Black Guns for Hog Hunting
Over the couple of weeks while I was up at Coon Camp Springs, I had a lot of time to catch up on my hunting magazines. Outdoor Life, Field and Stream, and American Hunter make up the bulk of my subscription list, and they have become the “camp library” as well.
Once the hunters were fed, stories told, and everyone else was off to bed, I’d get an hour or two of time to myself for reading. I could kick back with a magazine and a medicinal beverage and let my mind wander.
The evolution of the AR.
Something that kept coming back to me as I read through so many of the articles and ads was the preponderance of new rifles that are configured on the AR platform… the so-called, “Black Rifles”… even though few of them are actually black. You can get them chambered today in almost any caliber, from .22 to .50, and there are specialized accessories from scopes and laser sights to predator lights. They are modularized, and many have interchangeable parts that allow most garage gunsmiths to change caliber, barrel length, and configuration in a few minutes.
Now, personally I don’t have a lot of use for these things. My tastes run more toward the traditional and classic… a nice levergun, a well-made bolt action, or a fine double. Sure, there’s a “cool factor” that appeals to the more gun-crazy side of me, but even then, my tastes run toward the more antiquated M-14 and Garand. The AR-15/M-16 just never did much for me from either an aesthetic or practical point of view.
But hey, apparently other folks are really digging them, hence the huge outpouring of offerings from almost every modern gun maker.
What really struck me though, as I look back over the relatively recent trend, is the huge debt that the firearms industry owes to Jim Zumbo. His infamous posting on the Outdoor Life blog ignited a firestorm of debate and discussion about the merits of the AR platform as a viable hunting tool, and that resulted in a whole new level of interest in these military-styled rifles. (I know an awful lot of what I read immediately after the Zumbo fiasco was the sound of apologists… magazine editors doing everything they could to show that Zumbo’s opinion did not necessarily reflect the opinions of the magazines… but an awful lot was the attempt to capitalize on this hot new topic as well.)
Sure, folks were already messing around with this versatile platform, but following Zumbo’s commentary, the stage lit up. Suddenly, hunting magazines began running article after article about the AR for hunting everything from ground squirrels to grizzly bears. ARs went to Africa and the Arctic, and from bull elk to boar hogs. Whitetail hunters and coyote hunters alike seemed to embrace the new products, and manufacturers have ridden that groundswell until the market is practically glutted with options.
One might even get the idea that the AR platform is a natural, evolutionary leap for sporting arms… and maybe it is.
But to me, it’s just another semi-automatic rifle. It’s just a gun. I’ve written about semi-automatics before, and everything I said then applies to the ARs as well. Not my favorite, but if you like them, go for it.
Anyway, I’m curious. How many of you are using, or planning to use a rifle based on the AR platform for your hunting… whether for hogs, deer, varmints, or any other species?
I just don’t get the allure. Then again, I’m not a gun nut – a gun is just a tool to me, a means to an end.
November 16th, 2009 at 9:45 am
Sure, the 8-year-old in me is excited by them, although I’ve always been a Ruger man, myself. But I’ll never own one, I think they are a waste of money. My next gun (if ever) will be a Handi-rifle in 45-70, so it’s safe to say I’m moving in the opposite direction.
As for Zumbo, I applaud his first comments, putting himself out there (I’d never heard of this until your post here). His ‘return’ looks a tad like crawling back in to get a job, which is understandable, but sad. Guns are a harsh world, man, because very few people are in the middle, and I’ll tell you it is very, very lonely.
I’ve been so ignorant of this subject that, when I saw your title, I thought you were going to review muzzleloaders!
November 16th, 2009 at 11:37 am
I wanted to try to use guns for hunting but then again, I do not think it is of a much thrill than traditional hunt right?
November 16th, 2009 at 6:12 pm
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November 16th, 2009 at 7:58 pm
I dunno Mule Deer. Depends. To some folks, “traditional” is using a fire and beaters to run a herd of animals over the side of a cliff, then I certainly think guns are much more thrilling. The thrill of the hunt is an individual value, so far be it from me to define it for anyone else.
Josh, I’m surprised the Zumbo thing is new to you. The insanity swept (and divided) the gun and hunting community like nothing I can remember in my lifetime. It was quite the spectacle.
And Holly, I understand where you’re coming from, but I see guns as functional art, not to mention an honest fascination. Tons of intriguing psychology behind the gun nut mentality, but I’m OK with that. But there’s nothing wrong with your take on it either.
November 16th, 2009 at 9:14 pm
It’s exactly how I feel about cars. I like mine, but I can’t get really excited about them in general.
November 17th, 2009 at 5:36 am
I’m as surprised, but during that time, I wasn’t on the internet so much, nor was I reading hunting magazines (now I won’t anymore because they got rid of McManus). And you can believe that mainstream media wasn’t covering this.
November 17th, 2009 at 9:43 am
Hey Philip
Ahh the whole AR15 thing……….
Where I come from I’m regarded as a bit of a gun-nut. Although by comparison to people on your side of the pond I’m not even close to where gun-nut-ism begins.
