Hand Skills
Well-Known Member
A few things come to mind;
Yes lots of moose are killed with 6.5's in Scandinavia. There has really been a paradigm shift here in NA toward 6.5's (online, anyway. As far as I know, 30-06 is annually number one for ammo sales in America). The Scandinavian moose study showing a 6.5x55 is as effective as anything else, cited all over the interwebs, now supplants the '7x57 is an elephant gun'. What we don't always remember are distances in question. Generally 100m or less!
Yes, Steve Timms is an experienced hunter. I don't think it's wise, however to suggest new hunters use his methods - especially as it relates to shot placement. Steve is a prolific hunter and has a very good understanding of anatomy. Saying a 120gr BT is good enough for Dogzapper is like saying a 223 is good enough for a subsistence hunter. In their hands? Yes. In the hands of a novice? ...big difference.
223's work for subsistence hunters who can get really close. Just like 270's work for locals, who might have the ability to pass on a shot and come back tomorrow. With decades of experience using the .270 on moose and elk, in my family we found 170gr speers RN's, followed by 160gr partitions to provide the most consistent results.
Shoot enough critters, and you will see bullets fail. I've seen more than a few irregular wound tracts where a bullet hits something and turns. This includes 'big' 30cal plus projectiles. I know I'm not alone here. Thinking back though, most of these have occurred when a 'soft bullet' encounters a hard place. I've also witnessed bullet failures of the opposite variety - a 'hard bullet' hitting a soft place.
Thinking back to when I was a novice hunter, I was instructed to avoid the shoulders (to save meat). Without a good understanding of anatomy, I thought the shoulder was above the elbow, and aimed rearward of that on my first couple of big game animals. I was successful, finding an expired critter with a partial liver after a short death sprint, but quickly grew tired of cleaning rumen out of the chest cavity. After dressing a few of my own kills got an understanding of how the plumbing on the inside relates to the skeleton on the outside.
Simply, I don't think there is a way to teach this without experience.
Now that I'm responsible for the next generation of hunters in my family, I've given this issue some thought. I advise those I'm teaching to picture a rhombus sitting on the elbow.
I think that's the best contribution I have. Good results inside the rhombus.
When is comes to the real world, and quartering shots, experience is the best teacher, and no bullet can be counted on to perform 100% of the time.
Yes lots of moose are killed with 6.5's in Scandinavia. There has really been a paradigm shift here in NA toward 6.5's (online, anyway. As far as I know, 30-06 is annually number one for ammo sales in America). The Scandinavian moose study showing a 6.5x55 is as effective as anything else, cited all over the interwebs, now supplants the '7x57 is an elephant gun'. What we don't always remember are distances in question. Generally 100m or less!
Yes, Steve Timms is an experienced hunter. I don't think it's wise, however to suggest new hunters use his methods - especially as it relates to shot placement. Steve is a prolific hunter and has a very good understanding of anatomy. Saying a 120gr BT is good enough for Dogzapper is like saying a 223 is good enough for a subsistence hunter. In their hands? Yes. In the hands of a novice? ...big difference.
223's work for subsistence hunters who can get really close. Just like 270's work for locals, who might have the ability to pass on a shot and come back tomorrow. With decades of experience using the .270 on moose and elk, in my family we found 170gr speers RN's, followed by 160gr partitions to provide the most consistent results.
Shoot enough critters, and you will see bullets fail. I've seen more than a few irregular wound tracts where a bullet hits something and turns. This includes 'big' 30cal plus projectiles. I know I'm not alone here. Thinking back though, most of these have occurred when a 'soft bullet' encounters a hard place. I've also witnessed bullet failures of the opposite variety - a 'hard bullet' hitting a soft place.
Thinking back to when I was a novice hunter, I was instructed to avoid the shoulders (to save meat). Without a good understanding of anatomy, I thought the shoulder was above the elbow, and aimed rearward of that on my first couple of big game animals. I was successful, finding an expired critter with a partial liver after a short death sprint, but quickly grew tired of cleaning rumen out of the chest cavity. After dressing a few of my own kills got an understanding of how the plumbing on the inside relates to the skeleton on the outside.
Simply, I don't think there is a way to teach this without experience.
Now that I'm responsible for the next generation of hunters in my family, I've given this issue some thought. I advise those I'm teaching to picture a rhombus sitting on the elbow.
I think that's the best contribution I have. Good results inside the rhombus.
When is comes to the real world, and quartering shots, experience is the best teacher, and no bullet can be counted on to perform 100% of the time.
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