30.06

[Animal.5]

Semi or Not?

I've been hunting for 48 years and if I had to decide between a Browning or the Remington, I'd take the Browning. Where you are hunting and the area/ conditions you hunt in often dictate the rifle you should use. If you are looking for quick follow up shots you might want to consider a lever action, especially in thick bush. For distance and accuracy a bolt action might be the best choice. I own over 50 rifles levers, semis, bolt action but to tell you the truth I hardly ever pick a semi for serious hunting, they are my rifles for fun shooting. I hunt in some serious weather here in B.C. and the semis do not like the rain a muck too much I've had a Remington 7400 jam and lost a nice moose as a result. I have three 30 06s - 2 bolt and one lever action. It is the best all round rifle bar none and I know I'm not the first to say that. Do some research and talk to some people who have hunted before making your final choice ( I've taken Grizzly, Black Bear, Moose, Deer, Elk, Cougar, and hopefully a Bison...this year I hope). My advice having used all of these ...don't go semi if you want to do serious hunting and you are just starting out....get one later.

 

[Preacher]

I killed my first moose at age 15 with an old JC Higgins bolt action 30-06. I bought a post 64 Winchester 94 in 30-30 as soon as I was old enough to own rifles, and it was a total piece of junk. I wanted a BAR in 30-06 (back in 1972 you could get one for @ $300, but the local gun store didn't have any in stock, so he sold me a BAR in 7RM. It was accurate, and well made but it was a hog when it came to reliability, and was very ammunition sensitive. Didn't always return to battery after the first shot. It killed well, but . . .

I sold the Browning, and bought a bolt action in 30-06 -- it was an Ithaca. Loved it from the get go. That was in 1976. Still have that rifle -- well, my wife has it now -- shortened LOP and a good recoil pad added. I bought a 300 Win Mag in a Browning bolt, and it is a VERY accurate rifle, and kills like Cancer. Last year, I bought a never fired Tikka M65 (same rifle as the Ithaca) in 30-06 from a fella here, and it has become my go to rifle for most of my hunting.

Not one head of big game that I have killed would have gone to the ground any quicker with a faster follow up shot. The first one is the one that counts -- so make it count. My 300 WM has NEVER required a follow up shot on any of the perhaps 10 big game animals I have collected with it.

The Tikka M65 is already started down that road as well.

I would shy away from a semi. A good quality bolt is the way to go. Load yourself up some dummy rounds, and practice cycling the bolt while the rifle is still shouldered -- you'll be amazed at how good and how fast you will get. My wife does it real smoothly, I'm sure you will to.

Good luck with your selection -- don't be afraid to try a decent bolt -- Tikka still amkes a pretty good one . . . . were I in the market for another one, it would be a Tikka T3 Hunter.