getting guns ready for season

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Have any of you started getting your rifles/pistols ready for deer/bear season. maybe trying some new toys or a new loads it's still early but the season is right around the corner for some, i have to get stuff out early, i don't like shooting when other hunters are trying to bow hunt.

What is your primary guns to use, and do you have backups. or rainy/snowy day guns. are you in brush or sitting on fields.

My 2 main guns are my ruger TS 77 in 7x57, fitted with a leupold vari-x ii 3-9x40 shooting the sierra 140 pro hunters. the other is my browning A-bolt composite stalker in 7wsm, it had a nikon 3-9x40 on it, i just sent the scope in to nikon for work. hope to here back soon. the load for this year is the winchester 150 power points, they are cheap now and not worth me reloading. the A-bolt is my bad weather day gun or if i need to reach out more then 400 yards.

For the days i know i will be in brush, i will use my cz 527 in 7.62x39 with 123gr tula sp, if it's bad weather my marlin 336 35 rem is going.

don't think i will get out for muzzleloader this year after selling my hawken.

I try to keep most my rifles ready to bring out, there are some that are sentimental and will go out to. i my carry a ruger sbh in 44 mag or a bh in 357 mag for any close stuff.

Please share if your getting ready and wht you use. thanks troy.
 
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That’s the great thing about hog hunting being open year round. The different tools are always ready.

BPS 20 ga w/ rifled barrel for the shotgun zones
Marlin 1894 44 mag for the thick timber and southern MI deer
Remmy 7600 30-06 for open areas
Ruger Redhawk .44 for fun
Muzzleloader for that season
 
That’s the great thing about hog hunting being open year round. The different tools are always ready.

BPS 20 ga w/ rifled barrel for the shotgun zones
Marlin 1894 44 mag for the thick timber and southern MI deer
Remmy 7600 30-06 for open areas
Ruger Redhawk .44 for fun
Muzzleloader for that season
yes very true, wish we could hunt them up here, there not many anyway.
 
don't be afraid to show them off.

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It's amazing how fast the summers go by up here. When spring came, I had a huge to do list. Half of it is not done and time is almost up. Definitely not ready for hunting season. Won't be able to even go do any scouting prior to opening day.
 
Mine are ready to go. I try and get them to the range at least once a week. My go to rifle is a rem 700 sps in 7mm08, it does everything I ask of it, however I may take out my AR or m11 in 5.56 and 223 this year. IMG_20190510_221815.jpg IMG_20181027_192731.jpg
 
For me it is a little early to think about deer hunting and such. I am still in fishing mode. I will get to checking my hunting guns and crossbow in September. There are just to many good fishing days left. My hunting guns I`ll take to deer camp are White Gold Medallion BLR .308, CZ 550 full stock .308, Marlin JM 30 30 and CZ 527 7.62X39. I`ll check zero on these a a few more in late September or early October .
 
I generally keep my hunting guns in ready, however I work away and only get to come home once or twice a month at the moment, so I will begin reassurance checks on the range very shortly. I recently equipped my 450 bushmaster with a new optic so I know that it is ready, but I do need to churn out a few more hunting rounds for it before season. My 30-06 for when hunting more open area at a friends farm stays in the ready and im sure taking some reassurance shots with it at range will put the warm and fuzzies back with just a few pulls of the trigger with my hunting load.

The main concern for me will be making sure that my daughter is ready, as well as her equipment. She took her first deer last year and is chomping at the bit to get another, I will have to keep the anticipation from over running preparedness. She will be 9 this upcoming season.
 
While my hunting guns are always "ready" I'm doing a little "tweaking" this summer.

1. Bought a new Nolser M48 in .270 to replace my old 1980s Steyr Mannlicher MOD M Professional in .270. Mounted a Leupold VX6 2-12 Firedot BDC and just finished load development and sighting in.

2. Dropped a "problem" REM MOD7 into an HS Precision stock, added a Timney trigger and drastically improved the accuracy.

