Suggestions for new semi auto 30-06

[ccarlson]

I'm intersted in a new semi auto 30-06. Looked today at the Browning BAR Stalker. Felt very nice and the weight felt good.

Also would consider the Remington for a couple hundred less although it was a little heavier. One question on the remingtons is with what I think was the woodsmaster version. Is it the same action, different look? Looking for input on either one.

I'm looking for any places I can see a comparison of these two or other similar semi auto's. Any hunting magazine comparisons that would be good to read?

Also looking at putting a leopold VX I or VXII 3-9 on it. Should I look at something different (like the Nikon) for something in the $200-$300 range?

Thanks for any help in the decision and fact finding mission.

ccarlson

[walerak]

sporter style auto rifles do not have a very high standard, especially on accuracy, but the browning would be worth the money, another one to consider is the new benelli's... they've been getting pretty good ratings in the past few months. The Rem is said to jam up, and is less accurate than the Browning and Benelli

For the scope, look through as many as you can before you buy, leupold may be the higher quality, but for some people, they're eyes like another brand and it may be a cheap model, but have a more crisp immage just due to that ideviduals eyes, and the coatings on the lenses.

3-9 is a good level for deer, but if your taking longer shots, the ranging reticles are worth the money.(balistidots, boone&crocket, varminter, tac-dot) they make the ranging much easier.

[Code-Man]

my old man has an older Browning Bar II Safari 270. Loves it except one little problem. It weighs about 12 pounds it feels like. He loves it other then the weight but my buddy is looking for a nice semi aut and Remington makes one also that he is looking at I think it's a woodsmaster? don't quote me on that one but something like that and he likes the feel better with the remington then the browning. But brownings are a very dang good gun and if your looking for a scope may I suggest a Scheels 3.5-10X42 I have two of them, my cousin has acouple and my dad has one now too. It is a very clear gun and for the price of 200 bucks its very very hard to beat and it comes with a lifetime warranty. There waranty is something is wrong you bring it to Scheels with it still attached they remove it replace it with a new one and get back bore sighted and your done. Just my suggestion for a scope if your looking. I was looking at 300 dollar scopes and nothing really compaired for the price and quality of that scope so take a look before purchasing.

Code-man

[love to hunt]

I am not much of a fan of autoloading rifles, I prefer a bolt or even a lever.

If an auto is you passion go with the Browning. It is worth the extra $$ for a much higher quality rifle.

[TUMBLEWEED]

The BAR is the better of the two autos you talk of.

Not a fan of auto's myself, but all my gun porn

mags have had good things to say of the Browning.

I know someone who has a Remington, and has had some

extractor issues in the past.

[BobT]

I've honestly never been able to understand the love affair with autoloaders. Personally, most of us gain nothing by the action and really lose because of the weight. Some of the earlier models also sacrificed some accuracy or so I have been told although I think the accuracy issue is more related to second, third, fourth, shots. All I know is that while hunting I can't help but laugh to myself every time I hear what is obviously someone using an autoloader on a deer when I hear 4 or 5 reports from the gun in rapid succession. My only hope is that the shots aren't aimed my way as they are probably progressively aimed higher and higher which means those bullets are potentially traveling further and further. Aren't too many that can shoot that fast in succession with any hint of real accuracy. It's a wonder there aren't more wounded deer out there than there are.

Bob

[HunterLee]

I agree with everyone on forgetting the auto. Besides when you get used to a bolt you can be quite fast. More accurate and less likely to jam up if you need that second shot. Ive seen more deer get away from a jammed auto than anything else. Plus you save a little money from the bolt and could put that towards a higher quality scope.

[ccarlson]

Thanks for the input so far but please don't hijack my post into a bashing of semi auto loaders. I've been hunting every type of non semi auto loaders for years and I just want some simple advice on a comparison of these auto loader guns. Thanks for sticking to that topic unless someone wants to start a new post

Was in again today looking and am now leaning towards the new longtrac Browning design. Have pretty much decided to go Browning over Remington I guess at this point. It comes in at 6 pounds 15 ounces in the 30-06. The problem is that I really want the synthetic stock mainly because that is what comes with the matte finish barrel and they won't be available until later October at the earliest from what Browning customer service told me.

