powder burner
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Alberta, Canada
I am glad my wife doesnt know about ballistics, MOA, etc. If she did, i would probably only own my .30-06.
Does cartridge selection even matter these days?
- Thread starter Gatehouse
- Start date
powder burner
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Alberta, Canada
1 problem. Does the local hardware store in small town Canada have a box of 7mm-08 on the shelf? I can guarantee they have a box of .303 british, 30-06, 30-30, .22lr and 12ga. They *may* have some .308, .270 or .300 win mag. This is the reason a lot of guys stick to these caliber rounds.
True, but this a perfect excuse to get into reloading! Id imagine the local hardware store could order you a couple boxes of 7mm08, if you paid up front. might cost a little more, but whatever.
........and then there are those who would use the 7x57 on elephant, after all it was Bell's caliber of choice.
I hate it when that gets rolled out. Re-read the books and articles he wrote. He did use the 7x57 early on, shot most of his elephants with a .303 and .318 but used heavier and heavier rifles as the years passed. IIRC the last elephant rifle he used was a double in something like 450/400 and figured the .318 was the best but that he'd use a .308 if starting over.
Just being #####y,
Dean
little bear
Regular
This is a great thread. I was under the impression that moose were different everywhere else but here, and if I went somewhere else with my 7mm-08, the bullets would bounce right off the skin. To add to the last two replys,when I got my license, there was a mandatory shooting test. You had to put 2 out of 3 shots in the "vitals" of a lifesize deer target at 50 yards. You could get 100% of the written portion, but if you failed the shooting test, tough nookies. Don't do that here now.
Why do you need such a big gun? Dad used to shoot his moose with a '94 30-30.
Actually in the close cover they hunted, and the any moose was a legal moose season it wasn't a bad choice. Since he could be decently equiped for his 50 yard cow and calf shooting, doesn't it follow that it should be perfect for an Alaskan trophy hunter where the cows are bigger than our bulls, and a bull has to be 50" to even be legal? I think you're hopelessly over-gunned.
Jordan Smith
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Calgary, AB
How many people here have forgot their ammo and had to buy a box of shells in some tiny little town that only carried 4 or 5 different chamberings? I know I never have, nor has anybody that I associate with.
I think this argument about "but every dinky corner store in every dinky town will carry ammo for your gun" is weak, at best.
Agreed! This keeps coming up as an argument, and is just as weak as the one about detachable magazines.... (you might forget/break/lose your mag).....
Lame!
I keep finding real nice European rifles with no mag for sale, cheap. Some of my partners can lose their clip in the house before they even get in the truck where they lose it again.
Definitely a case of operator error though.The whole thing about getting ammo at gas stations is over rated, agreed. If you did forget it, the ammo you find isn't going to be the carefully chosen load you were shooting and zeroed for anyway.
Once you start flying to your destination it makes more sense. It's easy to get separated from half your luggage, and if that happens you stand a better chance of finding say, 7mm Rem Mag than 7 by whatever Sharp & Hart.
I've never lost my ammo on the way to a hunting trip, but they've temporarily lost enough bags on the way home that I know it can happen.Half of your ammo in your partner's bag takes care of that.
If the farthest place you have to go back and look for your detachable magazine is the floorboards of your truck I can see your point.
powder burner
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Alberta, Canada
if somebody is always forgetting stuff and losing stuff, do you really want to be in the bush with a person like that?
This ammo is carried in all these jerked off little places for one reason. These rounds are popular because they work and have worked for a long time. Not a big selling point for me but not everyone is as into guns and shooting as the mob on this forum.
Some of my partners can lose their clip in the house before they even get in the truck where they lose it again.
Hey Mac! can I borrow a mag? I lost mine just as the Zombies were coming in through the wire!
...now where was that dang spare.....?
- Location
- Dah Soo,ON
Good point, I've always shyed away from DBM's for that reason. But when I bought my Sako 85 it was something I had to deal with. Now I just treat my DBM like a hinged floor plate. Unloading my rifle? TAKE the damn cartridges out of the DBM and put it back in the rifle!
That avoids alot of problems...
As for the guys saying they forget ammo and have to buy some in Buck Futt Idaho Gas Station, I guess that happens. But 3 things in my kit are always stored together and loaded into the truck/camper first...
Rifle, ammo, tag's. All that goes into a hard case.
I can still hunt if I forget my backpack full of layers, knives, etc...but I can't hunt without that hard case!
Jordan Smith
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Calgary, AB
True, but once you start flying around to hunt, you've got a lot more than 1 rifle, and ammo availability is no longer your primary concern for buying rifles.
Jordan Smith
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Calgary, AB
That's the whole point of this thread- they ALL work and will work for a long time.
Jordan Smith
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Calgary, AB
Yup, that's how I do it, too. If you honestly need to have 1 or more loaded magazines in your pockets, in addition to a loaded mag in the rifle, then you need to worry more about practicing your marksmanship than about losing mags.
I've never had a mag fall out of a rifle without me purposefully removing it.
If you figure that any old cartridge in any old firearm is good enough for yourself, great. You might end up saving a lot of money that way.
Or not, if you don't recognize limits to the equipment and get into trouble.
An 85-year old 30-30 with coat-hanger wire holding the stock on could work just fine for smaller deer at 30 yards. Or a bow and good broadhead could too. Whatever floats your boat. Just don't try to push the envelope too much or too far.
Taking down wild hogs with a .44 mag revolver is an exciting change too, if you're into it. I just draw the line at 40 yards or so.
If you're really good at stalking in fact, all you really need is an axe. You might be able to pick one up at a garage sale for 5 bucks. No ammo cost either.
Or not, if you don't recognize limits to the equipment and get into trouble.
An 85-year old 30-30 with coat-hanger wire holding the stock on could work just fine for smaller deer at 30 yards. Or a bow and good broadhead could too. Whatever floats your boat. Just don't try to push the envelope too much or too far.
Taking down wild hogs with a .44 mag revolver is an exciting change too, if you're into it. I just draw the line at 40 yards or so.
If you're really good at stalking in fact, all you really need is an axe. You might be able to pick one up at a garage sale for 5 bucks. No ammo cost either.
Thread derail!!!
The 75 mag always bothered me with it's release. I hear the new 85 release is supposed to be more secure, how do you like it?
The 75 mag always bothered me with it's release. I hear the new 85 release is supposed to be more secure, how do you like it?
- Location
- Dah Soo,ON
Doesn't bother me at all. The only difference to it is you have to push up slightly on the mag while you're pulling the mag release back towards the trigger guard.
Buy a Sako 85...you won't regret it.
