Over the years, I have owned a lot of different rifles. Some I still have and others have been sold. I owned a very nice Ruger Model 77 MKII synthetic stocked stainless rifle in .300 Win mag. I had it magnaported to reduce recoil and it wore a medium high end 3X9X40 variable scope. I did take a moose in New Foundland with that rifle years ago and carried it on a whitetail hunt to Saskatchewan from which I came home empty handed. This was partly my own fault as I turned down bucks that I would have shot back home in a heart beat, however they were not the reason I traveled to Saskatchewan. Truth be known I did see one very respectable buck near the end of the hunt, however he was on the far side of 400 yards and even with the .300 mag, I did not take the shot. My outfitter told me the field sandwiched between the woods and a small ravine and stream which flowed by my ground stand was 500 yards long to the hedgerow in front of me. The buck came through the hedgerow and turned left going down the embankment towards the creek. Since he was very close to the hedgerow (at 500 yards) when he changed direction, I am safe in my estimate of over 400 yards. In any event I was NOT at all comfortable with the shot presented on a moving target. Most of the bucks I turned down could have easily been shot with my .270 or my .308 Win.
I loved the .300 mag and felt it to be capable of any reasonable shot out to 250 or in a pinch an honest 300 yards with a good solid rest and some time to make the shot. I do not see New Foundland or Saskatchewan in my future unless I win the lottery. I let the .300 Win mag go a few years back. The .300 Win Mag was a great hard hitting long distance rifle, however it does not suit the rolling hills and mixed farmland and woods I hunt in the N/E mostly for whitetails. It probably topped out at 9 plus pounds with sling and scope and it was NOT what I call a mixed hardwoods stalking or still hunting set up. It was also LOUD to say the least.
My hunting these days is pretty much limited by choice and finances to whitetails and perhaps an occasional black bear hunt over bait which dictates most places 25 to 100 yards max. I simply do not need a .300 Win mag to accomplish that.
I am rather fond of my Savage synthetic stocked stainless bbl weather warrior in .308 Win with accu-trigger. It is deadly accurate, handles like a dream and is light and short enough to maneuver in and out of dead falls, steep hillsides, mixed cover and will certainly make a 200-250 yard shot with a rest a few seconds to get set up. I have killed whitetails with it that I jumped out of a bed by making snap shots and I have killed a couple out beyond 125 yards or so while sitting. 90% of all my shots these days are under 150 yards and most under 100.
I also like my Ruger Mark II in .270 Win which wears a Burris Fullfield II 3X9X40 with and illuminated reticule and ballistic plex feature useful far beyond what I use it for.
If I am in the mood to get some exercise and still hunt and pussy foot my way along where I hunt, I might very well take my Marlin Model 336 in .35 Rem. I normally shoot the Hornady Lever Evolution ammo and this gun wears a Mueller 2X7X32 with a circle red dot reticule with 11 rheostat settings for dim light.
I also have a Marlin mdl 1895 45-70 with the same scope which I occasionally carry out of nostalgia as much as anything else. It is a little heavier of course than the .35 Rem, however this gun would go with me on any baited black bear hunts as well.
My hunting career started out with wood chucks at around age 10 on the homestead property and the the local farmers I worked for. Originally I used a Christmas present in the form of a bolt action clip fed .22 rim fire and later graduated to a Mossberg clip fed .22 Mag.
After being discharged from the Navy in 1968, I brought home a Sako .222 Bolt Action fitted with a 3X9X40 scope. I purchased the rifle and Bausch and Lomb Balvar 8 scope aboard ship I believe in Naples Italy if my memory serves me. This was of course before the "Gun Control Act of 1968". I was sent directly to my home address and was waiting for me still in the shipping box when I got discharged in late 1968 to go to SUNY Morrisville college. I graduated from there with the class of 1970. I would like to have a dollar for every woodchuck that fell to the rifle and sadly years ago in a weak moment I let that one go too. In those days I loaded my own and a friend of mine from high school and I would go out 3 or 4 times per week late afternoon and early evening and shoot 10 chucks each and then go to the Lakeside Inn and shoot pool and have a couple of beers. (I MISS those days).
Woodchucks were plentiful, and before the gun control act of 1968 and subsequent legislation add nauseam, I was free to wander the woods and fields of home and neighboring farms to hunt woodchucks. Some of my fondest memories are from those days.
Life is too short not to hunt with the rifle of your choice and one that fits your style of hunting. It is also too short to hunt with a rifle that is not deadly accurate and builds confidence.
We all probably have rifles or other guns we let go over the years and now wished we had hung onto. Fortunately I still have my memories of those days and what a different country I grew up in.
Dan
No comments:
Post a Comment