John in AR
11-09-2005, 10:47 AM
Modern gun season starts here this Saturday, and I’ll probably head out like the thousands of other lemmings to see who gets shot by the city folk and who survives...
I’m not rabid about opening day as a lot of people are, but it’s nearly a state holiday here. (The public schools are actually closed in most of the state on Friday to allow setup & travel time before the Saturday-morning opening.) The fact that my wife is taking a bunch of church kids on a campout and will be gone anyway, is another reason I’m thinking about going out.
My problem is that I haven’t decided what to use this year. Our deer are typically small-to-medium, so the range of acceptable calibers is pretty broad. You’ll see anything from .300 win mags to .32-20’s, right in the same area.
Last year, I took a small one with the suppressed CAR-15 (which was pretty cool), but haven’t made up my mind on what to use this year.
Strangely, I’m semi-seriously considering the little Kel-Tec 9mm carbine I just got a couple months ago, with some 125-grain +P Triton Hi-Vel ammo I have left laying around. It’s more powerful than some of the guns that are in use out there, although some of the old hillbillies don’t tend to believe it. Either it or one of the .30 carbines may be the ticket this year. I just enjoy taking game with various guns, and since I tend to like small carbines, combined with the size of our deer here, it means that a lot of the guns I have would be decent choices. M1 carbine, .357 lever gun, .223, 7.62x39, 12-gauge, even the 9mm carbine, would all be workable. I even went out with a 1911 with +P CorBons one year, but didn’t see anything that trip out.
Have to check the game & fish book, but if bear season is concurrent (as it is some years), the .454 with “light” loads might go instead of a shoulder gun. But if squirrel season’s open too (which it often is), the suppressed .22 pistol needs to go as well... Crap.
My wife says it wouldn’t be a problem if I’d sell all my guns except one; clearly, she just doesn’t get it.
If we had the nearly-cattle-size deer in BigJon’s pics, this would be an easier decision; either .308 or .454. Everything’s just so ‘medium’ here, it really complicates things.
I’m not rabid about opening day as a lot of people are, but it’s nearly a state holiday here. (The public schools are actually closed in most of the state on Friday to allow setup & travel time before the Saturday-morning opening.) The fact that my wife is taking a bunch of church kids on a campout and will be gone anyway, is another reason I’m thinking about going out.
My problem is that I haven’t decided what to use this year. Our deer are typically small-to-medium, so the range of acceptable calibers is pretty broad. You’ll see anything from .300 win mags to .32-20’s, right in the same area.
Last year, I took a small one with the suppressed CAR-15 (which was pretty cool), but haven’t made up my mind on what to use this year.
Strangely, I’m semi-seriously considering the little Kel-Tec 9mm carbine I just got a couple months ago, with some 125-grain +P Triton Hi-Vel ammo I have left laying around. It’s more powerful than some of the guns that are in use out there, although some of the old hillbillies don’t tend to believe it. Either it or one of the .30 carbines may be the ticket this year. I just enjoy taking game with various guns, and since I tend to like small carbines, combined with the size of our deer here, it means that a lot of the guns I have would be decent choices. M1 carbine, .357 lever gun, .223, 7.62x39, 12-gauge, even the 9mm carbine, would all be workable. I even went out with a 1911 with +P CorBons one year, but didn’t see anything that trip out.
Have to check the game & fish book, but if bear season is concurrent (as it is some years), the .454 with “light” loads might go instead of a shoulder gun. But if squirrel season’s open too (which it often is), the suppressed .22 pistol needs to go as well... Crap.
My wife says it wouldn’t be a problem if I’d sell all my guns except one; clearly, she just doesn’t get it.
If we had the nearly-cattle-size deer in BigJon’s pics, this would be an easier decision; either .308 or .454. Everything’s just so ‘medium’ here, it really complicates things.