Detachable magazines on bolt action hunting rifles?

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Lone_Gunman

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I am not sure this is a good idea. I spent all weekend looking for the magazine for my Tikka, and finally found it. But if I had lost it, a new one runs about $65-$75. That is almost 20% of the price I paid for the rifle! Its a cheap plastic magazine at that, and there is no way a new one should cost that much.

This has gotten me to thinking though. What is the utility of a detachable magazine on a bolt action rifle? I think it would be better just to have fixed magazine, and never have to worry about losing it.
 
What is the utility of a detachable magazine on a bolt action rifle?
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I think that depends on state law.

In some states, it is a crime to drive on a public road or highway with a gun that has any rounds in it, whether or not the gun is concealed, and whether or not there's a round in the chamber.

If you are hunting with a street-legal vehicle, scouting around or whatever, in a state with said laws, the detachable magazine is convenient.
 
Like I responded to a different post earlier, the Tikka mag is expensive.

I've never had a bolt hunting rifle with a detachable mag. I want one. Where I hunt, I might need to unload the rifle three or four times in one day. It sure would be easier, easier on the lead tips of my boat tails if I had a drop out magazine. Sure, with a hinged floor plate, the cartidges just fall out, but with my closed box magazine bolt rifles I've got to cycle the action to get the four rounds out every time I need to unload. I like the concept of a drop out magazine with a well concealed releast button and positive latch.

-Steve
 
Detachable magazines are a safer way to load and unload the rifle than are blind magazines or floorplates or tubes and don't batter bullet tips like tubes.

People who have to hunt several different areas thus requiring getting in/out of vehicles multiple times per day appreciate the detachable magazine for that safety and convenience. That quick/safe load/unload feature hasn't been lost on road-hunters and poachers either but that is not a design flaw.

Using a blind mag. or flooplate or tube leaves one with several loose cartridges to keep track of during a day of multiple loads/unloads and, for most, it forces the less-than-exquisitely-safe requirement to work live ammo through the action when unloading (by the truck with your buddies and kids closeby).

With all due respect - complaining about having to keep track of a detachable magazine sounds pretty ... well,... silly, to me.

:cool:
 
With all due respect - complaining about having to keep track of a detachable magazine sounds pretty ... well,... silly, to me.
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Beat me to it.

Detachable magazine, easier to load and unload, you can keep a spare or 50
 
With all due respect - complaining about having to keep track of a detachable magazine sounds pretty ... well,... silly, to me.
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I don't think its silly. Without the magazine the gun is useless. It is much more difficult to replace a lost or damaged magazine for a sporting rifle (especially a somewhat uncommon one like a Tikka) than for an AR or AK. I won't make the mistake of buying another sporting bolt action rifle with a detachable magazine. Why do you think it is silly about complaining about losing or damaging a magazine? Have you never lost anything? or accidentally dropped something? What you are saying makes no sense to me. I guess if you are in and out a vehicle a lot while you hunt, then it might make sense to have a detachable box, but I have never hunted like that, and don't really understand your circumstance that would require you to be in and out of a vehicle while you are hunting.

Detachable magazine, easier to load and unload, you can keep a spare or 50
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Well, not really, unless you are rich. Tikka mags cost $60 each, so 50 of them would run $3000.

I suspect very few Tikka owners have more than the one factory magazine that came with the gun. What is the point of having more than one? I don't think I have ever fired more than 2 rounds all day hunting.
 
"Without the magazine the gun is useless"

Nope, not "useless", it's just a single-shot and that shouldn't bother anyone who hasn't "ever fired more than 2 rounds all day hunting."

Fact is, I hunted with Ruger #1 rifles for years (and still do).

:cool:
 
I am pretty neutral on the debate on detachable mags. It really does not have an efect my decision on which gun I will purchase or use.

I like the Tikka's a lot and have 2 that have become my favorites. But you are right, the prices of replacement mags is insane. I was able to find AR-15 mags for under $20 during the AWB. Beretta should be able to sell them for around $20 and they should be easily available.

That is the worst thing about the Tikka. When I look at the relatively low cost of the rifle, the accuracy and light weight I guess it is just a tradeoff I will have to live with.
 
