Hunting/Shooting, Myths and Misconceptions

If one has spent several decades discussing hunting/shooting with a large variety of persons, he is bound to hear some doozies. Once when I questioned a "hunter" as to how high he had to hold to shoot his moose at 750 yards with his 300 Weatherby, his reply was: Oh I didn't have to hold over at all, the 300 Weatherby doesn't drop any beyond 200 yards. I had a hard time choking back the giggles on that one. Another wannabe long range artist told me about his 800 yard shot on a moose and then in the next breath condemned the Factory 175 grain Remington cor-lokt because it had not held together in this animal. Also have heard this one a few times. "Shot him right through both lungs, followed him for miles, never did recover him!" The list goes on & on. Regards, Eagleye.
 
Foxer said:
I know most animal biologists are moving away from the 'cold weather' theory and are more apt to suggest that hours of daylight and a few other factors are more likely to be the triggers. And again - you can see where that might lead people to mistake it's about temperature. Years where there's an 'indian summer' you see more sunlight and correspondingly warmer weather. When the storms come and the temperature drops, you also see more cloud cover and darker days, which may be one of the primary catalysts for the rutt happening.

On an interesting side note - several species which exibit seasonal changes also seem to be triggered by light. My birds for example go thru the same 'spring hormone' issues (become noticably more agressive and prone to biting, start 'nesting behaviours', more molts, etc) every year regular as clockwork - and yet the temperature they live in is controlled and pretty constant.

It's also suspected that solunar conditions play some sort of role in the process.

The diminishing daylight theory make more sense to me. Elk being much larger start rutting in the first part of September and it can be hotter than the hubs of hell. I've seen them with their toungs(sp) hung out so far I would swear they might trip over it.
If anything the cold temps(-15 C and lower) may slow down some of the weaker bucks and may play a role in letting the stronger, healthier bucks do the breeding.
 
Here is one I heard years ago.

If you are confronted by a bear sing to it. Bears are fascinated/hypnotized by the sound of a human voice singing. :rolleyes:
 
You turn on a light in the winter to keep layers productive.

Yes, but that has nothing to do with triggering a breeding cycle as much as keeping them awake and laying. They'll lay when they're awake regardless.

What I have said is that the intensity, the time of day, the duration of active rutting is strongly influenced by weather and that is because of hyperthermia(overheating)

I guess if you mean the activity of running around and looking for does, that's possible - but i can't see how that would trigger the biological changes in a male deer. We're not just talking about the 'urge to wander around and get some', they actually stop eating, they have very distinct gland and hormone things going on, etc.

I could see your argument that in cooler weather they're more apt to be physical, and of course weather can affect virtually anything a deer decides to do or not do, but i'm not sure that i'm convinced it has anything to do with the rut, other than they may move around a little more (which they probably would have anyway rut or no rut).

It's true they can't take their coats off, but they do have ways of cooling down. I don't think they'll stop rut behaviour just because it's a little warmer today than yesterday.
 
Ceska said:
Here is one I heard years ago.

If you are confronted by a bear sing to it. Bears are fascinated/hypnotized by the sound of a human voice singing. :rolleyes:

Couldn't sing worth #### to save my life then!!
 
Here is one I heard years ago.

If you are confronted by a bear sing to it. Bears are fascinated/hypnotized by the sound of a human voice singing.

Yes - that rumour was started by Timothy Treadwell, a man who spent much time telling others that if you sing to bears they won't bother you and you can walk up and pet them.

He was eaten by a bear a few years ago.
 
Foxer said:
Yes - that rumour was started by Timothy Treadwell, a man who spent much time telling others that if you sing to bears they won't bother you and you can walk up and pet them.

He was eaten by a bear a few years ago.

Yup. totally eaten. I believe all they found was his nawed on bones strewn all over the place.
 
Yup. totally eaten. I believe all they found was his nawed on bones strewn all over the place.

Sadly, he managed to get his girlfriend who was with him killed too. And of course the bear was destroyed. Apperently the whole thing is on tape, tho i've only heard parts of the audio.

