The Hunting Thread

A .338 is a scope breaker. My dad has one and he's went through two scopes and 5 or 6 pairs of rings. I don't know if he's ever gotten it right yet.

 

That Barska never stood a chance.

 

I’ll just stick with a 30-06 or.243.

Every deer I’ve shot with a .243 has fell like a switch just got turned off.

 

My dad got it from a guy going through a divorce, we both killed few deer with it then decided "nah, we'll just shoot our 30-06s".

 

I shoot one pretty regularly with a Leupold 3*9 on it. No problem with the scope, but you better make sure your head isn't canted or you're getting cut.

 

.257 Weatherby Mag has been gun of choice for a while for white tail.

Leaves a stupid exit wound.

 

How common is that to find?

 

Not too bad. But spendy. I reload it on occasion as well. But it’ll drop them where they stand.

I dressed two this past weekend that were killed with them by a friend of the family’s son. He got to learn a life lesson, which was kill one and I’ll clean it. Kill two... batter up.

But one of the rounds didn’t even touch a vital, but the exit wound was the size of a golf ball, and the entry blew up the shoulder.

The other was a mess on the inside, but cleaned up okay.

 

Is the hassle worth it over a .243

 

Nothing wrong with a .243. I think shot placement is a bit more important, as the round is less forgiving than some of the higher kinetic energy rounds.

 

I don't like .243s. If you are hunting somewhere that the shots are going to be close, and that you know if a less than ideal shot presents itself you can pass on it and come back tomorrow, it might be fine. If you are hunting somewhere that the shot might be long or from a less than ideal angle, you don't have enough gun.

 

The .257, btw, is in a different class of cartridge than the .243. At 200 yards, it carries something like 150% of the energy of the .243.

I also always wonder why folks are so concerned about convenience. Order ammo from Midway. It's more expensive, but it's no more trouble for them to ship you a box of .25 instead of .24.

 

The guy whose .338 it was lives in Colorado and regularly goes to Montana to hunt Elk with it. Personally, I think he just wants a big boom.

 

Yeah, but if it's one of those things that they'll have one week, then out of stock for 6 months, it's a concern for me.

 

I buy toilet paper and ammo in bulk.

 

I’ve never found it to be lacking with deer.

 

To each his own. I want more gun.

 

If that is a major concern, get a .308, or bettere yet, a .30-06, 7mm or .270. They are better for the task and available everywhere.

 

I went with .270 because it's only incrementally lesser in kinetics within 200y and vastly superior to .308 outside of 300 in terms of energy retention. Also, my wife is a lot more comfortable with my .270 than her dad's .308. The only drawback is the long bolt action for the .270 as it's a necked-down .30-06.

NOTE: I don't expect to make or attempt many 200+ yard shots, but it's nice to know that is in the wheelhouse.

My FedEx delivery guy must have hated me because I got some good UA base layers, a pair of Danners and about 100 rounds of .270, 500 .40 as well as 500 7.62x39 in a flash sale from sportsmansguide.

Poor guy had to truck that up my driveway in the rain.

 

They will lay down whatever you shoot with it.