Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Is the NSSF off the mark to promote AR's as hunting rifles?

AR's have their place, but are they "Hunting Rifles"?

Link to the NSSF site

I don't see why not.

Why the hell would they not be hunting rifles? Or self defense rifles? Or match rifles? Or "it doesn't [bleep] matter why I have it, its my right" rifles?

Self defense, liberty, plinking, target and even "just because" all make sense to me.

But I think it a bit too cheeky to promote them as "hunting rifles"

Why not? Sure the same question was asked about bolt action rifles a century ago.

Why? I know a LOT of guys that use the AR platform to hunt with. I use my AR patrol rifle when calling coyotes, and it has slayed it fair share of pigs.

In these parts, the AR is rapidly becoming the predator calling rifle of choice, and I saw more an a few in the deer fields.

Well that shows what I know.

There is a young fella on our hunting lease that hunts with an AR10 in .308, and he kills deer quite dead, and some of his shots are made at very respectable ranges. He served a decade in the military, and hunts with the type of rifle that he is familiar with. I see no reason not to endorse the AR platform for big game hunting. Much like our forefathers did with the bolt action, after coming home from WWI.

I see a lot of AR's around here too, compared to a few decades ago.
I think the point of the NSSF article it to try legitimize the AR to make it more palatable to the public. Anything to help the cause of maintaining our 2nd amendment rights can only help the battle coming up, intended to dismantle that right.
I think the more important point is that is doesn't matter what kind of rifle it is, we have a right to own and use them. This is only the tip if an iceberg called disarmament.
Have you contacted your legislators yet to demand protection of our constitutional right?!

It a dam fine hunting rifle- an AR-10 in one of the 308 biased cartridges would make a very good CT white tail getter! Can't use 22 centerfire here for deer. 6mm or better.

I think the AR is a great hunting platform. When built to suit the need, there isn't too much you can't do with one.

They'll never work! Except Dec. 2, 2012 w a 55 gr. TSX pushed by a tailwind from The Red Gods...

There you go, trying to think again..

A hunting rifle happens to be whatever rifle I'm carrying when I'm hunting.

Mine is no dif than any of my other rifles.....a tool to have fun with

be-it plinking or hunting.....it will do both

I don't own one but I know several people that hunt with them.

+1

While I am a bolt guy through and through I can certainly see the merit of a semiautomatic as a hunting rifle. There are many iterations of bolt rifles and there are similarily many iterations of semiautomatic rifles with the AR being just one. The cartridge the rifle is chambered for will make it suitable or otherwise. There is a definate change in the way many younger shooters think about the AR platform simply because of the exposure they have to it the same way that the bolt rifle got more exceptance after the great war. We live in a world that is changing with advances in all areas so it is only natural that the AR will become more used as a hunting rifle as time goes on, even if some of us will not be going past our beloved bolt rifles.

From someone who never owned or carried one til 6 months ago... I will answer that with a resounding YES!

of course the ar is a "hunting" rifle. all one need do is look at the number of folks that hunt deer/hogs/yotes/etc. an ar is nothing more than a semi-auto rifle that has the capability of holding a magazine which contains more than 5 rounds.

If there is a better platform to use as a wolf rifle I've not seen it.........