Semi~Auto or Bolt action for hunting?

Well,if you want to hunt with him just consider it a reason to buy another rifle.
On the other hand.
Have you ever considered adding a muzzle brake?for lower recoil like an auto loader has:popCorn:
 
lejarretnoir said:
A good point, has your friend ever hunted bear?
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My friend does hunt bear, but never alone,,, He believes in always having a second competent person using an appropriate firearm to back him up in case there becomes a situation where the bear becomes aggressive/charges/attacks and I assume for safety in case of an ineffective shot or jam etc, etc,
I have accompanied him last year scouting for bear using a bolt rifle, (I used one of his rifles as I had already sold my last center fire hunting rifle), but now I'm looking at getting one rifle that can do everything I like to do (target, plinking and hunting),,,

I've been seriously researching to buy a semi~auto in ,308,,, My choices have been narrowed down to a FNH FNAR or a Kel~Tec RFB (I've already decided against not buying a M14/M305 or a Rob Arms XCR~M) if an AR 10 type rifle was NR that would be my first choice,,,

However after talking with my buddy I was starting to lean towards a Ruger (bolt action) GunSite Scout in ,308 of course (I don't mind respecting my friends request to use a bolt action when hunting together "he's a good friend and I respect him as a safe and respectful hunter/outdoorsman"), but wanted to get some feedback from other experienced hunters on this subject because I had not heard of it before and will be discussing it further with my friend,,,
The reliability of a bolt action is something I recognize, but like others have stated a quality semi~auto rifle that is maintained well is very reliable (I realize this from personal experience),,,

Of course I still have more to discuss with my buddy on Tues,

Thanks all for the replies as I am gaining more insight into what rifle I need and what I will be discussing with my friend, cheers all,,,
 
Well, the Ruger GSR is certainly a good rifle. It's one of the few I'm keeping as I sell off my current collection to fund some new acquisitions.
 
Stevebot-7 said:
Well, the Ruger GSR is certainly a good rifle. It's one of the few I'm keeping as I sell off my current collection to fund some new acquisitions.
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That's good to hear from an actual owner, I may just get the Ruger GSS for hunting and a short barreled AR in ,308 for range duty, but I really would like to put all my cash into just one quality NR semi~auto in ,308 (it would save more cash for better optics) if I can convince my buddy to hunt with me while I use a semi,,,

I have received enough info on this topic to satisfy me, so thanks to all those that replied, it was appreciated,,, Cheers all:)
 
Zeroed-In said:
That's good to hear from an actual owner, I may just get the Ruger GSS for hunting and a short barreled AR in ,308 for range duty, but I really would like to put all my cash into just one quality NR semi~auto in ,308 (it would save more cash for better optics) if I can convince my buddy to hunt with me while I use a semi,,,

I have received enough info on this topic to satisfy me, so thanks to all those that replied, it was appreciated,,, Cheers all:)
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I'm actually considering something along the lines of a Browning BAR Safari in 308 for a primary semi-auto hunting rifle.
 
Someone above said "good hunting buddy's are hard to find." I agree, you still haven't found one... Keep looking.
 
You cannot find the perfect hunting partner and you cannot just dump someone as a friend for any minor disagreement that may arise. Every person has their faults and you would not have any friends if you cannot learn to tolerate your friends individual traits. I even heard of a guy who had an argument with his wife although I can't confirm it.

The OP has indicated he wants to keep this guy as a hunting partner. I think everyone will agree you should have more than one rifle so maybe that is the answer. Much easier than starting another mauser-pushfeed debate.
 
Varmit said:
You cannot find the perfect hunting partner and you cannot just dump someone as a friend for any minor disagreement that may arise. Every person has their faults and you would not have any friends if you cannot learn to tolerate your friends individual traits. I even heard of a guy who had an argument with his wife although I can't confirm it.

The OP has indicated he wants to keep this guy as a hunting partner. I think everyone will agree you should have more than one rifle so maybe that is the answer. Much easier than starting another mauser-pushfeed debate.
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Thanks for the support Varmit, I do intend to keep my buddy as a good friend and hunting partner,,,

The worse case scenario is I buy a Ruger GunSite Scout in ,308 :rockOn: and this time I can actually tell the wife there is a legitimate reason for needing to buy it; because last time when I told her I was buying a JR Carbine in 9mm because it matches my Glock 9mm handgun mag,'s and therefore I would not have to buy another handgun to match the JR Carbine's mag,'s she got a little suspicious :rolleyes:

Cheers all, and again thanks for all the replies:)
 
Zeroed-In said:
My friend does hunt bear, but never alone,,, He believes in always having a second competent person using an appropriate firearm to back him up in case there becomes a situation where the bear becomes aggressive/charges/attacks and I assume for safety in case of an ineffective shot or jam etc, etc,
I have accompanied him last year scouting for bear using a bolt rifle, (I used one of his rifles as I had already sold my last center fire hunting rifle), but now I'm looking at getting one rifle that can do everything I like to do (target, plinking and hunting),,,

