Any Hunters or Bowhunters Here?

[erin]

Suty, if you have given up on rifle hunting and enjoy the challege of archery, I would recommend handgunning. Definitely no 200yd shots, especially if you stick with open sights. I find the stalk to be just as challenging and I feel getting acceptable accuracy is more difficult yet.
:arabia:

 

[Scott Brady]

Anyone who hunts birds with a .45 has my admiration . . .

No, I save that one for the two legged creatures...

Oh, and I have a Sauer .30-06 and a Winchester lever action 30/30 for big game, though I have only been on a Javelina hunt.

 

[BajaTaco]

If God didn't want us to eat animals, then why did he make them outta meat!

I'm not sure that is a good argument for eating meat. Just try inserting the word "people" where the word "animals" currently resides within that sentence.:elkgrin:

 

[Suty]

I currently have a Winchester 94 in .30-.30. It's too light for pigs and elk so I want to get a larger calibre soon.

I'm leaning towards .444 Marlin, .45-70, or .450 Marlin. Haven't decided on Winchester or Marlin yet.

If you are out this way and have some time to kill, let me know. If I'm not busy I will buy you a coffee or a :beer:

Cali, I would chose the venerable 45-70. This caliber is very good and easy to reload. It can be loaded to equal the 450 or it can be loaded for plinking. Given it's rainbow trajectory the 200+ yard shots are rare unless you really know the range. Under 200 I would take the 45-70 everytime, it's all about momentum and penetration and it has both in spades. If you don't reload you can get some mighty powerful rounds from Garrett Ammo. They have rounds that travel 2100 fps + with 415 grain Hard Cast Lead Bullets that will stop ol' Grizz in his tracks. I will take you up on the drink next time I'm out . Also, what kind of Bow are you shoot'n ?,Mr.Taker of the Quail.Take care and Hold Center, Tu Compa, Suty

 

[Suty]

Suty, if you have given up on rifle hunting and enjoy the challege of archery, I would recommend handgunning. Definitely no 200yd shots, especially if you stick with open sights. I find the stalk to be just as challenging and I feel getting acceptable accuracy is more difficult yet.
:arabia:

I would'nt say I have completely given it up, but your Handgun Hunting is a good substitution for that. I will need to check that out. It's all about the stalk.....Buck Fever... Hold Center, Tu Compadres, Suty

 

[MaddBaggins]

I'm not sure that is a good argument for eating meat. Just try inserting the word "people" where the word "animals" currently resides within that sentence.:elkgrin:

LOL, you're thinking of "Soylent Green". MMMM :eatchicke

 

[Beerman]

Avid hunter here.


For big game, I prefer to hunt with either a muzzleloader or a bow (Sorry traditionalists, I still use a compound)

I also love to hunt birds. There is something about watching a dog you have trained do the job he loves that is just awesome.

 

[Grouseman]

Hunting

I really enjoy bird hunting...

I have a large collection of shotguns (90% willed to me from family), but really love my vintage (turn of the century) model 12's, and also have a soft spot for my HK .45 ACP USP. One of the finest handguns ever made.

Me too.: Actually I LOVE bird hunting. I've got 4 Britts and travel some pretty long distances to get into hot spots. About 3-4 weeks ago had a Bird hunting trip that took me appox. 3800 miles in 11 days. It took us 7 days to really get into the birds, so the last three days were great. Actually I am obessed with it.

"Nothing like an Upland bird on the grill, except being behind one of your dogs on point in the field."

SS

 

[fisher205]

Part of the reason I still live in South Dakota. I live to far west for good pheasant hunting, but it doesn't take me long to get into birds. I have two labs, one just retired (13 yrs) and a 4 year old. I originally got dogs for hunting. Now I hunt because ( and sometimes for) the dogs. - Brad

 

[Grouseman]

Part of the reason I still live in South Dakota. I live to far west for good pheasant hunting, but it doesn't take me long to get into birds. I have two labs, one just retired (13 yrs) and a 4 year old. I originally got dogs for hunting. Now I hunt because ( and sometimes for) the dogs. - Brad

Brad,

Your a lucky fellow. I'm at least 10 hours from good bird hunting. 13-16 hrs from good Pheasant hunting. Hopefully in the next few years I can change my method of making a living so I can take off a bunch of time in the fall.

