Too much gun?

[yobuck]

I was completely unaware there was so much public land in the northeast. I was under the impression hunting from a stand at the deer lease was the only option for shooting deer anywhere east of the Rockies lol
You did a great of explaining your method. I may have to try that out this next season. I will typically pick a spot to glass from but then stalk in as close as I can get once game is spotted. May even be a good excuse for a bigger rifle

Well PA is very unique in the east with respect to open public land.
As much as the Game Commission is criticized
for what they don't do, what they have done rarely gets them any credit. One of those things is that over the coarse of many years, a portion of all the license revenue was/is used to purchase land for hunters as well as the general public to use.
Today there are several million acres of it scattered around the state, and much of that is in prime areas for deer hunting. Also the state itself has quit a few million acres as well, which is owned by the tax payers and open for all to use including hunters.
As you drive thru the various other eastern states like the western part of Maryland, West VA, NC, VA, and parts of Georgia, you would be seeing the same range of mountains as in PA, also offering numerous opportunities for ridge to ridge long range hunting. The difference however is that by and large there is little access to it by the public in those other states in comparison to PA.
As vast as the west is as for land mass, the same can be true there also as for access. Many of the ranches today in some of the best areas are leased to outfitters, meaning that unless you book a hunt with them, that land is off limits.
Even the owner cant grant permission to hunt.
Mind you there would be plenty of places where smaller cartridges could be used for eastern l/r hunting, but then that would be kinda like bass fishing without a boat.
Yes it can be done, but you probably wont be happy for very long if you do.
You will find that you will need to commit to one type of hunting or another if you expect the best results. One foot in and one foot out dosent work very well with l/r hunting.
Yes you might sit for days scanning the same real estate with nothing to show for it. But then without any warning there it is, and the days of boredom have now become chaos, but hopefully at least it is controlled chaos, involving you and your choice of equipment.
No time now to be thinking about the choices you made.

 

[Alibiiv]

Since you mention heavy calibres....

I remember a friend who was in the military and they were on tank maneuvers and low and behold a whitetail doe was standing out a ways and the way he told it was that one of the guys goes.... be really nice to have some fresh venison for supper (something around those lines)

It was a one shot kill!!!!!!

They set it to explode (not sure on the logistics of how they do this) but the shockwave killed the deer.

He said no blood damage or wasted meat, and he laughingly said.... the meat was incredible tender lol.

So I guess a tank round may not be considered too big????

Little cumbersome to carry in the mountains but might just be the perfect gun in the prairies lol.

Yup it's called the "88mm Creed"! Now we'll have someone looking for loads for the canon!?

 

[Salmonchaser]

Well I killed a bull in Mt. With a .577 nitro express, 750 gr. Lion tough soft point. That may have been too much gun, but you could eat right up to the hole.
Shot a number of deer and a few elk with a 375.HH. Nothing special, just dead, very little blood shot.

 

[ar10ar15man]

lol sounds like a cm comment
6.5x55 is over 100 years old and works well
the us mil jumped to 30 cal and us hunters have been there ever since.
338 is too much IMHO for 90 + % of us game. bear maybe the exception

Is it possible that anything over a 6.5 caliber 140gr bullet is uneccessary for all big hooved game in NA and purely used because it is wanted and not needed?

 

[FIGJAM]

lol sounds like a cm comment
6.5x55 is over 100 years old and works well
the us mil jumped to 30 cal and us hunters have been there ever since.
338 is too much IMHO for 90 + % of us game. bear maybe the exception

It wasn't creedmoor specific - I can't say I don't have a creedmoor any more, but mine is the 6mm variety. I do have a 260 and have been impressed with the effectiveness of 6.5 caliber cartridges killing big game. Whether its a 6.5x284, 264 WM, 26 Nosler etc, they seem to perform better than you think they would with the right bullet selection.

 

[jaybo]

There are too many variables to say too much gun for just any task. 99% of the time I hunt white tail deer. I use anything from a 243, 270, 308, or 300WM depending on weather conditions or which scope I want to use. Most of the time I use my 308 due to it having a higher power scope to help determine whether I want to harvest a particular animal. I know I could use a spotting scope but don't always have the luxury of time. In rainy conditions, I'll go with the 300WM to lessen the probability of having a tracking job in less than ideal conditions. For the most part, the 270 or 308 get the job done with what I would consider sufficient bullet weight and energy to take the animal down as quickly and humanely as possible.



