Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Why aren't there better semi's for big game?

Military styled autos are quite common for hunting in many if not most states. Penn is one of the few that still have lib-tards and bureaucrats who run on emotion instead of logic running their game department I am guessing.

The most common type of rifle used in the USA today is the bolt action.

120 years ago they too were "not for sporting use".
Only ______________ << (Fill in the blank with your choice
A. a muzzleloader
B. a lever action
C. a single shot breach-loader
D. make one up from the last 75 years before 1890

>> were suitable for hunting deer.
It's just a fact. Emotions dictate that is is so...............Right?

But.....will PA ever pull it's head out of said ass and allow Sunday hunting

Been thinking about a Benelli Argo in 9.3x62. Not pretty but it is pretty cool.

Well the Governor cleared the way for semi auto's to be legal for hunting. At the April meetings our Game Commission will decide to what degree they will be allowed. We're expecting to get them for small game and predators but big game is still up in the air. There is a big push back against it and it's not from liberals but from conservative, traditional hunters. The Governor is a liberal and he's the one who legalized them. The Elmer Fudd elements are certain it will lead to wounded/crippled deer,shot hunters,and homes with bullets ripping through them.

I have been using Belgium made BARs since about 1970-71. I have had every caliber printed in Belgium. The only one I ever had that would not shoot some factory load under 1 1/2" was a Gd I 7mm mag. The best for accuracy was a .270 that was an honest 1/2" shooter with 130 CoreLokt.

I never had one that did not feed and fire. I basically sold all them when I started hand loading. They sometimes dented brass and all semis scatter brass about in the grass and weeds. Then I bought a pair of .30-06 and had one bored out to .338-06. That one had a tight chamber and it needed the full bolt drop to make sure the rounds were chambered when charging the barrel from the magazine. A slight push on the operating handle solved that. No problem when fired and picking up a round to reload.

I still have an '06 made in 1970 in a beautiful hand engraved GdIII wearing about grade IV or V wood.

The all steed guns are a little heavy, and the magnums are heavy. At 79 YO, I don't walk far anymore, but rather hunt from some form of ambush, be it a box blind, ground blind, a brush hide, or just park my Mule and watch a trail, food plot or water. They make some alloy framed guns that get under 7 #. Since the bolt locks into the barrel, this is no sacrifice in strength. No problem.

The only parts that I ever replaced on a BAR were a couple of recoil buffers which appear to be made of nylon. Cousin's kid failed to clean his for a few years and I decided that a new gas piston was in order from pitting. It did still work. The triggers can be smoothed by using thin strips of 800-1000 grit paper between the trigger and sear.

I got my first one as the result of total dissatisfaction with a 742. I like the quick repeat shot capability. I once went five for five with the .338.06 before the rest of a herd of South Texas pigs could flee my food plot. Next day the coyote hunting got good.

I have not used but see good comments on another forum about the Benelli.

BTW, the only interest that I have in Browning is my BAR, my Pigeon Grade 20 ga Superposed, a pair of wasp waist .22s, and my A-5. Add: I for got the three Safari bolt guns. They have made some good stuff.

Best wishes,

Jack

Sauer 303 if you can get a hold of one and stomach the price tag. I have one and it's bolt action accurate.

Because I believe most riflemen [Hunters] try their best to make the first shot count, spraying and praying with a semi auto is a slobs creed, and thats all I've ever saw over in Arkansas with hunters in front of, beside, or behind deer dogs.

I've seen truckloads of deer killed with 742s. When I was young it was the gold standard of deer rifles around here. I know there are issues with them but most work.

One should never assume that people who shoot semi autos "spray and pray", especially if you don't know the person!

Yup.

The real advantage of a semi, for whitetail hunters anyway, is the ability to take a second shot without any additional movement or noise. Deer often don't run off at the sound of a shot, but the noise and movement from working a bolt or lever will put them on the scoot. Back in the days when I used to miss (!) occasionally (okay, often), that could have made a big difference. I remember two occasions when I missed bucks with my TC Hawken during the Maryland shotgun season and they stayed put almost long enough for me to reload because they didn't see or smell me.

I killed one like that with my BAR a few years ago. I missed high and he just stood there and I let him have it with the second shot. That was the only time in 30 years I ever benefited from the semi auto action as all the rest I can remember were either a one shot kill or the two or three I've missed hauled ass before I could get on them for another shot.

I've enjoyed my BAR. It has been totally reliable, not one malfunction with either reloads or factory ammo and it shoots better than I can. I do take the forend off and clean out the gas piston annually. One quirk of the rifle is that it is critical that when chambering a round that you either let the bolt slam home or if you let it down slowly that you give it a little forward push to make sure the bolt is engaged all the way because if it is not it won't fire. I learned that when my rifle was new while shooting it at targets, and it is explained in the manual, but I could see it costing a guy a shot if he was not aware.

