Upon review of the last year of post headings here, this topic may have warrant attention.
Many express a "need" for a high power rifle for deer or other North American big game. Many posts here discuss the pros and cons of 30-06, .308, .338, etc. Often these hunters already have a moderate power centerfire rifle or shotgun which is all they NEED for deer hunting. With adequate woods/hunting skills and marksmanship deer CAN be humanely taken with anything bigger than a .22-class centerfire. You can also humanely take deer with a 12 or 20 gauge and rifled slugs (or 000 buckshot - that's why they call it buckshot).
Impersonally standing off so far that the "target" is treated like a paper target in a 20x scope is like an "engagement" from Desert Storm, the video of which was broadcast on TV. A helicopter gunship "acquires" two target tanks while hovering thousands of yards away. The gunner paints the target with a laser and fires a smart missile.
For gosh sakes folks! This whole idea of "needing" a high power rifle and sniper scope to drop game from several hundred yards is the equivalent of calling in an airstrike. Sportsmanship includes giving the animal enough respect to meet it on its own terms.
Take the time to learn your quarry and to stalk it. Get close enough to see its skin quiver as it fends of flies and mosquitoes. When you accomplish this, then open sights and a moderate rifle are entirely adequate for a clean kill and a shotgun slug seems like a bludgeon.
Who among us here have stalked to within several yards of deer or other similar game? I have. Bowhunters often do so. I know of a fellow who gave up bowhunting because he felt he was being was unfair and unsportsmanlike. He then hunted deer with a spear! Okay, that may be taking it too far, but compared to that, any moderate centerfire rifle or large caliber handgun or shotgun is more than adequate for the job IF we do our part.
I'll concede that high power rifles and scopes are needed on the open prairie or in lightly forested mountains where your quarry can spot you from a thousand yards and gets skittish at a hundred yards. But in forested or shrubby areas you generally should be able to closely stalk big game. After all, this is not a matter of survival where efficiency is paramount. What do we hunt for? The art and craft of hunting in its fullest meaning or for target practice. For the latter we can use a 1000 yard range.
Many express a "need" for a high power rifle for deer or other North American big game. Many posts here discuss the pros and cons of 30-06, .308, .338, etc. Often these hunters already have a moderate power centerfire rifle or shotgun which is all they NEED for deer hunting. With adequate woods/hunting skills and marksmanship deer CAN be humanely taken with anything bigger than a .22-class centerfire. You can also humanely take deer with a 12 or 20 gauge and rifled slugs (or 000 buckshot - that's why they call it buckshot).
Impersonally standing off so far that the "target" is treated like a paper target in a 20x scope is like an "engagement" from Desert Storm, the video of which was broadcast on TV. A helicopter gunship "acquires" two target tanks while hovering thousands of yards away. The gunner paints the target with a laser and fires a smart missile.
For gosh sakes folks! This whole idea of "needing" a high power rifle and sniper scope to drop game from several hundred yards is the equivalent of calling in an airstrike. Sportsmanship includes giving the animal enough respect to meet it on its own terms.
Take the time to learn your quarry and to stalk it. Get close enough to see its skin quiver as it fends of flies and mosquitoes. When you accomplish this, then open sights and a moderate rifle are entirely adequate for a clean kill and a shotgun slug seems like a bludgeon.
Who among us here have stalked to within several yards of deer or other similar game? I have. Bowhunters often do so. I know of a fellow who gave up bowhunting because he felt he was being was unfair and unsportsmanlike. He then hunted deer with a spear! Okay, that may be taking it too far, but compared to that, any moderate centerfire rifle or large caliber handgun or shotgun is more than adequate for the job IF we do our part.
I'll concede that high power rifles and scopes are needed on the open prairie or in lightly forested mountains where your quarry can spot you from a thousand yards and gets skittish at a hundred yards. But in forested or shrubby areas you generally should be able to closely stalk big game. After all, this is not a matter of survival where efficiency is paramount. What do we hunt for? The art and craft of hunting in its fullest meaning or for target practice. For the latter we can use a 1000 yard range.