NON-Mil semi auto hunting rifles ?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Float Pilot

Float Pilot

Member
Joined
Jul 27, 2007
Messages
3,154
Location
Kachemak Bay Alaska
I was sitting here watching the snow fall and thinking about various hunting rifles I have owned or borrowed. Most being single shot or bolt guns... And I do have a couple M-1As and a couple AR platforms that I have used for hunting...

But I never really hunted with a totally non-military semi-auto hunting rifle ( other than 22s ) Except for a Ruger 44 mag self loading carbine I used to have.
( That 44 mag Ruger was a SWEET GUN to carry I sold it when I needed money and it sold fast)

So I figured I would poll the peanut gallery:

Browning BARS anyone own /use one enough for an opinion ?

Remington 750 Self loaders ? ( the trigger always seemed like a week point to me)

How about one of those newer Bennalli Self loaders ?

Didn't somebody make a wood stocked self loading hunting rifle that had a f olding cocking lever/handle and a schanbel style stock???

Something light and quick pointing like a Model 70 featherweight in a self loader would be interesting....
 
All of those choices have down sides. The Brownings are pricy and heavy. The Remington is a solid rifle but not made for heavy extended use. The trigger is fixable, by the way. Don't know anything about the Benelli except it too is pricy.
 
I know Heckler and Koch used to import semi auto sporters... But I have not seen anything new from them in a long time...

I am not worried about long extended use for a sporting arm...

A mini-30 (or 6.8SPC Ranch Rifle) is a nice carrying rifle with a small magazine,,, but their accuracy and cartridge power leaves something to be desired.
 
Oh yeah...
I actually used to own a model 8 in 35 Remington. For about a month... It was in such nice shape I never fired it. The limited amount of handling I gave it did not suggest it would be much fun to carry through the woods all day..
I traded it for a model 71 Winchester.
 
Didn't somebody make a wood stocked self loading hunting rifle that had a f olding cocking lever/handle and a schanbel style stock???
Click to expand...
That sounds like an HK SL6/7, but I can't find any images of either with a schnabel stock. I don't know if either counts as fully non-mil since they shared their internals with HK93/91.

How about the Winchester 100?
 
Some of the HK630s had a schnabelish forearm.

hk630770940horiz.jpg
 
Isn't the FNAR a pseudo militarized version of the BAR hunting rifle? Of course, that does remind me about the Winchester SXR. What about a Ruger Mini-14 or Mini-30? Or does the Garand / M-14 derived action on those make them too military like?
 
I already mentioned the Mini-30 which is a nice carrying carbine. And noted that their accuracy and power leave something to be desired.


I looked up the H&K rifles and oddly enough they are kinda heavy for what they are.

Something about the size of a Styer-Mannlicher carbine with a semi auto action and a 5 shot rotary mag would be interesting...
 
I recently had a hankering for a Benelli R1. When I finally got my hands on one, I was saddened to learn that it was no lighter than my BAR Safari II, despite specs to the contrary. We weighed it out at just over 7 3/4lbs with empty mag and no bases, rings, or optic. The trigger was 'meh' OK - not as mushy as the Benelli shotguns but a long way from a bolt gun trigger. I coulda had it for $800 OOD, and I passed.

I have much the same feedback WRT the BAR's; neat, heavy, somewhat odd manual of arms for clearing malfunctions, and meh trigger. I sold my BAR to a guy who hunts from a stand and doesn't mind the 9lb package moving from the ATV to the stand. My last BAR had the BOSS system, and could be made MOA with a little tuning.
 
Last edited:
IMO the best "hunting" semi-autos were the Winchester Mod-100. They had their achilles heels, too. But, they were wood stocked, magazine fed and had decent ergonomics. But, for their day they were "pricey" and only came in short-action cartridges. But, in .243 or .308, they were decent rifles. The .284 didn't get enough attention and if Winchester came back out with it with 'bugs' eliminated would be a huge hit. With CNC machining and other modern manuf. techniques it would be easy to eliminate the "bugs"... It too didn't have an especially good trigger.

A decent specimen in .284 is too valuable as a collectors item to take to the woods...
Replacement magazines are worth what a "budget" bolt action sells for at WallyWorld.

The only one I ever shot left me with a good impression (accurate!), but trigger was typical factory/semi-sporter.... Heavy and mushy...

The Remington 7400's are the closest to what the original poster was looking for. However, they had 'proud' wood, too "bulky" for my tastes... The old 76 Sportsman with very utilitarian wood was probably my favorite of the genre, but not my "cup of tea"...
A 750 with svelte wood in .35Whelen w/20"bbl would be a nice gun...!
With a Leupold VX-3 1.5-5, hard to beat as a "woods" gun.
 
Most manufacturers (not all...no flames please) developed semi-auto rifles for the military. There really isn't a lot of incentive to develop a whole new semi-auto mechanism for the civilian market, which is why most semi-autos are based on military designs.

