The “It’s just a hunting rifle” Saying Bugs Me

[JohnWess]

The issue is equating an arbitrary value of a 2 MOA gun with wounding an animal. Think it can't be done with your ".25 moa" rifle? Especially now that everyone that has lucked into one good group has a tack driver.

I certainly appreciate that and you are right, I shouldn't equate wounding an animal to a 2 MOA rifle to wounding an animal. I am not saying I can't would an animal with my best rifle. It has happened. I am saying that, all else being equal, the .25 MOA rifle in your example has a lower probability of wounding an animal than the 2 MOA rifle.

 

[Dirtrax]

Very well said.

That's kinda sad, nobody like that has ever shown up at our hunting camp. We would have known ahead of time and either improved their skills or not invited them.

 

[Window]

The issue is equating an arbitrary value of a 2 MOA gun with wounding an animal. Think it can't be done with your ".25 moa" rifle? Especially now that everyone that has lucked into one good group has a tack driver.

Not at all. The issue is that there may be some who have a 2 MOA rifle who believe it's an effective 500 yard rifle. I have rifles that cover the spectrum and hunt with them all. Shooting is my passion and I pass no judgment on any other fellow shooter because we're all on the same team.

 

[JohnWess]

That's kinda sad, nobody like that has ever shown up at our hunting camp. We would have known ahead of time and either improved their skills or not invited them.

I haven't had one at camp, but I have heard stories. I had a heating and cooling guy come to my house a while back and we got to talking about hunting. He plainly admitted that he missed a big buck the following year because he hadn't shot his rifle all year. Just grabbed it out of his closet and went hunting. He then started throwing lead at the deer and found out later is scope mount had come loose. Luckily it was a clean miss. But, the story kind of made me realize how some people treat hunting.

I suppose I am also preaching to the choir here because the majority of individuals on this site are highly capable and prepared hunters.

 

[VTbluegrass]

First, let me preface this by saying that I have shot deer with open sight 30-30s and guns I am talking about now as not optimal. Now. I respect that you can fill your tags with them, but let me ask you a question. If you were to wound an animal with your open sight 30-30 don't you wish you would have grabbed your scoped bolt action whatever that your much more precise with?

I guess something has changed in me to where I feel now that I owe it to the animal to use my absolute best setup.

This argument doesn't take into account when folks take their old lever guns hunting it's not all about killing a critter. For me it's pulling dads rifle out once in awhile for the sake of nostalgia and it comes with a different set of limitations. By your argument there is no need for traditional archery since we have incredibly precise modern equipment.
And you can enjoy both hunting styles where you take a precision rifle and whack something way out there and also walking inside of 50 with an open sighted lever gun.

 

[JohnWess]

This argument doesn't take into account when folks take their old lever guns hunting it's not all about killing a critter. For me it's pulling dads rifle out once in awhile for the sake of nostalgia and it comes with a different set of limitations. By your argument there is no need for traditional archery since we have incredibly precise modern equipment.
And you can enjoy both hunting styles where you take a precision rifle and whack something way out there and also walking inside of 50 with an open sighted lever gun.

I agree with you. I guess my problem is when people don't know the limitations of themselves or the equipment.

 

[Rflshootr]

Every man has to know his limitations.....both of himself and his equipment. If you have any doubt about making a shot, then don't take the shot until you are comfortable with the conditions, distance, equipment and most importantly, yourself.

 

[Window]

That's kinda sad, nobody like that has ever shown up at our hunting camp. We would have known ahead of time and either improved their skills or not invited them.

Dirtrax, I wasn't talking about the ones I hunt with locally as that's a given. I was referring to the ones on the other side of the country or in other countries.

 

[djfriesen]

I have also heard the saying used to justify that third shot flier not being a big concern. If I need more than a cold bore shot and a quick follow up, I have bigger problems than a 1 MOA string on shots 3, 4, and 5. In that context, "it's just a hunting rifle" seems totally justifiable to me.

 

[foul bore]

I want all my rifles shooting as accurately as possible. I'm also pretty critical on that. It helps to have confidence in your equipment when the crosshairs are on the animal. I think we owe it to them, and the future of hunting

 

[willyqbc]

Like all things in life....there is no free lunch, there are always trade offs. If we were truly ascribing to the theory of "ultimate accuracy" in our hunting rifles....we'd all be lugging 20# rifles, sporting truck axle barrels. But we realize compromises need to be made to make our hunting rifles practical.

Every man has to know his limitations.....both of himself and his equipment. If you have any doubt about making a shot, then don't take the shot until you are comfortable with the conditions, distance, equipment and most importantly, yourself.

This gentleman pretty much sums it up nicely for me!

 

[Hoss50]

If a rifle (bolt action scoped rifle) can shoot MOA today there is something wrong with it. It may be the operator, or the gun. None of my hunting rifles is custom or semi-custom. They are all basic factory barrel rifles, and all will shoot MOA. Some have had things like a muzzle brake or trigger added, but that was just to improve the rifle and shooting experience. All would shoot MOA out if the box with a good load/handload.

"Just a hunting rifle" doesn't cut it IMO.

 

[eastbank]

i saw 43" wind drift at the 1000 yd at match at Williamsport in the early 70,s and thats with bench rifle from a bench. over that range you can have two or more wind shifts with different speeds that you must compensate for to hit your target .i wish the tv long range hunting shows would show the misses they have, instead of only the hits and remember most of those shows are trying to sell you some thing and are being used by long range experts and not by joe the common hunter. after a expert shot and the best equipment comes a expert spotter to call your shots, that is just as important in long range shooting. I know my shooting abilities and equipment and they are 300 yards or under and I prefer under at a standing broadside animal.

 

[Rich Coyle]

I am glad to hear that I'm not the only grown man that feels bad when I harvest an animal.

This thought is forien to me. If I felt that way I would buy organic pork and beef. When I fire I want to see success through the scope.

And yes my rifles are just hunting guns.