First off I don't see anywhere close to the level of persecution that Red is talking about at this site. I don't care what you hunt with as long as you follow basic rules of safety and are proficient enough to hit where you aim with it. I have not seenmagnums consistently berated for their use on elk, moose or large bears. I would also never chastise anyone who carried a 300 or 338 mag for deer because his hunting grounds were also grizzly country. What I do see is simply a growing consensus that large magnums are not needed for "Deer Hunting." Apparently that notion offends some people but so be it.

Magnumitis is at an all time high here in Alabama. I am about to speak in general terms about what I see locally here in Alabama and the type guys I know who carry these large calibers for deer. There are always exceptions to everything. If these comments don't describe you or your hunting situationthen that's great. You have no reason to be pissed at me.

The average distance that deer are killed at here in Alabama (a heavily wooded state) is less than 100 yards. There are some large clear cuts and bean fields here and there but they are the exception not the rule. So most of the guys I know that are smacking deer with these hand held howitzers are shooting them at a average distance of about 60 to 70 yards out of a shooting house on the edge of small green fields. Because of the short range the impact velocity of these whiz bang zoom magnums is still greater than 3000 fps. This makes bullet failure, fragmentation and over expansiona very real problem. Alsobecause of the high speed close range impact and the small size of our southern deer the meat damage is horrific. Despite the excessive meat damage most of these guys report a curious thing to me. The deer they shoot still run about as far as they do when I shoot one with a 7mm-08 or 25-06. The bang flop kills they thought they were going to get with their new rocket launcher just don't consistently happen. A fact that sadly prompts some of them to buy even larger magnums in a vain attempt to get that consistent bang flop kill.

Virtually every one of the12 or so magnum guys I know and speak to on a regular basis can quote you the ballisticcharts of their particular mag caliber from memory. Bullet drop at 300 yards, retained foot pounds of energy at 400 yards, etc, etc. Yet not a single one of them has, to the best of my knowledge, ever killed anything farther away than 150 yards. In fact I have had the opportunity from time to time to shootwith many of them at the large gravel pit on mygrandfathers land. You canshoot out to 350 yards in it andshooting there with themwould have been funny if it also wasn'tso sad. Most of themcould barely keepthree shots in aspace the size of asheet of loose leaf notebook paper at 100 yards. Most couldn't put one in three shots in a space the size of a deers vitals at 200 yards. And 300 yards? Forget it,the targetmight as well have been a mile away for all the chance they had of hitting it. Why? All you had to do was stand behind them as they shot to see. All of them had a flinch and some were literally jerking their head out from behind the scope as they pulled the trigger. All of them would have been far better off with aless powerfulcartridge that they could have shot more accurately. In fact most when handed my 7mm-08could ,after a few warm up shots to realize that it was no threat to gouge their eye out,shoot it much better than their own rifle. You would think that a light bulb would have gone off in their heads after an experience like that but logic can find no toe hold in a mind afflicted with magnumitis. Nope, they can't be seen in camp with a little girlie cartridge like a 7mm-08. They got to have a manly mans gun like a 300 ultra mag even if it means they can't keep three shots on a barn door with it.

(MNTBHWT) = many need to be honest with themselves

1. If you have any recoil induced flinch you probably shouldn't be using a magnum caliber. (MNTBHWT)

2. If you find yourselfpracticing less or not at all because an evening at the range with Big Bertha has become a decidely unpleasent experience then you probably shouldn't be using a magnum caliber.

3. If the land that you hunt doesn't realistically present the opportunity for 400 yards shots then you probably shouldn't be using a magnum caliber.

4. If you aren't capable of consistently making a 400 yard shot with a large magnum caliberthen you probably shouldn't be using a magnum caliber. (MNTBHWT)

5. If the game you are hunting weighs less than 250 lbs and you don't live in Grizzley or Brown bear country then you probably shouldn't be using a magnum caliber.