If your hunting experience is more than five years, you have legal grounds for acquiring rifled long barrel models. But before you enjoy this turn, you should understand what it is and what to look for when choosing.
Introductory information
Rifled weapons are more powerful and long-range compared to smooth-bore. It can be used both for hunting and for self-defense. True, more for the first than for the second. After all, if we consider the issues of self-defense, then at a short distance shotguns from the 12th to the 20th caliber are best suited. A rifled weapon is better than recommended when hitting a target at a distance of over fifty meters. Often it is additionally equipped with optical sights, which increase the chance to make an accurate shot. Therefore, it is used for hunting. But there are some nuances here.
The use of such weapons involves the extraction of the beast with one shot. After its application, you usually do not need to finish the wounded animal. Although not always possible. Take, for example, numerous samples of domestic rifled weapons. After all, they are largely descendants of the Kalashnikov assault rifle. And who hunts with such weapons? Here, for example, the Tiger carbine is the same army model (SVD), made under a military bullet of 7.62 x 39 caliber! And therefore, you can pierce through the boar or moose. But the stopping effect is small. And a wounded animal from fear can start to run even faster. If the prey cannot be found, then it will be painfully dying. Therefore, using domestic samples, it is especially important to strive to inflict a mortal wound.
Search for universal weapons
You can safely forget about it. Each specific weapon is intended for a specific game. It has its own rate of fire and caliber. If you have a self-loading carbine in your hands, then with it you can go on moving animals at a distance of up to one hundred meters. If you want to get an elk or a bear, then it is better to take a rifle with a cartridge more powerful, which is sent by a longitudinally-charging bolt (bolt). Also, in attempts to find a universal representative, it is not recommended to get involved in various combined tee guns. Their feature is that there are two rifled barrels for various calibers, as well as one smooth-bore. At first glance, this is convenient. But you just have to take a closer look ...
You should start with the fact that such toys are expensive. Usually - hundreds of thousands of rubles. In addition, in order to reduce the total weight, trunks in guns are shortened in them. And this affects the range. As a rule, targeted shooting is possible no more than a hundred meters.
A little about the calibers of rifled weapons
Anyone who worked smooth-bore aggregates knows how complicated their identification and numbering system is. This does not apply to rifled weapons. Everything is simple with him - his caliber is equal to the diameter of the barrel’s internal channel. Therefore, if they say that the bullet is 7.62, then this is the size of the weapon for which it is intended. And it should be noted that the diameter can be calculated both in millimeters and in inches. Therefore, when the rifle calibers have a dot and numbers after it, for example .223, .40, .44, .45, this suggests that their developers adhered to the English system of measures. Now let's look at what calibers you need to use and what game.
For a hare or a fox
In this case, it is necessary to use rifled hunting weapons .222, .223 and .234. They are sold in large quantities and are quite cheap. Take, for example, .223. On our system it is 5.6 x 45. It is in service with NATO, although it is a small-caliber ammunition. But, despite the size, these cartridges are well suited for hunting fur animals, capercaillie, fox, hare. Anschutz brand carbines can be recommended for them. Their price ranges from 40 to 120 thousand rubles. Such carbines allow effective firing at a distance of fifty meters.
And if you go to a larger game, what rifled weapons for hunting should you take?
You can stop your attention on the cartridge of caliber 7.62 x 51. Abroad, it is known as the .308th. This is the favorite caliber of truckers. Using it, you can safely go on deer, sheep, lynx. True, such a weapon is very expensive. Therefore, it is better to choose something reliable and accurate. For if you decide to save money and choose a cheaper rifled weapon for hunting, then the difference will still be spent on misses with long-range shooting.
But when hunting a bear, it is better to use a caliber of 7.62 x 63. To begin with, we should mention the weight - some semi-shell bullets can reach a weight of 14 grams. The second - they have such a price that it is better not to miss. A bullet of this caliber can easily stop an elk, a wild boar and even a bear. If we talk about domestic rifled hunting weapons that can shoot them, then we must mention the semi-automatic "Tiger" and "Boar". In this regard, they have proven themselves well.
Now you know what to look for when choosing a rifled type weapon.