Is an Assault Rifle Needed for Hunting?

If you want a more powerful AR platform you can go to a 6.5mm Creedmoor, or even an AR10, 308

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I have to respectfully disagree. Anyone who makes the statement" people roaming the woods with assault rifles killing animals" is totally ignorant of both weapons and hunting. If he wanted to learn about hunting, what each state requires in regulations, or what weapons are legal to hunt with, maybe, he should have dropped the ā€œassault rifleā€ angle. No, the term ā€œassault rifleā€ was used to take advantage of the current media hype to promote whatever his point was in the thread. IMHO.

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Thatā€™s fine. Iā€™m just presenting what Iā€™ve seen (and many others) of him personally. No broad brush needed.

If anyone reading differs in my opinion of OP from their experience with him on here, feel free to shout it out

Yes. At least, the ones that arenā€™t roaming schools and concerts with assault rifles to kill humans are. You actually have a contractual obligation to do one or the other after acquiring an assault rifle.

You must have very small boar were you live. A .22 cal bullet is simply weak for a 400 lbs animal that can hurt you. I always use a 30.06 and it is in no way over powered

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There are some ARs made in .308 that are fine hunting guns for medium size game (deer) maybe even those boar. But very few people own one of those, they are normally .223 which are a very weak rounds. great for coyote sized animals or smaller. The .308 is typically a very expensive gun.

They do have a wild pig in the southwest deserts (Javelina) that runs small and would be perfect for the .223

Like all guns the type you use is up to you. I cant say you need any of them, they all will work. The so called assault rifle in general, is not powerful at all. They run a little smaller than average hunting rounds.

You would be disagreed with. Deer are harder to kill than we are. Some states will not let you shoot deer with the .22 caliber bullet that come in an AR15. Too weak. And honestly it is too weak but it can work just fine with a good shot.

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A rifle used in an assault. Nothing more, nothing less.

Not saying itā€™s optimal. But you could kill deer with a 223. It just might take more than one shot.

.deer are amazingly fast, that second shot is not easy to make. If the first shot isnā€™t heart and lungs good luck with that second shot, when its doing 40 miles and hour. And a 22 is not going to penetrate bone or make a kill from the rear. So there are fewer good shots available. That deer is going to die miles away. You use a .223, that first shot needs to be gold. It can be

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That was so damn cheezy I had to like it.

On needed- I think that using the word ā€œneededā€ is a false framing of the question. ā€œWantedā€ would be much more accurate and less inflammatory.

No one I know wants to use any of the tacticool style weapons for hunting. I used to have a bolt action .243, and my one brother in law uses the same because around here, realistically you donā€™t have a clear shot for any more than 100. A lot of people like .30-30 or .30-06 in bolt action. Very accurate and great range. Similar to fishing, guys like bragging rights, and taking down a buck at 600+ yds. grants you bragging rights.

Semi-autos are straight up fun though. I used to have an SKS that was a total piece of junk and have shot a bunch of others but it was a hoot to brace it on your hip and just wham away at the trigger. Or with like a mini-14 bull pup to hold at the waist and go all rambo-n-shit.

Also, donā€™t let the appearance fool you. An M-1 carbine or Garand will rip shit up with the best of them, and a 12 gauge with slugs is an absolute devastator. And for range, accuracy, velocity and dropping power- nothing in the ā€œassault rifleā€ category come close to a regular hunting rifle.

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Something like an assault backpack, I believe.

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Jesus 400lbs? Where are you at?

Yeah, if I was facing a 400lb anything Iā€™m not going with .223. That being said, Iā€™ve rarely seen boar much over 250 where I am, most falling under 200 or right around there. For reference, Iā€™ve only Hunt boar in Missouri and South Carolina.

I own a large ranch (and rent land from my reservation recently because of the need for more pasture due to drought) in NM. My hands and I routinely use both AR-15s and AR-10s to hunt invasive species (i.e., feral pigs, which are unbelievably destructive). We barely keep a lid on the population.

Note, neither of these is an ā€œassault weapon,ā€ despite what the media tells you because they are mean and black looking.

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i wasnt trying to gun bash at all. im pretty neutral on the topic of guns. it is part of the 2nd amendment. but i donā€™t want mentally ill people to own guns, so if their is a way to get them from using guns than i would be happy with that.

i was generally curious about this. i literally didnā€™t know people were using other guns besides hunting rifles and shotguns to hunt animals.

i havent shot a gun before in my entire life. interested in visiting a gun range now. do most of them offer to teach you how to shoot a gun, or do they just hand beginners guns and expect them to know what to do.

Just Google nra safety course

You seem like a good guy, if youā€™re ever in southern VA Iā€™ll let you shoot a few.