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Whitetail Hunting question


Captain Bill Burt

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Three inches high at 100 yards is a great “zero” for hunting; the bullet will pretty much stay within a 6 inch circle out to 300 yards.  Put the crosshairs in the center of the chest in line with the front leg and squeeze.  No need to fudge for distance with that set up, the deer will be yours.

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7 hours ago, Smuteye John SASS#24774 said:

Nobody is promoting the taking of a marginal shot.  You may want to work on that whole reading comprehension thing. 

 

I'm also not promoting the use of a marginal round (so marginal that it's illegal to use for deer hunting in some states) for deer hunting either.  I don't think a .22 center fire is a reliable choice for deer hunting.  I didn't think that in the '80's when I sat a deer stand with a borrowed .22-250  across my knees and passed on several shots because of what I was using that day and I haven't changed my mind since.

 

Since the initial post is laid out as an 'either/or' sort of situation, and one of the options is, for me at least, automatically discounted, the only choice left is the .300.  Is it way more gun than needed?  Yeah, and that is one point of agreement on the whole thread.  Like I said, if the choices are between too much gun or not enough gun, I'll go with too much gun.

 

Then again, maybe you and Gateway are just Natty Bumpo reincarnated and have never missed center punching a target- even in the field- so using rounds considered inadequate for us mere mortals would be OK for you.

Wowsers!!

To quote you "you may want to work on that whole reading comprehension thing"

Don't know where you got that whole Natty Bumpo thing (who is that anyway?) but I personally use either a .284 Winchester, 308 Winchester or .243 Winchester for my big game hunting needs. I have not killed hundred's of big game animals, not even close unless you count prairie dogs and coyotes as big game:) and my longest shot has not been 800 yards (more like 440 from a rest) I consider myself an average to slightly better than average long range shooter with literally hundreds or perhaps thousands of shooters who could outshoot me without breaking a sweat. I do consider myself an ethical hunter who does not pull the trigger unless I am certain that the animal will not even know what hit them and have passed more shots than I have taken. I did not say anywhere that I have always had a center punch on a field shot, I did say if a shooter can not be fairly accurate at the range, do not know what the firearm is capable of, have not decided how they will be shooting then they do not know what they are capable of in the field.

If asking those basic ethical questions is beyond the comprehension of mere mortals then so be it.

Regards

 

:FlagAm: :FlagAm: :FlagAm:

 

Gateway Kid

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8 hours ago, Birdgun Quail, SASS #63663 said:

I submit that a .22 Short will harvest any deer if you place your shot right.

Sure, it will..."IF, brother, IF," said Vin in The Magnificent Seven.  Matter of fact, an Alaskan Eskimo woman killed a Kodiak that treed her up a food platform.  The bear was shaking the platform, and all she had was a Colt's Woodsman.  It got dark and the bear wouldn't go away.  She pointed the gun down and fired!  A lot of commotion and then silence!  In the morning, she saw the bear lying dead on the ground.  The .22 had hit it in the eye and penetrated into the brain! 

If you decide to go hunting griz with a .22 rf, let me know...so I can curl up by my fire with a good book! ;)  If it was me with the .300, I'd go with that load of Varget that duplicates the .30-06. 

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12 minutes ago, Trailrider #896 said:

Sure, it will..."IF, brother, IF," said Vin in The Magnificent Seven.  Matter of fact, an Alaskan Eskimo woman killed a Kodiak that treed her up a food platform.  The bear was shaking the platform, and all she had was a Colt's Woodsman.  It got dark and the bear wouldn't go away.  She pointed the gun down and fired!  A lot of commotion and then silence!  In the morning, she saw the bear lying dead on the ground.  The .22 had hit it in the eye and penetrated into the brain! 

If you decide to go hunting griz with a .22 rf, let me know...so I can curl up by my fire with a good book! ;)  If it was me with the .300, I'd go with that load of Varget that duplicates the .30-06. 

Well Trailrider, I was told a young woman recently escaped a grizzly bear attack with one well placed shot from a small pistol in 25 ACP. 

 

She accurately placed the shot into her boyfriend's knee!  :unsure:

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Always go into griz country with a partner.  Just be sure you can run faster than he/she can, then you don't have to worry about outrunning the bear! :o:P:lol:  If nobody will go with you, just eat a lot of beans and have a dose of laxative with you that you can pop in your mouth.  Wear loose clothing.  The bear won't be able to get any traction! :rolleyes:

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I've killed several with my .300 Win, it will certainly work in decisive fashion. It weighs a little over 8 lbs. and it will kick the HELL out of ya on a bench, but never noticed it hunting. I shot a nice buck once with a .22/250 with 70 gr. Speer SPs (don't think they make those anymore). Had to shoot him 3 or 4 times with good body shots, had to still give him one thru the back of the neck to finish him. Range was inside 100 yards, bullets apparently didn't expand at all. Couldn't really tell entry from exit wounds. Needless to say I never took it deer hunting again (was actually hunting turkey mid afternoon when the buck walked out).

