Hunting with an assault rifle...HuH?

[M4A3]

Do you guys think it is "OVER KILL" or kind of strange to hunt with an assault rifle? I have before. But I've always wondered if a DNR officer would give me a hard time or think "Huh who's this nut, I'd better go check him out" becaust he/she saw the Evil black rifle with an even more evil pistiol grip and that 30 round mag that comes streight from hell. There is no laws agenst this is there? Am I alone here or have other people here done this?

[444]

I don't have an assult rifle, but I frequently varmint hunt with my AR15 black rifle.

[Tamara]

You have a select fire rifle?

[SkaerE]

honestly, i dont see the point. tools for the job. i wouldnt use a ratchet to drive a nail (well, maybe i have once or twice) but for hunting, there are WAY better choices than an "assault rifle"

hell, im getting a marlin guide ghun, 45/70 power in less weight than an AR15. cant beat that. ive never needed a high cap mag hunting anyhow...

maybe for groundhogs or some such, there are some pretty sweet AR based varmit guns.

every tool has its place.

[Andrew Wyatt]

leave your AR at home. in the hands of a (very) experienced shot, it would do the job (then again, a suitably experienced shot could take a deer with a .22LR) , but it's against the law to use for hunting deer in most states, and it's not nearly potent enough for anything bigger than about a coyote.

if you consider yourself a responsible hunter, you'll use something more sutable, like a scoped bolt gun.

[Freightman]

If it is a centerfire cartrage it is ok where I live to hunt deer. Is it a good idea well if you can kill it with the ammo and not have to chase the anamal too far it should be ok.I will personally use a full power cartrage to make sure.

[KSFreeman]

You may want to check with Minn-ah-soh-tuh Bambi Patrol to see if your state or the state you are hunting in allows Title II firearms for the stalking of woodland creatures.

As long as you kept the selector on "semi", I don't see a problem but Officer Bambi might. Of course, I see little value in hand-held FA in rifle cartridges anywho.

[HerrJaegermeister]

I am a Minnesota native who still deer hunts with dad in southeast Minnesota. For deer, regs require a shotgun with slugs in southern portion of state with the northern part a rifle zone. Highway 10 or 12 is the divider for the zones.

Rifle must be larger than .22 caliber centerfire, so .223 does not work. (.243 is just fine.) Also .30 rifles must be centerfire and .30 Carbine is not allowed because of lack of energy.

I would think a 7.62x39 would be a decent woods deer round with the proper hunting ammo. Military FMJ is verboten for hunting deer. You should also read the regs closedly on magazine capacity for hunting. Memory seems to tell me 5 or 10 rounds max. An AK with a 30 rounder would not be a good deer gun anyway. An SKS with a low power scope might work fine.

I think a CETME might be fun with good .308 hunting ammo and a small magazine.

Best advice to be had anywhere in this thread is to contact the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and read the regs carefully.

If rifle hunting "up nort" I'd use dad's pre-64 Winchester 94 .30/30 or our Springfield '03 competition target rifle in .30/06. This rifle is an old competition gun and is freakishly accurate with 150 grain bullets.

In the southern part of the state, I use my Remington 870 Wingmaster with a Hastings Paradox fully rifled barrel with a cantilever scope mount. With a 1.5 to 5x scope and Barnes Expander slugs by Federal, it is a proven winner on big SE Minn. deer.

In the end, a bolt or lever rifle would be a better choice for hunting, but a Garand might be fun too.

[Zundfolge]

okay ... I guess I should read the thread before commenting


edited to remove redundant comments

[M4A3]

I know in Mn you cant hunt big game (deer) with any thing smaller than .243. But in Wisconson you can hunt deer with .223.

I just dont want some "Bambi Patrol" to come up to me and say "Hmm look at this" balh blah etc. Now I'm going to have to take you're gun. (because it's an assault rifle) not so much the Cal.

If I hunted in Mn with it I would just hunt small game. Fox, Rabbit etc... You guys dont see a problem with that do ya? And I know .223/5.56 for small game is legal.

It's just the whole assault rifle thing. You know pistol grip high cap. mags. I was just wondering if you thught thay would frown apon that. (because it's not you're tipical "hunting rifle")

[mons-meg]

I think in Arkansas (at least in the Ozarks) one is expected to be seen deer hunting with an SKS.

[Tamara]

It's just the whole assault rifle thing. You know pistol grip high cap. mags.

It's probably the full auto part that would bug them the most.

What?

There is no full auto part?

Then don't worry; it's not an assault rifle.

[Handy]

My prefered hunting rifle is a HK91 in .308. When firing standing there is no muzzle rise and rapid follow shots are easy. It's reliable, accurate to 1moa and the plastic stock and floating barrel are unaffected by temperature or moisture.

It does take on a more sporty quality when a scope and 5 round mag are mounted.

