Ever just stop and laugh?

tim3500 said:
Good read ! I guess it all comes down to being a gun nut and having the need to try something different and upgrading so to say. There is the kool factor too lets not forget that
Click to expand...

It is lots of fun going to the post office and getting that new rifle or collecting that old must have firearm for my collection.
Same goes with tinkering there is a lot worse things a man can do in his spare time and cash !
 
Ardent I hope alot of the young guys on here read your thread!!! It's one of the best pieces of common sense to come along in a long time. I wish I had read this 40 years ago, it would have saved me a lot of money over the years. ALL YOU YOUNGER FELLOWS HEED THIS MAN'S ADVICE !! HE'S YEARS OF EXPERIENCE SHINES BRIGHT!!!
 
Ardent said:
I've toyed with a gazillion cals like all of us, invented several wildcats in the dimmer hours and ordered the reamers therefor to recreate what's already happening- differently. In the end, for those of us who enjoy hunting more than shooting, who else has to sit back and laugh? All the usual suspects caliber wise, in the end, do the same thing inside 200 yards, heck for the most part 400 yards. I've agonized over my dislike for the .277" bore on peculiar concerns such as minimally smaller bullet selection than the 7mms, or minimally poorer BC's than the 6.5's... only to have a .270 in my lap after trades and find that heck, it's as good as any .260, .280, or .300 WSM at dropping a buck.

I've come to see that since the technology is the same- launching a bullet via the pressure of burning powder down a rifled bore- that essentially within the realm of all the usual choices all is identical. The variables left are the shooter, and bullet construction. Whether you're shooting a TSX or a cheapo C&C has shown itself to matter far more than whether the rifle is a .270 or a .35 Whelen or a .303 for me. This said, I do believe sectional density matters, but nearly all calibers in the usual range have high or at least reasonable SD options.

Now, my choices are a lot more tame than they used to be; I want to be able to feed it, therefor components must be readily and affordably available, and well, that's about it. Gone are my exotics as anything feedable means it's established; proof enough it works without splitting the hairs of .270 and .280. Also, so few of us hunt outside 400 yards all the minute trajectory differences between say a .270 and a .308 become meaningless. I'm guilty of splitting a million hairs myself, even started threads on the matter. But in the end, doesn't it all start to look a bit silly? Every cartridge has a case, powder, primer, and a bullet. The usual choices are all of comparable effect and became a 'usual choice' through being a sensible middle ground. I'm starting to think more of our hobby is arguing about differences that essentially don't exist than shooting them! I'm as guilty as the next guy, and vow for my choices will become much simpler and more boring. Hopefully my rhetoric will too as a result!
Click to expand...

You obviously have recently suffered a mild attack of dimensia. You need to take a rest, take some time off and come back to the game refreshed and motivated. We can't all just use a .308 win, just can't. Can we?..........;)
 
It is indeed funny,I've had so many wildcats as well. they are fun but usually expensive,and you are correct the older and more experience we get the more we lean towards standard calibers.We all argue over trajectory, but inside 300 yds from the 270 win to the 458win they are all similar depending on bullet choice. most of us spend a fortune on rifles and shooting,oh well think of the fun we had and hopefully will continue to have.
 
canadianbear said:
Ardent I hope alot of the young guys on here read your thread!!! It's one of the best pieces of common sense to come along in a long time. I wish I had read this 40 years ago, it would have saved me a lot of money over the years. ALL YOU YOUNGER FELLOWS HEED THIS MAN'S ADVICE !! HE'S YEARS OF EXPERIENCE SHINES BRIGHT!!!
Click to expand...

:sucks:

I think it was said on this forum at some point "IF it were just about saving money, then we'd all be shooting .30-06 in a 200 Stevens"

Something like that.

An old guy at my office here always shakes his head when I talk about the guns I have. He says "Just buy a good 30-06 and get good with it. It's better to be very good with one gun, than pretty good with 10."

He's right, just as the OP is right. A good 30-06 is all any hunter needs. You could say the same about .270, or 7Mag, or .280, etc.

Does my 6.5-06 do anything a 270 can't? No. Does my .308 Norma Mag do anything a 300 Win Mag can't? Of course not. But they're cooler! :cool:
 
Good thread Ardent:cool: and you're not unlike many others here, myself included. For rifles, I've acquired a fair selection over the years, from 219 Donaldson Wasp to 458 WM. One of my particular points of focus has been and still is Schultz & Larsen rifles in primarily three calibers, 7x61 S&H, 308 NM and 358 NM. A 'pet' lever gun is the 348 WCF. A popular caliber that was never part of my selection until just recently is the 270 Win. Now, I have two.

