Why hinged floorplate magazine?

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Rifleman1776

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My modern cf rifle (I'm primarily a traditional muzzle loader) is a 30-06 Winchester Mod. 70 Ranger. This is the plain jane version of the Mod. 70 and I like it just fine. One of the so-called cost saving features is the fact it has a blind magazine, no floorplate.
I know it takes me about a full minute and a half to unload. With a hinged floor plate a rifle can be unloaded in seconds. To me, big whoop.
A relative, who is quite wealthy, once showed me his new fancy-dancy very expensive bolt action rifle. Beautiful thing, no doubt. But when he shot it, the floor plate popped open and all the ammo fell to the ground. Just what you want on a hunt or when bruin is charging you----not. :eek:
I simply do not get it. Why would anyone want a floor plate that can be self-opening at exactly the wrong time?
If I could buy any fancy rifle I want, I would shop for blind magazine models only.
What am I missing here? Someone elucidite me, please. ;)
 
There are blind magazines, hinged floorplates and clips or removeable magazines. Something for everyone. Just choose which one you like best.

I like hinged magazines. No clip to lose and fast to unload. Just my preference. Obviously most people like the hinged floorplate or they wouldn't make most of the rifles with them. :p

No hinged floor plate ever opened on any rifle I've had in almost 50 years of hunting.
 
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I never had one pop and dump on any of mine so I never thought about it. I think your relative need to get is rifle fixed.
 
I have a Browning A bolt composite stalker in 30.06 and it has a hinged floor plate with a detachable magazine. I have never had this happen and have never really given that much thought to it.

Maybe the mag wasn't pushed all the way in the stock??:confused: I see where this could present a serious problem at the wrong time!

What do you mean "self opening"? Like this?
 

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My thoughts exactly, TX Hunter. If you should experience an (albeit unlikely) "jam" with a bolt-action rifle with a "blind " magazine and no way to access the rounds except via the topside loading port, you'll spend a lot more time sorting the situation out than you would if you could get to the troubled cartridges by just unzipping the bottom as well.
 
I've heard stories from others of hinged floorplates opening due to recoil but I have never seen it. The one time having one came in handy for me was when chasing a wounded deer I had shot enough that the bottom round, which had been in that positon all day, had the bullet come out and spill powder everywhere. It was very nice to just pop the flootplate open and have everything fall out.
 
Rifleman

You asked,..."Why would anyone want a magazine that would be self opening...?

The answer is... NO ONE wants one that does that. It is a malfunction when it happens.

I have two Win M70's, a push feed in .243, and a CRF Featherweight in .270 WSM, and they both have hinged floor plate magazines. Neither one of them has ever popped open (malfunctioned).

It is much safer to unload a rifle thru the hinged floor plate than it is to cycle every round into the chamber, then extract it. If you have a 5 round capacity, that's 5 chances to have an accidental (deadly) discharge while unloading! :eek:
 
Most modern rifles with hinged magazine floorplates have latches that are closed tighter by recoil so that the magazine will not open under recoil. Pick your rifle:
* Winchester Model 70- spring-loaded plunger floorplate latch, recoil will lock it tighter
* Rem 700- spring-loaded hinged latch, the heavy part of the latch is at the top front, where recoil wil pull it closed tighter.
* Ruger 77 Mk II- spring-loaded hinged latch, the heavy part of the latch is at the top front, opened by pushing forward on the bottom of the latch lever.
* Browning A-Bolt- spring-loaded plunger floorplate latch, recoil will lock it tighter

I cannot think of a single modern rifle with a hinged floorplate that should open under recoil. Of course, if you don't close it tight, or if it is malfunctioning, it might open under recoil, but then malfunctions are not normal operating conditions. Well, at least not the rifles I own.:rolleyes:
 
Given a choice I prefer the blind magazine. It reduces the guns overall weight, makes for a stiffer, stronger stock and action, and cuts cost, allowing more money to be better spent on more important things. A good floorplate and bottom metal will add around $150-$200 to the cost of the gun. Most guns come from the factory with cheap bottom metal that should not be trusted on a rifle used for dangerous game hunting. Yes, they will sometimes dump the ammo out on the ground when the gun is fired, especially in hard kicking guns. Many dangerous game guides and hunters will weld their floorplates shut just to prevent this from happening. One less thing to go wrong is never a bad idea. Not to mention having a hand accidently bump the release while carrying the gun.

