Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Semi-Auto Hunting Rifle

Hey guys...need some feedback.

Considering buying a semi auto for bush hunting in 30-06. I am looking at the Remington Woodsmaster and the Winchester SXR. I have enough bolt rifles now and want something different. I know many are against auto checkers for various reasons but would like some feedback from people that own them. I thinking of mounting a Leupold VX-II in 2-7 or 3-9 on it.

Thanks in advance.

I have a Remington 7600 in .308 and after a trip to the gunsmith to adjust the clip it works great. I got the .308 because of the shorter cartridge over the 30-06 when I was told that the shorter action would work better in a semi-automatic.

Steeleman

For some serious bush hunting, I`d go with the 308 carbine with the 18 1/2 barrel.

A friend of mine has one in synthetic and loves it. It is one handy dandy, sweet handling and carrying rifle. We go hog hunting together and I had the oppty to use it. He has a 1-4x20 VX11 on it.

I would also agree with Steeleman. The shorter 308 might work better in a semi-auto than the 30-06.

For bush hunting, a 3x9 scope imo, is too much. And although a 2x7 can be used imo, that is too much as well. That little 1-4x20 VX11 looks great, is fast, great FOVs, is well porportioned on his Remy carbine and is a great variable magnification for the bush.

The 4x on the hi-end, can easily target deer sized game out to 400 yards and will cover any shooting distance on game that you will use the rifle for.

Browning BAR is a fine rifle. I'm not familiar with the newer Long/Short trac models, but the older style BAR is a great rifle.

I have not been too impressed with the "HangMaster" line of autos produced by Remington.

JM.

Moses has a good point. Look at the BARs too!

For my Browning BAR, I chose a .308 because that's the only one the store had in stock!

Does anyone have any input on the Winchester SXR? It is basically a BAR but about $200 cheaper. It is made by FN in Belgium. It is lightweight and has a nice balance to it. Points fast. The 30-06 has a 22" clean barrel. The other 30 cals are 24"....300 WSM & WM.

I too have concerns about the "jam-amatic" Remingtons but most trouble seems to be with the older models. The 750 Woodsmaster is supposed to be much better in function and accuracy.

308's are hard to find up here...not the most popular cartridge out west.

I have an old style Browning so I am biased in that direction. The newer version seems nice. It is lighter because it has an aluminum receiver. Chances are the Winchester is the same gun as the long/short trac. That is the one I would get.

I think the .308 is a wonderful round but I fail to see how in the world it could work "better" in a hunting semi-auto than an '06 or any other long action round. Makes no sense.

My present semi auto hunting rifle is a Remington 7400 in 30-06. After a little tuning it is an accurate, reliable rifle with a good trigger. It is not a lightweight under any circumstance but a capable hunting rifle nonetheless.

FWIW my grampa has been shooting deer with a Remington semi auto in 30-06 in the brush for years and it works just fine. Ive shot it once and unloaded it countless times but that speaks more to his bad habits, If he wasn't my grampa I wouldn't hunt with him..

I've had two Remington 742 Woodsmasters in .30-06,still have one of them.The one I still have is a 1972,never had any problem what so ever with it or the one I traded.I always clean it after hunting or whenever it's fired,and it's been fired a lot.

i had a rem. 7400 in 30-06 it was very accurate and reliable never had a problem with it. id still have it if a fellow hunter didnt like it better than me and offered me his winchester model 70 fwt. in .270 for it.

I have owned or still do: BAR, 742 and Win 100s.

I would look for a nice pre 64 Model 100 in 308. Mine is deadly accurate. I wish I kept my last target to show. Better groups than most bolts can do.

RAS

+1 on a Winchester 100, I inherited my grandfathers and it'll easily do 1" at 100 with pretty much anything you throw at it.

Mine has an old weaver 1-4 or 1.5-4.5, can't remember?

Thanks all. I bought a Remington 750 Woodsmaster satin carbine in 30-06 this afternoon. Price was right and fit/finish is great. I'll shoot it tomorrow.

Just for interest, I took another look at the Winchester SXR. It has some quirky issues that turned me off along with a plastic trigger and fire control system. That was the end of that look.

Now go kill some game with it Pard! Nothing beats a new rifle.

Good Hunting,

JM.

Thanks John....I will but it will be a while yet. Our main hunting season opens Nov 1st.

By the way, no one in town even had any BAR's around in any caliber. They are not popular up here and they are expensive. Remchuckers are easy to find and the price is reasonable. Now I just hope it functions properly.

....................Hope you enjoy it and that it functions well. It`ll be a real winner in the brush and thickets for speed, carrying and handling, along with having some very serious ballistic horsepower for a 18 1/2" tubed carbine. Try and put a scope on it, that will best match the speed and handling of that rifle, the distances, and for the terrain you`ll be hunting in.

They are great guns for slinging lead in the brush at deer that bust out of the cover across field, I have an 06 and two 308's back in Dakota, and they wear the old Scopechiefs with Command Post reticle, they can be killing machines in those applications as sometimes you need to hustle around brush etc and gets the heart pumping, that 3rd or 4th shot can be what it takes, we use them more for those times when a quick follow up shot may be needed, never had one do much better than a 2 inch average,

I just got back form the range and I am thrilled with this Woodsmaster! It has a Bushnell 4200 3-9 on top (bought becuase of price). No problems at all with function. Fed it 20 rounds of factory Remington 180 Core-lokts and they worked perfectly. After getting it sighted in, it shot a 1.5" 3 round group with 2 touching at 100 yards. So on top of good function, it shoots too!

I'll never knock a auto chucker again!