bolt vs pump for all-around elk/deer

[Mike Bravo]

I am considering a 30-06 in a bolt or pump action for hunting elk and deer.  Terrain will vary from brush to wide open range in the Northwest and Rocky Mountain states.  Any suggestions for that all-around rifle?

Thanks for your time!

[bobcat]

Bolt action. More accurate, in general, and you should only need one shot. The bolt actions are also easier to disassemble, clean, and maintain. They are also almost as fast to shoot as a pump. I've got a second shot off with my bolt action so fast a couple of times that people nearby thought I was shooting a semi-auto.

[shoot-em-dead]

I prefer a bolt

[bear hunter]

I love my Remington 760 carbines in .30-06 and .300 savage. I have taken bobcat,deer,coyotes,bear and elk with it out to 200 yards with iron sights it shoots great. I love how accurate it is and how fast you can got off a secand shot if necessary.  Plus as you pump the action the barrel stays down so makes for a easy secand shot.

[lokidog]

I have a 760 Rem also.  The only negative is that of you are shooting off a rest, you have to pick it up to cycle the next round.  They are good guns though.

[Miles]

Stand hunting and wide open places, go with a bolt.

Still-hunting, stalking, brushy areas, go with the pump.

[RadSav]

Bolt action. More accurate, in general, and you should only need one shot. The bolt actions are also easier to disassemble, clean, and maintain. They are also almost as fast to shoot as a pump. I've got a second shot off with my bolt action so fast a couple of times that people nearby thought I was shooting a semi-auto.

Bobcat - your in my head man!  Exactly what I was going to say. 

Only thing I might add is that I find the short throw bolt guns a little better at fast cycling among those with limited experience - A-Bolt/X-bolt, Sako/Tikka being my favorites.  Especially in cold weather wearing gloves.

[rasbo]

bolt more reliable.If a pump was the shat,the gun shelves would be full of them,instead of bolts...Now I wouldnt trade my 870 pump for anything in the shotgun dept

[grundy53]

Bolt action.

[CP]

I’ve sold all my bolt action rifles.  When I hunt with a rifle now I use:
Deer, elk, bear – pump – 7600 Remington .35 Whelen (go to rifle – as accurate as any bolt action in the same caliber)
Deer – lever – 30-30 or .35 Remington
Varmints – auto - .22 or .223

I have no need for a bolt anything.

[bobcat]

Bolt action. More accurate, in general, and you should only need one shot. The bolt actions are also easier to disassemble, clean, and maintain. They are also almost as fast to shoot as a pump. I've got a second shot off with my bolt action so fast a couple of times that people nearby thought I was shooting a semi-auto.

Bobcat - your in my head man!  Exactly what I was going to say. 

Only thing I might add is that I find the short throw bolt guns a little better at fast cycling among those with limited experience - A-Bolt/X-bolt, Sako/Tikka being my favorites.  Especially in cold weather wearing gloves.

I hunt with an A bolt!

[bobcat]

I have considered switching to a Remington pump a few times now.   I hunt a lot of brushy treed areas, and am mostly on the move.  There are times where a quick follow up shot is warranted, and it's easier (for me anyway) to keep the target in the sites while working the action on a pump versus a bolt.   Usually I just pull the Browning BLR out and save some cash that way. 

If I were going to hunt with something other than a bolt action, it would be a lever action.

They sure are handy for carrying around in the brush all day, unlike a pump.

[Bob33]

Bolt.  What is a "second shot"?

[ghosthunter]

I love my Remington 760 carbines in .30-06 and .300 savage. I have taken bobcat,deer,coyotes,bear and elk with it out to 200 yards with iron sights it shoots great. I love how accurate it is and how fast you can got off a secand shot if necessary.  Plus as you pump the action the barrel stays down so makes for a easy secand shot.

 

[Huntbear]

I have shot 760 pumps, bolts, and levers..

I have a BLR that will hold its own for accuracy against any off the shelf bolt gun, is lighter and faster handling. 

That said, I also have 4 bolt guns, that just seem to go out the door more often.

That said, if not shooting a bolt action, my PRE 81 BLR is the only other action I would want.  Strong, Accurate and LIGHT..

[Goldeneye]

Bolt.  What is a "second shot"?

Kind of the way I think about it. 

[Bofire]

  I liked my old 760 pump gun really well, but it rattled, made a lot of noise.
Carl

[AWS]

Rasbo
In other parts of the country, the shelves are full of them.  One thing nice about this country you can pick up 760/7600 cheap and turn a profit on them in the midwest.  Only the change in hunting style to sniping deer over a corn pile instead of stalking, tracking and drives have made a dent in the pumps popularity.

My ex-wifes 270 was as accurate as most varmint rifles I've shot.  I keep a 760 in 35 Rem back in WI foir trips back there deer hunting.  Set up with a low mounted 1x4x20mm scope there is nothing faster especially if you grew up hunting grouse and ducks with an 870.  They are fast handling, easy to load and unload, accurate, and reliable, whats not to like.  The triggers can use some work but most out of the box bolt guns need that also.

With 760/7600 availible in 222/223(very early ones and the 7615) thru 35 Whelen there isn't much you can't hunt in this country, and a rebore to 9.3x62 will get you into even heavier bullets.

[BULLBLASTER]

Bolt for me... pumps are for shotguns! 

[doyourtime89]

I am with the bolt action myself   

[BigGoonTuna]

i like a bolt action, but would have no problem hunting with a pump.  it definitely would make sense on the westside in the thick stuff.  only thing i have against pumps, is the same thing i have against autos...they're all so damned homely looking!

