Hunting Rifle Advice

Bullshit. I've seen .223 @ 1000 yards at Camp Perry.
5.56 nato is a 600 yard caliber in most conditions. The bullet has a better BC than .308, that is .308 actually tends to perform WORSE than 5.56mm at long range.
I fire my AR-15 out to 500 yards on steel up at our cabin every month or so with cheap ammo.

People love to put limitations around guns and ammo all the time. Take it from me (my ammo cost monthly is double my rent), the biggest limitation on firearm efficacy is the person pulling the trigger. Finding the right caliber is more about finding the one that YOU like as a shooter. That's why I ask about giving as many preferences as possible. If we find a few good calibers for you, then we can move into finding a good gun for you and all that goes with that (ergonomics, cost, ease of maintenance, possibility for failure, constituent lifespan, etc).

Sorry to be pretty much spamming your thread at this point.

 

also to add....you don't HAVE to build your own ar platform. You can actually buy already built ones in them there stores with lots of guns in them. Really, its true, I swear.

 

Absolutely. It only took a few hundred .308 rounds for me to figure out that I didn't have the right damn hearing protection. I bought a good pair of ear muffs and the flinch instantly disappeared.

 

An ADL or BDL is a classic, time proven, value keeping rifle, although I prefer my 270 Weatherby and some of the synthetic stock rifles you will not go wrong and nobody will kick you in the ass and ask you why you bought a 30.06 ADL.

 

A 308 AR out of a box will do 300-400yrd shots in any hunting application. If you practice with that rifle and know your MOA. If you build one 600yrds will still be an ethical shot. But if anyone is planning on taking game at that range you shouldn't be thinking about " The follow up shots" and be damn confident in your first one.

 

I've hunted with a 270 weatherby mag for over 20 years now and other than the 25-06 there's not a flatter shooting hunting round out there. And here comes the

 

Before my grandfather passed away years ago, he gave me his Remington Woodsmster 740 (30-06) for a HS graduation gift. He bought it after returning home from WWII. It's a low serial # and is still one of the prettiest rifles I'm my opinion....I love the lines.

It's my understanding that the metal used in the receiver is soft, so it's not wise to shoot a lot with this as there's a risk of grooves forming....someone may know the specifics.

Anyway, this rifle has taken many, many, many whitetail deer, black bear and moose. I've only shot two of the deer and one moose with it. Moose shot was 200+ yds with open sights. No issues with accuracy. I'd never, ever put a scope on this.

This is only my hunting rifle and sees no range time.

Edited - this is a dream to shoot!

 

Looks like the receiver is softer than the bolt and gets chewed up over time.

 

I believe so, yes. I had it checked out by a gunsmith last year and it's not suffered from that. He still advised against shooting it a lot. No more than a box per season.

 

Dang. It is the predecessor for several rifles, may want to look into replacing it with one that is more serviceable?

 

Naaaa......I don't deer hunt much anymore and I have other rifles that I can take to the range.

 

Forgot to actually make my point (hectic day).

A modern semi-auto 30-06 would be plenty accurate for your needs. Not sure if you'll find a typical "hunting rifle" with dust cover. Not sure why you'd need that on a hunting rifle anyway.

 

I'll add this and try to leave it alone:

I am a serious hunter. I do several back country hunts a year in many Western states, BC, and Alaska as well as hunting in Europe and Africa. I doubt many people advocating for an AR platform do many back country hunts. There is a reason people pay many thousands of dollars for custom bolt rifles who spend a considerable amount of time in the back country. Just because an AR might hit steel at 1000yds doesn't make it a good choice for a back country hunt.

First off is realize you don't need a 30-06 for deer, any deer. If you are recoil sensitive, get a lower recoil round. I'd rock a .243 for everything up to elk if it was all I had. Bullet selection and placement count more than the manliness of cartridge. My 7-08 is great for everything up to elk and I wouldn't hesitate to use it on moose. The older I get the more I appreciate lower recoil rounds. My main deer rifle is a cooper 54 in .250 savage. The deer don't know it's not a 300 magnum.