Are there a few? Sure. Are there a lot? No. I think the OP listed the primary ones.
 
Browning BARS anyone own /use one enough for an opinion ?
Click to expand...

wife has one because her father thinks the more expensive a rifle is, the better it is. it's heavy. not all that accurate. a pain in the butt to load and unload, especially if you're wearing gloves.

and if you lose that goofy magazine, you better be ready to give your first born for a replacement.
 
I have a Remington 740 my grandfather purchased in 1956. The stock and handguard were cracked when I got it so I put a synthetic handguard from a 7400 on it. I also learned that a stock for a 20 gauge 870 will fit this series of gun so I put a Boyds thumbhole stock on it. The Boyds stock adds controllability for follow up shots as wel as a proper cheek piece for a good weld.
My grandfather sent it into Remington to have the chamber polished soon after he got it and they must have done a trigger job on it as well because the trigger is very nice and has obviously been worked on.

A good gun IMO.
 
Float Pilot said:
Something light and quick pointing like a Model 70 featherweight in a self loader would be interesting....
Click to expand...

I've never seen a self-loading hunting rifle chambered in high power rifle cartridges that was light or pointed quickly.


That old Ruger you had was one that did. And as long as a hunter kept within the limitations of the .44 magnum cartridge, it would do alot.

It's a shame Ruger discontinued it.
 
Physics is going against you.

Longer cartridges (longer than assault rifle) dictate a longer action, which is going to weigh more. A rifle built to handle the force of more powerful cartridges (than 556 NATO or 7.62x39) is going to have to be more heavily built than a rifle made for 556 NATO or 7.62x39, assuming that the same materials are used.

Modern military pattern rifles are already pushing the limits of how little a rifle can weigh using steel, aluminum, and plastic. For example, a SCAR 17 is already 8lbs unloaded, with no optic. You'd be hard pressed to find a self loading rifle that weighs less without cutting corners for durability.

BSW
 
There were the Winchester Model 1905, 1907, and 1910 in the .351 and .401 Winchester Self-Loading calibers. They did see a little use in WWI and by the FBI, but originally, they were not meant for the military as best as I know. Supposedly the French military ones were modified to full-auto which should earn them some sort of unofficial standing as an early proto-assault rifle.
 
The vast majority of hunting rifles are based on military designs ultimately. All turnbolts get their features from either the GEW 88, Enflield, various Mausers, Mosins, or Mannlichers. Semi-auto rifles that do not derive from military patterns derive heavily from shotguns, which is why their triggers often do not work as well for rifles.

About the only sporting arm not based on a military arm would be a lever action, which was designed for general use and adopted at times by militaries across the world.
 
FNAR is guaranteed 1MOA, and has detachable 5,10, and 20rnd mags. It is more an "improved BAR" than a dressed up BAR (aesthetics aside, all you Fudds ;)). Aluminum receiver, btw

TCB
 
barnbwt said:
FNAR is guaranteed 1MOA, and has detachable 5,10, and 20rnd mags. It is more an "improved BAR" than a dressed up BAR (aesthetics aside, all you Fudds ;)). Aluminum receiver, btw

TCB
Click to expand...
I won't own a FNAR on principle alone. I refuse to own something that makes it sound like you have a speech-impediment when you say its name.
 
Still have an older Remington 7400 in 30-06 which while not a handy quick lightweight has served me well and also have a Ruger Model 44 carbine. Love that little Ruger 44 and it served well in W. Va. for a 100 yard gun.

Ron
 
I have 2 BAR's, a .270 and a 30-06, both very nice rifles, not tack driving target rifles but good enough for hunting. I've had both for over 10 years and they have been very reliable, I also feel pretty when I'm hunting with them.

270BAR.jpg

3006BAR.jpg

I also have an FNAR Light version which is much more accurate than my regular BAR's, but of course not as pretty.

FNAR1.jpg

I would say the best Semi auto hunting rifle I have shot is the HK SLB 2000k in 30-06. Mine keeps 3 shots with hunting grade 150 gr. factory ammo under 3/4", reasonable weight, and came with 3, 5 and 10 round mags. You can't get a new one anymore but if you find a decent used one they are well worth the money.

slb2000-2.jpg
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

Ohio Gun Guy
  • Locked
Non Military Semi-Auto Rifles
Replies
11
Views
1K
alaskanativeson
A
S
  • Locked
Semi-Auto 308 for Deer Hunting?
2
Replies
27
Views
7K
gaven
G
O
  • Locked
Marlin 795 (22LR semi-auto)
2
Replies
47
Views
2K
CraigC
CraigC
B
  • Locked
Favorite hunting rifle for non-hunters
2
Replies
43
Views
2K
MrWesson
M
G
  • Locked
Short Barreled, .308 Semi Autos
2
Replies
37
Views
2K
HillbillyChuck
H
Back
Top