drop plate is useful for cleaning and possibly clearing the magazine in case of bolt locking up (extremely unlikely). That's it. I am not at all worried about the floorplate accidentally dropping open. The trigger guard floorplate latch on my Swift-Blackburn bottom metal is very stout. In fact, it required slight modification before it would release at all.

Edit: The floorplate release was extremely handy when tuning the rails and especially the follower during the process of building my 404. Without it I would have to drop the bottom metal constantly to retrieve jammed cartridges and during modification of follower.

 

[mark-hunter]

Do you all drop the floorplate every time you unload?

I do.
Because i think it is safer to do like that, then to cycle the bolt with live rounds.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

If it can be avoided, I prefer that cartridges are not colliding with and scratching up my nicely blued trigger guard or getting dirty in mud and snow. It's not necessary to drop cartridges out through the bottom to safely unload a CRF rifle. So I don't. Much easier to pull cartridges out one at a time rather than searching for them in grass or snow.

 

[KJE81]

In Sweden we are not allowed to have ammunition in the rifle when transporting it in a vehicle, so I use mine every time we change hunting area.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

In Sweden we are not allowed to have ammunition in the rifle when transporting it in a vehicle, so I use mine every time we change hunting area.

That's the law here as well. It's why most guys prefer detachable box magazines. I don't see how a drop plate is any advantage in those situations. I prefer to unload my rifle by cycling out one round at a time in my hand rather than picking the whole pile up off the ground.

 

[roklok]

I do not use floorplates for unloading rifles. My floorplates rarely get opened, but I do appreciate them for cleaning, nice to pop them open once in a while to check for leaves and twigs that my have found their way in, or wipe with rag to remove dust. Like OH stated, they are also handy when setting up magazine or feed rails to see what is going on without disassembling rifle constantly. I just did this with a Remington 30 Express I re-barreled to 375 H&H.

When unloading a bolt rifle, there is no need to close bolt fully, whether CRF or PF. Simply elevate muzzle, roll ejection port downwards, push bolt far enough forward to strip round out of mag, and withdraw bolt. CRF or PF doesn't matter, with muzzle elevated the round will drop out in hand with no need to chamber rounds. I usually place left hand under ejection port of rifle and work bolt with right. In fact this method works better with a PF because the round simply drops out when bolt is withdrawn, because it is not under extractor.

 

[mark-hunter]

When I was younger and less experienced, I preferred removable magazines, exactly for that reason.
I still have rifles with removable mag.
But, after I lost one removable full mag in the woods, I came to conclusion removable mag can be lost from pocket.

There are two types of rifles with removable mag.
Those that have bridge over the action, and only way to load them is by changing the mag.
(Like tikka, steyr, etc)
Second type is the one with open top, that allows loading one by one from top, or via removable magazine. Like Sako.
Both types can get magazine lost, but the second type is better for loading in the field without necessity to remove the mag..

Finally, with my age, I came to conclusion, that floorplate latch is the best.

If comparing push feeds with CRF rifles, then to empty the rifle with cycling the bolt, CRF are safer, because they dont need bolt to lock, before extracting the next round.
PF needs to lock the bolt before extracting making rifle ready to fire on each cycling.

And then, there are also those rifles with three position safety, which make things a bit safer when cycling the bolt.

But all in all, the best system safety wise and practical wise in the field is: hinged floor plate to empty the rifle. Magazine cannot get lost under any circumstances, and it is the safest way.

 

[roklok]

No No No.....Push Feeds do NOT require chambering rounds to unload. Maybe I need to make a YouTube video of this, I see this stated so often. Elevate muzzle, roll ejection port downwards, push bolt far enough forward to strip round from mag, withdraw bolt. Round will drop out nicely in palm.

 

[Rafiki]

I drop the floorplate to unload, just don't like the idea of cycling rounds one at a time; and I do not drop them on he ground.