Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Around the Campfire => Topic started by: johnston on September 09, 2012, 02:49:45 am
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I work in a shop full of hunters and every year get invited to
hunt on several leases. Sociable guy that I am, usually I accept.
If possible I take a bow but sometime that is not allowed, rifle
only.
In these cases I use a 1967 top eject Mod. '94. I get some
frowns cause a lot of today's hunters have never used iron sights.
Always pick my shots and ain't missed yet but was just wondering....
What would you guys use?
Lane
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A '94 with iron sights is hard to beat in the woods. Most of the time where I hunt out here in the flatlands of ks, the shots are a little long for open sights. In that case, I use a '98 mauser chambered in 30-06 that my grandpa and I sporterized about 20 years ago. It has a 3 x 9 Burris on it. My peepers aren't what they once were so the scope helps me reach out there better. I haven't rifle hunted for a few years though. I should probably get the ol girl out and warm her up a bit. Josh
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I hunted for years with a lever gun with iron sights. I wish my eyes would let me now, but it doesn't go with my bifocals.... I very seldom pick a rifle up for deer anymore, but if I have to put something in the freezer, it's a scoped 30-06 bolt action.
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If the woods are dense(few shots over 100yds) the 30-30 is a great gun even with open sights. Sound like you know your limitations with that weapon and shoot accordingly. Most folks have to have the fastest latest super cartridge. Nothing wrong with them (gives a good reason to buy another gun). It is when that mentality overides the need for good old fashioned shot placement and patience. I have an old 1954 model 70 in .270, love it. it is scoped but when I rifle hunted I hunted on the dry side of our state (long shots open country). My first two deer were on the wet side of Washington in dense forest and I used a model 94 30-30. btw shots were within 40yds. just have fun and show your buddies what open sights can do with someone who knows how to use it.
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Lots of rifles in the closet. .22 to .375. When the shot is on the line,I take out the 1965 model 70 30.06 and go to work.It's scoped with a leupold variable power scope. (Eyes aren't what they once was) Coyotes to elk , ranges of 25 to 700 meters.
Familiarity is a prime consideration when a guy needs to make a shot. I love my lever guns and would shoot short range with them all day long. I am going to put a dot scope contraption on a little Marlin 30.30 a friend gave me and see how that goes. I look forward to it. ' Frank
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I've done all my hunting in the last few years with bows and arrows I've built myself. I do own guns but rarely hunt with them. I've never had the opportunity to hunt open farmland. All of my hunting has been in close quarters. When I set a stand it is used for mostly bow hunting but if I decide to hunt with a rifle I use that same stand. Maybe thats why I hunt mostly with a bow and arrow. A .308 with a 3x9 variable isn't very effective at 12 to 15 years. Sure you can kill a deer at 12 yards with a .308 ....if you can find it in the scope before he sees you. I can do it with a bow.
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I would drag out my old reliable .303 british no. 4 mk 1. I really like the rear peep sight. Ron
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My rifle is a Savage 110E bolt action in .270 Winchester, with a Bushnell scope. A very accurate gun. It has been I think 3 years since I killed a deer with it. Not for lack of deer, just lack of using it. Didn't even shoot a deer last year. I still gun hunt when I feel like it. I have killed so many deer with my guns over the years that it is not big deal to me. Don't get me wrong I still get very excited regardless. If I didn't I would quit hunting all together.
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7mm mag ruger 3 round magazine redfield wideview scope (3-9x24) butler creek sling
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Couple years ago I broke down and bought one of them new-fangled suppository loading guns (just a fad, folks will all go back to flintlocks soon enough). It's a .243 Remmy Model 70. Slapped a Leupold 2x7 scope on it along with Leupold rings and bases.
I really never intended to hunt with it myself, but I have used it for Youth Mentored Hunts. All the kids that have shot it have liked it plenty. Very little recoil, the low power scope works great here in the Hills were long shots are still less than 100 yds. And ammo is pretty cheap. Not like a friend's .338 Lapua!
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I have an old savage lever 308 that's pretty darn accurate with a Simmons..
