bigcountry

This is what I am talking about. Westerns believe they are the best and most practical hunters around. Do only things that make sense. And I have met more yahoos out in Wyoming, and Utah, than I cared to know. Not saying your one of them. You can find instances of people problaby using tree limbs in the east, but that doesnt mean that Easterners are stupid hunters.

bigbulls

I wasn't knocking any one from any part of the country just this SUPER magnum craze. These guys rarely, if ever, shoot over 200 or 300 yards but for some reason felt they needed a STW when a 7mm-08 would do the exact same thing.

Personally I don't see much of any need for any of the STW's or ultra mags under .338 caliber. But that's my opinion.

Believe me, I have met nimwitted yahoos in every state I have lived in and/ or hunted in. It certainly isn't contained to one geographical location. Although it would be nice if it were so the rest of us could avoid hunting there.

BDHUNTR

One thing that most Western hunters do not consider is the "Eastern" phenomenom of losing your deer/bear/etc. to another hunter 150 yards away and around the hill, because the animal you shot took off and was subsequently shot by another hunter.

This is a real concern in some heavily-hunted areas, especially on Opening Day of firearms season. Therefore it is a reason a lot of hunters back East look for a rifle/cartridge/bullet combo they hope will drop their buck "in it's tracks." Although I normally find it unnecessary, I will admit that it is a pleasure to shoot a whitetail through the lungs with a 165-grain BT and watch it drop and never regain it's feet. That is a whole lot better than watching it run off and possibly being shot and put down by another hunter.

YOU try and talk your way into retreiving YOUR deer that another hunter shot and put down.

Brian

Slamfire

Am I missin' somethin' here, is the possession of the game important enough to get your undies wadded up over? I go huntin' to have fun, and the huntin' is the most fun. I find the dressin' draggin' and butcherin' to be the least fun. Eatin' is somewhere's in the middle.

Judson

Ok, I will admit I hunt deer with "Elephant" guns!!!! Four have gone down to my .366DGW and this fall if all goes well and I finish my new rifle I will try to pop one with a .450 #2 Nitro express double I am building. The truth is I do not need that much power but I like hunting with those rifles. Believe it or not they do not do as much damage as you might think. Back to bullet construction again, the bullets for those big guys are rather tough and do not expand violently like smaller, faster bullets do. I will have more blood shot meat from my .308 Norma mag then from my .366 DGW even though it is pushing nearly twice the energy.
As for these "Super Mags", unless you need the longer range you might as well go for a big gun, there is a lot to be said for bigger frontal area of a bullet. If you think a 7mm or .30 super mag that has 4000 to 5000 foot pounds of energy kicks less then a .375 or .416 you are mistaken. Bottom line is if you have the energy you have the recoil and you would be suprised how flat shooting the big guys are. Besides the looks you get from people when they find out you hunt deer with a .416 Rigby are worth it. Pluss they usually want to hunt some where else so you have the woods to your self!

broey1

Bigcountry,

I don't think it's a knock on eastern hunters at all. Most of my hunting has been spent in Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina. I don't think it's a matter of westerners thinking they are better hunters, it's just that things are different out there. For example, if someone tells me he's going Pronghorn hunting for a 125 pound antelope and wants a 300 Win mag, it's overkill for sure but it's not a bad choice because a 300 yard shot is probably fairly standard. If someone wants to hunt elk with a 338 ultra mag, that makes some sense too. If someone is hunting whitetails or mulies in grizzly country, I wouldn't call a 338 mag crazy in that scenario either. However, when someone tells me he/she will be hunting our 150 or so pound Virginia whitetails (in the big woods where 100 yard shots and under are 99% of the shots) and wants to use a 338 win mag or a 300 ultra mag..... I have to scratch my head. Now, if that's what they want to do, then by all means I'll accommodate them but that doesn't mean it's still not peculiar, right?? Why take the massive recoil and pay double the price in ammo when there are 15 or so calibers that will be easier to shoot and not take a chunk out of the wallet to do it?

fastbuckj

found nirvana with 300WSM @ 175 yards. shot placement @ high neck. animal never knew what happened. meat was spared 3300 fps energy.

