Anyone else powering down?

30-06, 270, 30-30 never had a magnum and doubt i ever will

Hogs ain't that tough to kill, even big ones. A proper partition bullet and the .30-30 is plenty for any hog that walks. I may go after Nilgai someday. That's when I'll break out the belted magnum.

3006, 25 06, 7.62 x 54 R, 8 mm , 243, 7.62 x 39. They all get the job done.

I'm a big believer that a given caliber is appropriate for a given animal with 'proper bullet placement.' But what about improper bullet placement? I'm a belt and suspenders guy. I shot a buck one day with .35 Whelen. Now I was aiming at the buck's shoulder and where the bullet should have exited was the opposite short ribs. Unfortunately just as the sear broke, the buck took a step. I didn't hit the shoulder... I hit the short ribs on this side and the bullet exited on the buck's opposite hip. Result? That buck dropped right there with his spinal cord paralyzed from the shock of the bullet. He drug himself three or four feet before he bled out from his exploded aorta.

Now a smaller bullet on the same track would have punched a hole in the aorta but I doubt it would have shocked the spinal cord in the same fashion. The result most likely is that I would have been hunting through swamps for that buck. I've lost several wounded deer in those swamps. The big caliber turned an inadvertent bad shot into a dead right there shot.

i like my .30-06 for all hunting just because i have a very good chance at having a black bear walk out

my next deer gun(s) will be a .45acp conversion for my enfield when i get the money since its low kick low noise i can hunt close to the pasture with my horses (not in but near the deer like to cross the road just past it but im scared i will spook the horses) and a 20ga pump ive become a big fan of the 20 gauge since it has half the kick of a 12 and will take a deer or bear with a slug no problem but i can still hunt bird and take out a snake without using a slug or buckshot

I like shooting rifles, BUT, 20 hand loaded rounds through the .300 win mag or 7 mag stops the fun/accuaracy real quick for me. I dont mind hunting with them, because, it is just one or two shots, right? I just like shooting and hunting. I will have my .25-06 hunting w/ me this year.

Ive always hunted with smaller rounds or shotguns as opposed to 30-06 etc

The deer in Florida are too small for that LOL

Yep. Thankfully, my magnumitis phase was short and sweet and over by my mid-late 30s, and never got past 7mm rem mag.

For big-game-hunting-capable rifles, I'm looking in the safe at two .243s, one .260 rem, one .280 rem, two .30-06s (which I consider to be my 'someday' Canada/Alaska rifles ONLY), one 9.3x62mm (which I consider to be my 'someday' Africa plains rifle ONLY), two .45-70s, and one 12 ga slug rifle.

I figure .280 rem is the biggest I'd ever need in the lower 48 for ungulates, so the .45-70s and 12 ga are for dangerous game (big Russian boars or brown bear). In addition to largish game, the .280 rem is also a most excellent long range round for deer sized game (deer, sheep, goats, antelope)

For some reason however, I DID sell my .45 cal ML and go with .50 cal ML - but that was mainly for commonality of buying components/bullets.

I have a 7 mag that I keep at .280 power levels. Much easier to load down with a 7 mag than push a .280 too hot.

Been stuck in Iraq it seems I have missed a lot of hunting. Oh, last animal I shot was a nice Buck at Fort Hood in 2002. Let me tell you the army of one needs a lot of contractors to keep their stuff working. 4 and 1/2 years of sand and flies!! Oh they don't trust us with firearms either. There are some BIG Dove here and they won't let us bring air rifles to harvest them. Then the mucky mucks grip because of the super heated bird poop on the SUV's.

Down to 30-30's, Marlin 1894 44 mag, and 30-06... I would like a 45-70 just because...

You saw the SAME one you gave to your nephew? Yeah, thanks for your service peyton - that same stupidity of not allowing problem birds to be shot, even if done in a safe way, happens *everywhere* around the world.

I read and hear a lot of talk like this back before I ever owned a rifle of my own.

It all made a believer out of me, that magnums are unnecessary.

I started out with a .30-30 and then got a .270 and have killed elk and deer with both.

I eventually got another .270, but I keep telling myself that one day I need to get a .30-06 too. I might not ever do that. I might just get, yet another .270 rifle.

I'll certainly never own a magnum though. I'll never need to.

I'd ditch the .470 and get some serious dangerous game medicine, a 12 gauge. Do you want to rely on less than the game wardens do in Alaska?

nope. i have real trouble chasing wounded animals. i want them to drop in their tracks! i can live with recoil far better than i can tracking an animal more than 50 yards. if i am pretty sure i can drop it, i'll shoot it. if i am not so sure, i'll let it walk.

I sure miss my Marlin 1894 saddle ring carbine in .44 mag. I gave it to a nephew on his 16th birthday. That was 15 years ago. About 2 years ago I see it in a Pawnshop for $399.99. It only cost $149 NEW!
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you NEED to go find your nephew and SLAP him up along side of the head!

I am just a youngun...(23) and am already in the powering down stage... I will do my hunting fromthis point with either my weatherby in 270 win, my 257 rbts, or my trusty ole marlin 30-30.... I may even take my .223 on a whim...

A 30-06 is a good cartridge no doubt, but it is unnecessary for much of the hunting i will be exposed to. I wont have many chances at 300+ yard shots but even if I do... I have a 270 for that...


I still plan to get a Ruger No. 1 in 460 S&W