Topic: any hunting gun nuts out there?

[72500john]

grew up in s/w pa hunting for deer in muzzleloader season with flinch locks. all patched round balls and open sights. lots of  smoke, noise and snow. allot of fun and a few deer sometimes.
now i live in VA. hunt with a t/c white mountain carbine side hammer for muzzleloader season. rifle season is either a 30-30 for the tree stand or 7 mag for the fields. not discounting the 30-06 or 308 or any caliber in between. all good ones.
22 hornet works well for the smaller farms in residential areas for ground hogs and the 220 swift or 22-250 is better for the big farms and long shots. gotta help the farmers out.
whats your preferences?

[70CB750]

Well hello there, brother

I hunt with Omega for MZ and 270wsm or 45-70 in rifle season. My son shoots 30-30 @ 336 Marlin and sometimes I go out with my scoped GP100 in .357.

I reload and when I feel like it I hunt with smelly in 303 British just for kicks.

[72500john]

no your 303 is not smelly at all. good round.  try some imr 4198 in your 45-70  and cci br primers. you will be amazed. 30 -30 is a great round been around for a looong time. imr 3031 is great in it. yes i know more about reloading than sohc bikes. but thats why i subscribe here. deer are great free meat eh?

[ChuckG750f1]

My main deer gun is a Remington 700 in 30'06.  My elk gun is an older Ruger .338 Win. Mag.(took a bull in MT at ~400 yrds and another on the run at ~250)  I have a Ruger #1 in 7mm Mag. too.  My varmint guns are a Sako heavy barrel, Varminter in .243 (shot a ground hog at 400 yrds.) and an old Sako "Vixen" in .222 and an old Mossberg "chuckster" in .22 mag.  All of my center fire hunting rifles have Leuopold Variax III scopes except the '06 which has a Nikon 3X9 on it.  For muzzle loader season, I have a TC PA hunter, flintlock.  Then there's the hand guns and other, "politcally incorrect" rifles.

BTW, I am not a nut and all my firearms are stored unloaded, in a safe.

[Duke McDukiedook]

About the only hunting I really care to do these days is dove, and I don't get to do that much any more.
1100 special with a modified barrel helps to reach out and touch 'em.

[boatsdickson]

Gun nut probably not, but I believe in owning them in quantity.

Hunter? Just a wannabee. Ive been in the deer blind twice and followed a doe through the scope but never made the kill. Trying to get our future country house finished for the move in September. If all goes correct Ill buy a new 30-30 Marlin 336 to replace the one I had to sell years ago. Maybe Ill relate a better story in November......Boats

[72500john]

boats. finding that "big buck" takes lots of time in the woods which most of us do not have. or pure dumb luck which has blessed me only once.  passing on a shot is no shame. some days i just like being out there watching he deer. will take one if i know someone that wants one. when you get your 30-30 look into Hornadays leverevalution ammo ( sorry i think thats what its called). rubber tipped bullets that can be loaded into tubular magazines. basically spire point bullets which really wake up the 30-30.

[78 k550]

I have a 45-70 trapdoor 1884 That is one big gun.
They still hunt with that gun?
My dad bought it as a kid. He bought it the day he was legal to buy it. I think he was 16.  He would of been 74 last month.
I love my High Standard 22.

Paul

[Guns_Up]

The last bamboo I took was with a Spanish 7mm amuser, I was quite impressed with the exit wound. THis season I hope to take out the Garand I picked up in May, But for Squirrels I cant beat my Iver-Johnson M1 carbine 22lr, I LOVE that thing. Take it to the range every time I go.

[demon78]

About the only thing here to hunt in quantity is bunny rabbits, oops sorry, the fox is sorting that out, I'm at the stage of if I'm no competing or being attacked by the critter let it go.
Bill the demon.
ps although I confess a weakness for both Enfield's in 303 and Swedish Mauser's in 6.5 & 55.

[72500john]

guns up, if you reload try this. its a old 70s lyman accuracy load for the m1. 48.5 grains of imr 4064 and a 165 grain boat tail spire point. loaded this for my tcr 83 ( thompson center rifle) and it cut holes at 100 yards. not a barrel burner but i was always one for down range retained energy.

bill i am kinda like you now. love my guns but will only shoot a critter if i need to. or in deers case if someone wants one. just nice to be in the woods. groundhogs are another story. seen i few dairy cows put down or suffering from stepping in gofer holes.

[70CB750]

My kids can eat deer jerky faster than I can make it.  But I dont shoot small deer, same work, not enough meet.

