Please Explain the popularity of AR's for hunting big game

[Curly]

Can someone explain to me why AR's have become (or becoming) so popular for big game hunting?  I don't understand the fascination, but I'm open to learning the reasons why someone would hunt with an AR vs. just a normal bolt rifle.

Is it simply because they are cool?    If so that's cool.  But are there other reasons to consider an AR vs. any number of other choices in bolt action rifles? 

I really don't know much about them, thus the reason for this thread.  Aren't they heavy and more expensive than a bolt gun?

 
Please educate me guys....

[grundy53]

Modularity is a big reason. You can practice with .223 all year to save money on ammo then hunt with your big game caliber.

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[Karl Blanchard]

Modularity of the platform.  Comfortable with the platform.  Coolness   recoil management.  Haven't held one yet that was light enough for me to take up the mountain but they are definitely fantastic firearms. 

[JimmyHoffa]

A few guys get a gun first and then move into hunting, but not wanting to get a second gun until they know if hunting is their thing.  They might be more expensive than a number of bolt guns, but are about on par with other semis and quite a bit lower than other tactical looking rifles (AR vs HK for example).  But for whatever the reason, it's what those guys like. 

[Oh Mah]

Recoil management is probably the number 1 reason.  Number 2 is probably cost,To buy a better rifle would cost a lot more than say an AR-10.That would shoot as well.

[pianoman9701]

Recoil management and options like different pistol grips, adjustable stocks and arm guards which make getting into a shooting position more natural. And, the Zombie problem. You never know.

[DOUBLELUNG]

ARs are really just Legos for big boys and girls

[pianoman9701]

They also double for great home defense.

[Karl Blanchard]

Recoil management and options like different pistol grips, adjustable stocks and arm guards which make getting into a shooting position more natural. And, the Zombie problem. You never know.

Zombie's is definitely the number 1 reason.  I assumed that just went without saying

[bhawley76]

I know the coyotes around here in ferry county are deathly afraid of them.

[pianoman9701]

I think also that someone has the opportunity to build a top long distance MSR for about half the price it would cost to have a standard rifle built to the same accuracy capabilities and same comfort.

[bobcat]

The popularity of AR's for big game?

I don't know, but I just don't see them as being all that popular.

I've never actually seen someone out hunting deer or elk with one. So really, how popular are they? 

Most people who do hunt with them most likely do so because it's all they have.

Now I do see them as being ideal for predator hunting. Short, multiple shots possible, low recoil, accurate.

If I had the time to hunt predators and the money to buy an AR, I'd have one for sure. But I have neither so I'll stick to my bolt action rifles.

[WoodlandShooter]

ARs are really just Legos for big boys and girls

not just that, but we get to feel all tacticool and "Operator like" when running around in the woods with a Ar15.

[WoodlandShooter]

I think also that someone has the opportunity to build a top long distance MSR for about half the price it would cost to have a standard rifle built to the same accuracy capabilities and same comfort.

LOL, I am currently in the middle of a build like that... but for about 1/5 the cost of the MSR.

[DaveMonti]

In a lot of the eastern states, especially in the NE, hunting really took off after WWI and WWII.  Prior to WWI, there weren't really a lot of firearms owned by the public (compared to today, that is).  Folks that lived in rural areas typically had a shotgun and a .22 and that was about it.  Most "city folk" didn't have access to firearms mainly because there was little opportunity to get outside the cities and shoot.  Note:  Yes, I realize there were plenty of firearm owners in cities, so please don't get all jammed up because your grandfather owned a Winchester lever action and a Colt Frontier Scout when he lived in the city back in the day.  I'm talking in relative terms here folks.

All over the NE, in rural forested areas, there are hundreds of thousands of deer camps, which are nothing more than a cabin with an outhouse, some with electric, very few with running water.  They were all built after WWI and WWII after the troops returned home.  The veterans were now familiar with firearms and wanted to get out into the big woods and hunt. 

It is the same with the popularity of the ARs.  MANY folks who went into the service for the recent conflicts came back, having been trained by Uncle Sam on firearms, and the firearm of choice was what they were familiar with, he AR.  AR popularity really surged when these veterans returned after the first Gulf War, and with all this hardware on the market, other consumers followed suit.  Now, for many of the reasons stated above, many prefer to shoot and hunt with an AR. 

Personally, I don't have a desire to go semi auto in the filed (except for small game and waterfowl with a semi auto shotgun).  When I grew up hunting in Pennsylvania, semi autos were not legal for anything but shotgunning for small game and waterfowl.  I'm not sure what the laws are now, but some states did allow semi autos, like New York.  The one season I hunted deer in New York in the 80s was literally like urban warfare, with strings of rapid fire all day long.  Any deer was legal, and everyone had semi auto Browning semi auto hunting rifles (not "tactical" as they weren't readily available at the time). 

Not many who have gotten into shooting in the past 10 years or so realize that before the conflicts in the Middle East, VERY few people owned any type of semi auto rifle.  They just simply weren't available on the open market.  If you went to a FA dealer, the racks were packed with more traditional firearms.  Now, most small shops I go into are only the tactical type firearms.  Personally, I miss the old days!