Good Cold Weather Deer Semi-Auto Rifle

[Solomin]

I thought about posting this in the hunting sticky, but there wasn't much discussion regarding type of weapons and reasons why in the thread, so I figured this is just as much of a general equipment question.

I've been pheasant hunting a dozen times before, but this is my first year deer hunting. My father and his hunting buddies do a lot of drives so I'm looking to get a semi-auto and not a bolt action. It gets very cold here in Minnesota and Wisconsin and I know in years past my father and his friends have had problems with the semi-auto freezing or getting stuck when autoloading and firing. A while back my father bought a Browning BAR Safari and has never had the problem since. His buddies all followed suit and bought various caliber BAR Safaris and they have never had a problem since. However, I am not sure I want to spend $1050, when there might be a less expensive alternative.

I've been shooting since I was 6, so I don't need any advice suggesting a rifle for new shooters, I just never had the need to own my own rifle before.

I looked around on websites for reviews of various semi-autos, but everything I read had to do with the ergonomics, cleaning, accuracy etc of the weapon. I couldn't find stuff on how well it performs in the freezing cold. My possible purchases are listed below if anyone has any experience in cold weather use of these weapons let me know what you think or if you have any other suggestions they are also welcome.

Remington Model 7600 Synthetic: Win .308: $650

Ruger KMINI-30-P: Win .308: $900

BAR Lightweight Stalker: Win .308: $1050

And if I find enough quarters in my couch...

Benelli R1: Win .308: $1300

[Albatross]

How long is your typical shot? Are you hunting in the brush?

[Solomin]

Good question, I should have mentioned more. From talking to them, sometimes there is brush sometimes not, but I thought shooting through brush had a lot to do with the shape of the round, not necessarily the power. For distance I think we are talking anywhere between 50 and 200 yards. They mostly shoot .270s, but I know one guy shoots a Springfield .30-06 and takes long shots if he has the chance.

[JC0352]

Get the BAR my friend! Any of those rounds are just fine: .308 Win, .270 Win, or .30-06 Sprngfld

Also, the lighter the recoil, the better. You want to get back on target for a follow-up shot as fast as you can.

[Albatross]

My advice would be to get 2 rifles.

1)Use a 30/30 lever action and use iron sights for the brush hunting, great for thick nasty stuff under 100 yards. Brush buster that will drop a deer.

2)A 30.06 mag fed with a scope for the longer shots. Round flies flat, fast and has a ton of stopping power.

[Jurpula]

Why does it have to be semi?

As far as caliber goes, I'd take the .308.There are good rounds for small game and if the need arises, you still have punch for bigger game.

[JC0352]

If you can find a good used rifle, you could save some cash.

My dad has a Remington 742 in .30-06 from the late '70s and it's still an awesome deer slayer. He has a Leupold VX-III 1.5-5x20 scope on it; a great "thick woods" rifle. This is a google image, but to give you an idea...

[Albatross]

I don't like scopes on my brush rifles, most of my shots have been 25-50 yards in nasty stuff. I like the quick action on the iron sights.

I need a new scope for my .243.

[Solomin]

I most likely be getting a Leupold brand scope, this is all helpful information, but my main concern is for cold weather if anyone has any more input on that.

[Albatross]

I have hunted with that 30/30 lever in some brutally cold stuff, and it was perfect. I have also had a 30.06 mag fed that jammed. It is really all about maintence and cleaning. Just clean it and lube it really good every night before you head out, or in the morning if you are that kinda guy.

[JC0352]

I most likely be getting a Leupold brand scope, this is all helpful information, but my main concern is for cold weather if anyone has any more input on that.

Another major factor would probably be what kind of oil/lube you use; I have no clue which would be best for extreme cold.

[Solomin]

That's a good point, I'll do some research, thanks!

[sexyhamburger]

All you need man ;)

[Solomin]

I read something online about using graphite lube in cold weather, anybody know anything more about this?

EDIT: More on this, I guess graphite lube will corrode aluminum, otherwise it is good for sub zero temps.

[Rynnäkkökivääri]

Maybe a .308 Garand would work for you.

[HOLLiS]

If you can find a good used rifle, you could save some cash.

My dad has a Remington 742 in .30-06 from the late '70s and it's still an awesome deer slayer. He has a Leupold VX-III 1.5-5x20 scope on it; a great "thick woods" rifle. This is a google image, but to give you an idea...



Sounds like the one I have. It is a nice shooter.

[Solomin]

Maybe a .308 Garand would work for you.

I looked into it a while back, Synthetic Stock MSRP is $1600

[Aussie Sapper]

I have a Ruger M77 in 30-06 that I use on deer.

Even though its a bolt action, it suits me just fine as I generally stalk the deer, try to get as close as I can, and get off one clean shot.

As the scrub/bush is thick, and the range can get to be quite close, the instances of needing/getting off a second shot are, for all practical reasons, non existant.

My philosphy is that if I can't do the job with one shot, then the deer has won.

[Rynnäkkökivääri]

I looked into it a while back, Synthetic Stock MSRP is $1600
Oh, you won't get it for MSRP anymore, now more new production, but you could always look at gunshows, you could find a beautiful deal, or a conversion on an 30-06 wouldn't be hard neither, since the .308 and 30-06 require nothing but a separate barrel, IIRC. Just a suggestion though, and an M1A/M14 may be more up your alley.

