Yeah, those are heavy hitters Gene. I get a chance to shoot all kinds of firearms through the gun club that I belong to. It's a little on the "pricey" side... lots of covered ranges, cowboy action, action pistol, 600yd, etc. etc. The price keeps the odd fumbling idiot with a recently purchased SKS from ruining everyone's day. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying $$$ are everything but it does weed out some of the people that don't take the sport very seriously. Some of the people that do belong there have some very nice firearms and I occasionally get a chance to shoot some. Everything from Sharps rifles to $15k bench rest rail guns. I have never shot a big double gun before though. It would be fun to spit 10 or so rounds downrange with one.
I often get an odd look from people when I tell them that my primary rifles are a .300WM Rem 700 and a .45/70 Marlin Lever action. "Too much for whitetails" is usually the response. It's easy to explain really. Where I hunt, which is not all that far from Ft. Stewart (about an hour and change north west) I have 2 basic approaches to the harvest. 1. Hunt the fields in the afternoon /evening, with the most likely target being does. The bucks rarely walk onto a field unless it's after dark, or their in full rut. Long range rifle is a must. .300 isn't required, but like I said in a previous post, it found me. 2. Other times I hunt the swamp bottoms and thickest, heaviest cover that I can find with buck action. The bullet will often have to bust it's way through magnolia, green briar, swamp oak and all sorts of other flora on the way to it's destination. That's where that .45/70 performs nicely. It denies cover. I shoot a 350 hollow point, and have never had what I consider to be "too much" damage. Occassionally a close shot to a shoulder will rip it up pretty bad, but so will just about any high-powered rifle. It's my unscientific opinion that either the load isn't hot enough, or these coastal white tails just aren't thick enough to fully expand the bullet unless it hits a major bone. Just the weight of the bullet and diameter of the wound channel knocks them to their knees like they just were hit with a Chevy van. I've killed a bunch of deer with the .45/70 and have only had to track one. It was my fault for taking a 300yard shot with that round and a 2x-7x scope. It took 2 shots to get the correct holdover and I ended up hitting it in the gut. The next 2 hours were spent tracking it through green briar. When it was over with I looked like I had been in a fight with a wild cat.
I'm with you on the rain thing Gene, I don't hunt in it. The animals really don't move in it anyhow. As soon as it stops and a cold breeze blows though, every animal in the woods moves. Personally, I can't even deal with Washington state in that regard. I enjoy the fair Georgia weather too much
Due to kid commitments, my days of doing things "for myself" have basically come to an end. However for a few weeks after youth football ends (I coach), I hit the woods hard. After a couple weekends on my own, I start taking my son and daughter out to the woods in an effort to expose them to a sport that fewer kids each year have the opportunity to participate in. We have 2000 acres, so they get a chance to ride 4 wheelers, target shoot, hunt, and even sit in the trailer and watch cartoons if they want. I don't get on them about stupid stuff unless we're at home.
Linear Mode
