Blind mag vs hinged floorplate for serious hunting?

[jkesrnicla]

Plan on building another semi custom lighter weight Rem 700 build in 30/06 for a all purpose hunting rifle with a Boyd's laminate stock but I'm really stuck on if I should use an adl or hinged floorplate. I really like the simple design of the Barrett Fieldcraft rifles With a blind mag, this gun will be primarily used for spot an stalk/ treestand whitetail hunting in thick brush and fields in upstate ny winters, but who knows maybe a backcountry trip or too as well.... any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thanks....

 

[Mustang72]

I prefer a blind magazine for a hunting rifle . It's just one less thing that can go wrong. That said I don't remember my hinged 700 ever coming open in 30 years of hunting with it. It's mirror image twin in 35 whelen will have a blind magazine once my brown stock gets here.

 

[Hespco]

That can be very personal. Me , I like the hinged floor plate . Easy to unload. I also like the look it gives the rifle. Sort of a custom finish , from my perspective. For so many years I have owned rifles that were made that way , so have become very accustomed to that style. Take some time to think it thru as to what " you " see are the pro's & con's.

 

[asd9055]

The only blind magazine I have experience with is the M1 Garand. The rest of my boom sticks have been hinged or detachable. For hunting, I prefer hinged.
Wait, 30-30 is...blind right?

 

[26Reload]

I have both in 700..nothing wrong with either one..boyds stock is gonna make it heavy..even the featherweight unless you do some mods on it..

 

[sierracharlie338]

In all honesty I think you are splitting hairs. I had one rifle that had a blind magazine and traded it out for a hinged floor plate stock. I was not a fan of having to chamber and unchamber a round to empty the mag. All my hunting rifles are hinged. Just my .02

 

[brcfo_outdoors]

I like both, but I like the hinged floor plate for access for cleaning. When I hunt I go hiking and all my stuff gets dusty, leafy, and generally thrashed. With the floor plate, you are potentially adding another ingress point for fine debris, but at least its convenient that I can pop it open and check for peace of mind.

 

[Bob Wright]

For serious hunting you only need one, right????
Actually, it doesn't matter to me. I only have 3 in the mag with a big cartridge. 4 with smaller. I never get an opportunity to shoot more than 1 as the animals don't stick around long enough to empty the mag. Competition, sure. Go with a big enough detachable mag.

 

[cohunt]

In regards to weight only-- blind mags are lighter

In regards to finding light weight stocks, hinged are easier to find

 

[LVJ76]

I prefer a blind magazine for a hunting rifle . It's just one less thing that can go wrong. That said I don't remember my hinged 700 ever coming open in 30 years of hunting with it. It's mirror image twin in 35 whelen will have a blind magazine once my brown stock gets here.

Agreed, I've only opened from the bottom I think twice in my life, and just out of curiosity and not because I needed to.

Blind magazine will also save you a few ounces.

 

[aushunter1]

Prefer a detachable overall but out of the two I would pick hinged any day.

For instance arriving back at camp with 4 rounds still in the mag I can just push the floorpalte release & empty the mag into my hand.
The other way your going to have to cycle 4 rounds & pick them up off the ground/dirt or try to find them in the grass.
Its hard enough trying to find your spent cases, especially at night if you have had to take a few quick shots.

Then there is where you may have a feed issue, again easier & quicker to just release the floor plate.

PITA imo having a bling mag but hey its an individual thing & your probably going to get a 50/50 responce!

 

[Blacktailer]

All my bolt action rifles have hinged floor plates. But then again I'm very seldom serious when hunting.

 

[jdyoung]

Hinged !!! If something goes wrong and you can't open the bolt/clear the chamber, at least with the hinged floorplate you can clear the magazine. I especially required it for my kids and now grandkids to ease clearing the rifle. But they still need to learn how to clear a blind mag sometime in their gunning carrier , so having at least one blind mag rifle around is helpful.

 

[thwatson2]

I personally prefer a detachable mag. Browning makes a hinged Floorplate with detachable mag under the hinge, I think this is the nicest design. I really don't like hidden mag as it's difficult to clear out Your rounds. If something does get jammed or messed up it's very difficult to fix issue without taking the action apart from the stock.