The old Lee-Enfield (.303 British) has a 10-round detachable magazine, although it was supposed to be loaded by means of stripper clips. IIRC, swapping out mags was supposed to be done only in case of a damaged or unserviceable mag.

I think this may have been because a lot of parts on those rifles were more or less hand fitted, and swapping out a mag with a new one might have resulted in one that didn't feed properly (just a guess).

The SMLE had the reputation of being one of the most solidly built and reliable battle rifles in history (especially in adverse conditions), so the detachable mag didn't seem to be a liability in this case.
 
Remington Mag $40.....

Guys,
I'm a big TIKKA fan....everyone complains about the cost of a spare T3 mag, and your right, its more than it should be, but have you priced a spare mag for a remington 700 Detachable mag rifle.....$40:rolleyes:. For a hunting rifle with a detachable mag, I only want 1 spare, and that is just in case I loose the one in my rifle.

Infact, I really like the smooth feeding single column mag for the T3...its one of my favorite features of the rifle.
 
It is not just the cost. it is the fact that they are not available. I only wanted a spare as well in case I lost one. I have had my 30-06 Tikka for 4 years now and have found 1 for it. I have had my .308 for about 5 months and have been unable to find one at any price. Lots of places show they have them but they are always out of stock.
 
Nope, not "useless", it's just a single-shot and that shouldn't bother anyone who hasn't "ever fired more than 2 rounds all day hunting."
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Its a single shot, for sure, but it is very difficult to load a round in the chamber with a magazine. The Tikka chamber is not as open and accessible as most other rifles. Have you ever tried to load a Tikka this way without a magazine? Not easy.

Plus, not having the magazine in the gun bothers me on an aesthetic level. It just ain't right.
 
My take: detachable mags are a convenience. They make it faster and easier to get the gun ready and make it safe, and easier to reload. They're a nice feature to have, although not much of a benefit if your fixed-mag gun can take stripper clips.
 
People who have to hunt several different areas thus requiring getting in/out of vehicles multiple times per day appreciate the detachable magazine for that safety and convenience.
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As for safety, it seems to me that you could remove the bolt (leave it out) and reinsert the round in a hinged floorplate or blind magazine rifle BEFORE entering a vehicle ... It'd only take five seconds.

:)
 
Detachable mag limits your OAL. No thanks. If you're getting in and out of a vehicle, it's not that hard to leave your bolt open, or push a shell down and close it on an empty chamber.
 
As for safety, it seems to me that you could remove the bolt (leave it out) and reinsert the round in a hinged floorplate or blind magazine rifle BEFORE entering a vehicle ... It'd only take five seconds.
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You could, but see my post above.

In some states, having a magazine full of rounds in the gun while driving on a public road is illegal. The laws generally don't say, "unless the bolt is out" even though you and I know that the gun won't shoot without a bolt.
 
I have a detachable mag on my Browning Abolt in .243 and I like it. Easy to take out and stick in your pocket, then put back in the rifle at a later time and you're set to go. Better then spilling cartridges all over the gate on the back of the truck with cold, stiff hands! I only have one mag for it. Thought about getting another, but decided against due to expense. I think the reason they are so expensive is that so few people buy a spare and the reason they are hard to come by sometimes is they probably only produce them in occasional limited runs.
 
I've hunted where firearms must be unloaded in a vehicle, and getting in an out is a pain when you have to load and unload. Hinged floorplates are good, but when your fingers are icy cold, the cartridges may end up in the mud.

A detachable magazine is very appealing in some states. I would never touch a plastic magazine, though. Plastic is just too cheap and becomes brittle with age. I would only use a detachable magazine if it was steel.
Mauserguy
 
why was your mag out of your gun when you were storing it? I store my mag in the rifle with no ammo. That way I never have to look for it, the spares sit on the shelf with the ammo in the top of the safe, and I like being able to drop three rounds that are connected before climbing in/out of my stand instead of removing 3 loose rounds.
 
Safer and faster to unload and it's always nice to just stick a loaded mag in your most convinent pocket, climb into your stand, and insert mag and cycle the action... It's a pain to pull out a box of ammo and load an internal mag at 5:00, in the dark, in a tree, 20 feet off the ground, in 30 mile an hour gusts :D
 
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