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What do you use for a chamber flag?

JollyJerp

Private
Minuteman
Sep 11, 2022
17
19
Kentucky
What is everyone using for chamber flags in your bolt action rimfires?

I just bought some yellow chamber flags from Amazon that said they fit 22lr. They do fit the barrel, but not from the chamber side! (Bergara b14r)
 
I use the green mdt ones
2A03E96E-08D8-455A-B6A9-41E3B1F63A51.jpeg
 
I bought some of the smaller sized chamber flags for RF, and some of the small red flags/banners, drilled holes in the actual chamber flag, and attached the two with the slip ring on the flag. Close the bolt on the CF, and easy to see. Did basically the same thing for CF as well.
 
What is everyone using for chamber flags in your bolt action rimfires?

I just bought some yellow chamber flags from Amazon that said they fit 22lr. They do fit the barrel, but not from the chamber side! (Bergara b14r)

A yellow NRA chamber flag that I had leftover from my highpower competition days. A few minutes with a pocket knife made the stem fit right in the chamber.
 
I have an mdt one I’ll send you. Shoot me a pm if desperate
 
Some matches give them out so have tons of them floating around and have a few in my pack and drag bags if needed. I recently bought one of the mag versions and started using it.
 
The problem with those is, though they block the bolt, they dont tell you anything about an empty chamber or not.
Agree, in fact quite a few matches I shoot do not allow them anymore just for that reason.
 

This is what I use as well as others I shoot with. It will not stick to the chamber face if a casing is left in it.
Screenshot 2023-02-09 at 10.16.43 AM.png
 
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Plastic weed eater string with a bright colored duct tape flag. I made about 50 of these for the local range to give out and not worry about getting back. I keep a dozen or more in my range bag at all times and give them away quite often.
 
I have an mdt one I’ll send you. Shoot me a pm if desperate
Appreciate, but I wonder if they are much different than what I bought. I got a pack from Amazon, but they are too stiff to bend into the chamber from the ejection port!

This is my current solution on the right
 

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I prefer mag blocks instead of chamber flags. Not crazy about sticking plastic in a hot chamber after I fire a stage…I’ve seen too many failures on next stage due to shavings from sticking them into the warm match chamber
 
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I prefer the mag blocks but some MD's insist on something that inserts into the chamber. The little cheap yellow ones are fine but the bolt flops back and they fall out in random places. So this version of the center fire flags was born, bling-bling is optional.
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I use weed eater line, the thick black type. Then heat and flatten one end, drill a hole in it, the loop through a key ring. Dangling from the key ring is one of those thick canvas red strips that says remove before flight
 
The problem with those is, though they block the bolt, they dont tell you anything about an empty chamber or not.
While true is it really an issue? For example, how would this have happened:

The bolt failed to extract a fired round
The bolt failed to extract an unfired round and the shooter didn't notice
The shooter single fed a round and then inserted the "mag flag"

In two and three the rifle still cant go off with a mag flag inserted unless the rifle falls in some weird or wonderful way. While yes it could happen if one was worried about those sorts of odds they'd be better off not owning a gun as yer more likely to be shot if ya own a gun.

Having said all that I love the expression "the devil loads a gun once every seven years". As always treat her as live and dangerous.
 
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While true is it really an issue? For example, how would this have happened:

The bolt failed to extract a fired round
The bolt failed to extract an unfired round and the shooter didn't notice
The shooter single fed a round and then inserted the "mag flag"

In two and three the rifle still cant go off with a mag flag inserted unless the rifle falls in some weird or wonderful way. While yes it could happen if one was worried about those sorts of odds they'd be better off not owning a gun as yer more likely to be shot if ya own a gun.

Having said all that I love the expression "the devil loads a gun once every seven years". As always treat her as live and dangerous.
To add to this; two people should have LOOKED in the chamber before the rifle comes off the line, the shooter and the RO.

The short rimfire flags are crap, with muzzle up they fall out. Every match I'll find at least 3 on the ground.

The magazine block IS the superior design. To satisfy particular range's demands on this I shaved a bit from the flag to allow my magazine block to actually hold it in place.
 
While true is it really an issue? For example, how would this have happened:

The bolt failed to extract a fired round
The bolt failed to extract an unfired round and the shooter didn't notice
The shooter single fed a round and then inserted the "mag flag"

In two and three the rifle still cant go off with a mag flag inserted unless the rifle falls in some weird or wonderful way. While yes it could happen if one was worried about those sorts of odds they'd be better off not owning a gun as yer more likely to be shot if ya own a gun.

