About the "buy a home defense rifle and use it for hunting, not the other way around" post. What's a "home defense" rifile?
Could you explain more about this, please? Thanks.
Home Defense Rifle and Homeland Defense Rifle (HDR) are similar terms. While one's gut reaction that using an AR in .223 or an M14 in .308 as a personal defensive tool in your home sounds like a recipe for over-penetration and danger to neighbors, there are bullets available for .223 and .308 that make these concerns extremely minimal. Foremost on my mind are the Hornady TAP offerings, but I believe there are others. Intrepid hand loaders could also simulate these safety oriented results as well.
So, instead of using a handgun or shotgun for defense, you can have the power and precision of a rifle in a package that will (probably) not overpenetrate walls.
But, the role of this type of rifle extends beyond the walls of your home. Let's say you're a rancher with fifty acres around your home, and a mountain lion is attacking your sheep. Pull out your AR/M14 from inside and flatten the bugger from 400 yards faster than you could get within pistol or shotgun range.
Or, the UN Blue Helmeted Zombies roll into town to force you to elect Kofi Anan as president of the North American Union. Get your M14 online and ventilate those zombies right in the blue target on their foreheads.
I use my M14 as my hunting rifle. I have a 5 round magazine for it (due to my state's laws regarding automatic rifle capacity when hunting), I shoot Hornady 165gr BTSP bullets from it and they fly almost identically as the 168gr BTHP match bullets I sight in with out to at least 200 yards; never compared any further than that.
My M14 can serve as a hunting rifle; but a Savage 110 in .308 definitely could do the same thing. But that same savage couldn't serve as a Homeland Defense Rifle nearly as well as the M14. The only benefit the savage really has over the M14 is that it is probably lighter to carry when hunting. While I have not successfully shot my M14 to 1MOA target accuracy, I suspect that a more accomplished shooter could do so. Most entry level hunting rifles strain to reach 1MOA accuracy.
That's why a semiautomatic battle rifle can hunt, but a bolt or lever action hunting rifle isn't the best choice for a HDR.
ETA:
My 3 guns?
1. Marlin 795 semiauto .22LR
2. M14 in .308 from anyone: Fulton, Springfield Armory, Armscorp, Smith Enterprises, etc.
3. Marlin 1895 .45/70 levergun, blued