Bet he was 'singing' a different tune at the end there. Damn shame she got it too.
 
bedrock said:
yeh I.m real serious about the bone in a moose heart

I can't speak about moose heart BUT I have also regularily noticed this "BONE" in deer hearts. I think it is most likely a calcium deposit as someone suggested rather than a natural bone. The heart is the first thing I eat while the rest of the animal is getting processed at the butcher shop. It's kind of an irregular triangle shaped thing about 1/2 to 3/4 inch size with sharp edges found in the centre of the heart just below where the main arteries enter the heart. All I know is if I try to cut through with a knife it's like trying to cut a piece of stone so I just cut around it to remove and throw it away. I find it often on the more mature animals, I can't believe more of you guys haven't noticed this.:)
 
Sorry... but I have never seen a hard deposit of any kind in hundreds of deer hearts.
I have researched all my books and looked everywhere on-line and I cannot find one reference to it. I am gonna check with a biologist I know who has done several Moose and Deer studies to see if he can shed some light on the heart stone.
Very interesting.
 
Well I don't know what to think of the cold weather deer rut deal. I read lots of conflicting idea's on this & as usual even some bioligists disagree:rolleyes: I do know one thing, living minutes from our deer camp, I have seen lots of rubs & scrapes a month or more before the Nov hunt when it's been cold, I have repeatedly seen all action STOP when more than a few days of unseasonable warm weather rolls in! It ALWAYS remains stopped till a few days of cold weather moves in, then resumes with new & freshened rubs & scraps. Maybe it's because warm weather generally brings brighter days(more & longer light)?, maybe it's because the bucks don't get so heated on colder days?, maybe because it is cold weather that brings on the rut?
 
I agree senior.Rut here was a month early this year.I think the cooler weather has alot to do with the rut along with shorter daylight hours.
A buddy in Arnprior told me the deer down his way was scaping and rubbing just last week.The weather has screwed things up for the deer this year 4 sure.
 
"Never shoot at a bear above you, because a wounded bear will always run downhill".

How does this fit with the "always run downhill from a bear" previously posted?
 
QUOTE:

"I was teaching a firearms class recently and one of the students tried to correct me during the section on ballistics. He was told by his father that you had to aim high when shooting uphill... It took me the better part of half an hour to make this youngster realize that physics and gravity are actually science and that his father was wrong. (I actually got a phone call from his father asking what the heck I was talking about!)
I hear these well worn myths and misconceptions all the time... like the guy in the gunstore telling me that you should never hunt over a gut pile, while he was buying doe in heat scent.
What are some of your favorite Hunting/Shooting Myths and Misconceptions. Lets clear the air on the bafflegarb and twaddle that is far too prevalent in our sport."
__________________
So we all agree that you should aim low right!!! or do we?

Aiming low is of course right.


As for the rut, I deffinitely believe the light exposure theory, I have numerous tests I run each day that are completely dependant on light and sleep for triggers.

As for the Heart Bone. Never have I seen a bone in a heart, deer, moose or Human. A deposit is more likely an explanation.
 
I heard this one when I was working in Russells in Calgary.

" Da too-forty-tree is the best cartridge ever. My buddies an' me was huntin' an' we saws a moose. De alls gots out and started shootin' wis der tree-o-trees and tirty-ought-sixers, bang, bang, bango. Nuting 'appens, soes ah gets out over da hood wit de too-forty-tree and bammo, dat moose upin fell over. Yep, mile, mile an' a half, probably two miles anyways ......long shot it 'as, but dat rifles a killer."

When we realized that guy from Morely was serious, we laughed him out of the shop pronto. I'm still giggling.

Oh another gunshop great was the knob who used 30-06 for moose and elk, and 25-06 for deer and coyotes......in the same '06 parker-hale. That same tard used to brag about his "500yds bang flops on the run" when he shot that "lazer" 25-06. oh and his reloading habits lead him to believe that 4350 in the '06 case should always fill right up to the neck, ya didn't need to weigh'em, no matter what bullet, cause its a 'military'? powder.

I miss that job.:(
 
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Not sure about this one, I was told when shooting down a pole line, the magnatisim in the power lines will screw up your shot.
 
RHall said:
Not sure about this one, I was told when shooting down a pole line, the magnatisim in the power lines will screw up your shot.

magnatism only works on iron.

Bullets are lead and copper and therfor are not affected by the flux lines from the hydro wires.
 
Bullets are lead and copper and therfor are not affected by the flux lines from the hydro wires.

Unless there's a flux capacitor. Then your bullets actually hit BEFORE you fire the gun, so you have to lead the animal more. :D

(honestly - where do some people come up with this stuff? magnitism affecting bullets... )
 
One that I used to think about as a little freaky, but true is that an instant kill at a decent distance happens to the animal in silence.

Basically no bang is heard by the animal.

If you were shot accidently in the head by a stray bullet, you wouldn't even know that anything had happened.( assuming it was still going supersonic)
 
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