Bolties are known for being more accurate but it doesn't mean there are no 1 MOA ARs. So if hunting with semi autos is legal in your place, wouldn't it be a good deal to sacrifice some accuracy for easier follow up shots? And at war a bolt action sniper rifle seems good unless you need something for short distance self defence which means it's probably better to have an additional gun.
>>64658105It’s not an accuracy thing (for the most part) as semi-autos can easily be just as accurate. It comes down to weight and need. Hunting rifles in .308, .30-06, .300wm are usually 6.5-7.5lbs. For example, my Benelli Lupo in .300 win mag is 7lbs without accessories or ammunition. Most semi-autos rifles that chamber .308 are 8lbs or more. They just get so much heavier when you get into bigger calibers. So stalking or being in a tree stand where I’m shooting off hand, weight matters if I need to keep the animal in my sights for a minute before they present an ethical shot. I’ve also only has to follow up on an animal twice in my 12 years of hunting. In both cases a semi-auto wouldn’t have made it noticeably easier. So when you get into sniper rifles in .300 win mag, .300 Norma, .338 Lapua, .375CT, semi auto versions would become prohibitively heavy for infantry. Pigs/hogs are a different story. I hunt them with a semi-auto. But they’re usually in droves and my state has open season on them, there is no limit. Game warden once told me they have so many piglets so frequently that killing 8 out of 10 keeps the population relatively stable. I also hunt pigs with 7.62x39.
>>64658462>It comes down to weight and need.This. A bolt action is lighter especially when you consider all the extra weight from optics, suppressors, thermals and whatever else you might have strapped to your sniper rifle as well. For somebody going out long distance on foot then the lighter rifle is better i.e hunters or spec ops sort of guys. However on the other end if you are expecting to be using it to guard a base/your house or you have a vehicle to do most of the carrying for you then the semi auto would be better because you have the support there to make proper use of it i.e you are sitting on a can of ammo rather than carrying it.
>>64658105>wouldn't it be a good deal to sacrifice some accuracy for easier follow up shots?No. In fact the opposite makes much more sense. Follow-up shots are rarely needed and should be avoided if at all possible.>>64658462culling hogs is pest control, not hunting.
>>64658523>pest controlFair enough. I should’ve said exterminating.
>>64658105Can a marksmanfag tell me why sniper rifles always have tiny magazines? Even videos from Ukraine and the Sandbox of Fun Times Past show people armed with bolt-actions having those tiny, form-fitting magazines.I don't understand why they typically don't have larger ones, even in active warzones
>>64658561Depends on the caliber. But I wonder if for some of the larger rounds like .338 lapua, .375CT or .50bmg, magazine geometry gets fucky after 5-10. It also has to do with the ability to get into a good shooting position. Big ole banana mags could mean the difference between a good spot and one where you just can’t get any good angles
>>64658561Because they are generally used prone and so the gun needs to also lie flat.
I'm going hunting, not to war
In all honesty, is there any real point to having a bull barrel vs a standard barrel? What do you guys prefer and why?
>>64658561Because there's no need. Bolt-action sniper rifles are used at extreme distance with low practical rates of fire and low per-engagement round counts. There's no practical reason to fit them with larger magazines, and a lot of disadvantages to doing so:- rounds are weight on the gun that's already usually pretty heavy for what it is: thick barrel profiles, milled receivers, massive glass etc. A sniper may need to change positions with the gun about as often as change the magazine, so saving weight on parts that don't affect accuracy is standard practice.- corollary to the first: snag hazard. A mag that sticks out of the gun presents an extra point that can get snagged on things. Also, as >>64658642 pointed out, these rifles are most often used from prone, and sticking a large magazine out the bottom would interfere with that.- sniper rounds are precision-made, often hand-loaded, and fragile. Feeding them through a mechanism more complex than a single-stack low-angle low-pressure magazine is added risk of the round deforming somehow and flying off wherever. Extreme range shooters are known to baby their ammo, keeping it warm with their body heat, in special pouches with individual sections, etc.
>>64661245Based Ninja 3 Enjoyer.
Am I retarded for wanting semi chambered in 30-06? The options are pretty slim
>>64658561Most Snipers in modern militaries are more of the guy on the ground recon confirming targets and positions.
>>64664029>Am I retarded for wanting semi chambered in 30-06?sort of, there aren't many due to the rounds size and 308 is better for holding more
>>64664029Dude Remington made ONE POINT FOUR MILLION Model 742 Woodsmasters and I bet 80% were chambered in 06. Trad gunsmiths, Military don't like like 'em because the receivers were milled out one block of forged steel. The bolt-carrier slides were machined into the receiver = almost impossible to repair once fucked. Also action not nearly as water/grit-proof as a Garand. Against that they are beautiful hunting rifles. Rem worked long and hard to reduce felt recoil. I loved mine but I passed it on to a nephew.
>>64658105Nobody had brought up the issue that damage to the nose of any kind of projectile (soft, hollow, spirepoint) can entirely be avoided by cycling a bolt-gun deliberately. Semiautos have a tendency to have feed ramps with steps cut in them and at any rate send 'em into the chamber much faster. Yes they have plastic tip bullets that are all-but-immune to damage from that, now. But for fine accuracy it will always favor bolt-guns. When you are sending 'em waaaaay out there you want all your slugs to be perfectly undamaged.
>>64658105I know SWAT guys who really wanted to be able to have an excuse to use their .308 ARs but they couldn't show that they were equally as accurate as their issued bolt actions, which were clapped out Remington 700s. They did some comparative shooting and the bolts were more accurate. It would have brought too much liability to let the sniper use an AR. But yes they do shoot follow up shots quicker. You need to ask yourself, do I need to push the limits of accuracy or do I need volume of fire? In most preppers case a semi auto would be more practical. You can still hunt at effective range and put down quicker volume of fire if needed. But if you're trying to shoot a "deer" between the eyes a bolty serves you better. They're also lighter to carry.
>>64661245Depends on what you plan to do with the rifle. If you're planning on shooting for the best possible groups or doing competitions, a bull barrel is definitely helpful. It will be less prone to flyers when the barrel starts to heat up. If you're only ever going to shoot in totally controlled scenarios (as in you can let your barrel cool down between shots as needed) or if your main use is hunting, then there's really no need for a bull barrel. As a simple example, if I'm trying to shoot my best possible groups, my 308 M1A can start to open up after just 3 shots with its pencil profile barrel if I don't let it cool down between shots. My 6.5C B14HMR I can go 7-10 rounds before I notice any real impact on groupings.