It would be quite a simple matter to narrow 'things' down to a couple that would be adequate for any big game hunting I'm going to do. Much of my enjoyment, however, in having the variety of calibers is the flexibility of choice to taylor what I decide to use, based on the game hunted and the terrain it's hunted in. Another aspect that has stimulated my interest in the variety of caliber choices is I enjoy the reloading for, load development and shooting.

Retired, I now have the time to indulge myself in whole scheme of firearms interests and shooting. For how much longer, I don't know;) but it's been a fun ride so far. My next main peak of interest will be the opportunity to hunt with my Granddaughter:D.
:cheers:
 
I've kind of been feeling the same way as Ardent lately.

Just last night I was thinking how the hunter matters so much more than the caliber they use, and how we can get so caught up in the minutia of specifics relating to our gear (whether it's the caliber, or the rifle, or the boots, or the binos, or the....) that we forget to have a good time and enjoy the complete experence of being out on the land.

It's something I fall into fairly regularly, but I am making a conscious effort to avoid, as I raise my son to love the outdoors and to connect in a real way to the world around him.
 
I must have logged on the wrong site by accident, I thought this was CanadianGunNutz.com not BoringOneGunHunter.com. :rolleyes::p
 
Northman999 said:
I've kind of been feeling the same way as Ardent lately.

Just last night I was thinking how the hunter matters so much more than the caliber they use, and how we can get so caught up in the minutia of specifics relating to our gear (whether it's the caliber, or the rifle, or the boots, or the binos, or the....) that we forget to have a good time and enjoy the complete experence of being out on the land.

It's something I fall into fairly regularly, but I am making a conscious effort to avoid, as I raise my son to love the outdoors and to connect in a real way to the world around him.
Click to expand...

Well put, my son is young (very young!) and I hope to give him the same perspective; you don't need a laser beam trajectory stainless, carbon stocked wonder gun, don't need to be wrapped in goretex and the latest muck boots, don't need a quad with the biggest mudders and winch etc etc... Packing all that crap up takes 90% of the fun out of it for this guy! If I can get away with a backpack and a boring rifle, life's swell.
 
I will agree with you on that but it sure is nice to have the option of using all of those things if you feel like it.

That is why I have cartridge/caliber/rifle combo's that also give me options to choose different style of hunting/shooting...

Some days I just want to pack a close range 100 yard max super short light weight T/C Contender carbine in 10mm or 45 Colt other days I want a rifle/cartridge combo that I am comfortable reaching out to 500 yards on the largest game in NA ie: 300RUM/375RUM...

:)
 
bcsteve said:
I must have logged on the wrong site by accident, I thought this was CanadianGunNutz.com not BoringOneGunHunter.com. :rolleyes::p
Click to expand...

i read on boringonegunhunter.com that if we all liked the same thing it would be a perfect world!
i used to like showing up in deer camp with something different. oddly enough it causes conversation.
 
bcsteve said:
I must have logged on the wrong site by accident, I thought this was CanadianGunNutz.com not BoringOneGunHunter.com. :rolleyes::p
Click to expand...

Happy to compare how boring this one gun hunter's game bag from the past year is in relation to your more interesting multi-gun game bag... ;) For a start, 7 big game species and 9 head of game, if I'm not forgetting any, in the last year with one boring choice of a rifle. Not saying yours isn't interesting, just would be happy to compare seeing as I'm on the side called boring. What you're using seldom makes a difference, even if it's boring, it's just how you hunt with it. :)
 
Pathfinder said:
The more guns Ive owned and hunted with the more this makes sense....Ill probably end up selling a bunch and investing the money back into better gear and optics.
Click to expand...

When you come full circle you start thinking/feeling that way. This year I purchased a Krico chambered for the good ole 30-06. My son purchased a Cooper Model 56 in a 7mm STW. He started off with a Browning chambered in a 270 Win. Maybe once he comes full circle he will purchase the 270 Win. Younger men can't think/feel like the older experienced men, they must have the years of rifle/cartridge experience to come full circle. :cheers: I'm trying to sell some things to purchase new optic's............eyes are getting tired and not what they use to be.
 
invent something that does make a difference. like a new bullet, or a new kind of cartridge all together. go for less sound, more distance, cheaper, but still so much fun. now thats a challenge ;)
 
Ardent said:
Happy to compare how boring this one gun hunter's game bag from the past year is in relation to your more interesting multi-gun game bag... ;) For a start, 7 big game species and 9 head of game, if I'm not forgetting any, in the last year with one boring choice of a rifle. Not saying yours isn't interesting, just would be happy to compare seeing as I'm on the side called boring. What you're using seldom makes a difference, even if it's boring, it's just how you hunt with it. :)
Click to expand...


No, I can't compare my season with yours that's for sure. I envy you and I'm sure it was alot of fun. I just think it would have been even more if I could have done the same thing using several of my rifles with different cartridges and bullet combo.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom