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Deer hunting firearm
asop
Member Posts: 9,021 ✭✭✭✭
I live in Wisc. and the state allows "high powered" rifles to deer hunt. I really think this is way overkill (no pun intended). I've got more than my share with a shotgun and in. Ill. with a handgun. I don't mean any disrespect but is a high powered rifle real needed in this day and age of deer hunting?
Comments
A side benefit it good rifle ammo is cheaper than good sabot shotgun rounds, though not cheaper than foster style slugs if that is what you are using.
And fiery auto crashes
Some will die in hot pursuit
While sifting through my ashes
Some will fall in love with life
And drink it from a fountain
That is pouring like an avalanche
Coming down the mountain
Here in VA, legal firearm will vary county to county, depending on the terrain. Some are buckshot only, some you can use slugs, some centerfire rifles larger than .23 caliber. For me. 40 yards is top for 00 buck, 100 for a slug. But I have stands on some 100 acre beanfields that will have shots at 250 yards- and a .243 BAR fills that role very well.
Hunting antelope in Wyoming and whitetails in the piemon of VA/NC are two VERY different matters.
When I retired I moved to MO and have hunted here the 6 years....I started hunting with a Savage 16 in .308 and have taken whitetail out over 225 yards. I took a small buck with my muzzle loader with a 155 yrd shot a couple seasons ago.
My answer is I would rather hunt with a rifle...….they beat me up less than a slug gun and I appreciate the extra distance I have with the rifle. I watched way too many big bucks just out of my ethical range when hunting with a slug gun. All of those opportunities would have been a different story with a rifle.....
I mean, the media are under the mistaken notion that 5.56 is a high powered cartridge. So, your point is quite valid.
And fiery auto crashes
Some will die in hot pursuit
While sifting through my ashes
Some will fall in love with life
And drink it from a fountain
That is pouring like an avalanche
Coming down the mountain
I love the Remington Long Range 26" barrel 25/06. Ballistics surpass the .308 150 grain past 250 yd with the Hornady SST 117 gr. And it shoots a lot flatter.
For most of my early deer hunting years I only owned one center fired rifle and that was my Savage 170 30-30 and done quite well with it. Now that I own several others the one that gets used the most is a 30-06. I do more stand hunting now with some areas with a chance of a good shot is pushing the limits of the 30-30
For the first 20 years or so of my deer hunting I had one gun . Savage model 99 in .308 Winchester . I could work the lever to the point my buddies thought I was shooting a semiautomatic. In reality anything from 243 on up will handle 90% of your hunting needs . Handloading allows you to tailor the load to your rifle .
Nothing beats a Winchester Model 70 in 30-06, with a 180 grain round nose bullet, for the average 200 yard shots made out in West Texas.
Puts them down where they are, never had to go find one.
I aim for the neck, the impact will snap their necks or do enough damage they can’t run.
No messed up meat.
Never used any other rifle or bullet for deer.
X ring.
I have always been privileged enough to have family owned private land to hunt on . Never had to contend with public land hunters . Access has always been strictly controlled. 90% of my hunting is with a rifle . That said I do use the shotgun when hunting some thick swamp areas .
.• Rifled shotgun barrels of at least 18 inches in length are considered to be shotguns for the purpose of hunting deer if they fire a single projectile and are in the following gauges: 10, 12, 16, 20 and 28.
And fiery auto crashes
Some will die in hot pursuit
While sifting through my ashes
Some will fall in love with life
And drink it from a fountain
That is pouring like an avalanche
Coming down the mountain
Trying to navigate the Iowa deer hunting regulations as far as what is allowed for fire arms and when it is allowed can be challenging.
Iowa used to have archery season, muzzleloader season, and 2 shotgun seasons. Now there is archery (where crossbows may be used by special permit for physically disabled people), then an early muzzle loader season, then two shotgun seasons allowing the following firearms: smooth-bore or rifled shotguns (20, 16, 12, 10 gauge), handguns 357 magnum and larger with 4" barrels or longer, rifles chambered for the above classified handgun cartridges, straight walled rimless cartridges from a minimum of .357" diameter bullets to a maximum of .500" diameter bullets with a minimum cartridge length of .850" to 1.800". Or rimmed cartridges with bullet diameters from .357" to .500" with a minimum of 1.285" to a maximum of 1.800" cartridge length. Also legal are .375 Winchester, .444 Marlin, and 45/70 Government.
Then another "late muzzleloader season" that allows the use of handguns as well.
In addition there is a late anterless only season in the southern tiers of Iowa counties that allows center fire cartridges of .24 caliber and larger rifles.
You're taking the same stance that cost Zumbo his job and livelihood a few years ago.
We don't need to have our choices limited by your opinion as to which weapon you find acceptable to use for hunting. Any and all should be available, not limited by uninformed opinions playing into the hands of the Gun Grabbers. If you choose not to use a 'high power' rifle, so be it but don't think for one minute that you should be advocating for limiting my choices.
In answer to the question though, yes we do need 'high power' rifles for humane hunting in most states. The distances encountered without cover will dictate the need for longer shots only accomplished through the judicial use of high power rifles and cartridges. We are not all limited by the woods of the Northeast or Wisconsin where a shotgun might be acceptable.
Best.
Damn right!!!