Second thought...why bother

[ironglow]

  A couple years ago. after I disbursed several of my guns to my grandsons, one of them being my Ruger American .308.   I soon thought I had been a bit too hasty..so I decided to puck up another big game rifle..just in case

   Within a few days from deciding to get another big game rifle, I was in Walmart, and spotted a Ruger American
   with a blast deflector.
  A closer look divulged a .450 Bushmaster, which piqued my interest almost immediately, so I bought it!

   Since then, I have wondered why I didn't just go with another .308 or at least something between 30/30 and .308.

 6  This Bushmaster is downright uncomfortable to shoot.  Although the recoil is only minimally to blame, since the blast deflector helps to reduce the recoil.
   However, the deflector raises it to a very uncomfortable noise level.

   Being as I am not in the future, planning on hunting  any Grizzlies, Kodiaks or moose, I regret that I didn't just grab
  the Marlin 30/30 I was checking out at the same time..

  I have made many 1 shot kills with .308, 30/30, .44 Mag as 2well as 12Ga shotgun., so I can't justify to myself, the higher cost paid in ear torture, shoulder ache and the price of ammo....for no gain of proficiency.

   There are times when we must rethink !

[Dee]

I never got into that trap although friends, and a couple of relatives have. Deer, hogs, squirrels, you name it, haven't grown into more durable targets over my lifetime, and the same rounds that killed them 75 years ago, surprisingly, still work.

Self defense is the same also. We used t call the 9mms that flooded the law enforcement market "the wonder nines". Wonder if this will be enough.
Point is. People still react to being shot the same way they did 75 years ago.
Many years ago I was training a smaller department SWAT unit and they had purchased 4 of Rugers short barreled Mini 14 "machine guns.
They were insistent that I try one out. On "select fire", the muzzle blast made it one of the most annoying rifles I had ever fired.

Advertising, and gimmicks sell guns.

[ironglow]

   Right Dee ! Isn't it funny how with some folks, the deer or black bear that was "dead meat" to a 30/30, 80 years
   ago, now will just 'shake off'.. anything less than a .300 Winchester magnum.
   
  To further explain, I had no doubt concerning the adequacy of the .308. 30/30 or .44 mag..but I thought the new
  round may be interesting to deal with ..but it turned out less than interesting.

[Dee]

Where I grew up feral hogs were common. Dallas folks started paying big bucks to hunt them and the harrowing tales of hard to kill charging boars, and  death defying hunts began.

These Dallas boys showed up with 06s, 300 Winmags, 458 Winmags, you name it, and the tales of the hunt in the little local Cafe were terrifying.

Truth is, the hogs have been around for over a hundred years, and considered a nuisance varmint. Never a single report of an attack, or injury, and the locals shot'em with whatever they had at the time.

Being a varmint hunter I used a slightly modified AR15 with a 52 grain hollow point on coyotes, bobcats, and hogs. The most dangerous thing in the woods wasn't a boar, it was a cornered sow with babies, and a sow was a hard critter to corner.

The stories sold a lot of hog huntin, and a lotta big rifles.

[ironglow]

Other than combat.. the AR was "designed" for this use.  When a honestly curious 'anti assault rifle' person engages me in conversation..asking why such a rifle is needed for hunting.

  Just last week I explained to a female school teacher, how and why it is needed for hogs and coyotes, especially where such species need thinning.
-   I won't bother with die-hard lefties, who won't hear..but this lady was honestly uninformed and mis-informed, when we finished our  quiet discussion..she left having learned something...and admittedly so.

[Dee]

I use mine for everything,  including deer.

[Ranger99]

I have several friends and relatives
that use various configurations of
AR's for their hunting needs.
One cousin has used AR's for his
one and only for years. Since the
early 80's IIRC.
Shoots right in the back of the
head or the earhole as they pass
underneath the tree he's sitting in.
Pretty good crack shot with an AR.
Of course, if you can't hit a fist
sized target consistently at about
20 yards, you probably shouldn't be
hunting.

Never had one myself. Shot a
bunch of them. I thought I was
going to be gifted one back before
the panic- demic, but that fell
through like several other things

[orerancher]

Bought a American 450BM.  Last month...I like it. Shooting the Lee 452-300 over a charge of Enforcer...