Will The Modern Hunter be my new rifle

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Stormchaser said:
Great! I have to say I haven't had time to do any shooting for about 8 months so this was a treat, thanks Rick! I only had time to shoot 5 rounds at 50 yards (indoor range). Trigger was smooth and crisp. Here is the result, I can't wait to get some time in the saddle with her so I can improve my accuracy!



Click to expand...

How was the recoil?
 
Billabong said:
To me, the concept of using a gun like this for hunting is rather repulsive.
I respect the game I hunt, I don't view it like an enemy, and hunting to me is a completely different thing than shooting up Taliban a$$holes.
To use a weapon like this to shoot a deer or a moose would be a disrespectful way to hunt (in my opinion).
Having a 10 round clip in a big game gun is rather ridiculous to me...if you need that many rounds to hit the animal, you should not be out there hunting in the first place.
If you don't need that many rounds, then why lug it around with you in the woods all day?
So, I would not pick a gun like this for hunting.
Lots of folks out there will disagree with me, and that is fine.
They have their opinion, I have mine.
If you don't have a problem going hunting with an AR, then go for it.
I would enjoy a gun like this on the range, and that is about it.
For home defense, I use my 12 gauge. If you have a big property and are genuinely worried about zombies invading your place, then this gun might also suit you for that purpose...
I hope we don't follow the Americans down this path where every other deer/moose/bear gun in the woods is an AR...I think it will be rather sad if that happens. The traditional hunting rifles with their fine wood and metalwork were designed that way for a reason-respect for the game you hunt and respect for the tools you use in doing so.
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I am sure that is exactly what deer, bear, moose is thinking after being slammed by 50-180g of lead... did i get shot with traditional pretty rifle or scary black one?

I respect your right to voice an opinion but whatever you are smoking or drinking I suggest you stop! Brain cells don't replenish. :(
 
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I feel like you're envisioning this
tacticoolAR15.jpg


And the rest of us are picturing this
AR15wood_0642.jpg


having done a lot of woodworking, I can almost grasp where you're coming from because there are some gorgeous wood rifles and the wood grain just has a certain warmth to it... but historically, that was the most abundant material to make a stock from and it was simply what was available. It had nothing to do with respecting the game or not.

In the lightest configuration this rifle weighs 8lbs.
by comparison my preferred bolt action rifle (rem700 5R) is 8.25lbs.
 
To me, the concept of using a gun like this for hunting is rather repulsive.
I respect the game I hunt, I don't view it like an enemy, and hunting to me is a completely different thing than shooting up Taliban a$$holes.
To use a weapon like this to shoot a deer or a moose would be a disrespectful way to hunt (in my opinion).

Yeah! Right on! But maybe you should go back to the spear to really respect your deer... Or the club... Modern firearms are really for disrespectful hipsters!
 
With all the replies out there, I would like to ask again: what is the benefit, what is the value of this firearm in a big-game hunting application?
I am not talking about shooting paper or varmints.
I am asking about big game hunting.

Why use this gun for that purpose? Why drop $3000 on it when you can have a lighter, more accurate, more reliable hunting rifle at a cheaper cost?
That is the main question here.
I am not "passing judgement" on others. I would like a genuine reason why you would carry a military, AR rifle to hunt big game.
I would suggest it has nothing to do with hunting ethics or fair harvest of game.


We all know that hunting is steeped in tradition. It is an integral part of the hunt for most of us.
Do you nice folks seriously think that using an AR to hunt big game does not change that? Of course it does.
The tools you use and the way you go about harvesting your animal says a lot about you.
Try walking up to a farmer's gate, carrying one of these and asking his permission to hunt his land.
Good luck.
Bet you dollars to donuts that I will fare a lot better with my hunting rifle in my hands.
 
Billabong said:
I have hunted for 14 years. I have never been charged by a bear or any other angry critter.
It makes little sense to me to lug around a gun like this for the next 20 years just in case I get charged by something.
Click to expand...