After 20 years of cheap AK's and SKS's flooding the market, I doubt there is a DNR rep alive that is surprised to see a military type arm hunting. No sweat.

[Ewok_Guy]

Its the caliber, bbl length, optics, etc. that make a hunting rifle- not the action or magazine capacity.

[sleeping dog]

I agree, Ewok, but it's the paint job, bayo lug, flash suppressor, pistol grip that give me an unfair advantage over the deer.

And if I have a large-capacity banana mag, I don't even have to pull the trigger, the deer just drop dead of fright.

Note to DNR agent: the large-capacity banana mag is properly blocked to only hold the legal limit of five rounds.


Regards.

[Nodakmarine]

Here in ND, the law is that as long as you are using .22 centerfire calibers (ie .22 Hornet) and larger, no full metal jacket ammo and it's not full auto, it's legal as far as rifles are concerned. There are no magazine limits anymore so if you'd like you can use an AK with a 120 round drum!
Personally though, I have used FALs and my M-14's for hunting deer without any problems. I got no problems with an AK either and they would work alright for brush country but brush isn't that common out here and the accuracy of an AK at longer ranges is lacking to the point that it's not a good choice. Yes, an AR-15 or Mini-14 would be technically legal but a .223 for deer isn't an ethical choice for deer hunting so I leave the pop-guns at home for killing rodents where they won't have any stopping power problems.
All-in-all, I've had people ask me is there's going to be anything left of the deer when I get done shooting it but with my M-14, it never has taken more than 1 round. Sort of funny when you see guys you are hunting with empty their fancy Browning A-bolts at a critter and not hit a thing but the next deer you spot you drop with one round fired from a 20-round M-14 magazine. So much for the myth of anybody carrying a military rifle is going to empty it on a deer. Bottom line is that there's no difference between a military style service rifle and a civilian hunting rifle other than how the ammunition is carried, be it on a belt or in your pockets or if you keep it in a magazine in the weapon.

[JIH]

I think you should use a assault weapon for hunting.

You find good-sized herd, and you take your limit in 5 seconds... what can be better than that? Just try to be careful when walking the shots.

[DMK]

Do you guys think it is "OVER KILL" or kind of strange to hunt with an assault rifle?

Yea, "HuH" is right. Why is it overkill?

.223 or 7.62 is overkill? Maybe only if you're hunting rabbits or squirrels.

Large cap mags? You'd likely be limited in mag capacity by law in many places. Hunters use plugs or small mags in these situations.


I think many so called "assault rifles" (a misnomer since they aren't select fire and I'm sure you meant "assault weapon") are actually not enough gun for hunting and many cases although the AR is probably an excellent varmint gun.

[Art Eatman]

Comparing para-military rifles with bolt action rifles intended for hunting, I've always found the PMs to be comparatively awkward, or heavy, or bulky. They just don't feel right to me, as compared to a bolt action. They're certainly not as handy as something like a Winchester or Marlin lever action, if one likes lever actions.

"Overkill"? Hardly. The .223 and the AK rounds are pipsqueaks compared to the usual rounds considered standard for deer. I won't allow them in my mule deer camp. Even the .308 is on the low end of thirty caliber hunting rounds, exceeding only such ancient cartridges as the .30-30 or the .30-40.

, Art

[rick_reno]

The term "assault rifle" should be defined in this instance. I'd even suggest that we - as firearm owners - not use the term. It's been expanded - by legislation - to include many semi-automatic rifles that IMHO are not "assault rifles".

[DMK]

The term "assault rifle" should be defined in this instance. I'd even suggest that we - as firearm owners - not use the term. It's been expanded - by legislation - to include many semi-automatic rifles that IMHO are not "assault rifles".

Actually the term I've seen used in legislation is "assault weapon". I've only seen the term "assault rifle" used by the media and on forums. Even the Clinton administration understood the difference in the terms.

[Steve Smith]

I voted "yes" mainly because you didn't state what you were hunting.

[M4A3]

You find good-sized herd, and you take your limit in 5 seconds... what can be better than that? Just try to be careful when walking the shots

LoL Thanks for all of the input guys. I think thats why I post just about every question I have. Not only you give me some good pointers and tips but some of these replys are so funny I damn near wet my pants.

So let me get this streight. (example) A Bush Master AR-15 post ban. Is not an assault weapon but a "normal" rifle?

[MuzzleBlast]

I think in Arkansas (at least in the Ozarks) one is expected to be seen deer hunting with an SKS.

I resemble that remark!
So what makes a .308 from an Evil Assault Weapon different from a .308 thrown from a Model 70?
Well, um, nothing...

[M4A3]

I voted "yes" mainly because you didn't state what you were hunting.

If I were to hunt in Mn it would be small game. Rabbit, squirrel, fox, racoon etc... In Wi I would hunt deer.