JavaScript is disabled
Our website requires JavaScript to function properly. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser settings before proceeding.
Hey! Getting ready to finally make a decision on my first rifle! Yay! Thanks for everyone who participated in letting me Shoot theirs over the last year! Thanks! 😍
So the question is? Whats really the difference between bolt action and gas? I feel less 😎 without jerking that bolt around after each shot… lol but. What about things I find important like recoil, concussion and the need too quick fire (as if bears would chase me!?! ) lol anyone want to give opinions or help with these decisions!? Surely appreciate hearing your thoughts on the matter!
 
If you plan to use a suppressor to reduce concussion and recoil then a bolt gun is ideal. The semi auto actions allow noise to exit near the shooter.

Depending on how important long range is to you a lever action would be tremendous fun. When Ruger gets the Marlin line up to speed they'll offer some threaded models too.
 
What is the difference between bolt and gas? Holy hell Marla...what's the difference between Tyler and a Hitachi?

Seriously, what's your use case again? What role will this firearm fill in your life? It's a tool, at the end of the day...so what jobs do you have planned for it?


Whatever you decide, let training weigh heavily into your choice. It does you no good to get a gun that is too pricey for you to shoot or that you cannot train with in your intended use (example: a 1000 yard rifle if you can't get to a range that offers distance shooting...).
 
What is the difference between bolt and gas? Holy hell Marla...what's the difference between Tyler and a Hitachi?

Seriously, what's your use case again? What role will this firearm fill in your life? It's a tool, at the end of the day...so what jobs do you have planned for it?


Whatever you decide, let training weigh heavily into your choice. It does you no good to get a gun that is too pricey for you to shoot or that you cannot train with in your intended use (example: a 1000 yard rifle if you can't get to a range that offers distance shooting...).
Thank you!but i know these things! I have only ever shot a bolt rifle so I was more interested in understanding from others perspectives who have actually shot both. Cost is a huge importance. But what i choose will go along with that. Till then, its bolt or not bolt, recoil, concussion/caliber. I was thinking a bolted .270 win to start. I am not interested in something as small as a 22 for rifle. This is deer and long range shooting. I know im accurate. After I find what easiest too shoot wo wasting my money! Lol ill only buy up from there! In my mind this is better than buying every rifle! Lol
 
If you plan to use a suppressor to reduce concussion and recoil then a bolt gun is ideal. The semi auto actions allow noise to exit near the shooter.

Depending on how important long range is to you a lever action would be tremendous fun. When Ruger gets the Marlin line up to speed they'll offer some threaded models too.
I did not think of this! Thank you!
 
Modern, well-built semi auto AR rifles are accurate. The military has even switched back to AR-style rifles for some sniper use. Bolt action rifles are generally more accurate because the action snugs down tightly when the bolt knob is pushed down.
 
If you don't even own a rifle yet you sure aren't ready to even consider long range shooting yet. You have a lot of work to do first.
 
Red Ryder.

DEFD8556-D19B-4B55-9968-02EC1BB69D7B.jpeg
 
For hunting I prefer a bolt action rifle , if I am to use a modern rifle....

That said , my modern hunting rifle is a Winchester Model 94 in .30-30 from 1958...a really fun lever action rifle.
It suits my needs for where and how I hunt if I choose to hunt in modern season.

A rifle in .270 Winchester will make for a dandy hunting rifle....you could hunt just about anything you care to hunt in North America with it.

And with all that said...
The rifle I shoot , use and hunt with the most is none of the above....:D
Its my .54 Hawken rifle ...this rifle has won many a shooting match , and kept me fed with :
Grouse...
Antelope..
Deer...
Elk...
Black Bear...

Pick what you like...what feels good to you....and practice...both on and off the rifle bench....
Andy
 
I prefer a semi auto in 270 if I hunt eastern Oregon deer as it allows a faster follow up shot. A bolt gun gets you out of shooting position and moves the gun around too much to keep track of the game.

I use bolt guns in the western hunting as where I hunt the brush is dense and you can't see far. One shot is all you get.

Why the 270, is there a reason?
 
So an Auto can be very accurate. They let the shooter get into their position and not move out of that position till you need to change mags. A bolt gun has a slight advantage because the stocks are one continous piece with the action epoxy bedded in place.this makes the stock and action as close as possible to being one piece [ less joints, less movement, more accurate].
If I were advising my sons on a new rifle that would be used for deer hunting and possibly some longer range competition, I would have a hard time steering them away from the 6.5 CreedMoore. There is so much development being heaped on this one , it would be hard to ignore.
It's biggest downside is there is so much being written about it that most are just tired of hearing its name!
For a rifle capable of long distance, it has fairly light recoil. Its not a creampuff, but its not a big kicker either.
I shoot a 6.5 x55 Swede Mauser, Almost a ballistic twin of the CM.
After a few shoulder surgerys I sold off a 7mm mag, and a 300 Win Mag. and went back to rifles I started with when I was a teen, 30-30, and 6.5x55. Both are easy enough on the sholder, and both are good at what they do best. The 30-30 is a great gun for use in the brush , getting on and off a horse, and for carrying in thick trees. The 6.5x55 will reach out a little farther, and is most at home hunting on open ground! Good Luck DR
 
I picked up a Ruger #1 in 270 and plan to use that for deer this next year. I am not a big fan of semi automatics for hunting big game. I do have a BAR in 30-06 but I have only hunted once with it. A good shot in the field tries to make the first shot count. A second shot is not guaranteed
 
Both do the same things and both do different things.

For a 1st rifle, get what you want most.

If the word NEED comes in anywhere, usually doesn't, get the one you need.

I haven't seen many of your posts, and only going off the posts here, it sounds like hunting and long range are the things that interest you. Those may seem similar, but they are not. Going back to wants/needs, pick which of the two "hunting" or "long range" are more important to you and start there.

Picking between semi automatic and a bolt action is easier to do once you have better narrowed down what this rifle is actually for.
 
I picked up a Ruger #1 in 270 and plan to use that for deer this next year. I am not a big fan of semi automatics for hunting big game. I do have a BAR in 30-06 but I have only hunted once with it. A good shot in the field tries to make the first shot count. A second shot is not guaranteed
I often hunt with friends. My friend Jim got me into the 270 as every time he shot the deer dropped like a rock. His wife bought him a Ruger # 1 in 270 and he took it out the next season.

He always shot for the spine so the deer couldn't run off. I was working the ridge pushing deer we saw earlier when Jim let go with the new 270. I seen a deer moving and knocked it down. Jim was lower on the ridge and I hear him shoot again. Oh boy I thought as this area was two tags for new growing forest.

I got up to my deer and oddly enough Jim claimed it. I looked close and there was two shots that just cut the hair above the spine. First time I ever saw him miss but it was a new gun and fit him different.

Sometimes it's good to have a followup shot when you have partners to hunt with.
 
I have hunted with single shot shotguns when I was a kid and took my first white tail with one..I may find that I don't like hunting with the number 1 but have to try it to know
.Experience is funny like that.
 

Upcoming Events

Oregon Arms Collectors March Gun Show
Portland, OR
Tillamook Gun & Knife Show
Tillamook, OR
"The Original" Kalispell Gun Show
Kalispell, MT
Teen Rifle 1 Class
Springfield, OR
Kids Firearm Safety 2 Class
Springfield, OR

New Resource Reviews

New Classified Ads

Back Top