I need help with a gun issue.

  • Some of the links on this forum allow SMF, at no cost to you, to earn a small commission when you click through and make a purchase. Let me know if you have any questions about this.
SMF is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
c Farmer, I can't offer any better suggestions for

weapons than have already been mentioned.

I do however have a question.

I noticed that you said you can't use a semi for hunting.

Is that just some arbitrary law or do they give a reason for it.

Heck, even here in the people's republic we can use our semis

for hunting, for today anyway.

   Ed
 
 
c Farmer, I can't offer any better suggestions for

weapons than have already been mentioned.

I do however have a question.

I noticed that you said you can't use a semi for hunting.

Is that just some arbitrary law or do they give a reason for it.

Heck, even here in the people's republic we can use our semis

for hunting, for today anyway.

   Ed
Pennsy rules are to keep things sporting---Semi is too easy:

No Semi-Auto Rifles for Big Game.

No running Dogs for Deer or Bear

No Deer hunting in parties over 25.

No bait, scent, or lure for Bear.

No hunting Deer or Bear over food plots.

Etc, etc, etc, Been awhile--I'm a little Rusty.

Bear
 
Last edited:
Bear covered it.
Well then the no semi auto would negate my suggestion.  I am a big AR platform fan. Reliable. Low recoil. Speedy and accurate bullet. Good value too.

The M4 style (left) has a collapsable stock that can easily be lengthened as the young man grows.

Some think the caliber too light for game.  We regularly kill ferrel hogs with 223.

We have a coyote problem on the property and I use the AR on the right for 300 yard + targets.  


I'd choose a light caliber. My first deer rifle was a 7mm bought cheap. It rattled my teeth and kick the hell out of me. Ruined my accuracy for years even after that gun was long gone. Big mistake. So, if it were me Id consider a bolt action 243 caliber max or smaller. Lots of options. 

Brian
 
 
Well then the no semi auto would negate my suggestion.  I am a big AR platform fan. Reliable. Low recoil. Speedy and accurate bullet. Good value too.

The M4 style (left) has a collapsable stock that can easily be lengthened as the young man grows.

Some think the caliber too light for game.  We regularly kill ferrel hogs with 223.

We have a coyote problem on the property and I use the AR on the right for 300 yard + targets.  


I'd choose a light caliber. My first deer rifle was a 7mm bought cheap. It rattled my teeth and kick the hell out of me. Ruined my accuracy for years even after that gun was long gone. Big mistake. So, if it were me Id consider a bolt action 243 caliber max or smaller. Lots of options. 

Brian
We can own them in PA & Target with them---We just can't use them for Hunting. No Steel Jacketed bullets either.

That one in the middle looks just about like the one I used to sleep with---Was definitely my Favorite!!
PDT_Armataz_01_12.gif


Bear
 
Growing up in New England and hunting in the Maine woods I remember shooting my first real gun at 9 years old. A 22/410 over and under. That weapon became a favorite of mine and I used it well into my thirties until the plastic stock cracked. Then it was stolen from a friends house, but that's another story.

I am still trying to find one similar as the 22LR continues to be the consistent and most reliable and affordable varmint caliber, though some keep trying to replace it. Rugar/Marlin have a great selection in this area and are the most popular. There are many other fine youth and adult sized offerings out there so check around the sports shops and web sites.

Of course that is just my humble opinion.
 
So what is the logic behind no hunting with a semi-auto? In hunting deer and other large game, it should be one shot - one kill.  Not spray and pray.  Sounds like the goobers in the legislature know nothing about deer hunting in the first place.
 
  • Like
Reactions: bdskelly
 
So what is the logic behind no hunting with a semi-auto? In hunting deer and other large game, it should be one shot - one kill.  Not spray and pray.  Sounds like the goobers in the legislature know nothing about deer hunting in the first place.
Lately it's been reviewed every year in PA legislation, but so far no go. They generally say it's a safety issue, with "Spray & Pray". Some say many land owners would post their land if Semi-Autos were allowed. Many PA Hunters (including Me) feel it takes some of the sport out of the hunt, when you can fill the woods with lead at an animal that can't shoot back.

Personally, I don't hunt any more, but I'm in that last group. I never had a problem bringing down a Deer with my Model 88 .308, and my brother never had a problem with his 30.06, and we both carried the M16 in Vietnam, where it was important to not have to manually jack another shell in behind the one you just fired, because the little guy in Black was shooting back at you.

So like I said, I don't hunt any more, but I'll let PA decide, because as far as I'm concerned PA is one of the best Hunting States, if not the best, when it comes to the Millions of Acres available to hunt for free, without any special permission. All my life, if I wanted to hunt, I could just drive to any non-posted place in the state I want to hunt, pull all 4 wheels off the road, and walk in & hunt.

   When I was in the Army, my last duty was Ft Hood, so knowing there was even more Deer in Texas than in PA, I took my Deer Rifle to Ft Hood with me, and bought a license to hunt in Texas. Then I went around looking for a place to hunt, before the season started. I should have scouted around before I bought the license, because I found out the only way you can hunt in Texas was to either Buy or Lease the Land from the landowner for the hunting season. There was some kind of rules that allowed hunting in State Parks, or something like that, but I didn't bother looking into that.