I like many different types of guns, and I support any kind of shooting that burns powder or compresses air.
But my 1st love is muzzleloaders and has been since I was a young teen. I love hunting with my flintlocks. I have had a great deal of success with them too.
However I have been blessed to be an avid hunter now for 52 of my 60 years on this earth. I have been blessed to have opportunities to hunt in many different states and a few other countries. Most years I am fortunate enough to kill between 4-6 head of game, but some years I have killed as many as 25 per year.
I have personally killed at least 65 head of game with semi-autos. These are the ones I recall off the top of my head as I write this.
These are:
AR15 in 6.8SPC 33
AR-15 in 6.5 Grendal. 3
AK47 7
FAL 4
M-1 Garand. 6
Smith M-14 6
Benelli R1 6
On elk I shot 2 times. One antelope I shot 2 times.
ALL the others were one shot kills

I love my flintlocks, but I can assure you that I can fire my autos as slow as I do my flintlock when I choose to.
The idea that a certain kind of weapon in the hands of a man means he has a certain way of using that weapon is stupid.
And I will point out----it’s the manipulative tool used by anti-gun people everywhere. It’s a stupid idea and it only works against stupid people.
Please readers, don’t fall for that crap and don’t help the anti-gunners gain ground.
Owning a handgun doesn’t make you want to kill politicians.
Owning an AK doesn’t make you want to shoot up a post office
Owning an AR doesn’t make you want to shoot up a school and owning any of the above doesn’t mean you are a slob hunter or a poor marksman.

Is so too, actually faster.

I've got a 30-06 BAR and I want to change it to 6br. Trying to find a smith to do it at the moment. Kinda bummed nobody makes a 20 moa rail for it but the Vortex 5-20x50 kinda deserves it. Thinking I can use a Caldwell brass catcher from an AR but I might fashion something else as those Caldwell's look stupid.

I have owned a browning bar 270 for 30 years now killed at least 25 or so deer with it never jammed or left me stranded in the woods or at the range, I might add never lost a deer with it either..

I've had 742s, 7400s, a BAR, and many AR15s. The AR15 is hands down my preference. It's easy to build them light, dependability is well proven, accuracy is well proven, great triggers abound, and it's easy to customize it to exactly what you want or need. I actually feel like I shoot my ARs better in the field than my bolts when speaking of similar weight guns and odd field positions.

The 6.8SPCII will easily handle the game you speak of. I killed a 265lb and 238lb deer with the 6.8 and 120SSTs at the end of Dec. The larger deer ran maybe 50yds with a hit through the lungs and the other buck fell at impact. Very effective cartridge in an ultra dependable platform. The trajectory is dead nuts with my 308 bolt FWIW.

I bought my wife a Benelli 30-06 this year. She wanted a semi Auto. I bought a closeout VX3 and mounted it. Bought a box of Rem core lokt 165 gn and took it to sight in.After 4 shots and some scope adjustments it put 5 shots in a group that could be covered with a quarter an inch high at a hundred yds.. Recoil is about like my bolt action 243 that has no pad. I was surprised and pleased. The trigger is not bad either. I took it home and took it all apart using the manual. It is really well though out and simple. It requires no tools to take it apart. It carries well and feels handy. It looks odd. But It looks to be a good rifle.

So if I throw rocks or use a 3" folding knife can I hunt on Sunday in PA?

They already make great semis for big-game hunting.

They are built on the AR-10 platform.

Bought a brand new 742 .30/06 in 1984 when I turned 18. Best accuracy was about 2.5" at 100yds. with 150g Silvertips. For 6 years it was a deer slayer. Year seven the gas port plugged and it started stove piping the ejected cases. This cost me a deer. I missed the first shot and he stopped running and just stood there. Me having to work the action to clear the jam ran him off. Got that fixed and all was good rest of season. Year eight the extractor lost is springiness and the rifle would not always chamber completely. More often than not the cartridge head was sitting on the extractor and not the bolt face. You had to pull the plastic bolt cover back to see if it had chambered completely. It would go far enough into battery that the firing pin would fall when you pulled the trigger making a loud click as the pin failed to contact the primer. This also cost me a deer. Year nine, well I don't know. I got it fixed and swapped it for a 336 in .35 Rem. I also bought my first bolt gun that same year. I did have a Ruger .44 carbine for a while later but sold it too. Now the only semi-auto's I own are AR's.