Anybody ever told you use "too much" gun ?

Arizona Hunter · Member Joined: Jul 22, 2006 Posts: 275

Just wondering if any of you have ever been told you use too much gun for somethng?

For 15 years all I had was a 30.06 and almost always loaded 180 Partitions or Barnes X or XLC bullets. When I would tell people I used it on Javelina they usually thought that was stupid and figured much of the meat was lost-wrong! Those stought bullets zip through with average expansion doing about as much damage as the guy with a .223 or .243.

At least I was never "undergunned."

DallanC · Site Admin Joined: Jan 18, 2005 Posts: 3572 Location: Utah

If a gun is so powerful you cannot shoot it accurately, you are "over gunned"

Smile

-DallanC

Arizona Hunter · Member Joined: Jul 22, 2006 Posts: 275

Good point. When I first put a muzzle break on my 30.06 I thought lots of people would think I was being whimpy, but truth be told, most of the guys thought it was a good idea. Made me a better shot overnight.

rrogacki

Plenty loud too with a muzzle brake I bet, but anything that makes you a better shot is well worth the effort.

ogre · Member Joined: Jan 15, 2006 Posts: 79 Location: Melbourne

6.5x55 to shoot sewer rats
.54 BP to shoot feral cat.

both worked but the results were messy

We have a guy over here that uses a 375 for rabbits

later
p

Spacedone · Member Joined: Nov 04, 2005 Posts: 266 Location: missouri

killing just to be killing is not hunting.

if it tears up the meat to bad to eat then its to much gun.

people are starving world wide why waste.

ripper007 · Member Joined: Mar 05, 2006 Posts: 199 Location: Colorado

no one realy told me I had too much gun for somethng.

they just told me I have too many guns.

Dimitri · Super Member Joined: Nov 25, 2005 Posts: 5946

I do suffer from Too much gun I guess. Shocked

I dont have a .22 "something" for small game. Just got a 8mm Mauser. I do use my dads shotgun for shooting clays and turkey though. And I use a crossbow for deer Smile

Too much gun in my opinion is a mix of what Dallan and Spacedone, if you cant shoot it accuratly then you shouldnt hunt with it, and hunting for me (other then me possibly starting to predetor hunt which seems interesting) is for meat. My "trophy" is a good meal so I dont see why you'd use a gun that would wreak the meat Cool

PS In my defence I've never used my rifle on small game. Wink

Dimitri

Vince

Well, I agree 1000% with Dallan and agree up to a point with Spacedone.

It doesn't matter what the calibre is...if you can't shoot it accurately and safely you are overgunned.....or maybe shouldn't even own a firearm, .22 Rimfire to 50BMG.

If you are shooting feral critters that aren't for meat and are left where they fall for, for the good of the environment of course, then overkill is not an issue....in fact it could be considered humane in some cases. Not all animals you shoot are for the table...I for one would not eat feral cat or fox. Feral pig is not necessarily on the menu over here either because of some of the parasites and intestinal worms etc they carry.

However, if you are shooting for meat then you must choose your calibre carefully and become competent with the firearm. No sense in turning the entire carcass into hamburger when you want steaks and roasts.

So...overgunned....yes and no depending on your competency and intended use.

Nothing like sitting on the fence...... Laughing

Cheers, Vince

george20042007

Which gun would be considered too much gun...hunting javelina with a .223 AR15 or using a Ruger RedHawk in .44 Mag? I'm having some difficulty understanding what one thinks of when the question comes up about being over-gunned. I've used a 30-06 to hunt cotton tails. Now if that's all I tell you (just caliber info), then what would you do to make a 30-06 round useful for hunting cotton tails? Or, that's it, a 30-06 is just too much gun, period? Are you all understanding what it is I'm trying to say?
Keep it coming...

Spacedone · Member Joined: Nov 04, 2005 Posts: 266 Location: missouri

little critter easy killed = small caliber not alot of powder little lead min damage.

medium creature still easy killed =medium caliber little more powder little more lead and a little more damage.

large sized critters a little hardered killed medium to large sized calibers adequate to humainly kill the game. quite a bit of powder and alot of lead/copper with adequate damage.

large very agressive critters= large to magmumn calibers with lots of powder and lead/copper enough to ensure a clean safe kill.

people = any firearm within reach at time of need with no concerns about if the guns to big {we need bigger guns}

target shooting = any gun your brave enough to pull the trigger on.

critters that destroy ie yotes and even praire dogs is not really hunting but more of a practice/needed job in some cases.

but if its not for meat its not really hunting its sport.

i really want a elk and bear hunt for hides more than heads but i still expect to eat a large part of my kills.

skb2706 · Member Joined: Apr 10, 2006 Posts: 269

I 'sport shoot' several thousand prairie dogs every year. In the days just prior to our opening antelope season I will take my .300 Win mag and a few other bg rifles out and use them in the pd fields for an afternoon. Great field practice ........................

I suppose that is too much gun.....but dead is dead.

A ....thru and thru..... rib shot antelope with a .300 Win mag doesn't waste one ounce of meat more than a similarly shot antelope with a .243.

bradking1 · Member Joined: Mar 03, 2005 Posts: 53

Game Warden: what you boys huntin'?

Hunters: squirrels

Game Warden: what you usin'?

Hunters: aught six... Laughing

Crackshot

Ferel cat at 400 yards with 50BMG, he disappeared completely????? :):):)

Coyote_Hunter_

DallanC wrote:

If a gun is so powerful you cannot shoot it accurately, you are "over gunned"

Smile

-DallanC

Heh.. And I thought that was the definition of "fun". Wink

(At least at the range.)