Anyone else powering down?

[jimmyraythomason]

I have been hunting since I was big enough to follow dad around in the squirrel woods. I hunted small game until the re-introduction in Alabama of whitetail deer in the late 1960s. For years I HAD to have the biggest gun with the biggest scope I could afford,which turned out to be a Remington 700ADL,(cost $154 new at Western Auto)in 30.06. Since then there have been several 7mm Rem mags, .300 Win.Mag. and even a .300 Weatherby mag. I have since learned that, I ain't hunting Elk or Moose or big bears, I'm hunting deer. Our deer aren't armor plated as they are in other parts of the country. I'm older now and find that I don't need an "earginsplittinloudenboomer" to fill the freezer so I'm powering down. Hereafter my deer rifles will be in .308,7mm Mauser, 30-30 and soon to be a .257 Roberts and even a 7.62x39. Anybody else ditching the magnumitis itch in favor of less torturous calibers?.

 

[TXHORNS]

Yup, there is something to say about a 257 or 25-06. For some reason it is more rewarding to me shooting those calibers. It all started when i went from a 12 gauge to a 20 gauge.

 

[.45Guy]

I never really had the magnumitis. I've used .35WSL, .35 Remington, .32 Remington, .30 Remington, .30-30, .30 carbine, and .270 on occasion.

 

[mgmorden]

Never really had magnumitus here either. I started with .30-06 and have gradually moved down - .30-30, .257 Robers, 6.5x55, .308 Win, etc. I do kinda want a .375 H&H but not to really hunt anything with - just interested in having one .

That said, I've never actually met anyone in person with "magnumitus". If anything I see people trying to shoot deer with too small a bullet (.223, or even some using .204 Ruger now) rather than too big. I think the whole magnumitus thing may be more legend than reality for many. It gives us something to point and laugh at. I've even seen in other forums where people will repeatedly claim a darned near universally accepted opinion as being unpopular (ie, is .270 big enough for deer for example). People often want to play the role of the persecuted minority while expressing the majority opinion . You see it on other forums too. People will say something like "I know I'll get flamed and modded down for saying this, but ice cream tastes better cold.".

 

[jimmyraythomason]

Magnumitis is a real condition,it's just that those who suffer from it are unaware of it.

 

[3pairs12]

This year I may develop a little magnumitis, I recently got a .264 win mag Finnbear. I want to use it at least once over the course of deer season. I typically hunt with 30-06 308 and .243 if not archery hunting.

 

[RoostRider]

I never fell into that crowd (The Magnum Boys).... I started hunting large game with a 303 British, moved to the 30-30 for ease of carry (light and short), picked up a .308 after a while... but I have even been known to carry nothing more than a .357 in the deep brush (granted, it's a 'magnum', but not by rifle standards)

 

[Floppy_D]

I love my 30-06, there isn't much it won't do. I do really want a .243, that's my next bolt gun.

 

[DammitBoy]

I hunt deer and hogs in Alabama and you don't need anything more than .243 to take those animals. Using anything else is just wasting lead and powder IMO...

 

[dakotasin]

i hunt w/ whatever speaks to me in the morning... sometimes it is a magnum, sometimes not. i do hunt elk, and bears, in addition to mule deer and whitetail deer.

so... if i hunt w/ a 338 win mag, and that makes me have 'magnumitis', then so be it. however, why is a 25-06 user not ridiculed for having magnumitis? is it just the 'magnum' moniker? powder cap-to-bore size demands a 25-06 be called a magnum... and the 25-06 is much more of a 'magnum' than a 338 win mag... is it bore size? so, is a 240 weatherby user mocked?

at any rate, doesn't matter to me - i shoot all of my rifles, and i shoot them all a lot, and that includes my 'magnums'... really, i don't strategize about what gun i hunt w/. i grab whatever looks like it needs attention, and head out.

 

[ArmedBear]

I notice you guys are from places where 100 yards is a long way, and mid-size deer are as big as your quarry gets.

My .30-06 is my official "hunting rifle" currently, but if I do go bigger or faster next season, it's not because I have "magnumitis."

When 300 yards is a close shot, or you're hunting moose, a flat shooter or a heavy bullet called "Magnum" aren't inappropriate.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

Easy dakotasin. Nobody is being ridiculed for having magnumitis simply for hunting with a magnum. Magnumitis is the irrational belief that only a magnum caliber is capable of taking game. The belief that anyone hunting with traditional non-magnum calibers are undergunned. I know I once suffered from it. I still have magnum caliber rifles and hope to get to hunt something that requires the extra umph. In the meantime they will stay put up along with my three 30.06s and my .280 Remington which are also more than needed.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

Mid-sized deer? ArmedBear you can't be talking about Alabama whitetail deer. While definitely not the norm 200-250+ lb bucks aren't unheard of. I personally know of one buck taken about 15 miles from me that weighed 360 pounds(not field dressed) on a certified scale. It's muzzle is 4'' across. My friend who killed it said he took it out of a group of five that were identical to it. Shot range depends on where you hunt. 300 yard shots are common on powerline cuts or fire breaks. Soybean fields (have replaced cotton)offer shots of much greater distance. My .308 and 7x57s are easily up to these yardages.

