What Type Of Magazine Do You Prefer On Your Bolt Action Rifle?

[MS 9x56]

Make mine a Schoenauer. There is simply none better. Unfortunately today that magazine would cost as much as a plastic stocked rifle. More is the pity.

 

[BeeMaa]

Make mine a Schoenauer. There is simply none better. Unfortunately today that magazine would cost as much as a plastic stocked rifle. More is the pity.

Savage used a rotary style magazine in their model 99, enabling the use of spitzer bullets in a lever-action rifle. The Blaser R8 is also rotary, but made of molded plastics.

 

[colorado]

Hinged floor plate for me.

Me too. The hinged floor plate on my CZ 550 in 500 Jeffery closes like a vault. If that recoil won't pop it free (and it's never even phased it) I don't think anything will.

 

[MS 9x56]

Savage used a rotary style magazine in their model 99, enabling the use of spitzer bullets in a lever-action rifle. The Blaser R8 is also rotary, but made of molded plastics.

I own both a savage 99 and a Mannlicher Schoenauer model 1905 and both magazines function flawlessly. The savages only drawback is it is difficult to access for cleaning. Many shooters don’t realize that the savage 99 has controlled round feeding similar to Mauser 98.

 

[MS 9x56]

I had a failure on a plastic Ruger American magazine, but Ruger made it right, gave me a spare magazine and turned it around within in 14 days!

I can't complain on a $375 rifle!

I also have a Ruger American but despite reading of issues I have never had any issues with mine. I hate plastic magazines but as I stated I have had no issues with mine. It is the most accurate rifle I own but I hat that Tupperware stock.

 

[ve7poi]

double rifle s/s

 

[MS 9x56]

It helps if you don’t leave cartridges in the plastic magazines as the springs used are not very robust. Load them hunt or shoot them then unload them for storage. Same reason why I do not store them in the rifle.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

I have this thing about detachable magazines on bolt action hunting rifles. I don't care for them. It's mostly personal preference but the few bolt action rifles I've had feeding issues with were detachable magazine rifles. Coincidence? Probably, but I still don't like them. Give me a hinged floor plate any day. In fact, when I'm perusing the used rifle rack at gun stores all I look for are hinged floor plate rifles. If it has a removable magazine I look right past it. Not interested.

The down side is there are some really good rifles that have removable magazines. Cooper, Weatherby, Browning to name a few. My CZ550FS in 308 has a removable magazine. So does my Cooper 300H&H. Love the rifles but I'd much prefer they had hinged floor plates.

What about you? Does it matter to you either way?

@Bonk
As you said I don't overly like detachable box mag except on my old SMLE 303. I don't even like hinged floor plates that much. Fixed floor plates or blind mags suit me fine. A bit of a pain to unload but impossible to lose anything.
Just my preference.
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

I prefer a full magazine with appropriate cartridges for the game at hand.

@Forrest Halley
Your 458 lott has a one shot no magazine. Good shots/hunters only need one shot 99% of the time.
Magazine capacity should be secondary to shooting abilities, calibre, game hunted etc.
A magazine should only be a necessity if the shit hits the fan.
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

After being quite successful with a muzzle loader, I only load one in the spout and one in the magazine, here in Ontario. I only own commercial Mauser’s with floor plates, sold my A-bolt with the removable box magazine years ago.If I was in Africa I’m pretty sure I would load the magazine to capacity.
The only magazine I have ever had some trouble with was a Ruger 10/22 factory mag. The replacement works fine as well as a aftermarket 25 shot banana clip.

@Boyd Brooks
In Namibia I only loaded 3 in the mag with an empty chamber. Only needed the one shot,never needed the othe 2 but nice to know I had them if I screwed up.
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

I like a detachable box magazine best. I’ve never accidentally released one and never forget one. Worst case scenario if I did forget the magazine is that I’d have a single shot.

I like detachable magazines so that when climbing down from a stand or returning to my truck in the dark emptying the the rifle is quick and easy. If I know that I’m going to hunt the next morning I stick the mag in my coat pocket and I’m ready to go when I return.

@Stamp Collector
Unless you grab a different coat the next morning. Then you have a lovely single shot.
Bob

 

[Forrest Halley]

@Forrest Halley
Your 458 lott has a one shot no magazine. Good shots/hunters only need one shot 99% of the time.
Magazine capacity should be secondary to shooting abilities, calibre, game hunted etc.
A magazine should only be a necessity if the shit hits the fan.
Bob

Yes and I tend not to need a second shot. I think it is only necessary when the energy or the location of the hits is insufficient.

@Stamp Collector
Unless you grab a different coat the next morning. Then you have a lovely single shot.
Bob

Actually it's quite a shoddy single shot. Big gap to drop the shells through on the reload. Never forgotten and never fallen out of the coat...knock on wood. The R8 is an expensive club without its magazine/trigger group. Although I wonder if someone could actually fire the rifle by charging the striker and letting it go quickly.

 

[BeeMaa]

The R8 is an expensive club without its magazine/trigger group. Although I wonder if someone could actually fire the rifle by charging the striker and letting it go quickly.

If the striker on a Blaser R8 is cocked and then the magazine is removed, it automatically (and safely) de-cocks...even if there is a loaded cartridge in the chamber. The rifle can not be fired without a trigger group.