Does the Nikon D5300 hunt when using Auto Focus?

Does the Nikon D5300 hunt when using Auto Focus?

When your subject isn't distinctive enough compared to the background, any dSLR or lens will "hunt" for it during AF. It's the photographer's responsibility to make sure this doesn't happen by picking or setting lighting properly. Despite all efforts though and this still happens, there are two solutions you can do to counter this. If it happens in situations where light is low, focus manually. Otherwise, you'd be better off using a high-end mirrorless camera with an exceptional focus-by-eye AF system.

It can. It depends upon the lens you're using, the light level, the contrast of the light, and the contrast of the scene.
Use a cheap kit lens in low contrast situations under poor light with a $5,500 D5 and it's likely to hunt all day.

Agree with Keerok that a mirrorless camera that uses zebras to show you the areas in focus is a good solution for those who shoot in situations where AF hunting is problem.

You can avoid hunting by getting a good lens with a large aperture of f/2.8 or better. You will have far greater AF when you avoid subjects with little to no contrast such as something that has just one color such as a closeup of a painted object.

All cameras will hunt no matter how great they are. It's just a matter of finding one that doesn't hunt too much where it becomes a big problem for the user. The D5300 is a 5-year-old camera, which means that there are a lot of mirrorless and DSLRs that utilize much better AF systems.

ANY DSLR will hunt if the subject isn't distinct enough. The D5300 is no better or worse than its competitors.