Compared Nikon Monarch scopes today with the Leopold VX series. Actually leaning towards the VX I which was so close to the VX II that I couldn't justify the extra $100 and both were optically better than the Nikon although the nikon had function features I liked better such as the smoothness of the variable dial and focus ring.

thanks again and keep the reviews coming if you have any.

ccarlson

[Gissert]

I shot a Remington 742 for years. I got a lot of deer with it too. I grew to really dislike the trigger on it. Creepy, draggy, not pecrise at all. It was a good faithful gun, and never let me down. From shooting varmint rifles, I could not take the trigger feel anymore.

The 742 shot well, for the most part, grouping 1.5 inches at 100 yards off sandbags. With handloads, it would shoot even beter. Most of my deer were one shot kills, the farthest being 190 yards. On a couple of occasions, I was able to shoot two deer with a quick follow up shot. The biggest drawback was that doggone trigger.

I loved it as a still hunting gun. Nice short barrel, quick pointing, and not real heavy.

About 10 years ago, I switched to a bolt and could not be happier. The trigger is crisp and percise, which makes for better accuracy. One of my auto-loading friends warned me that my days of being able to shoot two deer at once were gone. I proved him wrong a couple years later. I can cycle the bolt fairly quickly and be back on target. If the deer are not spooked, and don't know you are there, they often stand still, trying to figure out what is going on.

If I had to go to a semi auto, I would choose the BAR. My brother has shot one for years, and it has been an excellent gun. More accurate than my Remington, with a MUCH better trigger feel. The newer Browning models are good looking rigs, having slimmed down a bit from the old classic blocky look.

Benelli has a nice looking rig too, but $$$$$! If I am gonna spend that kind of money, I'd rather get a nice bolt gun.

My wife wants to get a semi auto, and I will oblige her. She shoots a bolt now, but just is not that good at cycling the bolt. She is very fussy about her shot selection. A couple times she has short stroked the bolt, and been left wanting. For that reason, I agree with her wish for a semi auto, and can understand others wanting one too.

[Jackpine Rob]

I used a Browning BAR (Belgian) in 30-06 last fall for my moose hunt, and have a few thoughts for you. The gun came to me after sitting unfired in a cabinet for about 30 years. Obviously, a thorough cleaning was the beginning!

I pulled off the old Weaver straight 6X, and put on a Burris 2-7 - and that's when the fun started.... The first round or two would go just dandy, and then the shots would start "walking" low and to the left - up to 7 inches!

There was some contact between the forearm and the barrel, so I carefully reamed out the forearm, varnished the barrel channel, and put things back together.

About that time the Burris 2-7 crapped out. (Thank goodness for lifetime warranties!) Unfortunately, I was now only a month out from season, so I pulled a Burris Fullfield II 3-9 off one of my varmint rigs and started over....

After much experimentation with various bullets/weights/manufacturers I found a couple of brands that shot extremely well. By "extremely well" I mean sub-MOA out of a cold barrel. The round I settled on was Winchester Supreme 180 gr. Fail-Safe. The silver casing and charcoal bullet look pretty cool - always a bonus. Just a bit spendy, but in the overall grand scheme of things what's a few extra bucks for ammo?

The BAR is fun to shoot, and I was tossing some pretty serious rounds downrange but didn't suffer too much from the recoil. The weight of the gun and the autoloader function suck up a bit of the recoil, meaning I shot in shirtsleeves without a problem. Loading up the magazine in the field (with wet fingers and muddy conditions) is a pain in the rear, but that's the one downside I found.

I had heard the stories of horrid inaccuracy, and when I started out with the BAR I was ready to toss it aside, but stuck with it. Glad I did. I wouldn't hesitate to take a poke out to 400 yards with a good rest and a stationary target. Maybe the one in my cabinet is an exception, but the accuracy issue appears to be overblown.

[tripper]

Hey I love my auto, I shoot once and automaticly break it open take the emty out and put a new round in. Works every time, I think, never have shot the secound round well hunting. oupss, I did miss my bigest buck the first shot and he mistakenly gave me a secound chance. I have no faith in auto's but if that is what you realy want then go for it because you will never be happy with anything else.

[Deep_Sinker]

Carlson-

I may be in the minority but I own and have for about 15 years a Rem 7400 semi-auto woodsmaster. I have never (knock on wood) had a issue with loading, ejecting, or hitting the bulls eye. I think it is a very solid and reliable gun that I've used for everything for whitetails to bear to mule deer and antelope in montana. I have rapped thru multiple clips more than once. I do clean very thoroughly as I would with any gun. I would buy another. Good luck

[ccarlson]

Thanks for all the input. It is all very helpful.

DeepSinker,

I know what you are saying about the Remington. I have friends that have the same gun you are talking about and they shoot great and have not been a problem.

