Yeah, my local CBS affiliate (keye) says it's a popular rifle to hunt deer with. None of my hunting buddies carry crap like this.
I don't hunt deer, but I don't think its common to have a 20-round magazine like this guy did (or at least was reported to have)
BTW, anyone from Wisconsin remember those two Hmong gentleman who got in that pistol duel about 5-10 years ago? I think it was in Oshkosh, WI. One shot and killed the other, and both agreed it was "Hmong custom" to settle their dispute this way. I have not seen that story reported or referenced this week.
The first day this story aired I posted a link in one of the threads to the AP news feed on Yahoo. I thought it was strange that they referred to a semi-automatic rifle as a "Typical" hunting weapon. I had asked whether this was an accurate portrayal, but didn't really receive an answer to that. The spin started with the first postings of this story by the AP (surprise, surprise).
It definitely sounds like the media is trying to turn this into a "guns are bad" issue.