[72500john]

big rutting bucks look good on the wall but taste like crap...i will take a little one or a fat old doe anyday. wish i could find a grouse hunting spot here. i cannot hit them for crap but they are fun to hunt. try your backstaps in lowerys mesquite barbeque with lime juice marinade on the grill.

[Bob Wessner]

72500, agree wholeheartedly on grouse. No matter how long you've hunted them, your heart skips a beat on the flush. I use a old LaFever double from the late 20's. I like Woodcock hunting as well. They taste a bit like liver, I like them.

[72500john]

did not see to many woodcock growing up in s/w pa but grouse where plentiful in the early 80"s. my buddies and i nicknamed them pine chickens. always used a 1100 20 gauge with a skeet choke. still missed allot. pheasants on the other hand over dogs were like shooting kites.

[bender01]

Deer season here in SC starts in less than a month! Bucks only from 8/15 til 9/15! Then whatever with the right tags til Jan 1st.(Im not sure why i pay the 20$for 4 does any day I want after 9/15 since there is no check station for private land) We can bait them and im unsure of the limit on bucks. It may be down to 2 a day from 5!!!! this year or soon. I have coyotes that are a nuisance this past two years. Luckily no pigs. I only take a few but I have friends that have /will take 20 or more! I have choked on every big buck ive seen! Someday we will hang out I hope. Till then I will process the 100 pounders into tasty meals one at a time!  Have many weapons but my stand set up is a Ruger 77 30-06 with a crazy Leupold 4.5x14 x 50 A.O. Keeps me entertained counting feathers at long distances! Shot my first deer(on Thanksgiving morning in NH)with the same Marlin Dad shot his.My sons will probably use the same Marlin 30/30.  Love blued steel and wood. Partridge growing up! Miss that rush for sure!

[faux fiddy]

I plink the squirrels that get on my bird feeders with a .45 looking bb gun.  I want to even the score sometime , but bullets would hit the neighbors house.

Not sure if I would nbeed a recipe, and I wouldn't waste the meat. Friccasi.

[becken]

With the Garand you have to be careful about using ammunition with too much pressure as the operating rod can be bent quite readily. I won't use commercial 30.06 in mine. I load a Hornady #3031 spire point over 48.0 gr. of Varget with a non-magnum primer. I put a medium crimp as the bullet has a cannelure. This load shoots very accurately out of my Garands and my bolt guns. I wouldn't hesitate to use it for thin skinned game out to 250 yards.

[Guns_Up]

for my Garand I only shoot surplus , or commercial 150 gr. but I'm carful about the muzzle velocity in the commercial stuff. 

[Radam]

I'm all traditional when it comes to hunting these days. My dad builds long bows. I haven't hunted deer with guns for about 10 years. I do like dove hunting, and I too have a 1100 special. I just have the regular barrel though. One of my friends is a gun nut and I love shooting all his guns. He even went all out and got a licence to get a suppressor for a 308 of his. He has no need for it, but it's pretty cool.


Now I'm living in Australia and I'm not even sure if I can bring one of my bows over! I'd like to take a kangaroo with one of my dads bows. Roo tastes just like deer. Awesome! I don't believe in hunting for sport. Only kill it if you (or someone you know) will eat it.

[ChuckG750f1]

^Nice weapon!  I own an M-14 also.  Mine has the heavy barrel with the standard flash suppressor.  I have a nice wood stock.  It is heavy but I love shooting it.

[bender01]

Rimfire Tuesday!  Hot out there today.

[72500john]

glad to see you are getting the kids out with the 22. great practice,cheap fun.

[bender01]

There is a .17 there also. Hes left handed so the semi is more fun. Open sights are a plus too.  I see alot of cool lever guns in his(my ) future! Looking at 22mags lately. Henry seems well built but an older 94/22 is what Im looking for.

[72500john]

the older 94/22 would be one with the top eject? perfect for a lefty. may want to consider a t/c encore or contender carbine for hunting. yes single shot and good guns. but teaches them to make the first shot count. plus switch barrel/caliber capability. very addictive. been down that road

[RAFster122s]

Hunted squirrel a lot growing up in TN. They were tasty when fried or grilled and even in a good  BBQ sauce.  Taste like a bit of wild/gamey chicken.
Should be able to drop one with a pump pellet gun as long as you are careful of your down range...but in the states, doesn't take much these day to cause problems with authorities. Some neighbors want to control your actions...what a society...

[72500john]

cut my teeth hunting squirrels as a youngster..and yes they are backyard pests we have trouble getting rid of due to local ordinances. had a ground hog eating most of my garden last fall. called the local council..turns out he had more rights than me since i live in the county proper!! he died anyways. dont mind them in the wild but when they get in my garden its game on.