I've had plenty of bolt guns fail, I've had plenty of ARs fail, I've had plenty of revolvers fail, I've had plenty of semi-autos pistols fail...even my Glock 17 took a dump on me in a California desert....
none of that is the issue here
again....
the OP...
I want to go CAMPING and carry a RIFLE for SELF-DEFENSE.... I OWN AR15s and have used AR15s in the past....I am thinking about getting a BOLT action fore which I have NEVER EVER USED...
All the HUNTERS here are telling him to go buy a Bolt action while the guys who TRAIN and USE firearms in COMBAT and SELF DEFENSE are advising him to either use a HANDGUN and MACE or his AR....
Not even talking about if its legal to walk around a NF / SP /SF with a longarm and NOT have a Hunting permit...
"
Sure I have an AR15, but it's a little on the heavy side, and I'd rather not have the cops called on me while camping for a scary black rifle. I'm missing a good bolt action rifle in my safe anyway, so I figured I'd poll the hive mind"
Did you learn to take excerpts and quotes from CNN? Directly said he didn't want to carry am AR, and wants a bolt gun. But feel free to tell all of the experienced dangerous game hikers and hunters how wrong they are.
Wow, either a fudd or an operator. Which way to go...
...hmmm...
I have told you that you are wrong. I really dont care what level of expert you think you are...when people say stuff like "...the AR cant be used in the wilderness and the AR isnt powerful enough to kill a bear..." I'm going to call BS.
I can also back up my claims with actual real world FACTS. I can also list a dozen other false myths in this thread, many of those falsehoods came from you.
.
i am by no means an expert. but a friend and i have been planning a wilderness trip. we have purchased a henry lever action 45lc and taurus judge snub as our sidearms. same ammo makes things easier...
I hiked around AK last April and carried a Shockwave (with slugs) & a S&W 44 Mag. It was TOO heavy. I eventually left the shockwave behind and just carried the 44 Mag in a chest rig. If I had to do it again, & I might next spring, I'd consider carrying a lever gun.
Bolt action??? Naw. 458 SOCOM AR15 = maybe.
Welcome to Ingo. Want a recommendation that isn't an ar15, go somewhere else. operators only use M16's and thousands of experienced wildermen are fudds.
Still waiting for where I said they couldn't be used, or where I said they weren't suitable wilderness rifles? I said they were heavy and had more points of failure than bolt guns. I stand by it especially being the op mentioned those as reasons he was looking for other options. I really don't know why you're so hostile. This is a forum where we discuss and generally enjoy a variety of firearms. And if you think I'm an AR or ak hater you should really read around.
I think it's a hammer/nail thing. When you've only hunted two-legged upright critters, then that's all you know.
Lowly hunters of game for food have the same small brains as the animals they seek.
The other totally overlooked part of the self defense mentioned by the OP was perception. Perception of others to look at him as a mundane lowly hunter rather than a potentially dangerous wannabe operator.
Military use..LOL because the Military has never used bolt actions...LOL
I can say funny myth stuff too... When an AR malfunctions its becomes a Bolt action... When a Bolt action malfunctions its a baseball bat...
or how about this myth... An AR15 chambered in 6.5CM has 500 less FPS then a bolt action, because slapping the bolt down real mean like adds velocity to the round... its how the cool guys do it.
Why do you guys insist a novice with a bolt action is more effective defending his life and the lives of the people around him with a bolt action over a firearm he has used for YEARS? Please as an Adviser / Instructor, I really really need to understand this?