Why do bolt actions have such low cap mags?

The three-round philosophy seems to be:

One round for the nervous or newbie to miss with.

One round to nail the beast.

One round for a finisher.

And if you need more than that for one animal, get your arse back to the range and practise some more.

That being said, I'll put store in the Lee-Enfield (which is quite adequate for what I'll be hunting - others' situations may differ). Better to have the capacity and not need it than the other way around. Personally, though, if you're hunting something carnivorous or very large, IMO you cannot have too much ammunition in your rifle.
 
The three-round philosophy seems to be:

One round for the nervous or newbie to miss with.

One round to nail the beast.

One round for a finisher.

And if you need more than that for one animal, get your arse back to the range and practise some more.
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I fixed that for ya. ;)

I understand that there are plenty of people with that mentality (and that's one reason 3-5 round magazines are the norm), but they're all slobs, in my opinion.
 
Well done frankenmauser, I went out last fall with 9 rounds in my riflestock
cartridge sleeve and came back with 8 rounds and a deer, as it should be.
But my first; Buck Fever set in and I spent 3 rounds (2 misses and a hit) to get my deer,
got that out of my system, and the rest have been 1 and done.
 
I'm not saying that there's never a reason to fire more than one shot, or than anyone that does fire multiple shots is a slob.
But, if you plan to miss, and plan to make bad shots that require follow-ups, you should not be shooting at animals. That mindset is the first step down the road to being a "dirt bag" hunter.
 
I hunted with a guy "ONCE" that just slung lead in the general direction of a deer. He got it after 6 rounds,
Haven't hunted with him since.
 
Where I hunt in dense woods and swamps, I can only get one shot to put the game down. I have never had a chance to get a second shot when the first missed.

A single shot would do most of us for hunting. In fact, having a single shot might make most of be better shooters.
 
The following is pretty funny. If said carnivorous creature is about to eat you lunch, you are unlikely to get one good shot off let alone multiples!

T
hat being said, I'll put store in the Lee-Enfield (which is quite adequate for what I'll be hunting - others' situations may differ). Better to have the capacity and not need it than the other way around. Personally, though, if you're hunting something carnivorous or very large, IMO you cannot have too much ammunition in your rifle.
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And for the comment about Lee-Enfiled and ugly, beauty is in the eye and I like how they look.

Realistically hunting rifles could be 3 rounds (some maybe). Past 3 the others are just storage. You can put 4 or 5 in (depends on the gun and round size) and why not if it doesn't break the bottom of the stock line.

Funny to hear crawling in the mud when the Brits were the ones who went over the top in great numbers and got decimated.

Its all nebulous, why Brits went for 10 and the US was happy with 5.
Contrary to some thought, the military is frivolous, its not what they actually need (or filed people want), its what whim the master of the armament of the moment has that dictates it.

US was big on single shot fire so the 1903s had that feature with the single fire selector. Others not so much. Surprising we get a gun out of the process at all.
 
For hunting non-maneaters( non lions and tigers ) or things that won't crush the life out of you( non cape Buffalo or elephants ) you just don't really need more than one or two shots.

I hunt with a single shot muzzleloaders mostly and I've never needed a second shot.

Boomer
 
I hunt with a single shot muzzleloaders mostly and I've never needed a second shot.
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With a .58, I should hope not! 500+ grains of lead oughta whack 'em good enough the first go round ......
 
At the time most military bolt actions were being developed, five rounds WAS a high capacity magazine, since most previous rifles were single shot.

Bolt actions were not a significant factor in sporting rifles before soldiers became used to them in WWI. Prior to that, "hunting rifle" meant lever action in the U.S. and Canada, single shot or double barrel in the U.K. and Europe. After the "war to end wars" Winchester put out the Model 54, which was a modification of the M1903 Springfield, and Remington introduced its Model 30, which WAS a Model 1917 Enfield, using receivers and other parts left over from that company's wartime production.

Jim
 
The Lee-Enfield and the Lebel are the first military rifles I can think of with more than 5 round capacities. The Carcano and Mosin-Nagant extend below the body of the rifle but the M-N holds 5 rounds, the Carcano 6.
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The 8 round 8mm Lebel was preceded by the 8 round 11mm 71/84 Mauser rifle as well as various models of the Kropatschek rifle.
 
Bolt guns are primarily hunting rifles, a few are sniper rifles, one shot-one kill.
Not useful for the spray and pray method used so much today.
 
The 8 round 8mm Lebel was preceded by the 8 round 11mm 71/84 Mauser rifle as well as various models of the Kropatschek rifle.
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And the Mauser modifications were due, largely, in response to the 11x59mm Gras M80 (1874) being modified to accept a 10-round magazine.
 
A few years ago it was reported (here or THR) that a guy stopped his car in AK, maybe BC to take a leak.

He carried an Enfield #5 "Jungle" and was suddenly charged by a large grizzly.
The guy stopped it with about four-five shots. Maybe the ten-rd. magazine had been filled? There was no other info on the attack, and wish that I knew where to read more about it.

Were most battle rifles in the early 20th Century designed to allow a soldier to keep the gun as low on a flat surface as possible, with a larger magazine being an obstacle?
 
it does not seem to be a legal issue
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It is, most DNR's restrict the number of rounds you can carry in your hunting rifle or shotgun while hunting. And magazine capacity is determined by the size of the case depending on caliber.

Jim
 
because most bolt actions use a magazine based off the mauser magazine that was a 5 round capacity mag. that said, mossberg and ruger both make bolt actions with detachable mags, the ruger, a 308 can have up to 20 round capacity and the mossberg takes standard AR15 mags and could, in theory take 100 round drum mags though the weight would be atrocious.


with that said. nobody buys a bolt action for it's rapid fire capabilities. if it were a fast firing action then I'm sure the demand for a greater capacity magazine would be higher but for a design that puts more emphasis on accuracy over volume, there is just no real demand for a 30-06 bolt action with a 15 round mag.
 
i personally would love to see a bolt action using those dual drum mags on either side, not for function mind you but because it would look intimidating
 
Jim243 said:
it does not seem to be a legal issue
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It is, most DNR's restrict the number of rounds you can carry in your hunting rifle or shotgun while hunting. And magazine capacity is determined by the size of the case depending on caliber.
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I still don't see that as a legal issue.
Most states are perfectly fine with magazine blocks being used to reduce capacity. And with every year that goes by, there are more states dropping the magazine limits, altogether (out west, anyway).
I believe it is due, in large part, to the realisation that slob hunters are always slob hunters. It doesn't matter what limitations you put on their gear and methods, they will always be slobs (or break the rules, outright).

Gun companies sell what people will buy.
If everyone wanted 10+ rounds in their bolt rifles, that would be the 'standard' capacity. But, most of us find 3-5 rounds to be a good compromise between clean lines, bulk, weight, and capacity; so that's what has been common for quite some time. Obviously, the current trend toward detachable-magazine bolt rifles is skewing things a bit, but the "small" internal magazines are still predominant for centerfire cartridges.
 
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