[rhino]

I think you talking about graphite powder, suppose to be good in cold weather conditions, and suppose to be used in arctics by Canadians

for any thing else the colder it gets the less lubricant you use, the problems your dads friends may had was bringing guns out of the trucks into cold and back again, condensation freazes and the action stops working

for a drive hunts, though depending on the area, I use a shotty, but in central ontario you rerly have a chance for a shoot over 150 m, unless you are in farm lands, most of my hunts are in bush

[Fiber]

hkg3
As stated by a previous poster, a common cause of action stopping in cold weather is condensation.

[Roaming East]

hkg3
As stated by a previous poster, a common cause of action stopping in cold weather is condensation.
G3 destroys brass. Most hunters i know custom load and if he does he isnt going to appreciate watching his nice expensive brass get bent at 60 degree angles and hurled 2 miles from his point of fire.

[Indiana Jones]

A couple of points.
I do not know about the Remington 750, however the earlier 742 and 7400 exhibited epidemic reliability problems, especially with the receiver, and had a very short life expectancy, some say as low as -350 rounds of full-power factory loads in the case of the 742. Consider that most hunters especially in the US tend to fire no more than perhaps a box or two a year, which has obscured some of this problem to a degree. It also has a poor trigger. Of all designs listed and for the stated purposes I would pick the BAR.

If you should decide on a lever action, the "classics" such as the Marlin 336 and the Winchester 94 are for a number of reasons of comparatively limited utility for driven hunts. First off, the .30-30 is a fairly slow round which will in turn require more lead, and may be a bit on the weak side, considering the game will be alarmed and moving thus having a higher level of adrenaline and being more resilient, on top of being more difficult to hit. In addition, the .30-30 will restrict you to flat and softnosed bullets (with the exception of the new Hornady design) that are very susceptible to deflection and may provide erratic terminal performance.
Instead, I would look constructions sans tubular magazines, ie. the Browning BLR, the Winchester 1895 or the old Savage 99.

In general, I would by all means consider the acquisition of a quality, variable, low power scope; It greatly expands the utility and flexibility of your rifle, especially when mounted with quick detachable mounts coupled with good iron sights such as these http://www.williamsgunsight.com/ or these: http://www.xssights.com/store/rifle.html
Since your budget is limited, a Leupold or Nikon might indeed be your best bet, however I personally would save a bit more and invest in high quality optics from European manufacturers such as Schmidt & Bender, Kahles, or Zeiss. They are well worth the money.

When in exremely cold weather, as it has been said, run the rifle dry.

[Mundzos]

If you want something cheap, maybe you can buy new Yugo SKS and put plastic stock on it....I know they are not very accurate but they will do the job in short distance...

If you want to spend lil more, how about Dragunov type rifle....They are very reliable in winter, decent accuracy although they are big and heavy...

[Solomin]

Well for now I'm waiting as I found out a friend of mine has a friend who is a rep for Benelli to see if I can't get some sort of discount on the R1, the R1 is expensive, however it has interchangable barrels. So I could get 30-06 and then say I wanted to try some big game down line go buy some type of magnum barrel and just swap.

[HoboWithAK]

My advice would be to get 2 rifles.

1)Use a 30/30 lever action and use iron sights for the brush hunting, great for thick nasty stuff under 100 yards. Brush buster that will drop a deer.

2)A 30.06 mag fed with a scope for the longer shots. Round flies flat, fast and has a ton of stopping power.

Brush buster? Are you serious? Anyone who's shot in the woods knows there isn't anything you could easily carry into the brush that you can call a "brush buster". 30/30 definitely does not fit into that category.

I will second the idea of a lever action. Very reliable, very accurate. 30/30 is a great cartridge for a lever action, as well. Other than that, if you want to go auto loading and not break the bank, grab yourself an SKS. They're still relatively cheap and more than capable of taking deer at reasonable ranges.

[Biglug]

Alot of freezing up problems in extreme cold weather can be contributed to the lube solidifying.
Tetra oil is an excellent lube with a -100 degree F to +750 degree F range. I've used the oil and grease for years in hot and freezing cold. Use the oil in extreme cold though.

If you might be open to more than just an extremely reliable hunting rifle than you might think of a PTR91 depending on how you are about it and your state is. Reliable and accurate they are though and are a high quality comparative version to a HK91. The iron sights are very fast acquisition sights too.
With a 5 round magazine, you should be plenty hunting politically correct if you need to be.

http://ptr91.com/products_ptr.html

http://hkpro.com/hk91.htm

http://atlanticfirearms.com/programming/expand.asp?Prodid=88

Call for availabilty and pricing at,

http://www.cdnninvestments.com/


Photo from 1986 catalog depicting the HK91 in a hunting role with obvious effort at showing durability of rifle, even when frozen. Quite possible our "hunter" fell asleep in the tree stand during a sleet storm.

[Createdeemcee]

Originally Posted by SGTJC0352
If you can find a good used rifle, you could save some cash.

My dad has a Remington 742 in .30-06 from the late '70s and it's still an awesome deer slayer. He has a Leupold VX-III 1.5-5x20 scope on it; a great "thick woods" rifle. This is a google image, but to give you an idea...
This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 1280x479 and weights 294KB.


Friend of mine has one, Scoped and many deer on it. His favorite by far but a pump. Semi I would go Dragunov, Great round.

[Solomin]

They don't have a lot of the laws in Minnesota like they do in California, but I honestly think it's only a matter time before they do have some stupid law banning collapsible stocks or something else ridiculous. Anyways, I'm trying to avoid a military style rifle, at least for my 1st purchase.