What to use?
 

Hi all.

As I hunted alot as a kid for Squirrel, I never hunted anything else. Haven' t ever hunted since I was about 15 or 16 y/o...But now as I get older, 31...I am wanting to start to hunt more often and have found a few friends that hunt. I have begun getting the things I need to hunt together, but I have yet to buy a rifle or shotgun. I can' t make up my mind on what I want or to be more specific, Need.

Any ideas on what I need for hunting Whitetail. I will primarily be still hunting in MS. Some areas scouted have been open and others more heavily wooded.

For a first timer, what would be a better gun, a shotgun or rifle? and what type of each...not necessarily name brands. What' s each caliber/gauge used for etc etc?

Links to help with this info would be great as well.

Thanks

RE: What to use?
 

Im a shotgun man I lovem' Its all you need small game, big game doesnt matter. I do prefer a 12 guage over them all, very deadly at 100 yards with 3" mags. Really you need to figure out what your most comfortable with, like me a shotgun fits like a glove, rifles are clumsy to me:D I grew up with shotguns so I just likem.

RE: What to use?
 

Since you will be hunting open areas as well as wooded, a rifle might suit you best. There are many calibers that work well for whitetails. Some of the more popular ones are .30-06, .308, .270, 7mm. Any of these would be a good choice. Personally I like the .30-06, since that' s what I hunt with:). There is a very wide range of bullet choices available for that caliber. If you have any friends that own rifles, see if you can shoot a couple different calibers to get an idea of what you personally like.

RE: What to use?
 

Get you a good 3" 12 ga. pump or auto. It will serve you well no mater what you hunt. The Rem. 870 is a good choice, if you find the need for a bit more range than buck shot will give you, you can add a slug barrel and be good to 100+ yds.

RE: What to use?
 

I agree, a 12ga. 870 is a good all around gun. I would also check with your friends and a couple gun shops in the area and find out what other hunters in your area are using.

RE: What to use?
 

i also like the 12gauge remington or a mossburg are both solid guns and will perform really well with practice. also try to shoot differant types of shells to see which ones work the best. for example i have a remington 870 express that loves to use winchester 3" magnum loads but will give me alot of grief when i try to use shells from remington. so like i said you have to experiment with differant loads to see what works for the gun as well as you. hope this helps you out some and goodluck with the hunting.

RE: What to use?
 

Depends on what you want to hunt. If it' s just whitetail then a reasonably powerful rifle such as a .270 or 30.06. Personally I' d only get a shotgun for deer if I hunted land where using rifle was a safety problem.

If you want to hunt birds too then a 12 gauge with both slug & regular barrels might be worth a look. Or if you want to shoot varmints maybe a .243?

Also check the MS regs to see if they allow muzzleloader in the regular rifle seasons. Buying one of those would get you more time in the woods.

RE: What to use?
 

dpends on the LAWS!!!!!! rifles arent legal in some states.....check it out and reply stating the legal arms of MS and we can help you...but i dont wanna say buy a 308 winchester when its illegal......check first.....

RE: What to use?
 

Ah heck man!! Just buy both!:D Tell your wife or girlfriend that you need both. A shotgun for small game and a rifle for big game! Works for me! :D

RE: What to use?
 

Hey ya' ll, thanks I really appreciate all the replys.

Here in MS we can hunt with both rifle and shotgun. Safety shouldn' t be an issue, so a rifle would be ok. Muzzleloaders are legal, during the proper season of course.

I will probably get me a 12g for sure after reading all your responses. It makes sense that it could be an all around weapon.

I might even buy me a rifle too...see, I don' t have a wife NOR a girlfriend at this time, so I' m free to do as I wish :D

What calibers are good for what?

I' ve heard the 30.06 is good for medium distances in the brush and out. The .30-30 is a good brush gun and the .270 for longer open shooting. Is this all true?

And what about the 7mag.?

These are all very commonly used around here, I just want some other perspectives.

