Bolt Action or a Semi for Hunting?

[eliphalet]

If your rifle will shoot inch and a half groups or thereabouts at 100 yards, and nearly all modern hunting rifles will, and your proficient with your action, I don't think it matters one iota what you use. If a auto is any faster, and that is debatable, it is milliseconds as you need to recover from a centerfires recoil before you can shoot accurately again, and just about any bolt, lever, or pump should have been ran by the time your eye can line the crosshairs on target again after a shot is fired.

Haven't used a pump on big game but we've killed deer and elk with several of the other three and far as I could tell there was no difference.
Pumps work as good as a auto with a shotgun for me too.

Shot placement is what is far more improtant that the gun used.

 

[Soap]

So does any know what kind of game Firepower! is going after yet? Tough to recommend anything at all if you don't even have that info.

 

[KBintheSLC]

Hunting what? For big game, an 'ol bolty is perfect. For small game that runs fast, a semi is preferred. IMO

 

[Firepower!]

I guess there is nothing like a classic bolt action, but correct me if I am worng. Aren't most new guns being made in semi auto even when they are made to hunting purpose.

BTW: I saw a 7mm Rem Mag semi auto by Browning. What should it cost?

 

[Charles S]

I think semi autos are ethical.

I just prefer the simplicity, reliability, and handling characteristics of a bolt or a single shot.

If there was a semi auto that balanced well, was no longer than about 38 1/2 inches overall, weighed no more than about 6 1/2 pounds with scope, had a great trigger, was utterly reliable, and was offered in 260, 7-08, or 6.5X55. I would own it.

 

[FullClip]

My hunting rifle collection contains bolt, lever and semi-auto versions of several calibers. Find that most of the time I end up grabbing one of the semi-autos. While on paper and off a rest, there is a decernable differance between the bolt actions and the semi-autos, the areas where I hunt seldom present any long range shooting, and from an off hand stance, that differance makes no practicle advantage.

 

[1911NM]

I really have to agree with a choice of whatever you feel comfortable with and shoot best. I grew up hunting some rough country where long range shots were the norm, and shoot a bolt gun. My only fuzzy little rational in that decision is from a bad semi my Father had, and from being able to make the conscious decision of whether to chamber another round or not. Find what you like, shoot it enough to know the gun, and have fun.

 

[Infomet]

I know we are all careful and never slip up, but the bolt action is very safe once fired. The semi is hot and ready. Yes, I have seen, twice, experienced competent people shoot a semi and then proceed if it were a stick. One walked off leaving it on a table and one carried it to a car. The potential for problems is great: kids, the curious fools, and careless handling are accidents in the making. Pistols are far worse, of course. Hey, bubba, look here, how'd you like that last shot? Oh yes, my loaded hot .45 is hanging here by my side with my finger still in the trigger guard...Do you really want all those toes?
WL

That said, my only ever accidental discharge was a .22 single shot when I was a kid. The knob slipped out of my fingers and BANG. The desirability of having the gun pointed at the ground was brought home in an impressive way!
I think it was a JC Higgins.

 

[Firepower!]

If I go hunting deer, I think I would have better fun out of game with my bolt action .243 then a semi. To me it is the nature of the game and the fun that counts.

 

[Art Eatman]

I've no objection to hunting with a semi-uto, certainly, but my own history of hunting is such that there was never any advantage in using one.

Critters were either dead or down, so no hurry--or they were behind some brush, instantly, if it was not a DRT or knockdown hit. Regardless, it's sorta hard for me to worry about it one way or the other, with most of my kills needing no second shot beyond a coup de grace. It's not that I'm all that wondrous a shooter; I don't take shots where I'm not confident.

 

[amprecon]

The bolts are generally more accurate and definitely lighter to lug around...... well that generality is limited to the scope you have attached to it.

 

[Firepower!]

ART EATMAN
I have asked it here before and I am asking again. Do you or anyone else here knows how much a 7mm Rem Mag semi auto by Browningshould cost? It has some engraving on it. Although I am not sure if I want to use it for hunting, I do want to get it for my collection. Since this gun is popular among hunters I am putting up this question here.

Also how big can you hunt with a 7mm Rem. Mag.?

 

[K3]

I use a semi-auto when calling predators at night. I've had several occasions where more than one bobcat or fox came in at once, and the semi-auto was very handy. The last thing I want to do is shoot one and educate the other one.

I have no objections to semi-autos for deer or elk hunting. I just don't own any in a suitable caliber. Bolt guns have always worked fine on deer for me. I'm sure they'll work for elk when I go for the first time. Assuming I come across an elk, but that is another story.

Interestingly enough, I'm going more retro these days. I plan to use a lever gun next season chambered for the ancient .30-30. Then, I plan to use a single shot trapdoor style .45-70 for my 2009 Mississippi deer hunt.

Maybe in 2010 I'll use a pointy stick.

 

[UnTainted]

If I go hunting deer, I think I would have better fun out of game with my bolt action .243 then a semi. To me it is the nature of the game and the fun that counts.

and the meat counts too

 

[Deer Hunter]

Does it really matter?