Cipriano
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i use an old savage .243, but the go to gun growing up was the ol' man's pre 64 model 70 .257 roberts, man what a gun, Bub
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Cipriano, my .308 is a Savage model 99E, lever action. ;)
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i like my h&r 1871 buffalo classic 45/70 or myh&r ultra varmit in 243 with bsa 4x24 for open feilds
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Pat,if you want to get rid of the 99 let me know.i am with gun doc,it all depends on where and what you are hunting.short range in the woods you can't beat a good lever gun with iron sights.out in open country,a good scoped rifle will fit the bill.a 30-06 is very versitile if you reload.if you don't,i would pick something from .243 to 308.they are mild but great deer cartriges.just my opinion.
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I had a marlin 45-70 lever gun years ago really fun to shoot and you could shoot through a tree and still get you're deer. Awesome brush gun. Ron
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M-39 SOV 7.62 X54r
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v369/angelpena/DSCF1350.jpg)
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Model 94 30-30 for the bush. Rem 770 in 7mm Rem mag for longer stuff.
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What would you guys use?
Now there's a wide open question!
Short answer: I'd use whatever the heck I wanted to.
Longer answer: it depends...
what are you hunting, I assume whitetail?
how much acreage, will there be orange shirts every 100 yards?
beanfields with shots up to 400 yards, or laurel underbrush with a 25 yard maximum?
My buddies accept me for who I am so for rifle hunts with them I usually show up with my flintlock, they couldnt care less.
For "social hunts"... socialization implies being/becoming like everybody else, fitting in. So if they are looking at your unscoped 94 like you dont fit in, you are either bringing the wrong gun or you will be forever on the edge of the group. I'd think about what being "a social guy" means to me, then choose a weapon.
FYI, hunting my way means more to me than being sociable, so I generally hunt by myself or with a few good friends. On rare (for me) social occasions I simply choose to enjoy shooting a modern scoped rifle.
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I have'nt hunted with a rifle since 05 but used a REM 700 ,280 for over 30 years.
If you hav'nt missed any bucks you like to talk the talk and you hav'nt shot at many bucks (deer for most).
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I certainly can't claim I have never missed. (Too many witnesses >:D) but I do know a few that can make that claim. You might want to think about casting doubt on someone unless your prepared to suffer the same scrutiny on your posts.
AngelDeville- that ol mosin looks pretty good. I can't say as though I've ever seen one cleaned up and in that good of condition! It reflects well on you. Josh
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I have more black powder then modern rifles but the gun I hunt with the most is a Ruger #1 in stainless with a bull barrel, a 3x9 Leopold, in .300 Winmag.
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I'm with Eddie I use the #1 but mine is 7mm mag
(http://i1228.photobucket.com/albums/ee451/bloodmoonwidow/DF292726-9206-48CC-84D9-B3DF1D1F6C93-1040-00000219DFCE15A5.jpg)
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Up until 2007, I used a lever action Marlin Model 336 35 Remington. It has iron sites and is a great brush gun. I just cannot get used to looking through a scope, and can't hunt with one. I still use open sites on my .22 for squirrel hunting, and about once a year break out the 35 Remington. That gun has many memories, as it belonged to my two brothers before I got it, and my dad had it before my brothers used it. All of them have passed on now, so it is very hard for me to put that gun on the shelf and leave it...there is just too many memories with that gun. I finally got to permission to hunt big open crop ground for deer, so I "upgraded" to a Winchester Model 70 30/06 with a 3x9 scope. I have killed one deer withth 30/06, and he was within bowrange. Now I pretty much bow hunt except when I meet up with my nephews for deer hunting during rifle season.
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Mostly a Bean family southern mountain 50 cal flintlock. In the rhododrendron thickets in the rain a Marlin 30/30 lever and open country my 1965 Model 70 sporter in 30/06. Killed more deer with the flintlock than anything else.
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Interesting responses fellas and I appreciate them. The question was asked because I
figure if a hunter is happy using homemade sticks then it is likely his firearm of choice just
might be unique. Seems to be true.
Me and BeetleBailey are alot alike in that we both hunt the lower half of SC which has a
four month deer season with virtually no limit. And in the last forty years I guess I have
killed between 175-200 deer with ,let's see, eleven calibers and 6 different makes of guns.
