It is becoming harder to find a place where you can go for a quiet hunt in today’s world. Well, perhaps there are plenty of places, but you will have to drive long distances before shooting a few rounds that won’t disturb anyone. If you’re going that far, you want a rifle that will do the job. Many things separate a good hunting rifle from a bad one. Before we proceed further, let us make sure we know what the term ‘hunting rifle’ denotes:
What is a Hunting Rifle
A hunting rifle is best defined as an “A-purpose [easy to use] rifle that can be used to kill (hunt) small and big game alike.” The terms ‘easy to use’ and ‘purpose built’ make this classification different from other rifles. Let us examine some popular misconceptions:
A Rifle is Good for Hunting If It Has a Scope and Iron Sights
This is not true. Scopes are indeed an important part of any hunting rifle because you need your sight as far away from the projectile as possible to improve accuracy, but they aren’t the only tool required for hunting. For example, shotguns don’t have scopes or optical sights, yet many hunters swear by them. Iron sights are also a handy addition to your rifle, which you should not disregard. Lastly, even air rifles, which fire a .177 caliber lead pellet at about 400 feet per second, can be used for hunting purposes with the correct ammunition and technique.
Bolt Action Is Needed For Hunting
Another misconception is that if you want to go into big game hunting, you need a bolt action rifle because they’re more accurate than other kinds of rifles. This may be true in some cases, but several factors are involved in determining accuracies, such as human error, barrel quality, and type of projectile used. Just because a rifle has bolt action, it will not automatically produce better results than a semi-automatic rifle.
A Hunting Rifle Is Meant To Shoot Through Any Object
This is a dangerous assumption, particularly with firearms designed to kill animals. Hunting rifles are built for penetration of two kinds: penetrating the hide of an animal and then entering its body cavity or passing straight through an animal to hit another target behind it. If you try shooting your hunting rifle at any other object, expect some severe damage!
There’s Only One Caliber Available For Hunting Rifles
This isn’t true. Today’s most common calibers are .223, 7 mm Rem Mag, 30-30, .308 Winchester, and 12 gauge. There are many more calibers available for hunting rifles which you can Google if interested.
Hunting Rifles Are Dangerous To Shoot
Always read your user manual first before using it and make sure you know where any safety mechanism is located on your rifle (this usually works by preventing the hammer or firing pin from hitting the cartridge). You should also be aware that some firearms have higher pressure cartridges than others, so they do require more care when handling them.