As a matter of fact, what I am shooting right now is a Remington 30-06 pump and it has been a great gun. I simply want to make the switch to the semi auto because I shoot a lot of upland and waterfowl with a Benelli semi auto 12 guage so I am just more used to a semi auto. When the big buck comes out, I want to have an action I am used to dealing with in my hands so I can focus on shot placement and getting back on target if I need to. There are times, no matter how careful we are, that a second shot can mean a lost deer versus a found deer. Besides, my experience from observation with semi auto's is that most people exagerate the accuracy and reliability issues semi autos have.

The main reason I am going with the Browning is that I really like the way it feels (balance, weight etc.) when I shoulder it and it just seems to fit me better. Something I feel is the most important no matter how much a gun costs.

It seems now that I am down to either buying the wood stock with the blued barrel now or waiting and maybe not getting it until next year if I decide to wait for the synthetic stock with the matte barrel. Tough decision for me.

thanks again,

ccarlson

[BobT]

I agree that the accuracy difference between semi-auto and bolt is significant enough for the average joe blow hunter however, there is definitely a difference. There are very few competitive shooters that use semi-autos for a reason although for some events it is virtually impossible to compete without a semi-auto.

My dad used a Remington 742 all his life and I don't recall him ever having problems. What I believe he liked about that one was the short barrel.

Bob

[lawdog]

I shoot a Remington 7400 and have never had any trouble with it. In Wisconsin we have all kinds of tags and I sat on a drive one day with instructions to fill as many as possible. I had four deer come out together and three were on the ground when gutting time came. No bolt could have done it and I don't think my accuracy was too darn bad...

Its all a matter of knowing your weapon and choosing the right shot. The difference in accuracy between a bolt and an auto in the field is a complete non-factor!

[almostthere!]

Actually, my Browning A-bolt can and did. It wasn't a drive but four showed up and let just say 1 bullet, 1 kill (3 bullets loaded). Had I remember to load one more after chambering a round, it would had been 4 dead deer. My A-bolt cycle so fast that the noise from the cycling can not be distinguish from the shot itself.

[BobT]

I see that I omitted one word in my previous post and I'd like to make the following correction in my statement.

Quote:

---

I agree that the accuracy difference between semi-auto and bolt is

not

significant enough for the average joe blow hunter however, there is definitely a difference.

---

Bob

[love to hunt]

ccarlson,

My fault for bring up the auto over bolt issue. I should know by now that it can be a touchy subject.

To each his own and personnel preferances vary.

On the scope issue you may also want to look at a Burris. They are considerably less $$ then the Nikon and Leopod and I absolutly love them. I have signature scopes on several guns and they are tough as nails.

Food for thought.

[Huskiedevle]

A couple of years ago I hunted with my cousins husband, and he had a Browning semi-auto in .308. I am for the most part a bolt action guy, but I would of taken his Browning, if he gave it to me, in a heartbeat.That was one sweet rifle.I may have to go and get me one of those Brownings autos, one of these days.Nothing wrong with an auto. Both my shotguns are autos(SX2's).

[Jeremiah Johnson]

I use a 7400 Rem Weathermaster (the synthetic stock) and she works pretty well for me! knock on wood, no jam ups yet

[Insp Gadget]

I have a 20 yr old Rem 7400 as does my bro. my dad and grandpa have 740 and 742's. they can be jammie if not kept clean, and do have the remington drag trigger, but of my last 18 deer I've used 19 shells. Same with my bro's 7400.

In fact, he hunts exclusively in Wyoming and the rancher there now prefers he use his 7400 auto over his Ruger bolt because he downed 2 elk with 2 shots a few years back.

It ain't how big the hole is, it's where the hole is that counts.

Gadget

[iffwalleyes]

I have a Rem. 7400 O6 and a Browning A Bolt .270. I like both of them and they both have there strong points. My bolt is more accurate I can consistently shoot a group of 3 shells in the size of a quarter. But the O6 isn't to bad either not as tight of a pattern but still with in 2" groupings. A 2" grouping should get you a deer and if it doesn't I would say the problem is more of a user problem than a equipment problem. I use both alot though out the season. When I am doing drives I usually carry my O6 so that I have the speed of a auto loader and on more than one occation it has made the difference. If I am posting or am in a area where I expect a long shot then I carry my bolt. If I were to buy another auto loader I think it would be either the Browning Bar or the Benelli. My dad has hunted with a Model 742 and that gun has shot more deer with one shot than any I know of.