Hunted 15 years with a Super Blackhawk in .44 mag. BUT, the point is at my age and with
my hunting experience, I have drifted back to what I really enjoy shooting. People who
know me will tell you that this hound ain't no good in a pack. Could care less what evil
eye is cast upon me and my weapon and I feel sure most of ya'll feel the same.
But I ain't never stuck one with an arrow and do not intend to pull out a firearm til I do.
Ain't it cool to be almost 60 and still have that to look forward to? Now if the poor old
wife gets hungry....after a week or so I may change my mind.
Lane
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Lane I am like you also in that I am on the quest to get one with my bow.
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I aint touched a gun in so long that I reckon it would have to be up close and personal with and old SxS ! Most likely black powder !
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If I was required to shoot a rifle they better get use to to my favorite, one I built from scratch, my good old flintlock.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v181/ekrewson/hunting%20stuff/flintlockdoe2010.jpg)
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Pity you couldn't get some maple with decent straight grain instead of that durn curly stuff, Eric! >:D
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If you are hunting in woods, and not flat plains, or where long shots are the norm, stick with what works for you. The .30/.30 has probably killed more deer, and other game, including moose, and elk, etc. than any other hunting rifle in the U.S. . I have a number of guns from .22 to 45/70, lever action Marlin. But my preferred gun is my Dad's Remington model 742 in .30-06. It shoots better than my Browning .30-06. I like the .30-06 because of the versatility in reloading it. You can go from a 110 grain varmint load to a 220 grain big game load. My Friends all had to have the latest guns, from .300 win mags, to .338. Or the newer short rounds. I can get the same game with my .30-06, and it is more versatile. Granted it doesn't send a 250-300 grain chunk of lead out at 3000 plus ft. per second, or is flat shooting, but it is not limited in what I can shoot with it, and the ammo is common. I have a couple of .270's and love them also. My all time favorite used to be my Remington 660, in 6mm. the barrel is shot out, and now it only groups, in the inch and a half-2 inch, or so groups at a hundred yds. . It used to group three shots, you could cover with a dime at a hundred yds. I used to have a winchester, .30-30, and would like to get another. They are great brush guns, and you can hand load a lot of different loads for them also. Plus now that Marlin has the leverloution or however it is spelled, you can use the spire points, and be safe with the tube filled with them. I can't see as well as I used to, and can't shoot as well as I once did, even with a scope. But I at one time preferred iron sights over scopes, in short to medium ranges. I could gain a sight hold much faster with iron sights. Now if I am using iron sights they better be on a shotgun, if I am going to hit anything. ;) ::) But if you are successful with your rifle, stick by it. A game animal tastes the same no matter which rifle killed it. ;)
Wayne
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I wonder if Eric would send that "old" rifle over this way so I could try it out? ;)
I am invited every year to do some doe hunting on a ranch. My friend hunts bucks there and the landowner thanks him if he brings me out to shoot some does.
I usually use a Savage 99 in 300 Savage and a K-4 scope. My grandad used it in the 50's, my Dad used it in the 60's and it sat in a closet at my uncles until 2005 when he graciously gave it to me.
I also like a 45-70 Marlin Cowboy. It is adequate for whitetail does and you can eat right up to the hole.
I have a flinter that was pretty nice until I looked at the picture of Eric's! :'(
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Eric, now damnit , that's just plain showing off but thanks for doing it.
A lot of folks have mentioned eyesight or lack there of as it relates to iron sights. Well,
back in 1985 an old Tennessee boy name of Jim Carmichel wrote a little ditty called "The
Book of the Rifle". In it he describes the impossibility of the human eye focusing on more than
one object at a time. Young, quick eyes , can go ..rearsightfrontsighttarget so fast it seems
that it's all in one. He says it just ain't so. Takes a bit longer but as we age we can shoot
iron just as well if our vision is corrected to normal. I have found this to be true and I wear
progressive bifocals. Takes practice just like anything else but he's right.
Lane
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I love my Remingtons, but since I have a bit of a variety of hunting options in terms of terrain (usually hunting coyotes), my golf bag contains the following:
- Remington 700 in .17Rem (not the itty bitty rimfire - I'm talking 4100fps no recoil fun).
- Stag 8L gas piston driven AR15 in .223 (true left-handed for a southpaw shooter such as myself)
- Remington 700 SPS Tactical in .308 for the long stuff
I love my rifle and archery hunting for different reasons, but love them both nonetheless. Good times.
