Do any of you guys hunt with your M1As?

[PutTogether]

I would love to hear some experiences, including what you liked, what you didn't, what you would change, and why you were glad or not glad that you were using your M1A that day as opposed to......

[THT]

My FIL does. His chief complaint is the weight relative to a a bolt-action hunting rifle.

[Rob454]

My grandpa did. he didnt care about the weight. he thought I was a pu**y for carrying a bolt action. Just a grumpy old f****r with a old *** WWII garand. To this day he still swears the garand is the most accurate rifle. Still doesnt get why the military moved away from the garand. I tried to explain to him modern warfare but he just calls me a pu**y. I thought I was a grumpy pants marine. I look like MR SUNSHINE compared to ol' Sgt. Dennis.

[M1A Rifleman]

When I was still into hunting I carried an M1A with a blocked off 20 rnd mag and the SA 1st generation scope mount with a Burris 3x9. Way more fun than a simple bolt action. I also carried an 03A3 a few times. Failing to even see an anmimal is about the only reason I no longer hunt in CA, but I do miss the times running around the mountains with an M1A. I did get some double takes from other hunters - which was part of the fun.

[NRAhighpowershooter]

I did get some double takes from other hunters - which was part of the fun.

back in the mid 80's I hunted D6 and D7 for 6 yrs with a HK-91.. now THAT got me a lot of looks......

[forgiven]

No sure haven't. Would of been interesting though.

[kazman]

I haven't been hunting but thinking of getting an M1a Scout and part of my excuse for justifying it is that I could hunt with it if I ever wanted to.

[tygerpaw]

I killed a pig with my M1A Scout Squad Rifle. When I hunt now, I hunt with a Steyr Scout, Jeff Cooper model. The M1A is kind of heavy, I guess I'm a wuss...

[PutTogether]

tygerpaw - that is freaking cool!

How far away was that thing? Where did you hit it? Tell us about the wound.

[tygerpaw]

tygerpaw - that is freaking cool!

How far away was that thing? Where did you hit it? Tell us about the wound.

There I was....

Well, he was about 60 yards away, on the side of a hill, with a dirt road at the bottom. This was a guided hunt in Mendocino County (2004). It happended pretty fast. My first shot went into his right shoulder (unfortunately). He headed for the brush on top of the hill, the guide yelled "hit him again". I fired. He told me to hit him again, and I fired again. This time he started to roll down the hill (toward the road ). When I got to him, his right front foot was blown apart and his right back foot was blown apart. You could not see any wound any where else. I thought I might have missed one of the shots, but I knew those two foot shots would not have killed him. The entry wound was not visible at all. There was no exit wound. The bullet I used was Remington Core-Lokt, 150 grain.

After we got him skinned, we found the shoulder wound. The bullet penetrated the shoulder (ruining the shoulder meat), and went into the vitals. This was the kill shot. The other two foot shots were just lucky. It all happened very fast, I'm just thankfull I didnt gut shoot him or ruin more meat than I did. Also, the M1A Scout is VERY loud without earplugs. My ears rang for a week, literally.

[sickboy774]

my hunting buddy uses an M1 Socom. he liked the quicker follow up shot compared to his bolt action rifle. lol

[RANGER295]

I use my standard M1A to hunt deer with in the D zones. My bolt actions consist of a bunch of collectable rifles for the most part. My only non-collectable bolt gun is a Savage 10-FP with a McMillan stock which weighs way more than my M1A.

I like the durability of the weapon and the fact that it is 100% (almost) reliable. I have a synthetic stock on it, which lightens it up a bit. I like the quick follow up shots. My hunting buddy and I were playing around at a range one time and I was able to engage 10 targets and drop my mag in the time my friend was able to get two shots off with his bolt gun. I was not quite as accurate as my buddy, but I had center mass shots on all of them at 200 meters.

[POLICESTATE]

Rob454, you're grandpa rules! If he ever runs for president he's got my vote.

My grandpa did. he didnt care about the weight. he thought I was a pu**y for carrying a bolt action. Just a grumpy old f****r with a old *** WWII garand. To this day he still swears the garand is the most accurate rifle. Still doesnt get why the military moved away from the garand. I tried to explain to him modern warfare but he just calls me a pu**y. I thought I was a grumpy pants marine. I look like MR SUNSHINE compared to ol' Sgt. Dennis.

[U2BassAce]

My grandpa did. he didnt care about the weight. he thought I was a pu**y for carrying a bolt action. Just a grumpy old f****r with a old *** WWII garand. To this day he still swears the garand is the most accurate rifle. Still doesnt get why the military moved away from the garand. I tried to explain to him modern warfare but he just calls me a pu**y. I thought I was a grumpy pants marine. I look like MR SUNSHINE compared to ol' Sgt. Dennis.

Classic!!!