3. Just ordered a B&C Alaskan Ti stock for an old REM 700 in .300W that I've used as a loaner rifle for years. Should arrive this week along with new bottom metal.
 
Well lets see...

Marlin 1895 22'' barrel topped with a Leupold Vx2 2-7-33, shooting handloaded 300gr Hornady JHP over IMR 4198.

H&R Handi Rifle in 44mag currently un scoped because I used its rings for something else. I have a Nikon prostaff 2-7-33 for it. It shoots handloaded 240gr XTP over IMR 4227. This reminded me I need to order Burris Z rings for it.

Mossberg 12ga slug gun with cantilever mount and Nikon prostaff 2-7-33 when its not on the Handi Rifle. I haven't shot this gun in probably 5-6yrs.

CVA Optima V2 stainless thumbhole stock topped with a Nikon Inline XR scope, shooting Blackhorn 209 and .452 300gr Hornady XTP.

Barnett Wildcat C2 crossbow topped with a Nikon Bolt scope and shooting Slick Trick mags

Bear TRX300 compound that I rarely shoot because it was a Christmas gift (first bow) from my mom back in like 2003. I cant find limbs for it and would be sick if something happened to it.

Our gun week starts the Monday after thanksgiving so I am in no hurry. We start shooting bows around mid-end of august for a September 29th bow opener. Everything just needs a double check but should be ready to roll.

If you wanna talk small game, I will be sighting in two of my Savage Mark II 22lr one is a standard barrel with wood stock, topped with a Bushnell 4-12-40 AO and the other is a heavy barrel with synthetic stock topped with a Bushnell Rimfire 4-12-40 SF. In the early season when leaves are still on I pack a Stoeger condor 20ga O/U with #4 shot.
 
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In NJ where I am from deer season was, if my cobwebby memory is correct, the first full calendar week of December. Not the nicest time of year in the Garden State weather-wise. I had gotten my first shotgun to try hunting some deer. Small game season was going on from October, so to get used to shotgunning I planned to start out small. Maybe a four point rabbit or some quail. Talked to a few long time hunters I knew and got told to go to a trap range to get used to the gun. Seemed logical.
Another told me "Look, that's great and all, but when you finally get out there, hunting as you will be without a dog, first thing you do if you kick up a bunch of birds is pick up your shotgun." Thought he was nuts, after all, I was going to be carrying it. He was right though, first bunch I kicked up was maybe 5 feet in front of me and the sudden sound of them taking wing scared the bejeebers out of me.
Mikey, my hunting buddy, and I spent the last half of November scouting where the deer were, where they bedded down, etc. Out in the woods at 4 AM was great, so quiet and still. Marked our scouted sites on the map and we were sure ready for that first week of December.
No one told me that deer seem to have calendars themselves. Not a one was anywhere near where they'd been hanging out for the past week or so.
To all THR hunters, best of luck this season.
 
All my hunting implements are usually in a state of readiness with a good supply of ammo. Still working on a suitable .308 handload for the Henry Single Shot that just got scoped. Got the gun back in January and its never been hunting yet. Other than the .308 load development this year summertime usually means zero checking, target practice, and general maintenance. When the season arrives everything is usually good to go.
 
I'm fairly set in my ways as it comes to what I like to use for rifles, ammo, and whatnot (Rem 700 243 sporter or Ruger RAR 6.5). The only preparations with these guns will be a zero confirmation at the beginning of season, and an occasional cold bore confirmation at my weekly range sessions that go on year round using other guns. Much more prep and practice will be done with my crossbow and muzzle loader during the early seasons. I did switch from Traditions 250 sabots to Hornady 250 sabots, so I will have to make the required adjustments for that.
 
Mine stay ready, just check the oil and add if needed. Hogs have been bad this year so they have been out every weekend I haven’t been on vacation.

What one comes out is an ‘Eeny, meeny, miny, moe’ process or I just grab what’s handy.
 