I've been seriously researching to buy a semi~auto in ,308,,, My choices have been narrowed down to a FNH FNAR or a Kel~Tec RFB (I've already decided against not buying a M14/M305 or a Rob Arms XCR~M) if an AR 10 type rifle was NR that would be my first choice,,,

However after talking with my buddy I was starting to lean towards a Ruger (bolt action) GunSite Scout in ,308 of course (I don't mind respecting my friends request to use a bolt action when hunting together "he's a good friend and I respect him as a safe and respectful hunter/outdoorsman"), but wanted to get some feedback from other experienced hunters on this subject because I had not heard of it before and will be discussing it further with my friend,,,
The reliability of a bolt action is something I recognize, but like others have stated a quality semi~auto rifle that is maintained well is very reliable (I realize this from personal experience),,,

Of course I still have more to discuss with my buddy on Tues,

Thanks all for the replies as I am gaining more insight into what rifle I need and what I will be discussing with my friend, cheers all,,,
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Something you may want to consider with hunting here in BC, I have hunted since I was 5 and learned how to shoot a 22 single shot on grouse. I always thought I needed a big caliber gun when I was young, hunted with big magnums for many years and they are heavy, long and spoil a ton of meat (my experience).
Finally I decided enough was enough and bought a simple, ligh and compact 308 bolt action rifle (styer scout like in this thread http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?908454-Steyr-Scout-308-the-range). I have taken many animals with it from small deer to moose, elk and bears with ease and very little meat spoilage.

From my experience, the shorter, lighter and less recoil the better, it will not only allow for easier carrying and manipulation in the bush it will allow you better shot placement as some people develop a flinch with a heavy recoiling rifle. The set trigger available on the styer and other makes is just one more thing to consider in a hunting rifle (I know I am a better shooter because of it).

I recently purchased the RFB because you can make a follow up shot much quicker and never have to move your eyes off target to reload, It's length has to be one of it's best features for the type of hunting we have here in BC, I cant wait for this years season.
 
Zeroed-In said:
That's good to hear from an actual owner, I may just get the Ruger GSS for hunting and a short barreled AR in ,308 for range duty, but I really would like to put all my cash into just one quality NR semi~auto in ,308 (it would save more cash for better optics) if I can convince my buddy to hunt with me while I use a semi,,,
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I'm willing to make a bet your buddy has more of a problem with the type of semi-auto you want to use for hunting than the fact it's a semi-auto. That's just my guess. You'll have to convince him that your reason for using a semi-auto isn't to throw as many bullets at the animal as possible.
 
bearkilr said:
I'm willing to make a bet your buddy has more of a problem with the type of semi-auto you want to use for hunting than the fact it's a semi-auto. That's just my guess. You'll have to convince him that your reason for using a semi-auto isn't to throw as many bullets at the animal as possible.
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I'm not sure how to respond to your post bearkilr as I would think any semi~auto would be the same for it's ability to throw as many bullets at the animal as possible, what with magazine capacity being legally limited when hunting,,, However many CGNer's would argue that there bolt, pump or lever action may allow very quick repeating reloads and shots when hunting as well,,,
Thanks for the reply bearkilr, I will ask my friend if having the ability to shoot multiple rounds quickly is a concern,,,
I haven't told my friend what style or model semi~auto rifle that I want to use for hunting,,, The subject came up that I was going to buy a new rifle for hunting and that I wanted to get a semi~auto in ,308 and that is when my buddy said "I don't hunt with others using semi's and neither doe's anybody I know",,,

I will be speaking with him on Tuesday and will post up the reasoning I get from him, all he had said was that it's because semi's automatically load another round,,,
Therefore I would have to assume because a semi~auto firearm automatically loads another round my friend feels semi's are not safe for hunting,,,
I have hunted with semi's and bolts and do not feel that semi's are unsafe, because I believe firearms are as safe as the person using them,,, (and no, my friend has not and will not ever see me operating a firearm in an unsafe manner,,, I have been trained through the CORE hunter training, Black Badge courses, gained more experience through teaching others safe firearms operation, hunting, competition in many ISPC & Trap shooting events and have over 30 years equaling tens of thousands of rounds of safe firearms use (without incident) and I'm ex~Army Infantry Reserves,,,

Thanks, I do appreciate all replies on this subject
 
bearkilr said:
I'm willing to make a bet your buddy has more of a problem with the type of semi-auto you want to use for hunting than the fact it's a semi-auto. That's just my guess. You'll have to convince him that your reason for using a semi-auto isn't to throw as many bullets at the animal as possible.
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^This sounds as obtuse as a guy I ran in to out hunting that basically told me I shouldn't be allowed to hunt unless I had a wood stock gun, he also proclaimed to own all the crown land I have hunted on for 25 plus years.

He changed his tune after I mentioned the vehicle I had just retired the year prior and he realised I had hunted that area much longer than he has, I had even pulled him out of a mud hole or two over the years
 
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