Having said that, the way I came to have the 300WM was I was looking at going with a group elk hunting in Montana a few years ago. I have a 270 Weatherby shooting 150 grain Bergers which I have used for elk and that is not what I wanted to carry in Grizzly country. I got the 300WM and am shooting 200 grain accubonds. Now this is not what I would choose if I were going grizzly hunting, but I figured it was my best bet for what I would be able to shoot accurately without being afraid of it.



My old hunting buddy hunted for years with a 3006 but liked to come across as a tough guy so he got a 338WM. One trip to the range and the next time I saw it he had a muzzle brake on it. When I saw it I had to give him a hard time. What's with the muzzle break Mr. Macho? _ _ _ _ you man! I wanted the kids to be able to shoot it too. Yeah right!



The husband of one of my wife's friends hunts in Africa every year. I can't remember exactly what he is shooting but I think it is a 416 Remington mag and he is using a 400 grain Barnes TSX. He said he wanted to be able to take any game animal encountered from any angle standing or laying down. If I were paying that much money to make a hunt I guess I would feel the same way.



Hard to say how much is too much gun. Too many variables.

 

[Aoudad shooter1975]

Well I killed a bull in Mt. With a .577 nitro express, 750 gr. Lion tough soft point. That may have been too much gun, but you could eat right up to the hole.
Shot a number of deer and a few elk with a 375.HH. Nothing special, just dead, very little blood shot.

what make is your 577 I have one too?

 

[Salmonchaser]

what make is your 577 I have one too?

I no longer have the rifle. It belonged to the father of a young lady I was dating 30 years ago. He gave me a 470 and a Drilling as well. She wasn't cut out to be a cops wife. I sent the guns back when we broke up, seemed the right thing to do. As I recall all three were Heym.

 

[Aoudad shooter1975]

nice guns...a big double in the hands when you are looking at a buffalo or elephant..feels really good...it never feels like too much gun!!!

 

[Salmonchaser]

nice guns...a big double in the hands when you are looking at a buffalo or elephant..feels really good...it never feels like too much gun!!!

Always hoped I would get to take them to Africa, alas I guess I'll just use bolt guns

 

[HARPERC]

My experience is the once a year shooter sucks regardless of cartridge choice. I've seen quite a few .270's leave the range after shooting cannonball sized groups, and the owner proudly claiming good enough, or I shoot better offhand/ from the hood of the truck/at game, blah, blah, blah.

 

[Chuckrub]

My definition is when the shooter cant handle the recoil if you enjoy shooting 338 calibers and up git'r done. Shoot strait n shoot often.

 

[Playtimefun]

I do a lot of highway travelling up here to various road construction projects (engineer by trade) and there is a gun in the truck on every trip.

Sometimes it's just a 22 or 17 but quite often the 204, 308, etc etc etc etc but I like to try and stop someplace and take a few (or a lot of) shots here and there. You pick a rock out in the field. Take a guess without the range finder and take a poke or two at it. Then range it and see how close you were.

Sometimes you just have to make sure that coyote doesn't have to take a **** for a week after a few not so well placed shots.

The guys who taught me how to hunt were old school in that there was a gun ALWAYS in the truck and they were always shooting but very very seldomly from a bench unless sighting in a rifle. But those 2 old timers could frigging shoot!!!! They were shooting 500+ yards back in the early 80s.

I think there's so much more to just getting out to a field, not the range and just having the trigger time on a "not set" distance. Not the "200 yard" range... someplace where youre taking that 300 or 500 yard shot on that rock. The 800 yard shot at a clump of dirt and you develop that memory of different positions in the field and how to get set... how to think out your shot... and you get used to that push and if you can see where the bullet impacts. Then when your out hunting and you're carrying that magnum (of course!!!) and that animal shows itself, all your thinking is... I can make this shot and you get into the same steps that you did when practicing. Amazing how easily and accurately that shot comes with practice especially when you challenge yourself outside of a gun range.

 

[jebel]

That's a loaded question.

I work backwards. I start with the bullet I need to kill the chosen animal, including terminal characteristics. I accept how far I'm willing or able to take that shot. I make sure I know how fast it needs to be moving to do it's job.

With those inputs, it's just calculating. The velocity needed at the muzzle depends on the bullet's BC. The cartridge necessary depends on the muzzle velocity needed.

Works for 1000 yards or 100.