Having been skunked the past two season I have a pile of guns that have been bought over the past few years that were bought under the guise of being deer hunting guns (at least to the wife) that have yet to take a deer. I need to rectify as much of that this year as I can.

In order of priority (I think) it would fall out like this:
A 450 Bushmaster AR I built two years ago. Been carrying it the past two season but the luck has not been with me. Love this gun, lots of fun shooting my reloads. Killed a few varmints with it but no deer so far.

A 300 AAC Blackout pistol I built this winter. Will be using my SDN-6 suppressor and subsonic hand-loads (220gr Maker REX Bullets). Been carrying this everytime out to the hunting property since I built it late this winter. Lot of rounds down range so far. I think I could take a deer with it at modest ranges in the right conditions.

A Rossi M92 bought just before moving out of Ohio for deer as the Ohio laws changed but I took a new job in the south. Its an awesome brush gun and need to kill a deer or two with it.

A S&W M29 bought two summer ago to go with the M92. Three years ago I took two does with my 610. The 44 was just to pair up with the M92 but I would like to take a deer with it eventually.

A 300 AAC Blackout carbine built four years ago. After building the pistol this poor thing has sort of been abandoned. I need to get it to the range and really tune it up for super sonic Barns TAC-TX loads I have.
 
Have any of you started getting your rifles/pistols ready for deer/bear season. maybe trying some new toys or a new loads it's still early but the season is right around the corner for some

I have been testing out some loads for handguns. I hope to get a deer with the pistola this year. In fact, I have put up a stand to be a combination bow/handgun stand. You can see about 60 yards in 4 different directions. This will be the first year I will venture into the woods without a long gun. I won't do it every time, but it will be a part of my hunting this year.

What is your primary guns to use, and do you have backups.

My main long gun is a Weatherby Vanguard in .30-06. I suppose you could say I have a backup. My wife has a Ruger M77 in .243 and she doesn't care anything about hunting. If my main rifle went down, I'd take hers. I would however, remove the pink camo sling first. :)

The handgun I will be using is a Ruger NM Blackhawk in .45 Colt. I also have a 4 5/8" Super Blackhawk that will accompany me on rifle hunts.

My muzzleloader is a CVA Optima Elite.
 
Sitting in the morning twilight on opening morning of firearms deer season with your favorite deer rifle - nothing more peaceful and exhilarating - you only get that moment once a year.
I practice that moment at the range all year long - my rifle(s) are always ready. At my age it is no longer the deer, it is that 1/2 of an hour that is anticipated the entire year. Second only to the opening half hour, is the last half hour of that day - something very holy about those two 1/2 hours.
 
I hunt in thick woods just leaning up against a tree on the ground, and have never shot a deer that was further than 35 yards away. I used to use a 12 gauge and 1 oz slug, but since Ohio has started letting us use some straight walled cartridges I've switched to a .357 Marlin lever action with a red dot. I'm not sure if I'll hunt deer this year, but if I do I'll probably just add the red dot (it's currently on a .22) and sight it in the weekend before gun season opens. At the distances I hunt a lot of prep isn't really needed.
 
I have been testing out some loads for handguns. I hope to get a deer with the pistola this year. In fact, I have put up a stand to be a combination bow/handgun stand. You can see about 60 yards in 4 different directions. This will be the first year I will venture into the woods without a long gun. I won't do it every time, but it will be a part of my hunting this year.



My main long gun is a Weatherby Vanguard in .30-06. I suppose you could say I have a backup. My wife has a Ruger M77 in .243 and she doesn't care anything about hunting. If my main rifle went down, I'd take hers. I would however, remove the pink camo sling first. :)

The handgun I will be using is a Ruger NM Blackhawk in .45 Colt. I also have a 4 5/8" Super Blackhawk that will accompany me on rifle hunts.

My muzzleloader is a CVA Optima Elite.

Come on it takes a real man to carry a rifle with pink on it.
There is one thing about pink on a rifle in the woods most men would never try to claim it's theirs.
 
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