Military Rifles Legal for Hunting
Ignorant as I is, I've been wondering:
(1) Would any bolt-action military rifle with a magazine capacity of
five rounds or less---and of proper caliber---be legal for
hunting? What makes some military rifles OK to hunt with, and
others not? I thought it was magazine capacity.
(2) What criterion (or criteria) is (or are) used in determining a
"legal" hunting caliber/cartridge? Diameter? Muzzle energy?
Muzzle velocity? A combination of these?
(3) I'm a little fuzzy on how one can take a standard caliber like,
say, the .30-'06, and say "such-and-so a weight and type of bullet
is good for deer, but you need thus-and-such for elk, and such-
and-thus for brown bear." Are there agreed-upon energy/velocity
criteria for hunting animals in a specific size/weight range?
Knowledge is power!
(1) Would any bolt-action military rifle with a magazine capacity of
five rounds or less---and of proper caliber---be legal for
hunting? What makes some military rifles OK to hunt with, and
others not? I thought it was magazine capacity.
(2) What criterion (or criteria) is (or are) used in determining a
"legal" hunting caliber/cartridge? Diameter? Muzzle energy?
Muzzle velocity? A combination of these?
(3) I'm a little fuzzy on how one can take a standard caliber like,
say, the .30-'06, and say "such-and-so a weight and type of bullet
is good for deer, but you need thus-and-such for elk, and such-
and-thus for brown bear." Are there agreed-upon energy/velocity
criteria for hunting animals in a specific size/weight range?
Knowledge is power!
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This varies from state to state and you will need to look at your states regulations to determine what is legal and what is not. In some states any centerfire cartridge may be used, in others there is a minimum caliber, usually .24. Usually no FMJ bullets may be used nor tracers. Usually nothing is said about make, model, action type and so on. Thus, you could use a .223 in some states, but not others. Cartridges from .223 up to .30 are generally used for deer, so in most states, most any mil-surp rifle would work. Whether it would be the best choice or not is another question.
My heros have always killed cowboys.0 -
I know of no state where ex-military bolt action rifles can't be used. Right after WWII, they made up most of the hunting rifles available to a large segment of the population.
Knowing what cartridges work for what animals is largely just experience. If a cartridge has never been used on the animal before the next size is an okay gauge.
30-06 is pretty much the cartridge (American) which all others are judged by. 30-06 is useful for just about anthing outside of Africa or the Polar Bear (in reality, it would probably do a fair job there too).
Hope this helps.
A man who starts imagining that others think good because he does is simply out of his mind
It behooves one to be wary when among strangers and not to trust too much L'Amour0 -
Some states have an ammo capacity of 5 rounds, others have no maximum magazine cap requirement at all. All state laws need to be checked prior to hunting. Remember that these laws change each season. What was legal or legal last year, may be different this year. 0 -
Michigan requires a centerfire cartridge, and restricts semi-auto rifles to a 5 round total (mag + barrel) capacity (northern 2/3 of the state, southern third is shotgun/streight-wall pistol/ML only).
PA (as I recall) does NOT allow any semi-auto rifle for hunting.
Some guys like a mag full of lead, I still prefer one round to the head.0
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