Thanks

RE: What to use?
 

This is discussed a lot on this forum as well as every hunting and gun forum I' ve read. So, if you do a search and hang around here, you' ll get as many opinions as people who answer your question :).

IMHO, for " Joe Just-wants-a-good-hunting-gun" as opposed to " Joe Makes-a-hobby-of-it-and-loves-ballistics-and-fine-tuning-performance" there is very little perceivable differences in what the 30-06, .270 and 7mm will do to an animal in the field. Yes there are differences in the three, but they are really " on the margins" for and a typical, even serious hunter probably won' t notice them very much at all, imho.

I' m " Joe Just wants" , but I' m not criticizing " Joe Makes a Hobby" - it is a great and interesting hobby and I learn a lot from him. I think he' ll weigh in on this too.

OTOH, the 30-30 I think is a significantly different type of gun, but won' t do much of anything the other three couldn' t do. If you have a slug gun, imho, one of the other three would give you a more versitile gun set than adding a 30-30 to a shotgun.

Even among those who have favorites, it seems almost universal agreement that the 30-06, .270 and 7mm are all extremely versitile guns. They are kind of the " Big Three" , along with the .308, of all around hunting guns.

There may be " ideal" guns for any given situation and game, but I think a strong case could be made that with shooting practice, familiarity with what the gun can and can' t do, and proper selection of scope/sights and bullet, all three (along with the .308) would work very well for anything you will probably hunt, from white tail in the woods, up to and including fairly long shots for moose and elk. All three (4)are reasonably comfortable to shoot.

I have a 30-06 with a 2/7 variable Leupold scope, and hunt moose and deer and hope to hunt elk and/ or antelope some day. I have absolutely no motivation to buy a different gun among those you mention, except maybe to have a back up. The gun has served me well in all situations I' ve encountered so far. The only *very small* second thoughts I' ve ever had is that a 7mm *might* be *slightly* better for a *small* number of situations I' ve encountered, without sacrificing anything except possible comfort in shooting it. That or a 300 win. mag., even more specialized for moose or elk, would probably be my second gun, if that ever happens. Just MHO, FWIW -zeke

RE: What to use?
 

Your right...everyone has a different opinion of what to use and what to buy. Take me for instance. I opted for a Henry Big Boy. I love the cowboy lure. So I bought a gun that looks good hanging on the wall and one that I have been told is sweet to shoot. I could have spent less and got a more practical gun but I love the look of this gun. It has iron sights. So when I get the big buck it will mean more to me because I did it the old fashion way!!! :D So to each his own.

RE: What to use?
 

BUY A REM SP 10 ... 10 GAUGE DEER OR ANY THING

RE: What to use?
 

BUY A REM SP 10 ... 10 GAUGE DEER OR ANY THING

RE: What to use?
 

4MSDeer,
You are getting a little feed back here, but first does your friends use shotguns?
I would never use a shotgun on deer! Unless the brush and tree' s are so thick you cant even see 10yds threw it. I would get a rifle, my choice is a .308! Then the .243.
These 2 calibers have alot of diffrent bullets you can get for them and weights. If you can handload for it or have a buddy that can the .308 has more bullets and loading recipes than I can count. Accuracy to several hundred yards.

I have had bad shotgun experiances. Mostly with using them on coyotes which I will never ever do again. Shotgun just doesnt have the ump for the job. I shot a coyote last year damn near point blank to the head, yep he dropped, but wasnt near dead. He laid there gagging for air, over and over. So I had to put another in him to stop the BS. I dont want know deer running off wounded for long periods of time still alive. Yes there is wounded deer by rifles,but you cannot say that a shotgun will penetrate or do better than a good caliber.

The Buckshot that was used on the gagging coyote was 2 3/4 high brass Tactical.
Which 2 3/4 has more ump than 3" or 3 1/2.

Let the flaming shotgunners begin.:D


Troy