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if definitely told not to bring my bow specifically....would use my Marlin 1895 Lever Gun or a Lyman Great Plains Rifle in .54....and keep my shots to 100 and 75 yards respectively. If sitting over a big bean field with 200+ yard shots the norm....especially if on management hunt where they want does or inferior bucks shot if you see one...then my scoped 30-06 or .300 mag would come out with scope on it and call the wife to plug in the garage freezer. :) If close in and for thick woods if not the lever gun maybe my single action 45 colt or 44 mag with some heavy loads....... If coyotes then my AR15 :)
no shame in any weapon under the right circumstances.....and especially if they want animals killed and told you not to use your bow. I will pick venison for freezer in that choice...as I am a traditional bowhunter foremost...but I am a meat hunter before that and could really care less about horns...but if I dont get a couple deer in freezer for ground meat and sausages for the year...wife gets upset. :)
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Beware of the man, who only owns one gun,
for he probably shoots it very well! ;)
Wayne
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I love my Winchester 94's for the tight quarters. But in the last few years, I've been hunting some more open land. I've had great success with my .270 WSM (Winchester Short Mag). Fast, flat and hits hard. What I especially like are the quick kills. Usually drops them in their tracks; never knew what hit them.
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I am invited every year to do some doe hunting on a ranch. My friend hunts bucks there and the landowner thanks him if he brings me out to shoot some does.
Can you wrangle me an invite over to harvest some does? I didn't draw ANY tags this year! Gonna be a huuuuungry year!
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JW, Not sure. I am a guest as it is. I will keep my ear to the ground concerning doe reduction.
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I love my Winchester 94's for the tight quarters. But in the last few years, I've been hunting some more open land. I've had great success with my .270 WSM (Winchester Short Mag). Fast, flat and hits hard. What I especially like are the quick kills. Usually drops them in their tracks; never knew what hit them.
My Kimber Montana .270 WSM has fast become my favorite... shoots as flat varmint rifle very lite recoil and drops anything I'm likely to hunt as well as anything I have ever used. I make up a hand load that puts a 110 grain Tipped TSX out at over 3600 fps (We have to use copper not lead by law here to protect the Condors????? ).... with copper the weight stays the same pretty much on entry and exit. It's a devastating round.
Once in a while I pull out Gradpa's 32 Winchester Special... still shoots well inside 75/100 yards :)
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One review after another of those gilding metal (copper) rounds just makes me excited to use them on big game. They were originally designed for dangerous game in Africa and really met some serious opposition, claiming since copper is less dense than lead it just can't be better suited. Higher speeds, better weight retention, controlled expansion, and horrifying wound channels proved otherwise and now you can hardly find a Professional Hunter that will let you carry lead for dangerous game anywhere on the Dark Continent!
A little further refinement and now they are stacking up the statistics on every big game animal in North America like a house afire. Sounds like you got a handload to be proud of, Coaster. But I gotta wonder about all the people that drop big bucks on the best rifles, high end optics, etc and then claim they can't afford quality ammo???
Well, that's just me.
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I no longer own a rifle but still retain 2 in my possession that I passed on to my kids. They have others to shoot and always do their hunting in this area. I guess they don't want to see me unprotected.
The Savage is identical to the gun PatB posted. A 99E .308 and 2nd is also a lever action, Browning BLR in .243.
At one time I had quite a small collection but passed most of them down and sold or traded the others.
One I sold to a friend who is a collector and I've tried to purchase it back but the old boys a horse trader of merit and a little difficult to deal with at times. I'm going to have to catch him in the right mood. It's an old Sauer model 200 in 25.06 and I've never owned a finer rifle.
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You're right JW ... don't much matter how good the gun is if the pill don't work. My first loads with copper bullets were a bit frustrating I couldn't seem to assemble a load that would shoot into a pie plate at 100 yards. I tried different weights, powders, seating depths and every trick I had learned over the years. The other issue was that on our diminutive blacktails unless bone was contacted expansion was not 100%... enter the tipped TSX the polymer tip aided in both expansion and accuracy for me. This load if I do my part will shoot five rounds into 3/4 inch at 100 yards.... every animal I've shot with this load has expired very quickly.