Why do hunters prefer bolt action rifles to semi auto rifles?
Bolt actions are tighter in the chamber, and have less moving parts. This more “solid” design makes them a little more accurate at longer ranges. They are also generally lighter and more reliable since they have less to them. That said, many people prefer semiautos. Follow-up shots are quicker, and at normal hunting ranges they are just as accurate. They are only somewhat heavier, and it’s not like they have to benchpress them, just carry and shoot. They are more expenive, however. Also, Obama and ilk are trying to ban ALL semiauto firearms (including rifles) and that has many afraid that if they spend $1,000 or more on a semiauto, they will soon either A) not be allowed to hunt with it, or B) not be allowed to keep it at all.
I suppose what we should really say is that a hunter tends to be more accurate with a single-shot rifle than with a bolt-action repeater and more accurate with a bolt-action than with an automatic. By and large bolt action rifles tend to be more ‘accurate’ than auto-loaders. This is not completely correct, the phenomena stems from the hunter having to take more time to insure his shot with a turn-bolt, vs. hurrying up a shot because he subconsciously knows he can just ‘pull the trigger a second time.’ So it can also be said that a single-shot rifle tends to be more accurate than a bolt-action repeater.
Some of it may have to do with local hunting laws, but bolt actions tend to be more accurate than semiautos of the same price/quality range. As someone mentioned, a lot of this has to do with tighter chambers that are possible with a bolt gun. Another factor that shooters who reload their ammo (“reload” means to recycle the brass) consider is the fact that after firing, the brass is a glove fit for the chamber in which it was fired. All you have to do is squeeze the neck. With a semiauto, you have to squeeze the whole length of the brass or else it will fail to feed reliably.
