In all honesty, just DO NOT tell my fiance this, there is no real need for any gun while deerhunting, there' s probably no need for bows either, I' m sure people have killed deer with a thrown stone, but where' s the fun in that? Why do I NEED a bolt action to hunt deer? because it' s your favorite action type? I' d much prefer a six-shooter .44mag to a bolt gun in any caliber. As far as cartridge arms go, there' s really no need for anything more than a single shot, but when was the last time anyone heard someone trying to ' ban' bolt guns in favor of single shots? Why should I be restricted to not using my gun of choice because it' s not your gun of choice?

As far as hunting goes, semiautos are more than accurate enough to be successful, it varies by arm and user just like any other action, but I don' t really see why I need to shoot better than 6" groups at 200yrds, which is absolutely NOT impossible for almost ANY semiauto I' ve ever shot (I' ve had several that would shoot under 1.5MOA out to 300yrds, and you won' t prove to me that 4.5" groups from a 30-06 won' t kill a deer!). No, the most accurate semiauto won' t outshoot the most accurate bolt gun, but then we' re talking about 1000yrd shooting an splitting hairs, knocking a deer in the dirt at under 300yrds is an entirely different story. I' ve got an SKS that I can shoot better with a 3x42mm glass than a buddy of mine (quite a successful shooter with other guns) can with a Pre-64 Winchester Model 70 featherweight (once offered for at $4500) with a 4xglass, and better than another buddy can with a 16x glass on a 6.5x55swe mauser and a Marlin .30-30 336 with a 16xglass, not all bolts are more accurate than all semiautos, my ruger and my fiance' s .308 mauser blows it away, but it' s a much better shooter than hunting scenarios would ever dictate a need for.

Why do we need to get rid of semiautomatic hunting arms? How does it hurt you that I don' t have to jack a bolt, pump a slide, break a bbl, drop a block, swing a lever? I can have a faster and more accurate second shot (when and if needed) because I don' t have to remove my hands from a shooting position, cycling a bolt requires rebounding from the recoil, removing the hand, cycling the action, replacing the hand and repositioning it into a ' comfort hold' , and aiming then firing, semiauto' s simply require rebounding and re-aiming and firing. I don' t know why it hurts people so bad that other hunters use a self cycling arm? I guess they just don' t like other people having an advantage on them, I can get the same huntability and equivalent field performance in the field from my semiauto arms as I do my bolt guns, but I don' t have to reposition myself after ever shot, I get the same five shots as you do, but I' m at an advantage because I can pull them faster, and I can ' re-aim' faster as well, so I get a 50yrd shot and a 75yrd shot instead of a 50yrd shot and a 100yrd shot.

The reliability issue is valid, you might have to search for a semiauto that won' t let you down, but why would anyone keep a gun that isn' t reliable? I never would, there' s no point in having a gun that you can' t trust your life to if you would need it? How many times have you seen a semiauto jam just lowering the hammer on the first shot?

Just because bolt guns on average are more accurate and more