Having said all that I love the expression "the devil loads a gun once every seven years". As always treat her as live and dangerous.
It’s super easy… all it takes is one dumb ass. Which is what a chamber flag is designed to eliminate.
 
I prefer the mag blocks but some MD's insist on something that inserts into the chamber. The little cheap yellow ones are fine but the bolt flops back and they fall out in random places. So this version of the center fire flags was born, bling-bling is optional.
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I can agree with you some directors require chamber flags .. my argument is the mag block doesn’t allow my bolt to even run forward into full battery so there’s no ND or failure or plastic in the match chamber or action .. win win

Edit added pic for your viewing :
D3008786-8D01-44C7-BA84-C5F6614EAF0E.jpeg
 
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I use chamber flag magazines https://www.ebay.com/itm/233926285802 They make for about any gun.
These are what I use too. Even if someone somehow left a round chambered, there's zero risk of it ever going off with these chamber flags/mags in place. And like @6.5SH said, at least two people should have visually inspected the chamber first anyway. But match directors gonna match direct, so I have a few pieces of weedeater string in my bag just in case.
 
Some disciplines require bolt removal.

That would sure end the argument over which is better.


Upside?
Bolt holster sales increase. Bolts dropped into the sand increase. Missing bolts increase.

And then, there's the "I had to take a dump and my bolt fell into the Porta-Potty liquid."

^^^^That's probably not an upside. 💩💩
 
Put an o-ring around the shaft and you can say it has a cock ring also.
Double cock block...
Wow. Quite….creative. You’ve really taken this to a new level. PM me your mailing address. You get a free cock block as long as you agree to post a photo of the bedazzling modifications.
 
I prefer mag blocks instead of chamber flags. Not crazy about sticking plastic in a hot chamber after I fire a stage…I’ve seen too many failures on next stage due to shavings from sticking them into the warm match chamber

I've been shooting PRS for 5 years and have never seen a malfunction caused by a chamber flag. Nor has my chamber been hot enough to melt plastic. Especially not my freaking 22.

But I have seen a couple of guys with mag blocks ND and DQ themselves because they (and everyone around them) thought their loaded rifle had an empty chamber. Lucky neither of them shot someone.

While true is it really an issue? For example, how would this have happened:

The bolt failed to extract a fired round
The bolt failed to extract an unfired round and the shooter didn't notice
The shooter single fed a round and then inserted the "mag flag"

In two and three the rifle still cant go off with a mag flag inserted unless the rifle falls in some weird or wonderful way. While yes it could happen if one was worried about those sorts of odds they'd be better off not owning a gun as yer more likely to be shot if ya own a gun.

Having said all that I love the expression "the devil loads a gun once every seven years". As always treat her as live and dangerous.

Yeah, it really can be an issue.

I watched a well known and respected shooter (will not name names because he owned the mistake at the time) ND into the parking lot after a match because he thought his mag flag meant that his hot rifle was empty.

While finishing the last stage of the day he had loaded a round but not closed the bolt, then pulled the mag, inserted the mag flag, and carried the loaded rifle down to the parking lot on his shoulder. Once he got to his car he pulled the mag flag, closed the bolt on what he thought was an empty chamber, and fired the rifle, expecting a dry fire and instead firing the live round he didn't know was in the chamber. Luckily for everyone standing around (myself included) he wasn't pointing his "cold" rifle at anyone or at any of our vehicles.

Sure, the shooter made a lot of consecutive errors (like failing to visually inspect the chamber at least twice, assuming his mag block indicated an empty rifle) and also avoided tragedy by following another rule (muzzle awareness, even with an "empty" firearm).

But the point is that the "safety device" so many people in this thread are assuming indicates an cold firearm failed, and it failed because it encourages complacency by allowing guys to pretend it indicated an empty chamber when it does nothing of the sort.

IMO we'd be better to use nothing, assume everyone's gun is hot, and throw people out for poor muzzle discipline at any point during the day than to allow them to use something that actually encourages complacency and unsafe behavior.
 
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I use an MDT chamber flag.

Was at a match on Saturday and one guy forgot to bring a flag, but he had a small yard flag in his truck so he used it. Range officer offered to let him use a bright orange zip tie (looped) as a safety flag.