Having narrowed my rifle search down to a Rem. 700 CDL and a Browning A-Bolt, I had a chance to stop by Gander Mountain and really check them both out.
I shouldered both rifles over and over....and over. Both felt good, but in the end I was leaning towards the Browning. The only thing that bothered me about them was the floorplate.
When closed, it seemed to have about 1/8" of play still in it. The Remingtons and Rugers I looked at closed and locked solidly into position. I realize the A-Bolt has a detachable box magazine (which I like), but when I held the A-Bolt like I was carrying it, I was hearing a constant "click, click, click" where the floorplate was loose and tapping against the stock.
I asked the guy working in the gun dept. if there was a "fix" for that. He said he owned several A-Bolts and his all had some play in the floorplates. Not quite as bad once you had a magazine clipped into the floorplate, but still not locked up tight against the stock like the Remingtons and Rugers.
So, does anyone know of a "fix" to tighten it up or is that just normal for a detachable box magazine?
My A-Bolts are all tight, I'd guess it'd tighten up when loaded. You could always ask him the load the gun at the shop for you and see if it fixes the problem.
I would ask to see another a-bolt, and see if it has the same slack, and also try loading it. I have a few Brownings, and that is not a trait found in any of them. I really would look at another rifle, you never know what some yahoos may have done to it while they were looking at that gun. Someone may have opened it and forced it back a little .... causing it to be " sprung ". Ask to see one out of the box. I bet the fit will be better.
BTW... even if there was a gap in the floorplate, there should be sufficient spring tension that it should not rattle. So it sounds like it is more of a problem then just having a little space in there.
I had this same problem with a-bolt I own. The latch that holds the hinged floor plate is attached to the trigger guard. Loosening the screw and sliding the trigger guard forward took care of the problem. Good Luck.
Browning A-Bolt floorplate...why so loose?