People I talk to are usually surprised that I don’t know anything about pistols, and I always make a point of telling them I don’t. It helps to get people out of their comfortable assumption that all people who hunt and shoot are military wannabes, polishing their toys in their mums spare room.
Like Holly I want people to know that I’m into wildfood and hunting, guns are just the tools of hunting. Like boots and warm clothes. I think flagging this up goes a long way towards peoples acceptance of hunting and helps to get beyond the stereotypical view that we are ‘blasting away’ in the country.
But on the flip side……………
Next time I live in a jurisdiction with more liberal gun laws, yeah i’d have an AR15. Out of the box accuracy, and a low price are both very tempting, but its the ‘Meccano’ endlessly customizable side of them that really appeals. I’d probably paint mine orange to make it look less gangster, but i’d have one. Maybe in something nerdish like 6.5 Grendel?
Cheers
SBW
PS the whole Jim Zumbo thing was hilarious – I’m not a fan, but I think he was treated incredibly badly by his fans and sponsors. His sponsors really missed a trick in cowing down to the controversy. Being outspoken used to be an american tradition, using the wrong word and mis-making your point is foolish but its not a hanging offense. I do it all the time.
November 18th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
Oooh, I haven’t heard anyone mention Meccano since I was a little kid. My favorite toy(s) ever.
November 18th, 2009 at 12:30 pm
SBW, I wondered how different the perspective might be on your side of the world… as well as in other places where guns aren’t viewed in quite the same ways as they are here in the US.
As far as differentiating, yeah, there’s often a big leap between Gun Nuts and hunters (called “Fudds” by the gun nuts). That division was made abundantly clear during the Zumbo fiasco, and while I disagree with the way folks went ballistic over his stated opinion, some good points were brought forth too.
I think a lot of hunters got a better perspective on how important the Second Amendment is to us all, and how the attitude of “well, a ban on AKs won’t affect me because I don’t use them for hunting,” puts all gun-owners in jeopardy. Too many folks seem to believe that a gun that isn’t recognized as good for hunting isn’t good for any legitimate purpose. It’s the same superficial focus that enabled the assault weapons ban in the first place.
I also think it was worth repeating that the Second Amendment has nothing, whatsoever, to do with hunting. If it comes to the defense of gun ownership, the hunting tradition will practically carry no weight at all. It’s about the right and responsibility to defend ourselves from criminals and from an oppressive government… regardless of whether or how we choose to exercise that right.
But all that aside…
I’d say a fair majority of hunters fall into the pragmatist camp where you and Holly reside. Hunting isn’t all about guns and such, or at least in the field it’s not. It’s about the right tool for the job. I guess that’s how they can sell butt-ugly shotguns like the Beretta Urika… doesn’t matter what it looks like or how it works, only that it works.
But there are a fair number who fall across the board… from those who see the gun-maker’s work as true art (a fine Searcy double, for example), to those who revel in the gadgetry and engineering (a major reason for the current popularity of the “AR’), to the guys and gals who are seeking the ultimate in performance.
Me, I love looking at them, shooting them, and simply handling them, although I don’t have the technical skill or desire to disassemble and reassemble them (beyond cleaning). I totally recognize that within a pretty broad set of parameters, they all accomplish the same ends in my hands, and that’s killing game, but I still love the variety of functions and styles.
November 18th, 2009 at 1:24 pm
Oh, now you’ve insulted my shotgun. See you in the duck blind, pal.
November 18th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
Hey Philip
Ahh the gunsmiths art……….
I’ve got to say the workmanship that goes into them is astounding, very very good. But as guns? I don’t really get it – taking a 70 grand toy into the wet, muddy outdoors and then spending an age cleaning it? Not for me. Cool work though.
The second amendment debate is one I can only ever see as a bystander. It’s just so far from our political landscape. In blighty we are still subjects, not even citizens. We lost our guns years back and gun owners here are properly under siege.
This week the papers are full of a guy who found a shotgun in a bag in his garden, took it to the cops, who arrested him, and he’s looking down the barrel of five years in jail now. The way the law is worded is unambiguous possession = jail time.
While I was living ‘up north’ last winter I spoke with a gun shop guy about building an AR15 lookalike from a 10/20 he said it would be legal but he wouldn’t advise it most hunters in the UK are moving away from guns that look military, as the cops armed response units are being deployed more and more after hunters have been seen by the public.
Different Huh?
SBW
November 18th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
Oh. I’m sorry, Holly. Do you shoot a Urika? I didn’t know. (heh heh)
SBW, definitely different worlds, but not so far apart as one might think…or at least it seems that way sometimes. Folks still call law enforcement when they see hunters in some areas. Way too many cops aren’t properly trained or informed regarding firearms or hunting, and as a result, they tend to overcompensate in their response.
All the same, the gun ownership situation there should certainly serve as an eye-opener to the folks in the US who take way too much for granted sometimes.
November 18th, 2009 at 4:06 pm