Going Back
 

I think I'll just go back to a .243...

So buying back a rifle you sold? Or had you not yet sold it?

I'm curious also. You received a lot of advice on calibers suited for which animals. Curious to see how you made this decision.

I made this decision because I realized that
1. I'll probably screw up tanning and everything.
2. I realized that I cannot look at an 8-point buck in the woods and say "I'm a small game hunter" and look at my .22. I feel the primal pull towards deer, no matter how much I try not to.
3. A small game animal is a smaller target.

I appreciate all the advice, but, I can't leave the bucks I grew up hunting.

That's the great thing about hunting--you can do it all. Personally, I couldn't give up deer hunting and am amazed that you even considered it. I couldn't give it up myself.

Perhaps over time, you can add another rifle or 2 to increase your hunting seasons and game hunted. It's pretty rare for hunters not to acquire different guns and hunt additional species. The smaller critters are fun to hunt also and usually have longer seasons. Plus they make good hunting practice and get you out in the field all year long.

I have a 30 gun safe that is nearly full of rifles and shot guns.
I hunt deer in several places so use a shot gun and a rifle for that. spend a lot of time hunting squirrels because it is a long season. I mainly use a 22 hornet for that but some times take my 220 swift, both with reduced loads per a speer reloading manual.

I hunt coyotes all year long main rifle is my 220 swift and my 243, yes I sell the hides.

Use the shot guns for bird hunting mostly partridge in northern Michigan. Some phesant hiunting in Central Michigan. A lot of sporting clays are shot during the off months and when a buddy otg two want to go.

I do have a pair of 243's I owned a Remington 700 BDL, inherited my dads Rugar 77, I can't part with any more than I can my own Remington.

I also have a pair of 7MM08's, wife over heard me talking to a deer hinting partner I was wanting a 7MM08 for deer hinting at my deer camp in the UP. What she didn't hear was I wanted a Remington model 7 in 7MM08. She boughjt me a Remington 700 mountian rifle so no way that gets sold as she got it for me. I later got my little model 7 for the thick cedar swamps I hunt in the UP. Used to use a Model 94 Winchester 30-30 there but my eyes got old and I couldn't shoot the iron sights so auto good. Found a Winchester 94 32 Special with a peep sight and that worked great for many years, but I decided i wanted a scope.

I have 4 muzzle loaders Form a old style Hawkins, a new model caplock with scope mounts and a Parir of Remington 700's a 50 and a 54 cal.

Plus I just like some guns, don't believe you can havew to many either.

:D Al

$270 gets you into a Savage 93 22Mag with a Bushnell 3-9x already mounted.

I can't imagine only owning one hunting rifle any more than you can imagine giving up on deer hunting.

Sounds like an expensive back-pedal - selling a rifle just to buy back another one just like it is rarely a money saving proposition.

Something else to offer a comment on is being worried that you would screw up tanning a hide. Aside from youtube being your friend and a wealth of experience and knowledge about tanning hides on this website, you should expect a learning curve on something like tanning a hide. I'd bet that most of the members who tan hides could tell you some stories that begin something like "don't ask me how I know this but..." In fact, some of life's best lessons start that way. Kind of like a permanent reminder you never forget. And if you find a hunter who doesn't have at least a few of those, well, they prolly don't hunt a lot. :D

I actually enjoy small game and varmint hunting more than I do Deer hunting. I've come to the conclusion Deer are stupid. I put one in the freezer every year, but I'm sure not a Deer hunting snob. I had a spike Buck try to climb into my Jeep one day, with my dog asleep in the back.

A whole lot of other game I enjoy hunting much more. Rabbits and Hare are my favorites, Dove and Pheasant a close second. I like the fast action and multiple tries a day.

The Hogs and Fox around here can get really canny, hunting at it's best. You not only have to out skulk them, you have to out think them. They get 3-4 years old and they can get really cagey. I've actually had to change up my routine because the Fox had figured it out. Change my prime hunting hours, set up really unlikely ambushes and get really unpredictable to get some of them. The stupid ones usually die young.

I've never had any real issues with tanning hides. The hard part to learn for me was to learn how to skin them properly. A guy that was good at it had to show me more than once and it took some practice. One of the best skinners I know is a 65 year old, little old lady school teacher, who does mounts as a hobby.