Next, use a rifle that fits. The wrong shape of stock and material greatly affects felt recoil. Stay away from cheap, injection molded stocks. They may help a manufacturers bottom line, but they are crap. A good fiberglass stock like a McMillan absorbs some of the recoil. A good pad like a decelerator or limbsaver is a must. None of those hard rubber pads. The stock needs to fit. Length of pull and height of comb need to fit you. The stock won't be as much of an issue on the lower recoil rounds, but becomes a huge thing once recoil goes up.

Practice, practice, practice. Not necessarily with your hunting rifle. Most of your trigger time should be in field positions, not a bench, and with a lower recoil rifle. A GOOD 22lr that is as close to your hunting rifle will help greatly with that flinch. A 22 centerfire will do the same thing, just cost more to shoot. I have my own range and shoot every other week. My dedicated hunting rifles may only get anywhere from 3 to 10 rounds through them per trip, but my 22 gets 50-100 rounds and my 221/223 get 30-40 rounds. Practice for hunting needs to be fired in a way to best duplicate hunting. First shot counts.

There are lots of great rifles out there for hunting. Lightweight, stainless, fiberglass stocks, etc. They are not all the same. Felt recoil is what is important and some are just better than others. It would be great if you could get some actual trigger time behind a few just to see the differences when shooting them. There are a lot of things you just can't feel handling a rifle in a store.

I know a lot of back country hunters, many much more serious about it than me. Many of them own semi auto rifles. None would choose the semiauto for a back country hunt though.

 

I use a 7-08. Perfect all around rifle.

 

This is very good info & sound advice, but with all due respect (I really do mean that), you're at a level/class/profession that demands a level of performance that most don't need/require and that's above & beyond 99% of the rest of society . Most can't afford custom hunting rifles specific to a country, continent and/or species.

A quality off the shelf semi-auto rifle would be just fine for the "typical/average" hunter, which I'm guessing is most people here on TW.

 

I agree that many people can and do hunt with semi-autos just fine. They were popular here in Arkansas growing up when everyone hunted with dogs and shots were normally under 100 yards. I'm sure they are still popular for a lot of woods hunting. Most I have seen in use are remingtons but occasionally the rare Winchester or European made rifle are seen. I used to see Brownings but haven't seen anyone actually hunting one in many years. Maybe they've become too heavy and expensive? Mostly these rifles are more than accurate enough for 200yd shots, but stretch their ability at 300 and beyond. They were made to be woods rifles and work great for that.

Since the OP was about 30-06 and hunting 10miles a day, that is why I answered the way I did. Having been an 11B for 8 years, I do have experience packing an AR style rifle and prefer a bolt. I'm sure any of the ARs in 308, or even better 260, would do for a lot of hunters. I would expect a good AR style rifle to be as accurate as a comparable bolt rifle, or at least very close to it. I didn't mean to imply semi-autos don't have a place in hunting, as they most certainly do. Much of it is personal preference anyway, and we don't always like what might be best. Just that I don't feel what the OP was asking about was best served by the current semi-autos available in 30-06 length actions.

Personally, if I was starting over today and buying one commercial made rifle for all my hunting, it would probably be a Kimber 84 Montana in 280AI or 30-06. One rifle that would handle almost any hunting situation imaginable.

 

Well said!

 

I hunt in eastern washington where you can expect plenty of hard hiking and opportunities for shots anywhere from 50 yards out to 300 yards. I have two deer guns that i go back and forth on. They both are 400 yard guns all day long. They dont kick like a mule, they are fairly light and are easy to maintain. One is a 270 and the other is a 25-06.

 

dont underestimate .270

 

I suspect that the OP is too young to have read articles by Jack O'Conner. But if he had, he probably wouldn't be so locked in on the ought six. http://www.gundigest.com/ammunition...atest-cartridges-oconnors-baby-270-winchester