how many of you gentlemen have used a semi auto military style rifle, like an M1A1 or SKS, or GARAND, or M1 CARBINE
to hunt deer/elk/hogs?
about 20 years ago I went looking for a ruger 44 mag semi auto carbine ,
but I could not find one in decent condition for anything near what I thought was a reasonable price.
I eventually found, purchased and used an SKS with a modified 4 round magazine loaded with hand loaded soft point ammo in the past to hunt Florida deer in the palmetto thicket.
properly loaded with 150 grain soft point bullets they are about similar to a typical 30/30 in effective range and accuracy .
these are handy little carbines for close range hunting.
at least here in south Florida an SKS or AK based sporter is far easier to find under $600 than a ruger 44 mag carbine
it worked so well for the close range hog hunting that one of my friends who could not find one offered me three times what I paid for it.
I jumped at that deal figuring I could very easily buy two for the cash I was paid....only to find the price had tippled....
so I added about $70 more to the pot and bought one of these , milled receiver sporting rifles (pictured below) ,
AK sporters, like this are surprisingly well made and accurate provided you find ammo it likes, and BTW they require the .311 diameter projectile (at least in my rifle)
as the .308 diameter bullets loaded in similar hand loads,resulted in absurdly in-accurate ammo, like trowing rocks for accuracy, RL7 and IMR 3031 powder seems to work well, and I found a 5 round AK mag that worked in that rifle,
as florida law limits semi auto rifles to 5 round mags
The AK sporter ,which was even better for the 20-70 yard ranges common while hunting thicket dwelling hogs.
keep in mind that just because its a semi-auto there,s no reason too adopt a
"SPRAY AND PRAY" philosophy , the rifles are extremely dependable, reasonably accurate and a well placed first shot is still the goal.
the fact that your second shot is easily accessed is not a flaw, its just a rarely used advantage in my opinion.
if your hunting hogs in florida
https://www.speer-ammo.com/bullets/rifle-bullets/hot-cor-rifle-bullets/311/311-150-sptz-bullet
https://loaddata.com/Article/BenchTopics/Handloads-for-the-762x39/101
http://handloads.com/loaddata/default.asp?Caliber=7.62 x 39&Weight=All&type=rifle&Order=Powder&Source=
typical palmetto thickets where 20 -40 yard shots are the normal range, and where some areas where use of a climbing tree stand offer's you a big advantage
I've used a 357 mag revolver,
a single shot 10 ga, and even a spear on one successful hog hunt ,
the weapon is not critical as long as the person using it is willing to get in close,
and use it effectively,
but if you choose a spear Id suggest you also use dogs to help you get in close