 

[lt522]

I have been through magumitis and back again. I started with a 30-30 , a 270 and so on. When I got married my wife bought me a 300 win mag for our 1st ann. since then i have picked up a couple more. Then went through a time when I decided I did't need all that power and sold them. Since I seem to wake up with a different view on this every so often , I have my 7mm mag , a 30-06, 243 , 30-30 , and a 270 , in case I want a large cal. that day.

 

[ArmedBear]

Whitetails? Only up north. Not many of those around here.

Some of our smaller animals (the larger ones being Grizzly and Moose):

Idaho Mule Deer:


Idaho Elk:

Antelope through a BIG zoom lens:


Mountain goats:


Sawtooth Mountains, somewhat bigger than your average powerline cut:

 

[usmc1371]

I guess i could carry my 30-06 instead of my 300wm but since I elk hunt with the 300 I like to pack it around in deer season for practice. I am still taking only my 375 doe hunting, I don't even want the possibility of carrying a smaller rifle to cross my mind. The 375 is open sight and the country I hunt in is open sage so unless I can get close enough for a good shot with open sights I guess I don't really need to kill a doe.

Pack the rifle that puts a smile on your face, thats what we are all out there for anyways. If it's a 357 lever gun or a 470NE if you got it and you know you can kill a deer cleanly with it I say carry what ever makes you happy. I can't imagine ever shooting another deer with a 223 just like plenty of folks could never imagine why some one would shoot a deer with a 300wm or 375HnH.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

ArmedBear, 300 yards is 300 yards whether it's powercut,Sawtooth Mountains or open tundra. The whole point of this thread was not to bash those that suffer from magnumitis(bless their hearts) only that I have come to the realization that to take my game (whitetail deer)at my ranges(45-300+ yds) I don't have to subject myself to more recoil(in light of my by-pass surgery) than necessary. I was just wondering if I was alone in my thinking. BTW, if you need a 375 H&H to take a pronghorn,well....

 

[ArmedBear]

You've never heard of a Magnum that was less than .308" in diameter, jimmy? Big, heavy bullets aren't the only reason to shoot something called "Magnum".

I have come to the realization that to take my game (whitetail deer)at my ranges(45-300+ yds) I don't have to subject myself to more recoil(in light of my by-pass surgery) than necessary.

Sounds good.

Given the mix of game here (either size, or distance), it has always surprised me that anyone thinks he "needs" more than a .30-06 to shoot whitetails at 300 yards. It's hard to imagine much that's better than a .270 for that. MPBR sight-in, just point and shoot as far as you ever will want to.

However, there's legitimate use for a .338 Win Mag (or a .338-378 for that matter), as well as something like a .257 Weatherby, around here.

Pronghorns are often shot at more than 300 yards. 300 is a fairly close shot. And dead elk have a bad habit of running for a few miles.

But like I said, I have a .30-06 for all of the above.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

Now,now,now, when did I say there wasn't a legitimate reason to use a magnum? As I said,I have magnums. I don't need them but I have them. I hope to one day get to go after game where I will need them.

 

[buck460XVR]

I haven't hunted deer with a rifle for a coupla years, pursuing the challenge with a handgun. This year I plan on using a new rifle.....in .357. That said, for 40 some years I used a M1917 in 30-06 and never though it was overkill or that I suffered from magnumitis. Ammo was relatively cheap and readily available(compared to .257) and 90% of the guys I hunted with carried the same ammo. Then again, folks I hunted with didn't care what you used as long as you could hit what you aimed at, were considerate of others and used ammo that was effective against the quarry you were after.

Most of us did head the other direction when we heard the feller with the .223 shoot tho........ as most of us didn't like wasting the whole day trailing someone else's deer.

BTW....IMHO, I don't really consider by going from a 30-06 to a .308 that one is downsizing, unless you just consider the length of the casing and the throw of the bolt. I do wish you the best of luck tho, regardless of what you end up using.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

I don't consider a 30.06 overkill. I have 3 bolt guns in 30.06 Two of them are built on Mauser actions like my .308 is and has the same length action. My .308 has very little recoil but the 30.06s kick "pretty good" except for my Howa 1500 and that is only because it is a lot heavier.

 

[shaggy430]

I don't really consider 30-06 as overkill either. A 30-06 isn't that much more powerful than a .308 with standard 150 grain loads.

 

[wyohome]

I use a .308 for nearly everything. I like the lower recoil and the price of ammo lets me shoot more often. Some of my hunting buddies use 300WM or 7mm Rem. I have no problem with whatever you shoot, I prefer shooting more with less bodily damage (to me) and very nearly the same bodily damage to the target animal. I have considered getting a 338 for hunting elk here just for the bear protection factor.

 

[deanadell]

jimmyray

powering down, and back in time this year.

I've hunted with a .270 for 20 years. I recently bought an old beat up Remington Model 141 in .30 remington that I'm trying to rebuild into hunting shape by the mid-October opener. Going to put the bolt gun in the safe and hunt with the old "Game Master" if I get it done in time.......

 

[3pairs12]

Armedbear that bull was taken in Utah. They call it Spider

http://addictedtohunting.com/utah-monster-spider-bull-elk/