My only other option was to put my name in a hat with about 3,000 other Army Guys at Ft Hood, and let them draw about 70 names. Then if you were picked, they would assign you to a Post number, and you would have to stay there, and be occasionally checked on by MPs. They also said you were allowed to use Semi Auto loading rifles. I didn't bother, because I had been to Vietnam & back in one piece, so I wasn't about to go back in the woods with a bunch of Spray & pray Hunters carrying M16s!!!

I assume Semi-Auto Rifles will be allowed in PA before much longer, but I expect it will start with things like Coyotes and Foxes for awhile.

Bear
 
If people are using the "spray and pray" method.  They are not hunting.  They are being unsafe idiots.  That is a training issue more than anything.

That being said, I see no need to hunt with any of my AR's, which are legal in GA.  In brushy GA, most deer shots are at well under 100 yards and a shotgun slug is often used to defeat light twigs that would deflect smaller higher velocity rifle projectiles.  Actually a 12 gauge semi-auto or pump plugged to 3 shots should handle just about anything in my part of the country (from small game on up with the range of loads available). 

Now I could see the use for a box magazine semi-auto on a hog cull as you are taking down as many as you can before they hit the brush.

And all that being said, I really want a .50 Beowulf upper for one of my AR's.  No practical reason other than I want one.
 
Last edited:
Figured I'd put my 2 cents in here. I have a 6 year old son and a 7 year old daughter, both of whom enjoy shooting. I have a Ruger 10/22 I have owned for somewhere in the neighborhood of 25 years, and it still shoots straight as when it was new. I have a single shot NEF .410 that's the same age, and both of them love to shoot both weapons, and can with proper rests be quite accurate.

I'm thinking about getting them both Henry Mini Bolts in .22 LR to get used to and then go from there to either my Winchester Model 94 30-30 or a CVA Scout in youth models (single shot rifles).

I'm not sure how large your kid is but a good single shot rifle is something to consider using. Here in Mo the smallest caliber we can use for deer is .24 caliber, so seeing .243's are common in all shapes in sizes. My personal favorite is my .270 Savage 111 or my good old Winchester Model 94 30-30. I've killed more deer with that 30-30 than any other weapon I own.

A few good selections for him might be...

CZ 452 Scout

Thompson/Center Venture Compact (length of pull can be extended by an inch as its young owner grows by adding an insert).

Henry Lever Action Youth (My sons wants this really bad).

Rossi Trifecta (Single shot that comes with a .22LR barrel, .20 gauge barrel, and a .243 barrel).

H&R Handi Rifle (Single shot that comes in .243, 25-06, and 7mm-08. The last 2 are my favorite smaller rifle calibers).

CVA Scout ( single shot that comes in .243, 7mm-08, and .44 Mag, etc).

Either way have fun with it...
 
I've hunted with a semi for a few yrs. I never "sprayed and prayed". Have many friends that use semi's and they don't hunt that way either.

Think its odd to paint those who use semi's as a poke and hope hunters.

That said, I now use a TC pro hunter. Yep a single shot.
 
 
If people are using the "spray and pray" method.  They are not hunting.  They are being unsafe idiots.  That is a training issue more than anything.

That being said, I see no need to hunt with any of my AR's, which are legal in GA.  In brushy GA, most deer shots are at well under 100 yards and a shotgun slug is often used to defeat light twigs that would deflect smaller higher velocity rifle projectiles.  Actually a 12 gauge semi-auto or pump plugged to 3 shots should handle just about anything in my part of the country (from small game on up with the range of loads available). 

Now I could see the use for a box magazine semi-auto on a hog cull as you are taking down as many as you can before they hit the brush.

And all that being said, I really want a .50 Beowulf upper for one of my AR's.  No practical reason other than I want one.
Can't disagree with any of that. Most shots around here are under 100 yds too. Not always, but most.

Bear
 
Last edited:
Another PA hunter here. I use a .35 Marlin lever action, because like Bear said most shots are under 100 yards. I've used that gun since I started hunting at 12 yrs.

I have a question for the guys using a semi to hunt deer...aren't you worried about ruining the meat if you shoot multiple times? If I didn't bring the deer down on the first shot, I wouldn't want a second or third inaccurate gut shot or hitting a hind quarter.
 
Another PA hunter here. I use a .35 Marlin lever action, because like Bear said most shots are under 100 yards. I've used that gun since I started hunting at 12 yrs.

I have a question for the guys using a semi to hunt deer...aren't you worried about ruining the meat if you shoot multiple times? If I didn't bring the deer down on the first shot, I wouldn't want a second or third inaccurate gut shot or hitting a hind quarter.

It's no differant than using a bolt or lever gun. If your shot is off do to let's say a unseen twig. Your going to need a second shot. Semi may let you get that second shot off sooner.

We've all made a off shot. We try not to, but just because someone uses a semi, there not automatically going to make a bad first shot or a bad 2nd shot.
 
Last edited:
It's no than using a bolt or lever gun. If your shot is off do to let's say a unseen twig. Your going to need a second shot. Semi may let you get that second shot off sooner.

We've all made a off shot. We try not to, but just because someone uses a semi, there not automatically going to make a bad first shot or a bad 2nd shot.

That makes sense. Thank you for giving me another insight. I guess growing up in a state where using a semi is prohibited, I never really saw the need. I just figured that if somebody was hunting a deer with a semi that they would be more likely to go Rambo :AR15firing:
 
Last edited:
SmokingMeatForums.com is reader supported and as an Amazon Associate, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases.
Clicky