It only takes about 5 seconds longer to unload, and you don't have to cycle each round through the chamber to do it. Just move the bolt forward enough to pop the top round free of the magazine and roll the gun to the side and the round will fall out.

Problem is that there are few guns that come with blind magazines today. A floorplate is the next best thing and as a result most of my guns have them. If I were having a custom built, it would be with a blind mag.
 
The hinged plate is faster and it's SAFER than running your ammo thru the chamber----where some bullets can get dinged up.

May not sound like a big deal, but I've been standing next to two individuals who fumbled around with their rifles trying to unload all the rounds, only to leave a round in the chamber. Both times the rifles were pointed in a safe direction when they pulled the trigger. Both times it was rather starling, since both were in doors (well, one in a tent, the other a cabin).

Being able to drop the ammo and clear the chamber is a safety plus in my book.
 
Bottom metal greatly strengthens the overall rigidity of an action. This is seldom nessasary with modern day shooters. A big downfall with blind magazines is their lack of a percision built magazine box. Many people dont realise how important a magazine box is. Custom gunsmiths spend many hours building the simple magazine box. One premier gunsmith take 8 hours of labor machining a box from a single billet of steel. One other problem with blind magazines is the lack of "achoring" the bottom of the magazine spring. This again is quite desireable in an ultimately reliable firearm. Just about anything will do these days, but years ago when a gun was a tool that was used hard every day and lives depended on them the bottom metal was a bonus. Just because a gun is expensive doesnt mean it is reliable. Many African guide duct tape the floorplate of clients when pursuing dangerous game. However there are ultimately reliable models of floorplates that dont need this duct tape. Old military types and the OLD Winchesters 70's are highly thought of in Africa.
 
If a hinged floorplate opens under recoil, it's defective. If it opens because YOU didn't get it latched, you're defective...;)

Is it useful? yeah, somewhat. Is it needed? No, not really. Its just one of those classy "style" things some people like, and will pay more for.

Does it make the rifle cost more? A little. The difference between a 700 ADL and BDL in the old days was mostly the hinged floorplate and some woodwork touches like caps and spacers.

It is a little safer overall to unload the rifle by dumping the floorplate, because a lot of people will chamber and lock the bolt down, before opening it to extract the round, and each time you do this, there is a small risk, if your rifle design doesn't let you have the safety engaged when you do it (and a smaller, but still real risk, even if it does).
 
I prefer the hinge plate on a bolt action,I have several Rem Bdls and never had one hinge open due to recoil?? Even with some very stout 7mm rem mag loads.

I like the thought of unloading with a hinge plate opposed to cycling each round through the chamber to unload the firearm.
 
I once watched my father-in-law have an accidental discharge when he was cycling rounds to empty his blind magazine rifle. Fortunately, no damage or injury, but it's something I never forgot. My rifle has a floorplate.
 
Thanks for the responses. The rifle in question was a Weatherby in .300 mag.
For me, I'm still convinced it is the wrong choice. I'll stick with the blind mag.
 
prefer blind mag

I prefer blind mags with controlled round feed. A good CRF allows ejection of the rounds prior to chambering. Since most rifles come hinged I drill and tap a screw into them so they stay shut. One guy died in Alaska rolling around with a bear while his rounds rolled out of his magazine. This was in one of the Alaska Bear Tales series of books.
 
It is much safer to unload a rifle thru the hinged floor plate than it is to cycle every round into the chamber, then extract it. If you have a 5 round capacity, that's 5 chances to have an accidental (deadly) discharge while unloading!
Click to expand...

^^This^^ Not all rifles allow you to operate the bolt while the safety is in the safe position. This is only recently becoming a standard feature in bolt action rifles.
 
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