The rifle is undoubtedly the most predominant firearm used for hunting purposes. It has had a long history and evolution. As the years have gone by, t

The rifle is undoubtedly the most predominant firearm used for hunting purposes. It has had a long history and evolution. As the years have gone by, there have been several different changes and improvements to the development of rifles. This has certainly allowed them to become much more effective at taking down moving targets.

When a hunter wishes to purchase a rifle, they must decide which type is best for their shooting style or purposes. These guns have a variety of accessories which can be attached to them. There are also different shooting modes to consider.

Scopes

Most hunting rifles will come with a scope. These allow the user to look at a target from a zoomed view. Doing so will help them to have an improved amount of accuracy. The naked eye is simply incapable of manual zoom. Therefore rifles without scopes have a very serious disadvantage. Higher end scopes can also give the user different modes of vision. This can include night and thermal vision, helping hunters to spot potential targets much easier.

Single Shot

A single shot rifle, as the name suggests will only fire one shot before it needs to be reloaded. Some hunters might consider this a disadvantage. However, knowing that you just get one chance at a kill will force a hunter to think very carefully before firing. These rifles also tend to be much cheaper than the alternatives. For first time hunters, a single action rifle is an ideal gun to shoot game with.

Automatic

The great thing about these type of guns is that they fire a significant number of rounds before they need to be reloaded. These shots also expel from the gun at high speed, increasing the chances of multiple hits. However, they are not adequate for trophy hunting or for meat hunting. This is because the animal will tend to be too severely damaged by the large number of impacts. Also, a large number of countries have banned these weapons.

Silenced

A silencer can be very useful when attempting to take down multiple animals while on a hunt. Every year rifle silencing technology improves. Modern attachments can seriously minimise the volume of rounds being fired. The only downside to this is that they tend to be very expensive. Also, the older and cheaper silencers will not make much of a difference out in the wild, where sound can travel quickly, alerting other animals.

High Calibre

For seriously big game it is essential to use a high calibre rifle. This will ensure a takedown. Powerful firearms should only be used on the appropriate types of animals. Shooting a smaller creature with one has the potential to obliterate a trophy.