Just A Rifle

Controversy. Some would say I am drawn to it. A few surmise I actually enjoy it. Simply put, I feel it gives us something to talk about. Take for example a recent hunt with my buddies at Osceola Outfitters where I shot a couple of hogs. Hogs themselves are not controversial. However, the tools I used may be. I shot the first one with a TenPoint crossbow. The Spitfire-tipped Easton punched through the chest cavity just like a conventional bow. The second pig fell to a Rock River AR-15, which some don't consider a "proper" sporting arm. Even though it was a large sounder, I only managed to shoot one pig, not the whole group as some misguided individuals think is possible with an AR. Even though a crossbow and a rifle are on opposite ends of the hunting spectrum they share one commonality--both are persona non grata in many hunting circles.

I have bowhunted for over 20 years and never felt crossbows shouldn't be part of our sport. I have owned and occasionally hunted with AR-15s for nearly as long and really thought hunters were above the media propaganda surrounding them--until I took an AR to deer camp. The comments were surprising.

"Do you plan on mowing down every deer in the woods?"

"Is that a machine gun?"

"Doesn't look like the deer have much of a sporting chance…"

Keep in mind these were hardcore hunters who own many different firearms. I was shocked. Didn't they understand the difference between a machine gun and a semi-auto rifle? Didn't they realize that an AR and their trusty semi-auto Remington are separated only by a wood stock and cosmetics?

It didn't matter that my AR was chambered in a caliber less energetic than most of the other deer rifles in camp. Never mind the fact that it wasn't even close to a machine gun. And forget that over half of the hunters in this camp were using repeating firearms that, if given the chance, every gun grabber would relish banning.

I recently learned that my experience wasn't as isolated as I hoped. The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF)did a study to determine the public's opinion of modern semi-auto rifles used for sport. As expected, the general public holds a negative opinion regarding some forms of semi-auto rifles. But the big shocker was that hunters, our own rank and file, also felt that AR-15 style rifles shouldn't be in the woods. Why?

Semi-autos have been in the field for a long time with many versions commonly used (the BAR and Remington 742 come to mind). ARs are chambered in many of the same calibers we already hunt with such as  .243, .308 and the 7mm-08. ARs do have a detachable magazine, but so do a whole host of other rifles we use for hunting. So what is the difference? There isn't one…other than looks. Boiled down, the heartburn surrounding "black" rifles is over a distinctive cosmetic appearance fueled by media-driven propaganda. It is as simple as that.

I am not here to convince you to trade in your wonderfully trusty--not to mention beautiful--bolt action rifle for a black gun with multiple accessory rails, but we need to realize that a gun is a gun regardless of how it looks. One person's choice of hunting tool may vary from another's, but at its heart it is still a rifle with all the awesome power and limitations the word implies. So stop believing the media hype that is intended to divide. A rifle is a rifle and a bow is a bow and all are welcome around my campfire.