SS

 

[jim65wagon]

This is cool. I've used a 60# Howard Hill longbow:REOutArchery02: for about ten years now. Not much of a hunter anymore since moving to VA (more fishing) but used to do quite a bit of small game with the bow. Hit a rabbit, or a groundhog on the run with an arrow and you feel quite accomplished! And for those of you who must eat what they kill, BBQ'd groundhog is excellent!

 

[big sky trapper]

Do we hunt and fish and trap????? well lets see we start up here in sept and dont finish untill mid aprill almost 7 days a week...just about the whole familly does some form of it.

Guns we have way to many to list....haha bows a few of them too. :gunt:

exploring and hunting/trapping anything more in life we really need???

 

[robert]

I currently have a Winchester 94 in .30-.30. It's too light for pigs and elk so I want to get a larger calibre soon.

30-30 too light for pig? We get much larger piggies here on the east coast than those piglets people out west hunt (javelinas) and the 30-30 does just fine- I've never felt undergunned with my Winchester except when I was charged and even a minigun would have felt small then (I dropped the rifle and climbed a tree then shot him with my .357- not too hard to do when he's right below you).

Yeah, I hunt; I haven't done hardly any on the last few years though. I've still got my bow (recurve baby, never could shoot a compound accurately), a Thompson Center Hawkin 50 cal smokepole (watched Jeremiah Johnson too many times as a kid obviously), and an assortment of shotguns and rifles. I've hunted deer and hog with the .357 also (+P 158gr SJSP). Pretty much the only thing I kill anymore are plastic soda bottles and paper targets.

Did someone say .45? eepwall: Bad picture I know.

 

[calamaridog]

Robert,

A Javelina is not a Pig. Sure, it's a mammal, but so are you.

Wild Pigs are the #1 Big Game Animal in California. More pigs are harvested each year than deer.

I've personally seen 550 lbs. boar and heard of larger ones. I've shot a 350 lbs. sow.

Shooting an animal as large as that with a .30-30 is borderline inhumane.

.30-30 is great for those little whitetail deer you all hunt and marginal for a mule deer.

With that being said, the .30-30 has killed more game in North America than perhaps any other cartridge.

 

[robert]

OK, so javelinas aren't pigs- learn something new every day. I've seen them in Arizona, but never hunted them. http://www.desertusa.com/magnov97/nov_pap/du_collpecc.html
The comment about "piglets" was a joke since I must not have conveyed that.

I disagree on the 30-30 being “borderline inhumane” for hogs. Looking on-line, it appears the feral hogs out west are the same size as ours- yes, we have some monsters here too (my largest was around 350 lbs too- much larger had been killed at the club so there really wasn’t any point in weighing him. I used an 8mm Mauser with Norma ammo). I have killed them with 16 gauge, 12 gauge, 50cal black powder, .308, 8mm Mauser and 30-30 (and the .357 kill) - none of the hogs knew the difference, all died. Obviously, as with shooting anything, shot placement is key. As a disclaimer, none of the shots were over 100yrds and most were much closer-there are no clear long distance shots in the swamps.

While we don’t have mule deer, we do have healthy whitetails (http://www.dnr.sc.gov/wildlife/deer/2006DeerAntlerRecords.html To add to that, we have enough of them that we have one of the longest gun seasons in the US, running from the middle of August to the end of the year with either sex hunts being common. They have practically become a pest species to farmers as well as being involved in an increasing number of traffic accidents. Deer depredation permits are pretty easy to get if you have crops.

I haven't shot any hogs since I was in high school and I haven't shot a deer in over six years.