Semi-auto opinions?

47taylorcraft

47taylorcraft

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Super GunNutz
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Campbellford Ontario
Looking to purchase a semi-auto rifle for moose. 30-06 or equivalent hitting power is what I am looking for. Not interested in a shoulder buster. BAR is interesting but the clip arrangement seems clumsy to me. In our area Remingtons seem to have a so-so reputation depending who you talk to. I looked at the Winchester SXR but.....
What is a good new or used semi auto to look out for with enough wallop and reasonable accuracy for moose up to 200 yds? Opinions welcome.
Cheers,
Pappy
 
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The BAR clip system sucks, you are right, however the rifle handles and shoots great. The remington is the go to all around winner in my opinion becuase of the ease of use. Just watch for the chatter inside the reciever indicating a worn out one.
 
Why a semi?Not that there's anything wrong with the choice,but there are other less "maintenance needy" choices.If your not diligent about keeping them clean,they'll all give you trouble sooner or later.For what it's worth,i have a remington 7400 in .30-06 in my safe that's never given problems but it's kept clean.
 
Benelli R1.

The BAR logtrac and shortrac's will take the SXR detachable mag. You just have to remove the forestock and punch the pin to remove the floorplate and then re-install the pin. If you're serious about switching one over I can give you more details and part numbers.
 
Semi

I have hunted for 40 years with lever and bolt actions, lever being my favourite but I just thought it would be fun to try something else before I fall off of the perch. Looking after it would be part of the fun.........

nomad 68 said:
Why a semi?Not that there's anything wrong with the choice,but there are other less "maintenance needy" choices.If your not diligent about keeping them clean,they'll all give you trouble sooner or later.For what it's worth,i have a remington 7400 in .30-06 in my safe that's never given problems but it's kept clean.
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I would look at the Benelli or 7400 Rem.
Most Rem troubles are with the older ones.
In our camp the 20yr old Rem autos have been quite reliable.

Nice plane by the way!
I have a 46.
 
BAR. The clip isn't the greatest but they are accurate, reliable firearms. I have one in 338 win mag and it is a pleasure to shoot and will get 1" groups if you don't let the barrel heat up.
 
Drillbit said:
Benelli R1.

The BAR logtrac and shortrac's will take the SXR detachable mag. You just have to remove the forestock and punch the pin to remove the floorplate and then re-install the pin. If you're serious about switching one over I can give you more details and part numbers.
Click to expand...


I would be interested in doing that conversion. What are the details?
 
47taylorcraft said:
I have hunted for 40 years with lever and bolt actions, lever being my favourite but I just thought it would be fun to try something else before I fall off of the perch. Looking after it would be part of the fun.........
Click to expand...

I felt the same way as you do and also have been an avid hunter since the early 60s with bolt and lever actions.
Then one day last fall I happened across an old but very nice Remington Mod. 8 semi-auto in 35 Remington for a decent price, and couldn't resist.
After spending most of the winter playing with loads for it and finding it to be amazingly accurate in spite of its age, I'm going to take it hunting.
It should work very well because the terrain where I hunt is heavily treed and short range opportunities are the norm.... ideal for an old pensioner. :D
 
You won't be disappointed with a BAR. They are reliable, accurate out of the box (remember the target on a moose is 12" x 12") and the long action on calibers like 30-06, 300 or 338 takes up much of the recoil.

As for the clumsy magazine or older style hinged floor plate.....agreed but you only have to load them once a day!
 
I've got a Browning A-bolt with the same "clumsy" magazine set up, which I don't find clumsy at all!

I actually find it quite convenient to be able to pop the mag assembly open and reload with one hand. It's fast to load, because it's secured onlo the rifle. Detachable mags are faster, because you can keep an extra mag in your pocket and do a quick reload, like I do with my Ruger 10/22s and my pistols, but for hunting... not to sound arrogant but, I've never needed to reload my mag quickly. One shot, they drop. I've got a few friends that have semis that pepper their game with rounds instead of taking their time with proper shot placement and using one, maybe two rounds to drop their game. I don't get it. Remember, I'm not putting down semis... it just happens to be my experience with some of the guys I know that hunt big game.

Just my 2 cents.
 
BAR Detachable Magazine (got some interest so I'll post instead of PM)

*Must be a Long-trac or Shortrac. Same receiver set-up as Winchester SXR

Long action detachable Floor plate for a Winchester SXR # U3177046F4

Short Action detachable Floor plate for a Winchester SXR #U3177043F4

Must come with Spring (#B317620801) and pin (B317671002), which they should.

The floor plates are $15 each US, but to get them you have to go through Western Gun parts in AB and they will charge you $80 for two shipped. You use your existing metal box mag with the floorplate. I epoxied the box mag to the floorplate because sometimes they come apart in your pocket. The other option is to buy a Winchester SXR detachable mag for $100.

Remove the front forestock. Punch out the pin holding the hinged floorplate in place. Remove hinge floor plate. Re-install pin. re-install forestock. Very Easy.

I have done this conversion a few times, only with long actions. But the same Winchester Tech told me the part numbers for the short action floorplate and they should be right.

You can also drill out the stopper (5/16 and de-burr) on the mag so it will hold 5 rounds instead of 4. This is only good for open bolt reloads, as there is no extra room to insert a full mag of 5 into a closed bolt.
 
auto and old

Kevan said:
I felt the same way as you do and also have been an avid hunter since the early 60s with bolt and lever actions.
Then one day last fall I happened across an old but very nice Remington Mod. 8 semi-auto in 35 Remington for a decent price, and couldn't resist.
After spending most of the winter playing with loads for it and finding it to be amazingly accurate in spite of its age, I'm going to take it hunting.
It should work very well because the terrain where I hunt is heavily treed and short range opportunities are the norm.... ideal for an old pensioner. :D
Click to expand...

I bet you will have fun with it.Something different for sure.Good luck.
 
let em stay dirty.

nomad 68 said:
Why a semi?Not that there's anything wrong with the choice,but there are other less "maintenance needy" choices.If your not diligent about keeping them clean,they'll all give you trouble sooner or later.For what it's worth,i have a remington 7400 in .30-06 in my safe that's never given problems but it's kept clean.
Click to expand...

Any gun will give you trouble sooner than later,if you do not clean it.That would be my guess.
 
I would take a BAR over a 750 or 7400 Remmy any day, and yes, the BAR mag system is stupid. It should use a mag similar, if not the same as the BLR setup. The Remingtons have never been the most reliable or accurate semi autos, but are still minute of moose. The BAR is as reliable and accurate as most bolt guns. The short track BAR's and the Benellis are just plain ugly.
 
passengerseven said:
You won't be disappointed with a BAR. They are reliable, accurate out of the box (remember the target on a moose is 12" x 12") and the long action on calibers like 30-06, 300 or 338 takes up much of the recoil.

As for the clumsy magazine or older style hinged floor plate.....agreed but you only have to load them once a day!
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I disagree totally. I owned a BAR, and it became a safe queen to my other bolts, primarily because of that goofy trapdoor combination magazine system. Don't even try to load it fast, because it has to be "just right" before it snaps into position. Y'know, for the price of some of those rifles mentioned, one can purchase a dandy Garand. Now those were battle tested and proven beyond any doubt to be reliable when needed. Since I acquired my M14, I got rid of all my other semi's except for my Ruger Mini. Everything else is either a bolt action or Ruger #1.

I really have a fondness for my Enfield #4 Mk2 with the capacity of 10 rounds in the mag.
 
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