HighDesertWolf

I have been hunting whitetails with the same 308 rifle for 10 years at that same time i bought my rifle my hunting companion bought a 270. The first 2 years my buddy used that 270 and it worked great for whitetails then he trades it off for a 30-06. No big deal I think I would have traded that savage 270 off for that sweet winchester 30-06 too. He hunted with that 30-06 for one year decided the recoil was to much and traded it off for a 308. I figured ok 308 is another fine whitetail cartridge. he hunted with it for 2 seasons then put it up and began using a 35 rem after the first season he decided it didnt have the range he wanted and sold it and went back to the 308 and used it for 3 more seasons. He never had any trouble killing whitetails with any of those calibers, then last year he trades off his 308 for a 7mm rem mag. I asked him why he needed a 7mm rem mag when all he ever hunts is whitetails in missouri and the average shot is 100 yards or less and all the other calibers he used worked just fine, he answered "Well I dont know just figured I needed the extra power for those big northern missouri bucks just incase I have to shoot across a corn field". I said well whatever floats your boat, all that 7 mag is gonna do is empty your wallet twice as fast as my 308 does me. Then he adds " Well honestly I actually just liked the gun it felt right and the gun store only had it in 7 mag, I didnt really give the 7 mag much thought just figured it wouldn't hurt to have the extra power. That season he shoots a nice 8 point at about 40 yards which ran practically into the next county I'll never forget how long we tracked that darn deer took us nearly 3 hours to find it , I ended up shooting a decent 7 point thought it was a 8 point across a cornfield about a 160-170 yard shot with my 308 that deer after being hit took several staggering steps then fell over dead.

My buddies deer was hit at such a angle that the bullet entered just behind its left shoulder and exited out the right tender loin (the best meat) bruising both loins the only vital that was hit was the left lung and some bone fragments hit the liver but not damaging the liver enough for a quick hemerage. My deer was hit just behind its left shoulder but the angle was just right sent bone fragments into both lungs and the bullet had a direct hit into the heart and the bullet exited just below and in front of the right shoulder.

Sure the magnums help on larger game ( elk, moose, brown bear etc) with extended range shots 300+ yards, but once again it boils down to shot placement. I dont care how big or powerfull your gun is, if you dont put that bullet in the right place,it doesnt matter. you may aswell shoot whatever animal you are hunting in the butt with a 22 long rifle if you first wont take the time to learn how to make good shots.

whiskeysnoot

Got to agree with you Judson. People thought I was crazy to shoot one w/ a .458 Win. Mag. and 500 gr. bullet. But talk about knockdown. She spun like a top and dropped on the spot. Lost practically no meat. A lot less than w/ a .270 HPBT w/ same shot placement.

BDHUNTR

I guess you are missing something here. Yeah, you (and I) go hunting for fun. But that fun would end soon if you shot the nicest buck you ever saw, had it turn and run 80 yards around a hill, heard another shot, climbed down and saw another hunter standing over the buck you shot, claiming it as his. Especially if "your" shot was a classic, broadside double-lunger and his bullet hit it in the rear ham. YOU (and him) know your shot killed it, YOU (and him) know his shot didn't, but he shot it and put his tag on it before you did. Maybe you have never had this happen to you before, and maybe if it did you wouldn't care. But I bet if you polled all the hunters on this forum, I'd bet 95% would be highly irate if it happened to them.

Having said that, HighDesertWolf is pretty much dead-on. Shot placement is the key, and no amount of power really makes up for a badly-placed bullet. I'd rather have a 100-grain bullet from a .243 Winchester in the lungs than a 200-grain slug from a .300 RUM in the guts. But if you can shoot either rifle equally well, then by all means, use it. Judson, I have always wanted to purchase a .416 Remington, and if I did, I sure would carry it deer hunting at least once! Just not wih solids!

Brian