For the majority of hunters, it's really personal preference. I prefer bolt actions, however a guy in our club has a BAR 30-06 and he kills basically everything he tries to. I'm actually impressed with that gun as far as automatics go. It works like a champ. If you need real long range accuracy, it may not be the preferred choice. But as far as normal hunting ranges go (under 200 yds) I would say it should work just fine. I can't really comment on the ballistics of it compared to a bolt(although I doubt theres much difference), I just know it works well for him