I used a Bolt 30-06 for years, LOVED that gun! But I bought me a Glenfield 30-30 this summer and I'm really enjoying it. I loved the Bolt because it is so simple, and almost nothing can go wrong. Also, you get more distance. But, Levers are much more fun to shoot, and with LeverEvolution ammo you can get more distance. Either way they are both great guns, Its just a personal preferance.

All are good in the correct hands
 

Any action rifle in a good choice in the correct hands. I bet you couldn't count the deer killed with a 742 woodmaster over the years in one sitting. Of course that isn't implying that all who shoot a 742 aren't strafe shooters. My dad and uncles along with various hunting partners hunted with the 742 or 7400 for several years and did very well. They eventually went to bolt action rifles for various reasons but they will tell you they wouldn't hesitate to pick the autos backup if they wished.

I have wondered that question as well. While I started with bolts as a youth for hunting and target competition I got a Savage 99 back in the 60's and it became my deer rifle.

Then I got some of those 'new' SS Syn stocked rifles and they are bolts!

Most bolts are more accurate, better lockup, chambered in magnums and have more positive safeties.

Some are also lighter than autos.

Why bolt action....why not. I prefer the action. After field stripping various types of firearms and seeing what makes them work or what can go wrong, I have come to enjoy the simplisity of a firearm having less moving parts in a more rugged and typically more accurate platform. To many it is the efficiency. Plus the wide variety of calibers offered in bolt actions is another reason why.

this is why I use a bolt action, replicate any of these with a semi or a lever


RR

i started with a shotgun went to a marlin lever action, then years later and a ton of dead dear i missed the big buck called the rake horn at 250 yards. went straight to the sporting goods store and got me a .270 rem 700 and a good scope. that was 30 years ago.

Cause you only need 1 shot.

Though I'm toying with a lever 30-30 as a second gun, the main reason for bolts with me is that I bought my bolt rifle years ago when there was only going to be enough funds for one gun. The only flat shooting calibers that I saw in lever guns were well beyond my budget, and a caliber like 30-06 (which i ended up getting in a savage) was important for the versatility.

Now you say it is boring to use a bolt? Why? Are you generally taking more than one shot at an animal that you need a semi or a lever action? If so please practice more at the range. But my reasoning is less to screw up. Been tried and true not as many moving parts, stays a whole hell of a lot cleaner then something like an AR.

Disclaimer:
Before this thread leads to 2nd amendment rights and it is my right for why I said "you need a semi or a lever action" . Which I agree the most but this wasn't directed to that. Which would be a whole another thread.

My philosophy is if you can get a second shot in, take it. Normally, there isn't the opportunity as they run into cover, but it is something I look for.

I did see something once that I found interesting: one of the outdoor writers compared the results of a bolt and a lever gun--aimed shot and then quick several follow ups. It was timed.

The bolt was something like four hits in a 4' circle, the lever like 7-8 hits in a pie plate. He pointed out that all of the shots with the lever would have been fatal and none would have been a hit in the stomach.

His point was that if you were in similar distances, that quick follow up ability of the lever action might be handy.