Despite some very strict gun laws, longtime Big Island resident, hunter and gun owner David Norris, says he’s able to own all of the guns he wants to be happy. He also thinks the Hawaiian Islands are some of the best hunting grounds on earth.
Norris, who grew up in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii, got into guns and hunting at a young age. He has since assembled a healthy collection of firearms for both shooting and hunting. Despite the fact that he thinks some of the Hawaiian guns laws are way too strict, they don’t stop him from enjoying the shooting sports.
As a diehard hunter, he’s hunted on every Hawaiian Island. If you like his Facebook page Hunting Hawaii, you can see photos of him posing with many of his kills.
His go-to rifle for hunting is a bolt action Tikka T3 in .270 short magnum. It came with a wood stock, but he replaced it with a Bell and Carlson composite fiberglass stock. He did this because he does a lot of hunting in wet rainforest climates and rough rocky volcanic slopes, so he needed something more rugged and weatherproof. The rifle is topped with a Zeiss Conquest HD5 3 -15 scope. Norris thinks that for the money, the Tikka is the best bang for your buck.
Another rifle Norris is fond of is his Marlin model 336 in .30-30. Being fond of vintage guns and knives, when he saw this iconic deer rifle, he knew that he had to have it. He purchased the youth model which sports a 16.25 inch barrel. This makes it an excellent brush gun for pigs. He had a scope on it for a while, but his wife told him she thought it was a bit sacrilegious to put an optic on it, so he went back to iron sites.
He built his two AR-15 rifles from kits with help from friends and watching online videos. His first AR is chambered in 5.56mm with an ATI Omni hybrid lower and a Hardened Arms upper. He put a Troy Industries rail on it and a AXTS/Radian Weapons BCG. The grip is Magpul and the stock is a Mission First Tactical BattleLink Minimalist.
His second AR is chambered in .300 Blackout. It has a Hardened Arms upper with a Daniel Defense BCG, Magpul furniture, American Tactical lower and a CMMG lower parts kits. The optic is a Vortex Strike Eagle 1-6x scope.
In terms of handguns, Norris’s first pistol was a Canik TP9. He loves Caniks. “They’re super cheap, super comfortable and super accurate,” he says. He’s got a few Smith & Wessons and a couple of Glocks including a G40 in 10mm or “Glockzilla” as he calls it. He uses it for hunting pigs and target practice. “It’s a super smooth shooting gun for how much power it actually packs,’ he says.
If you have any questions about hunting on Hawaii, Norris is happy to help. You can contact him through his Facebook page.
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