[Guest]

What is your opinion? Is hunting medium game with a Semi-Auto rifle horrible? Bennelli makes the R1- BAR- etc ???

 

[TRAUT]

As long as the caliber/cartridge you use is suitable and legal for the game you intend to hunt, who cares? There's no need for hunters (and I mean real hunters who have respect for the game and tradition of the sport) to get into a debate over which weapons are good and which are bad. A major component of the anti-hunting platform is to divide and conquer from within, pitting archery against modern firearms against muzzleloaders, aginst handguns....etc.

Oops, I didn't mean for this to take a preach tone, as I'm sure that wasn't the intent of the post. Like I said, if the ammunition is legal and appropriate for the game targeted, and you're comfortable and accurate with your weapon, nothing wrong with that. With any weapon, it's the first shot that you need to make count.

 

[Echo Mules]

Well Said Traut!

Fin eat o
What caliber are you considering, and for what game?

 

[Guest]

My reason for posing the question is i have a buddy that has a very perfect condtition NM M1a in .308 he will sell me for $1,200. I love this weapon and very much want to own one however, I need to buy a proper hunting rifle for the upcoming season... that being said i can't afford a new T3 and the M1A.

My initial perception of this is the M1A is an offensive weapon and therefore would be "taboo" to hunt deer or elk with. I am a novice hunter that truly loves to shoot so for the other 50 weeks of the year the M1A would provide some real entertainment.

I would find the skiniest magazine possible so as not to apear out of line.

.308 should be more than enough to kill any of our north american species effectivley and humanely correct?

What if any would the drawbacks be to hunting with this weapon?

 

[Icystraits]

Every serious hunting rifle design started as a military weapon.

 

[TRAUT]

.308 is my favorite caliber for hunting and target shooting. The .308 is plenty of medicine for deer size animals and smaller. Much bigger than deer, and you may be stretching things a bit. I hunted elk with a .308 for a bunch a bunch of years, and it did the job, but now that I have 7mm and .300 mags, I don't use the trusty .308 for elk anymore.

.308 is also a great black bear round with 180 grain loads.

I would hunt deer, black bear, coyotes, pronghorn, cougar, unapologetically, all day long with an M1A in .308. If it was all I had, I'd use it for elk, broadside shots out to about 250 yards. Oh, and Caribou at closer ranges too. As far as North American game goes, about the only things to cross off the list would be moose, brown/grizzly bear, polar bear.

I hope you get your rifle. Good Luck.

 

[X5fishinmachine]

I would light up some crows, magpies and 'yotes with this fine piece.....would make for some explosive scenery!

 

[Guest]

Im glad to hear your feedback. Im going to buy the M1A for sure, i like how you think X5... Traut thanks for your info. What about your .308 what model was that? have you hand loaded it?

 

[gear addict]

X5...You crack me up. You are da MAGMASTA....
Mario..to each his own. I want that thing if you don't. Hunting with it does not appeal to me tho. A stack of AR's with 30 rd clips locked, and loaded in a green dog town would be almost as good as it gets.

 

[Guest]

Both you guys are Sick!! I like it. GA- u will be the second guy pulling the trigger on that thing, I would like to think you are just sick enough to make some custom loads up and take the .308 to varmint town...

 

[Brandon]

I've wanted an M1A for a while now....nothing like a good ol' M14. Expensive guns though. From a legal standpoint though, is there a mag capacity limit for hunting in WA? I know you said you'd get a smaller mag Fin-Eat-O, but I'm just curious. I mean, the M1A usually comes with 20rd mags. Out of boredom I remember looking in the hunting regs last year for this same thing and not finding anything, but it just seemed like there would be a rule there.

 

[TRAUT]

... Traut thanks for your info. What about your .308 what model was that? have you hand loaded it?

I've had so many .308's it's hard to remember them all. I guess I'd have to say that my favorite model would be Remington's Model 788. I bought my first one in 1970, have fired thousands of rounds through it , and it's still a tack driver. I actually have 3 of those, a Winchester Model 100 semi-auto, a Winchester Model 88, and a Remington 660 in .308.

I handload all my .308 ammo. When reloading for a semi automatic rifle, sometiomes it's a good idea to use a special die which resizes the case to the absolute minimum specs. This is done to help eliminate feeding problems. The M1A and M-14's generally don't present too much trouble in this regard, and I would try to use the standard sizing die to prevent overworking the brass. Also, some military weapon's chamber are slightly different size than their commercial counterpart. There is also a difference in military brass versus commercial brass, with th military case capacity being slightly less than factory ammo. Again, this isn't a problem but needs to be considered when reloading your own cases.

Also in regard to a comment in an above post, there is a 5 round magazine available for M1A's that doesn't protrude obtrusively.

Again, good luck with your rifle and have fun!

 

[Clockwork]

I went hunting with an L1A1 once. i put a wood block in the mag to make it legal. I would do it.

 

[Guest]

I will be buying and using a 5round mag for hunting per Wa regulations, This gun is literally NEW condition so im going to buy a $50 stock for in the brush im planning on glass bedding it and trying some different things. Having read more and more about the M-14/M1A i am really beginning to get excited to shoot, play adjust etc etc. ill also look into the proper die ad some 7.62X51 cases when i get to reload.

 

[gear addict]

Here is something to think about. If it shoots like your friend sais it does. Don't mess with the stock. Shoot it like it is. Why mess with whats perfect already.

 

[Guest]

good point. u know me i get all kinds of wild ideas that you will talk me out of!!

 

[TRAUT]

good point. u know me i get all kinds of wild ideas that you will talk me out of!!

"IF IT AIN'T BROKE, DON'T 'FIX' IT"! :shock:

 

[Skorzeny]

Can't think of any reason the M1a, M14, m1 shouldn't be legal to hunt with. Wish I had one. Pricey.
The other side, I like lighter rifles.
The Win. 100 is legal, so is the BAR, and the Remington M8, all autoloaders.

 

[Guest]

good point. u know me i get all kinds of wild ideas that you will talk me out of!!

"IF IT AIN'T BROKE, DON'T 'FIX' IT"! :shock:

Ya dad i know. wink: Im excited to shoot the thing!