Semi~Auto or Bolt action for hunting?

Zeroed-In said:
I have a buddy I will be hunting with who doe's not want me to use a semi~auto for hunting (deer, elk, moose,,,) and wants me to only use a bolt action for safety reasons (reasoning was that a semi~auto automatically reloads and poses a safety issue) doe's anybody have any experience with this situation?

Thanks in advance for your input, cheers
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Well it seems "your buddy" doesnt have any faith in your abilities as a hunter!! The only safety issue is the person holding the rifle. Sounds like I would have "your friend"

explain his reasons with you, a little more in depth, to find out what he is so afraid of. It also sounds like he hasnt been around firearms to long, (OR/AND) he is extremely under experienced with these two types of rifles!?

Your friend makes me wounder.........

...you ask him if its ok to bring a musket into the woods, on your next hunt!
 
you treat every gun as if it were loaded untill you yourself have confirmed it is not..........If your buddy is holding a gun you can not confirm it is not loaded, you have to take his word or ask to check it, sounds like your buddy is just making excuses rather than telling you what his real issue is.

just my 2 cents
 
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Wogger said:
Sounds like you NEED to buy a semi auto. Screw your buddy's rules.
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Well we are not hunting until the Fall but I want time to practice etc, so I want to buy my rifle sooner then later,,, I will be talking with my friend more about this and will try and convince him that using a Semi~Auto for hunting would be okay (equally safe as a bolt action rifle), as I feel any firearm is as safe as the person using it,,,

Thanks for all the replies everyone, there have been a lot more then I expected and definitely are favouring the fact that a Semi~Auto should be safe and appropriate for hunting,,,
 
Brian46 said:
^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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I have nothing against people using semi's for hunting, whether they are one's designed specifically for that (Benelli R1, Browning BAR,etc.) or the so called "black" rifles, it's just been my experience that some choose them solely in order to fire many shots rapidly, and often don't take the time to make the first one count like they would with a bolt or single shot.
I've witnessed it many times with bird hunters. The guy with the single shot rarely misses, the one with the Benelli generally empties his gun at every chance and rarely gets 3 for 3. :)

I don't see a valid safety issue. A loaded gun is just that, regardless if it's a single,bolt,pump,lever or semi.
 
bearkilr said:
I have nothing against people using semi's for hunting, whether they are one's designed specifically for that (Benelli R1, Browning BAR,etc.) or the so called "black" rifles, it's just been my experience that some choose them solely in order to fire many shots rapidly, and often don't take the time to make the first one count like they would with a bolt or single shot.
I've witnessed it many times with bird hunters. The guy with the single shot rarely misses, the one with the Benelli generally empties his gun at every chance and rarely gets 3 for 3. :)

I don't see a valid safety issue. A loaded gun is just that, regardless if it's a single,bolt,pump,lever or semi.
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Well I guess that is my buddies point, that semi~auto's automatically reload making the rifle a loaded gun,,, Where as a bolt action takes a conscious effort to make the firearm a loaded gun, there by offering a greater margin for safety,,,
 
I once had a fellow tell me a similar story to yours about semis. He said that they were dangerous because too many people forget to put the safety back on with them. I smiled and nodded because this guy was a customer of mine and I wasn't going to argue with him. A few years later I was hunting with a different group and heard a shot not too far from me and an older fellow in the group came on the radio to announce that he had just dropped a calf. We all started walking over to where he was and sure enough he had dropped a calf moose with his Rem 742 .30-06. When everyone arrived at the kill site and was listening to this fellow's story, I noticed my friend's father bend down and click the safety back on on this guys rifle that was leaning against a tree. The guy had been so excited that he had forgotten to put his safety back on. And this guy was in his sixties with plenty of hunting experience.

Another time when I had just met my wife and we were dating. I brought her bear hunting and got her all set up in a stand with a rifle. Now keep in mind that she had never been hunting or killed anything before. Well a bear came in and she watched him at the bait for almost an hour before she shot him. She made a perfect shot through the heart and he ran 30 yards, piled up and started bauling and moaning as he died. Well I heard the shot from the camp and headed there to see what had happened. She was crying hysterically and still had the empty casing in the rifle and the safety off. Thank God it was a bolt action or she would have had a loaded rifle with no safety on. She never hunted again after that and that was my fault, I guess, because I should have been with her when she shot. But that's another story.