That's not the argument. It must be nice to get a flawless instant kill shot on your first try every time, and not have to deal with some deer slowly bleeding to death somewhere you can't find. Being able to finish off an animal with a quick second shot in case something goes wrong with the first sounds pretty respectful of the animal to me.

You're pretending that steel and wood bolt-actions were designed purely for hunting, and not for soldiers to more quickly and efficiently kill their enemies. So where does that line of thinking end? Breech loaders? Muzzle Loaders? Bows? Spears? Just about every hunting weapon you can think of had a military application first, and were taken up by hunters after the fact, because they're good for that too. Semiautomatics are no different.
 
Billabong said:
To me, the concept of using a gun like this for hunting is rather repulsive.
I respect the game I hunt, I don't view it like an enemy, and hunting to me is a completely different thing than shooting up Taliban a$$holes.
To use a weapon like this to shoot a deer or a moose would be a disrespectful way to hunt (in my opinion).
Having a 10 round clip in a big game gun is rather ridiculous to me...if you need that many rounds to hit the animal, you should not be out there hunting in the first place.
If you don't need that many rounds, then why lug it around with you in the woods all day?
So, I would not pick a gun like this for hunting.
Lots of folks out there will disagree with me, and that is fine.
They have their opinion, I have mine.
If you don't have a problem going hunting with an AR, then go for it.
I would enjoy a gun like this on the range, and that is about it.
For home defense, I use my 12 gauge. If you have a big property and are genuinely worried about zombies invading your place, then this gun might also suit you for that purpose...
I hope we don't follow the Americans down this path where every other deer/moose/bear gun in the woods is an AR...I think it will be rather sad if that happens. The traditional hunting rifles with their fine wood and metalwork were designed that way for a reason-respect for the game you hunt and respect for the tools you use in doing so.
Click to expand...

What he said!
 
Jarvy said:
That's not the argument. It must be nice to get a flawless instant kill shot on your first try every time, and not have to deal with some deer slowly bleeding to death somewhere you can't find. Being able to finish off an animal with a quick second shot in case something goes wrong with the first sounds pretty respectful of the animal to me.

You're pretending that steel and wood bolt-actions were designed purely for hunting, and not for soldiers to more quickly and efficiently kill their enemies. So where does that line of thinking end? Breech loaders? Muzzle Loaders? Bows? Spears? Just about every hunting weapon you can think of had a military application first, and were taken up by hunters after the fact, because they're good for that too. Semiautomatics are no different.
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Agreed that a quick follow up shot is often needed. No argument. Been there, done that with my bolt action.
The reason why military arms were adopted by hunters is because they were superior to the weapons that were being used to that point. I get that.
What does this AR have to offer you that a modern hunting rifle does not?...with the exception of a large mag and quick follow up shots?
To what degree do we keep "evolving" in this regard? At what point do you, as a hunter say, "it may be legal for me to use a gun like that for hunting, but I will not do so because it goes against what I believe is fair chase?".

A 10 round AR is not a gun designed for fair chase big game hunting in my opinion...
 
Billabong said:
...If you look at where you are most likely going to be charged by a nasty animal, it would be in Africa. Do you see a lot of folks using ARs over there? I don't. Sure, the poachers use them to slaughter elephants, etc, but the professional hunters use bolt guns or double barrels. If the AR were the ultimate thing to save you from a charging critter, you would have to ask yourself why they are not being used in Africa. I would suggest that weight and reliability as well as hunting traditions would be the top of the list.
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Oh yes, weight and reliability and traditions are some of the reasons that bolt and double barrels are the firearm of choice for dangerous game in Africa...another reason might be that the PH, guides, etc. are armed and have your back should you get charged.
 
Dear Gents and (Ladies?).

