Bullet weight is going to have a factor in its brush cutting ability. Both the .308 and 30-06 have a wide variety of bullet weights to shoot even from factory ammo. 150-180 grain are the most popular. The heavier the bullet the better its ability to not be deflected by small obstacles although it’s always best to avoid any obstacles when shooting.
Location, location, location. What works just depends on where you are and what you are hunting. If I am hunting at the ranch, I use a stand, because the only trees are mesquite. Or I find a nice rock outcropping. If I am on the reservation (which is heavy trees), tree stand or ambush point.
I avoid hunting on public land for this reason. Whatever pistol you have is fine.
Is it just me or is there something wonky going on with this site?
When I hit “quote” it quotes a different post. And when I like, it doesn’t light up.
And there’s a ghosted version of each post I make above the post I make. Disappears after reloading.
I noticed this once the other week. I only noticed it just the one time.
I think this may be why my uncle was so high on that tree stand for me. He’s hunted New Hampshire for moose before (took a 900lb bull with .300 WinMag that year), so he’s familiar with the biome and terrain. I’ll need to ask him to expand on his thoughts with regards to that.
There are certainly clearings and things besides rugged, hilly, rocky woods, but Maine is mostly rugged, hilly, rocky woods. Most of the woods is young growth, mixed hardwood and pine, which can mean a lot of brush. More pine as you go north. I’m not sure you can even hunt in the remaining old growth forests we have.
I’ve only got one small patch of private land I’ve secured access to, so I expect public land will be in my future for at least this season. Luckily we have vast areas of it and I’ve never been shy about going deep into those woods to get away from assholes. That’s going to be a big part of my locale-specific knowledge I want to build up in the coming months, good spots on public land that aren’t packed with yahoos.
Hopefully places like that can be found.
I don’t think it’s unusual for it to be an issue in marriages. I know it comes up at work a lot. The worst was the woman with Stage IV (terminal) breast cancer, who was miffed, to say the least, that her husband hoarded his days off for hunting, even during her treatment. I saw them together some of the time, and his face as we discussed it was the perfect picture of innocent shock that she would have a problem with this “when the season is so short and only comes once a year!”
Haha, good times.
The tale becomes stranger when you go back in time. I was very very young when he married his first wife, a Texan woman. According to family lore, he actually fell in love with her father and all of the hunting trips they took together. 15 or so years later, she’s been siphoning off their money into secret accounts for over a decade and indoctrinating the boys into a fundamentalist Christian cult. I don’t use those words lightly either, but what else do you call a church that discourages contact with family members unless you’re proselytizing?
During these years my uncle hunted every chance he could, everywhere he could. “Hunt of a lifetime” was a phrase we heard often to justify his latest excursion. Aside from budgeting much of his time off for this, he was actually a pretty solid dad in my opinion. The boys all turned out okay in spite of the ongoing family mess, even though they were non-stop proselytizing at their dad’s second wedding to his current wife. He met this wife on hunting forums, a rugged woman in her 50’s who was born in China. I don’t think they’re too fond of the Chinese heathen they’re supposed to call “mom”, but that’s just my take. I think she’s great and great for my uncle.
I had to go family bouncer to put a stop to the proselytizing during the reception. None of us want to be saved, Cuz, and you don’t want me to give you my interpretation of that Bible passage when I’m half in the bag. Take your Bible outside or shut up and get yourself a beer.
I may go the Uncle route and let hunting consume me and possibly ruin any future relationships. In all likelihood, it will just be another hobby that I get reasonably good at, but don’t pursue to a high level. That’s kinda the story of all of my hobbies.
Maybe I’ll meet a nice rugged hunting gal like my uncle eventually did. I’ve got a thing for the lady in this video but I’ve not yet succeeded in e-stalking her to commence courtship.
My good Jewish wife presented me with a contract for marriage, as is the Jewish way. There are certain required terms, but you can add things.
I had but one addition: she acquire a hunting license and accompany me on hunts. Also, no unnecessary speaking during said hunt.
She’s not big on mammals, although she will go. But she hunts dove and quail with me and on her own (with her mother). Has a cute little pink 20 gauge Benelli shotgun.
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A ketubah
So, how long of a shot can you make where you will be hunting? Are we talking open fields, hundreds of yards? Or in the woods 40 or 50 yards max?
I owned a .44 magnum (S&W 629) that I carried in the woods of VA for a few years. It wore very well in a Jackass Leather shoulder holster. My thinking was that it would be faster if/when I jumped a deer walking in to my stand, as happens from time to time, and easier to lean out over the end of my stand and pop one as it walked under my stand, as happens from time to time.
Neither opportunity ever presented itself during the time I owned that revolver, but I would have felt comfortable taking an off hand shot at 50 yards any day. I have firearms ADD so I sent the .44 magnum down the road.
Here are a few more things to think about, as if you didn’t have enough. If you’re only shooting 50 to 100 yards .45-70.
For a gauge: Beretta 1301 Comptac. Semi-auto, can shoot rifled slugs, interchangeable chokes, legitimate choice for everything from bird hunting to home defense.
This is the million dollar question for me. I’ve not yet scouted any locations to hunt, so I’m not quite sure. I’m going to bet that most opportunities will come within 100 yards, possibly within 50. With an iron-sighted AR or .22 I’m fairly confident in my ability to put a round in the kill zone out to maybe 75 or so. I’m sure I could get to 100 with a deer gun if I put in a little more practice at that range. Maine is obviously heavily forested with lots of terrain features, but things open up at times and you can see pretty far out, so scoped bolt guns have their place too.
