Guns you’ve used to harvest game and your thoughts about it

Marksman13: Interesting optics on that 6.8.

Grayrock said:

Marksman13: Interesting optics on that 6.8.

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Looks like a thermal or night vision mounted in front of a conventional LPVO. That's a great set up for night hunting.

10 days ago with my$135 Walmart clearance rifle. Sausage already in the freezer.

Grayrock said:

Marksman13: Interesting optics on that 6.8.

Click to expand...

Standard Nikon Monarch 1-4x20 with a Nivisys UTAC-32M thermal scope mounted in front of it. Bought the Nikon specifically because the reticle was so fine and it works great against the bright screen of the thermal scope.

Used the Ruger No. 1 KRSI in 6.5x55 to take a young doe yesterday morning. Shot was right at a hundred yards. I hit her a little further back than I would have liked, though most would call it perfect shot placement. I like to take out the shoulder and put them down in their tracks. Cartridge used was a 140 grain Hornady Superformance. Deer ran approximately 30 yards before piling up. Exit wound is shown in the picture. Very impressed with the performance out of the 20” barrel.

The rifle I've killed the most game with is a Remington 541S .22LR. Have owned it for 40 years and have killed 100s of squirrels, rabbits, prairie dogs, possums, crows, coons, starlings, pigeons, sparrows, etc. And I'm not done yet.

The late Al Bieson built this 7X57 on a Argentine.'09 action for me over 30 years ago. It has been a faithful companion on several safaris and my rifle and caliber of choice for medium size game such as this tiang antelope. It was my only rifle on my last two African hunts.

Rem 700 CDL Stainless, .270 Win, Pillar-Bedded, Leupold 3-9X scope. Stock is after-market, having two fiberglass layers running vertically for the full length...don't remember the brand.

Shot moose about 260 yards while sitting on folding hunting stool...hand-held.

Handloaded 140 grain Nosler Accubond. One shot, moose dropped dead about 15 yards from the haul road, in a clearing.

My Dads ole Savage 99 in 300 Savage. It's taken more deer then I can count. Even took a black bear many years ago up in NH. I still use it today.

Hunting in the great Land of Lincoln for deer it was pretty much all slugs and arrows, with a 44 magnum thrown in for good measure. A 12 gauge Wingmaster and 20 gauge Mossberg 500 have done yomemen's duty. Western trips was quite happy with Remington 78 30-06. Marlin 60 accounted for a lot of smaller critters including raccoons, possums, and groundhogs. I could not reliably guess how many pigeons, grackels, starlings, rats and mice befell a no-name Spanish springer air rifle except to say it was used daily for many years until it wore out (there was a large grain drier operation nearby) and got replaced by an ugly B3 that took over operations which I still have today. Other guns like my mini14 have been used for miscellaneous tasks like dispatching a rat or coon here and there, but for the most part are just range guns. Archery hunting was always more of a passion for me. I changed gear a lot and I've been through the gambit from a Wing recurve to various compounds to crossbows with a bunch of different arrows and broadheads, every one of which have killed groundhogs and deer as I kept trying new stuff through the seasons. In the end, hunting with guns and killing vermin is much less exciting. The guns used most of the time to kill things have been in many ways absolutely plain vanilla -- 223, 30-06, 22LR, 177/22 pellets, 12/20 gauge foster slugs and field loads. I suppose there is something to be said that the old reliable standards work.

I’ve harvested many white tails and hogs with the trusty ol’e 30-30, 308 and .50 cal black powder rifles. I do a lot of Handgun hunting and have taken several whitetail, hogs and a book Fallow Deer with my .41mag stainless Redhawk. My trusty old Winchester Pump 12ga. Has taken hundreds of doves, quail and one Snow Goose!

My model 94 has put at least one deer in the freezer every year since I bought it in 1984. Most years it puts 3 or 4 down. In Jr high I worked on a dairy farm and hauled hay for neighbor farms to pay for it, and the scope, which is a Bushnell Lite Sight 3x9 that also still works like new. It's not the best gun for most people. The angle eject works best with the see thru scope rings, but this doesn't allow the best cheek weld. Due to this, most people who I've let shoot it can't hit well with it unless they use the iron sights. But I'm comfortable with it using the scope or the irons and have taken a few deer at 250yds+ . Unless my memorie fails me, I paid about $200 for the rifle and another $200 for the scope. Hauled hay for 5cents/bale and $2/hr on the farm.

My second post, after showing my Ruger #1 that has taken deer for over 20 years. I grew up in southeastern Colorado (Pueblo), in a family of non-hunters, non-fishermen. Very few quail out there, dry desert so no waterfowl, some rabbits, but doves were numerous in the fall. Grandpa had a .410 pump, a Winchester 42. Most folks consider the .410 a joke, and they are probably right. But when it’s all you have...

Lots of doves and a few pheasants hit the ground thanks to this 83 year old (1938) Winchester. It came to live with me after grandpa and my uncle passed.

Yeah, I know, it’s a shotgun in a rifle forum. Be kind.

I've already mentioned my favorite above, but I mainly use that 94 on my own land where my longest shot is 200yds. When I go hunt other places I either take my 700 CDL long range 300wm, or I take my SS 700cdl 30-06 depending on the range I'll be hunting. Have taken several deer with both.. Year before last I had an acquaintance who didn't think an Ar-15 was adequate to take deer, so I proved him wrong just for the sake of it. I don't normally use the Ar-15 for deer, but I do for coyotes.

Please forgive the edits, having a little trouble getting the right pictures attatched.