I shall bow out of the discussion at this point.
I greatly appreciate the discussion we have had and the input from the folks here.
I think the "Modern Hunter" is a great gun, and I hope they sell tons of them.
I am seriously considering buying one and I am sure I will enjoy it a lot on the range if I do.
It is not my intent to degrade the gun itself in any way. My personal views on the use of this gun in hunting are just that-my personal views.
Some of you may agree with it, some of you might not.
To those who took the time to reply to my comments in a thoughtful, polite way-I say "Thank you". I appreciate it, and I am sure other members do too.
To those that were not so polite...:)...well, I figure it says a lot more about you than it does about me.

I don't want to clutter up this thread.
If you want to discuss further, PM me please.

Wish you all good shooting!
 
Hey Billabong perhaps I can summarize the modern hunter in a way you'll understand.

The "Billabong" skateboard brand is often associated with people who smoke marijuana (I'm sure YOU don't break the law by smoking marijuana but follow me on this example). Let's say you like to smoke marijuana and now let's pretend you could smoke it legally in special coffee marijuana cafés,would you smoke it more? What if you could only smoke it anywhere? Would you smoke it more?

The modern hunter represents freedom.

The modern hunter allows firearms owners the ability to shoot away from the range like you smoking dope in places other than a marijuana coffee shop. The difference is most firearm owners won't break the law and shoot away from the range. All marijuana smokers are smoking illegally. Secondly, when firearms owners are shooting, there are a number of laws which they still respect.

I hope this helps, now run along and grab some munchies.
 
Billabong said:
What does this AR have to offer you that a modern hunting rifle does not?
Click to expand...

What does a breechloader offer over a muzzle loader? What does a bolt action offer over a lever action?

AR-style rifles are very accurate and very light in the correct configuration. They recoil very softly and point more naturally, and allow for quicker follow up shots in the event of an error, which will happen. You can do this with a bolt-action, but a semiauto will do it better.

Billabong said:
A 10 round AR is not a gun designed for fair chase big game hunting in my opinion....
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You're a human with a firearm, and in your case, years of experience and instant access to centuries of knowledge thanks to the internet, among other media. Any plausible notion of fairness is long abandoned.

If you want a bolt action because that's what you're an expert with, then that's the most important factor by far and I'd be the last person to tell you to change. But the "respect for the game" justification strikes me as empty romantics.
 
Billabong said:
...To what degree do we keep "evolving" in this regard? At what point do you, as a hunter say, "it may be legal for me to use a gun like that for hunting, but I will not do so because it goes against what I believe is fair chase?".

A 10 round AR is not a gun designed for fair chase big game hunting in my opinion...
Click to expand...

So you are saying that a "10 round AR" goes against fair chase BUT your bolt gun, that is based on military technology that made it superior to the firearms of its time, is fair chase? Can you not see the hypocrisy of your own statements?
 
I think the ATRS, MH @ 8Lbs. is a little on the heavy side, other than that I believe it will be a great hunting rifle. I'm really tempted to order one now, but think I will wait until a few are out there to see how they pan out.
Mind you, if I happened to be in Calgary and had the chance to actually hold one it might be hard to not buy it on the spot.
Plus 1 for like it!
 
Billabong said:
I agree that in certain situations, having a couple of quick follow up shots would be a good thing.
I have hunted for 14 years. I have never been charged by a bear or any other angry critter.
It makes little sense to me to lug around a gun like this for the next 20 years just in case I get charged by something.
Click to expand...

I've been driving for 15 years, some of that professionally. I always carried a spare tire even though i had never had a flat tire in all those years. Finally got my first flat at 2 am on a gravel road in a very remote area in Idaho while hooked to a 12000lb trailer . When #### happens, better to be prepared than to think it cannot happen to you. It would be like rcmp officers not carrying a pistol because they rarely draw it....
do I need the modern hunter to effectively harvest animals, no.
In my mind this is a step towards trying to change the stereotype that black guns are for killing people..... thanks Hollywood!
 
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