I know a few people find 30-30 with iron sights to be perfectly fine. A buddy of mine hunts that caliber with a small scope. I’ve seen photos with scoped-out bolt guns too. I’m leaning towards a general-purpose North American big game rifle that could go out west to my sister’s in Colorado with me. I don’t need to show off marksmanship or skill, mostly because I’m just an okay marksman and have few hunting skills. I’d like to start by putting meat in the freezer reliably, then let the hobby develop from there.
It is a slippery rabbit hole for me for sure. @thefourthruffian has me re-considering .308, which has me re-considering my budget, which has me re-considering just buying the Springfield M1A I’ve always wanted and hunting with that. Then I talk myself back down to a $300 plastic wonder rifle. Then I talk myself up to a mid-grade hunting rifle, because buy nice and not twice once you’re over 40, or something like that. I love first-world problems.
I just realized I’ve been starting threads here for all of my new “dude” hobbies for the last few years. The T-Nation brain trust rarely disappoints.
twojar learns how to lift weights
twojar learns how to be a bouncer
twojar learns how to jiu jitsu
twojar learns how to hunt
Don’t forget the burger joint!
OMG I forgot about the cheeseburger stand. That was just in my log though, and it never really got off the ground as a business.
Plenty of Calumet-region cheeseburgers have been served to guests since then. It is the least I can do after treating them so rudely on the basement mats.
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I hunted for a few years with a James River Armory M-14 clone. Scoped up it is a heavy fucker to lug about the woods, and the accuracy is not as good as the average bolt gun. Cooper’s scout rifle is an interesting concept to use as a starting point, but his fans can be purists and squabble over ounces and inches. Short and light with a low power variable optic is a solid basis for a hunting gun. Fast shots up close accurate shots at reasonable distance.
I would recommend if you get a bolt gun, buy something better than the $300 plastic rifle. The throw away consumer culture has gone far enough. Buy something your heirs will be proud of, or if you get bored with it, will retain some trade value.
Fine. You’ve convinced me. Rifle+Scope budget is now $1000.
See how bad I am at cost control when it comes to this stuff?
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Look at an FNH FNAR rifle.
I won the competition rifle in a sporting clay event and decided to use it as a hunting rifle on a whim. It’s as accurate as B+ bolt action, but super easy to maintain – and has 10 rounds.
Tikka, Bergara and Howa make very good rifles, and have offerings in the under 1K bracket. Savage has some rifles that are nicer than others, has a reputation as being not smooth, but extremely accurate. Pawn shops might be a great place to find a very nice, lightly used bolt gun. How many guys are going to put thousands of rounds through one? I hate to take advantage of someone else’s misfortune, but with the economic fall out from the 'Rona it will be a buyers market.
Friend of mine does competition distance shooting of some sort. He thought the Savage rifles were a really good base to work with. He takes apart the mechanisms and measures each part to the drawings (no idea how he obtained them), then machines any high dimensions to nominal, and smooths them out. He claims he can make a rifle that is a few hundred perform like a few thousand dollar rifle if he adjusts it.
He has competition rifles that are almost 100% built by him in his basement. Dude can work a small lathe and mill like an absolute pro.
Probably not a practical approach for most people.
I looked into these last night. There’s a lot I like about these Finnish rifles.
I am now set on expanding the firearm budget a bit, although I’m not in a rush since the market still seems a little wacky from the panic buying related to the pandemic.
I’m more or less set on a new or very good condition used Remington 870 Wingmaster in 12 gauge. It is the shotgun I’ve always wanted, so I’m getting it as soon as I come across a deal I’m ready to make. I want a steel-and-walnut classic that performs great and looks nice.
I’m still up in the air about a lot with my rifle. .308 or 30-06? synthetic or wood stock? How much to spend on my scope? About the only thing I’m now set on is a good quality bolt gun in .308 or 30-06. I’ve walked back from the cliff of buying another battle rifle that can also be used for hunting. I want a hunting rifle.
I’m most people, and any decent rifle I buy will have years of shooting development for me to grow into. I’m looking at precision shooting and hunting a lot like I did lifting weights when I first started. I know I’m not Hafthor, so I’m not going to do the things Hafthor does to get strong.
Don’t buy a shotgun until you get your hands on one in person. Specifically find a store with a large selection where you can handle different makers. Some shotguns mount and point more naturally than others, and a head to head comparison will serve you well.
When I bought my first shotgun about 10 years ago I was set on a Mossberg, because on paper it had the best set of features for the money. But it did not mount well, and felt awkward, didn’t point naturally. I ended up with a Remington. I now own 2, both police trade ins. I’ve owned more, things come and go.
One’s set up for hunting, the other for home defense. Barrels and parts for the 870 are pretty common and inexpensive and for me they feel right. Not as right as the Benelli’s, but I don’t have that Benelli money.
The days of the cheap police trade-in shotty are just about over, so if you like them, now’s the time to pick up a spare.
I’ve got enough experience with shotguns and 870’s to know what I’m getting into. The Citori will have to wait a few years.
Scoped rifles are the big question mark for me. Nobody had them where I grew up because you could only hunt deer with shotgun and muzzle-loader for firearms. I have no real experience at all with them, or long-range shooting.
Luckily, it sounds like it is hard to go wrong if you’ve got a grand or so to spend. First world problems for sure.