FL-NC
Member
I have a 6.5 and a 243. Also several AR's in 223 and 308, and a bolt action 300 BLK. Any one of them would work fine for any hunting I do in Fl. If I could only pick 2, it would be the 6.5 and a AR in 223.
Pretty hard to argue with that.When I lived and hunted in Montana, my answer would have been 7MM Rem Mag and a .22
Then lived in the Alaskan interior and was still good with the same two but had I hunted coastal bears, I probably would have bought a .338 Win Mag or better, a 375 H&H, and still, the .22
I don’t hunt anymore and now live in Texas. My 7MM will still kill most anything here I’d hunt. And the .22 would still work fine for small game.
Of course, I could swap the 7 mag for a 30.06 in any situation and still be good to go.
Same here in Ca. Biggest possible non-exotic ranch critter is a tule elk, the .270 will handle it all. .22 LR for the small stuff.For my state exclusively I'd pick .22LR which would be for practice & squirrels, and I'll stick with .270 for the rest.
Smallest things I hunt are squirrels, largest is mulies, varmint bullets in the .270 will take care of yotes.
I’m a simple guy...Pretty hard to argue with that.
This is my all-around load.This brings up a secondary topic that I wonder if it's ever been discussed. Guys talk about the versatility of a single caliber, where you can go from a really soft plink load to a full load elk load and everything in between from just one caliber. While I understand that, to me the work involved just in developing each individual load, plus re-zeroing your scope after switching from one load to the next, it just seems so much easier for me to just buy more rifles in calibers dedicated for the power level I'm looking to achieve. Sorry, that was off-topic but it's always something I've wondered about.
Do you use a rifled slug gun to hunt deer?Illinois : no rifle hunting.
If I lived anywhere else, I'd get a heavy rifle - 416 ruger should do and a light rifle like a 30-30 . that should cover it.
I own a rifled barrel for my shotgun, I hope to use it someday...Do you use a rifled slug gun to hunt deer?
to me the work involved just in developing each individual load, plus re-zeroing your scope after switching from one load to the next, it just seems so much easier for me to just buy more rifles in calibers dedicated for the power level I'm looking to achieve. Sorry, that was off-topic but it's always something I've wondered about.
I could say so much about this post...I own a rifled barrel for my shotgun, I hope to use it someday...
In my area you need to have a farmer or landowner allow you to hunt their property, public areas are few and are divided up by lottery and the woods are crawling with folks who will happily shoot at anything that moves.
I have a place I could hunt on the Illinois/wisconsin/Iowa border (galena, il) where a friend has a hunting property with a cabin but I only get an invite if his son can't make it - about once every 5 years.
I would love to hunt but I've only deer hunted one time, as a youth in northern Wisconsin and luckily I didn't get a shot because I was severely unprepared .
I have hunted squirrel and other small game but that's infrequently too, I don't come from a hunting family but I plan to raise my daughter's (1&3) to hunt when they're old enough, I need to learn more and experience some success before I can hope to correct the family tradition. It's a tough one but I am working on it.
Been working on it and I'm at the point of having most if not all the required equipment (for deer or turkey ) and the will. The things I'm short on are time and property. I'm working on getting permission for this fall and there is an experienced hunter willing to come with me. Don't know if it'll happen but I'm trying.I could say so much about this post...
I know Illinois fairly well. Lived there 6 years. My father grew up there (Chicago) and he retired in WI. Your post almost perfectly describes his mindset, and that of most folks I know from upstate IL. I lived in Southern IL, and the mindset there is quite different when it comes to hunting, because it's part of the culture there, mostly because of the abundance of places to hunt for the average person.
I'll cut to the chase... Hope ain't gonna establish a family tradition of hunting. Work will. If you want to raise your kids hunting, then you're gonna have to get off your rear, quit hoping and start doing your homework. Right now, it doesn't sound like much of a priority for you. If you want hunting to be a family tradition, then that has to change.
Sorry to sound so blunt. I pray you'll make it happen for yourself, and especially those kids.
Been working on it and I'm at the point of having most if not all the required equipment (for deer or turkey ) and the will. The things I'm short on are time and property. I'm working on getting permission for this fall and there is an experienced hunter willing to come with me. Don't know if it'll happen but I'm trying.
This brings up a secondary topic that I wonder if it's ever been discussed. Guys talk about the versatility of a single caliber, where you can go from a really soft plink load to a full load elk load and everything in between from just one caliber. While I understand that, to me the work involved just in developing each individual load, plus re-zeroing your scope after switching from one load to the next, it just seems so much easier for me to just buy more rifles in calibers dedicated for the power level I'm looking to achieve. Sorry, that was off-topic but it's always something I've wondered about.
It is amazingly difficult to start hunting with no experience. It sounds so simple, and it is really, but the little details hunters "just know" are many. My son is 12 and can get a mentored tag that the season starts really early. Maybe we will go run around like idiots and try to make something work this year. Best of luckI own a rifled barrel for my shotgun, I hope to use it someday...
In my area you need to have a farmer or landowner allow you to hunt their property, public areas are few and are divided up by lottery and the woods are crawling with folks who will happily shoot at anything that moves.
I have a place I could hunt on the Illinois/wisconsin/Iowa border (galena, il) where a friend has a hunting property with a cabin but I only get an invite if his son can't make it - about once every 5 years.
I would love to hunt but I've only deer hunted one time, as a youth in northern Wisconsin and luckily I didn't get a shot because I was severely unprepared .
I have hunted squirrel and other small game but that's infrequently too, I don't come from a hunting family but I plan to raise my daughter's (1&3) to hunt when they're old enough, I need to learn more and experience some success before I can hope to correct the family tradition. It's a tough one but I am working on it.
Best of luck to you! If you ever make it out this way let me know, ill set something up.Been working on it and I'm at the point of having most if not all the required equipment (for deer or turkey ) and the will. The things I'm short on are time and property. I'm working on getting permission for this fall and there is an experienced hunter willing to come with me. Don't know if it'll happen but I'm trying.
I really envy you guys that like reloading. With as much as I like guns and shooting, youd think id really enjoy developing loads and stuff.Except that the "work" involved in developing both loads, is half the fun for some of us.