JHC

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On 10/27/2017 at 11:46 AM, Birdgun Quail, SASS #63663 said:

Might want to check state law on caliber size for deer.  Some states do not allow even center fire .22 calibers for deer.

Indiana and Michigan do not allow any .22 rifles for deer.

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1 hour ago, Michigan Slim said:

Indiana and Michigan do not allow any .22 rifles for deer.

 

 

The OP was addressing Georgia, which allows the use of .22 centerfire and up to hunt deer.

https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/2010/title-27/chapter-3/article-1/part-1/27-3-4

 

LL

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9 hours ago, Loophole LaRue, SASS #51438 said:

 

 

The OP was addressing Georgia, which allows the use of .22 centerfire and up to hunt deer.

https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/2010/title-27/chapter-3/article-1/part-1/27-3-4

 

LL

Yep. Been there.

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I plan on using my great-grandpa's 1884 Trapdoor this firearm season. Too much gun but I would love to get one with this ole family rifle. Got it loaded, sighted in, ready ta go.

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In regard to managed recoil, just how many shots are you planning to take.

My first deer hunt I loaded the Magazine with five rounds. The rifle was already 

~8 pounds. After carrying it all day, I soon decided that three was all I would need.

If I missed the first shot, a second would perhaps be in order but 5 was out of the question. 

Deer hunting is not like shooting a match. You don't need a full box of ammo. 

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1 hour ago, Badger Mountain Charlie SASS #43172 said:

In regard to managed recoil, just how many shots are you planning to take.

My first deer hunt I loaded the Magazine with five rounds. The rifle was already 

~8 pounds. After carrying it all day, I soon decided that three was all I would need.

If I missed the first shot, a second would perhaps be in order but 5 was out of the question. 

Deer hunting is not like shooting a match. You don't need a full box of ammo. 

Might only take a couple shots hunting but the rest of the box better be practice.

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14 minutes ago, Michigan Slim said:

Might only take a couple shots hunting but the rest of the box better be practice.

Too true, but a full magazine on a hunt is probably not necessary, unless you are carrying a single shot firearm,

or a double barrel shotgun. 

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Few years back was the first time I'd been hunting in years and I used up all 5 rounds that my ruger holds.  I won't go into the blow by blow, but I will admit there were some misses.  Long about the second shot everything in that patch of woods got spooked.  It looked like that big game hunter video game.  My buddy was bringing the truck around and he asked on the walkie talkie if I was done shooting.  I looked in my rifle and said "yup, I'm all outta bullets.  If I see another one I'm gunna have to stab him"

 

When we were done with the gutting, I had to check the regulations to make sure there wasn't a daily bag limit.  There's not, you just can't go over 5 a year. 

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When first married the only center fire rifle I owned was a Winchester M70 in 22-250.  We never went hungry, but I did pass up a lot of shots that were not ideal.  A 22-250 loaded with a 55gr Hornady SP is absolutely leathal on Axis and pigs.  I mainly shot my deer in the head.  A 22-250 damages a lot of meat in the chest.  I have probably killed 12-15 Axis with my 22-250 only once did I need a second shot, and to be fair I would have needed a second shot with just about anything.

 

I do most of my hunting now with a 30-06. The 06 loaded with Barnes X bullets makes very quick and clean kills.  Here’s a buck I got on Friday at my parents place.

46531A26-E91F-4D52-A365-109095089578.jpeg

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On 10/26/2017 at 7:26 PM, Dakota Rebel, SASS# 58412 said:

Never hunted in GA.  It depends on the terrain your hunting in.  

 

Open country ,either the 300 or the 7mm will do just fine.

22-250...depends on who you speak to, used one once and it failed me miserably (even the deer was laughing)

Heavily wooded area may require a shotgun with slugs.

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On 10/30/2017 at 8:11 PM, JD Lud said:

What scopes are on the rifles and what power?  Don't want too confined field of view or bad lowlight performance.  Whichever you choose make sure scope is right for the job.

The Remington is wearing a 5.5-22x56 Nightforce Varminter.  

 

The Winchester is wearing a 3-12x30 Black Diamond.

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Set the Winchester to 3 power.  It will be plenty for any shot in the woods, and for open field work out to 200 yards.  I use a Leupold 1-4x; set to 2x and have taken most of my shots at the 2x setting.  You want the big bright open view that a lower power setting gives you when hunting.

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5 hours ago, J-BAR #18287 said:

Set the Winchester to 3 power.  It will be plenty for any shot in the woods, and for open field work out to 200 yards.  I use a Leupold 1-4x; set to 2x and have taken most of my shots at the 2x setting.  You want the big bright open view that a lower power setting gives you when hunting.

That's what I'm thinking too.  Keep the scope at the lowest power and get in some practice at 200 and 300 yards.  I think the zero will be just right the way it is.

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