[Special T]

I don't have anything against pumps but i like Lever Actions better.    A good bolt gun properly fitted chould get you shooting pretty fast. I think there is nothing like an iron sight lever when shooting tho. 

[rasbo]

Rasbo
In other parts of the country, the shelves are full of them.  One thing nice about this country you can pick up 760/7600 cheap and turn a profit on them in the midwest.  Only the change in hunting style to sniping deer over a corn pile instead of stalking, tracking and drives have made a dent in the pumps popularity.

My ex-wifes 270 was as accurate as most varmint rifles I've shot.  I keep a 760 in 35 Rem back in WI foir trips back there deer hunting.  Set up with a low mounted 1x4x20mm scope there is nothing faster especially if you grew up hunting grouse and ducks with an 870.  They are fast handling, easy to load and unload, accurate, and reliable, whats not to like.  The triggers can use some work but most out of the box bolt guns need that also.

With 760/7600 availible in 222/223(very early ones and the 7615) thru 35 Whelen there isn't much you can't hunt in this country, and a rebore to 9.3x62 will get you into even heavier bullets.

cant speak for other parts of the country. Im not dissing any person likes foresure..just not my way to go

[Huntboy]

If I didn't use a bolt gun, I would either go with a lever action or back to an Encore.

[rock]

I like pump just because i've shot shotguns my whole life. As you're re aligning your sights you're cycling the next round at the same time. Almost like a semi-auto

[Jamieb]

bolt

[romaknows]

My 7600 30-06 is the gun i seem to always grab ,  it just fits me and feels good.

[brokenvet]

I've been using a bolt action for the past 35 years, but since I got an M14NM two years ago, I've used that for one season.  Did not kill anything with it last year, I did have a doe on my sights though.  Will use it from now on.

Go with a bolt, it is more common, stronger & accurate. 

[C-Money]

The 760s & 7600s are VERY accurate, and will shoot as well as any bolt rifle. I have taken game with a 760 in 30-06. I killed my first buck with that gun, and many more animals fell to it as well. My Dad and my friends have used, and killed with it, with great reviews. That rifle is in Pennsylvania now, I no longer use it out west. Main reason its not here with me now is I was always affraid that the forearm would get smashed against a tree while in the scabbard on horse back. The Remington 760s and 7600 are a very high quality rifles and should be respected as such.

[CP]

I took an elk with my 7600 last season.  The first shot was a good one, just behind the shoulder and out the other side, but elk are tough and she took off on a trot toward a very nasty drop off.  I was able chamber a second round and drop her before she reached that drop off, and I never had to take the crosshairs off my target.  Maybe some of you can do that with a bolt action but I can’t. 

Had I been using a bolt action I’m sure that she would have gone down that drop off and my pack out would have a lot harder.

[bear hunter]

The 760s & 7600s are VERY accurate, and will shoot as well as any bolt rifle. I have taken game with a 760 in 30-06. I killed my first buck with that gun, and many more animals fell to it as well. My Dad and my friends have used, and killed with it, with great reviews. That rifle is in Pennsylvania now, I no longer use it out west. Main reason its not here with me now is I was always affraid that the forearm would get smashed against a tree while in the scabbard on horse back. The Remington 760s and 7600 are a very high quality rifles and should be respected as such.

well said

[coachcw]

I perfer a bolt action , but another option may be a browning BAR in 300 or .338wm

[KelseyH]

Bolt.  Focus more on your first shot so you don't have to worry about a second. 

Kelsey
High Mountain Hunting Supply, LLC

[lokidog]

The 760s & 7600s are VERY accurate, and will shoot as well as any bolt rifle. I have taken game with a 760 in 30-06. I killed my first buck with that gun, and many more animals fell to it as well. My Dad and my friends have used, and killed with it, with great reviews. That rifle is in Pennsylvania now, I no longer use it out west. Main reason its not here with me now is I was always affraid that the forearm would get smashed against a tree while in the scabbard on horse back. The Remington 760s and 7600 are a very high quality rifles and should be respected as such.

well said

X3, though I haven't used mine for much since I bought my a-bolt in 88 or 89.  I won't be selling the pump though.   

My longest shot ever was with the 760 in CO on an elk.  No rangefinder back then, but I was figuring 400, my buddy guessed 450-500, and his buddy 600 (he was a doof though so I don't think he was right).  First shot, went over his back, lowered my aimpoint and dropped him, twenty yard trail with a ballistic tip.

If I was hunting hogs, I would sure go with a pump if I did not have a semi-auto.

[C-Money]

Never needed a follow up shot while using the 760. The need for a quick follow up shot never was in my thought process when I bought mine. I liked how it felt, and functioned. Felt like home to me after using an 870 for so long small game hunting. My dad was not a fan of the 760, until I left it in PA. He took it out hunting once, and then he always took it out, and killed a crap load of deer with it over the years. I left that rifle back there so I did not need to fly with a rifle when I went home to deer hunt. Dad liked it so much, I ended up taking a rifle with me any how.

[lokidog]

I put a tip off scope mount on mine, worked great whether on stand or bushwacking on a drive.  I also had an 870 so it was a pretty natural progression for buying my own deer rifle at 14.

[nwwanderer]

Whatever you get, practice.  Steep uphill, steep downhill, around the tree, over the rock, to your left and right, fast follow up, free hand, sitting, prone.  The steep part is for our hills.  This is not Iowa.  Most of the problems I have dealt with (poor shot placement, muffed mechanics etc.) is not being prepared.  Bolt, pump, auto, single or double are all possible good shooters.  Use the one YOU shoot the best in all circumstances.