I guess the bottom line is that people who don't put their safeties back on after shooting shouldn't be hunting, but hey it happens.

Now, I still hunt with guys who use semis, but I won't hunt with someone who isn't safe.
 
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Slooshark1 said:
I once had a fellow tell me a similar story to yours about semis. He said that they were dangerous because too many people forget to put the safety back on with them. I smiled and nodded because this guy was a customer of mine and I wasn't going to argue with him. A few years later I was hunting with a different group and heard a shot not too far from me and an older fellow in the group came on the radio to announce that he had just dropped a calf. We all started walking over to where he was and sure enough he had dropped a calf moose with his Rem 742 .30-06. When everyone arrived at the kill site and was listening to this fellows story, I noticed my friend's father bend down and click the safety back on on this guys rifle that was leaning against a tree. The guy had been so excited that he had forgotten to put his safety back on. And this guy was in his sixties with plenty of hunting experience.

Another time when I had just met my wife and we were dating. I brought her bear hunting and got her all set up in a stand with a rifle. Now keep in mind that she had never been hunting or killed anything before. Well a bear came in and she watched him at the bait for almost an hour before she shot him. She made a perfect shot through the heart and he ran 30 yards, piled up and started bauling and moaning as he died. Well I heard the shot from the camp and headed there to see what had happened. She was crying hysterically and still had the empty casing in the rifle and the safety off. Thank God it was a bolt action or she would have had a loded rifle with no safety on. She never hunted again after that and that was my fault, I guess, because I should have been with her when she shot. But that's another story.

I guess the bottom line is that people who don't put their safeties back on after shooting shouldn't be hunting, but hey it happens.

Now, I still hunt with guys who use semis, but I won't hunt with someone who isn't safe.
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Those are interesting experiences Slooshark, quite insightful into this topic,,, Your words are the most helpful I've read on this whole thread,,, I now have a much greater understanding of where my buddy might be getting his indifference to Semi's during a hunting scenario,,, I now understand the validity for his request of bolt actions only as it's not so much that of the rifle design (although that is a factor), but really has more to do with the competence of the hunter to manage their firearm in a correct and safe manner while the adrenaline maybe pumping from the hunt,,, This makes perfect sense now, do to the fact we (my friend and I) have never hunted together,,, I should not expect my friend to recognize that I will be safe during all aspects of a hunt until I have proven this to him in person,,, As we all know, no matter how well we think we know someone until you see them handle a very demanding situation you can't honestly expect to know how they will handle it (because we ourselves actually do not know unless having already experienced a similar situation and even then there are no guarantees, but only reasonable expectations of our abilities),,,

Thanks everyone, as far as I'm concerned I've got what I needed from this topic and appreciate the time of all those who posted up on this thread,,,

Cheers all and good luck getting Zeroed In
 
Slooshark1 said:
I once had a fellow tell me a similar story to yours about semis. He said that they were dangerous because too many people forget to put the safety back on with them. I smiled and nodded because this guy was a customer of mine and I wasn't going to argue with him. A few years later I was hunting with a different group and heard a shot not too far from me and an older fellow in the group came on the radio to announce that he had just dropped a calf. We all started walking over to where he was and sure enough he had dropped a calf moose with his Rem 742 .30-06. When everyone arrived at the kill site and was listening to this fellow's story, I noticed my friend's father bend down and click the safety back on on this guys rifle that was leaning against a tree. The guy had been so excited that he had forgotten to put his safety back on. And this guy was in his sixties with plenty of hunting experience.

Another time when I had just met my wife and we were dating. I brought her bear hunting and got her all set up in a stand with a rifle. Now keep in mind that she had never been hunting or killed anything before. Well a bear came in and she watched him at the bait for almost an hour before she shot him. She made a perfect shot through the heart and he ran 30 yards, piled up and started bauling and moaning as he died. Well I heard the shot from the camp and headed there to see what had happened. She was crying hysterically and still had the empty casing in the rifle and the safety off. Thank God it was a bolt action or she would have had a loaded rifle with no safety on. She never hunted again after that and that was my fault, I guess, because I should have been with her when she shot. But that's another story.

I guess the bottom line is that people who don't put their safeties back on after shooting shouldn't be hunting, but hey it happens.

Now, I still hunt with guys who use semis, but I won't hunt with someone who isn't safe.
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that's the part I hate reading and hearing about! Good story otherwise.
 
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