hunting with what you have

[The Deer Hunter]

3" at 50 yards? Works fine where I go hunting...

Theres a lot of variables here. Are you hunting somewhere out in the open? Or somewhere in the woods where 75 yards is probably the maximum you will be shooting? Or is the minimum 125+ yards?

Are you going to be trecking deep into the woods? The Garand weights like 12 pounds or something, while the AR weighs like 5-6 pounds. 12 pounds might not seem like a lot, but things get heavy in the woods...

Like many other posters have already stated, some states don't allow .223 for hunting. Also, some states only allow 5 rounds maximum in a semi-auto. I'm sure you can find 5 round magazines for AR's. They do have 5 round en-bloc clips for garands too btw.

Personally I would use the Garand, like I'm sure countless others have done in the past. On the switch hand, a whole lot of people have shot deer with AR's too.

 

[ArmedBear]

If the .223 is inhumane, why is it that the most popular gun for "putting animals down/out of misery" is the .22 LR out of a pistol?

Next time you're out hunting and get a chance to shoot a deer between the eyes or in the back of the head from less than 6" away, please post pictures.

Look, I have a friend who's been hunting for 50 years and I can say with confidence is NOT full of BS. He and a buddy were out scouting and maybe taking a rabbit or two that popped up, and they saw an elk. His buddy grabbed his .22 from the truck and took a shot. The elk dropped dead in its tracks. Shot placement. And luck.

That doesn't mean that I'd hunt elk with a .22 or that he would, even though he's a damn good shot and has the trophy-covered walls to prove it. His hunting ethics include this: "You owe it to the animal to shoot a gun that's accurate enough and powerful enough for a consistent humane kill. Don't trust in luck." Of course, the gun and the game determine what that means, exactly.

The Catch-22 of the original question is that at the range where it's appropriate to hunt deer with a .223, the practical accuracy of the Garand is sufficient as well. I'm with you, Deer Hunter, though. I'd much rather CARRY the AR, even my 20" HBAR, than the Garand, which is only semi-portable.